CHICAGO / MIDWEST

2020-2021

BIOS FROM INDUCTION YEAR

VIDEO

PROGRAM BOOK

Jackie Bange

Jackie Bange is an award-winning journalist who has worked in Chicago for more than 30 years and is currently weekend anchor for WGN News at Five, Nine and Ten. Jackie joined the WGN-TV News team in 1993 as a general assignment reporter and anchored the WGN Morning News from January 1995 to October 1995. Jackie also spent 21 years working with the Weekend team of Robert Jordan, Jim Ramsey and Rich King. All have since retired. Jackie continues her weekend work with Tahman Bradley, Mike Janssen and Lauren Magiera.

Prior to her arrival at WGN-TV, Jackie was a general assignment reporter and weekend anchor for WMAQ-TV in Chicago from 1989-1992. Before moving to Chicago, Jackie was a reporter and noon anchor for WPEC-TV in West Palm Beach, Florida where she covered city hall and had the only weekly local scuba diving report in the nation.

Among the countless stories Jackie has covered are the Presidential election nights of Barack Obama and the election of President Joe Biden. Jackie has also reported from international locales, including Tanzania, Africa and Paris, France. After Hurricane Katrina, Jackie brought WGN viewers “Into the Darkness,” a story profiling two local pilots and their crew who were the first to arrive in New Orleans and help rescue hundreds of stranded residents. Utilizing night-vision goggles, Jackie recreated the rescue for viewers, and her report won the Illinois Associated Press award for Best Hard News Feature.

Jackie won an Emmy® in 1999 for her series as a member of a group who attained a world record for the largest skydive formation. She also won an AP award for the series and for aerial photography. She received a Peter Lisagor award in 2009 for her report that helped a widow “get justice” for her husband who was killed by a suspected drunk driver.

Jackie has worked with Elmhurst College’s Mentor Program for students interested in journalism. She serves on the board of The Michael Matters Foundation, an organization created to help those fighting brain cancer. Jackie is involved in the fundraising efforts for A Safe Place, a domestic violence prevention organization in Lake County. She also volunteers at the Northern Illinois Food Bank, The West Deerfield Township Food Pantry and Feed My Starving Children. For her devotion to family, she received the Woman of Honor award from Thornton Township.

Jackie received her post-baccalaureate degree in Telecommunications from the University of Florida where she graduated with distinction. Jackie’s undergraduate degree was from Florida State University in Management Information Systems. She is proud to carry on a family tradition of television journalism. Her father was a news anchor at WPLG in Miami, Florida, and at WGAL Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Her mother was a weathercaster in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She is married with three children. In her free time, Jackie enjoys traveling, scuba diving, skydiving and athletic training. She has completed seven Triathlons.

Richard Bernal

Richard Bernal is a lifelong Chicagoan, born on the Southside, the youngest of 12 in an immigrant Mexican family. He attended Chicago public schools, graduating from West Pullman Elementary and Morgan Park High. In 1948, the Bernal house was the first in the neighborhood to get a TV set. Chicago broadcasting would become a steady influence throughout his youth.

As a boy, Richard developed a serious interest in photography and cinematography. He was a photographer for the high school student newspaper and yearbooks and thought that photography might be his life’s work. But a high school field trip to the WBBM-TV studios sparked the idea of possibly becoming a TV cameraman.

With a TV career as motivation, Richard went to college, first at Wilson Junior College in Chicago, then finishing at the University of Illinois in Champaign. His camera abilities got him his first paying job in television at WILL-TV, the university’s PBS station. Fun Fact: Richard’s first ever TV Election Night was the 1960 JFK/Nixon Presidential Election. Richard was the first in his family to graduate college. In 1962, he received a B.S. Degree in Journalism & Communications from the University of Illinois. He considers that his most significant personal achievement.

Richard served his military obligation as a TV Production Specialist, including a year at the American Forces Korea Network, directing live TV programs for American troops in South Korea. He was discharged in 1965, just as the Field newspapers publisher was planning to start a brand new TV station in Chicago, WFLD, Channel 32. He landed an interview with Chicago TV legend Sterling “Red” Quinlan and was hired to work in the first crew of “Creative Assistants” who got the station up and running. On the very first night that Channel 32 went on the air, Richard was in the room where it happened. Once in the directing rotation, Richard helmed a wide variety of shows including BJ & Dirty Dragon with Bill Jackson, and Screaming Yellow Theater hosted by the original “Svengoolie”, Jerry G. Bishop.

In 1971, Richard moved to CBS, WBBM-TV as a staff director. During his 33 years at Channel 2, his assignments ranged from daily programming like the Lee Philip Show, the news with Bill Kurtis & Walter Jacobson, the Chicago Bears coaches’ show with Mike Ditka to numerous special projects. At WBBM-TV, he received three Chicago Emmy® Awards, one for Individual Achievement as a Director, and two as Director and Co-Producer for Best Children’s Series, Magic Door. Richard was also the director of Lee Philips’ National Emmy® award-winning documentary, The Forgotten Children. A third chapter in Richard’s Chicago TV History began in 1979 when he was invited to teach at Columbia College Chicago. Richard’s career there spanned 40 years, offering his knowledge of TV Directing and Production. Richard takes great pride in knowing that many of his students are now successful figures in the industry, both in Chicago and around the USA.

MARK GIANGRECO

Mark Giangreco enjoyed a storied career as a Chicago sports reporter and anchor for a lot longer than most of the sports figures he covered. His almost four-decade run in Chicago began when he was hired as a weekend sports anchor/ reporter at WMAQ-TV in 1982. He quickly became the station’s sports director along with his reporting and anchoring duties.

In 1994, Mark joined ABC 7 in Chicago and would remain there until earlier this year. He became the station’s sports director and primary sports anchor for the top-rated 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts. During his tenure, Mark earned a reputation for delivering sports with humor and, at times, a bit of sarcasm. He was considered a sports anchor that even non-sports fans enjoyed watching. Mark was tagged to participate in various non-sports specials including ABC’s well-viewed New Year’s Eve coverage co-hosted by Mark and 2013 Silver Circle honoree Janet Davies. Mark’s broadcasting career began while he was at the University of Dayton. He joined WING-AM Radio in Dayton, Ohio as a news and sports reporter in 1972. He received his B.A. in Communications in 1974 and, two years later, became the weekend sports anchor and reporter at WDTN-TV in Dayton. His final stop before coming to Chicago was WLKY- TV in Louisville, Kentucky where he served as sports director and anchor.

Over the years, Mark has garnered several awards for his sports reporting including eight Chicago/Midwest Emmy® Awards: The 39th Year Itch (1985 sports special), Sports Sunday (1986 sports series), Countdown to Chicago 2015 and 2020 (2015 and 2020 special event coverage), Chicago Auto Show Special (2016), and Outstanding Newscast (2017, 2018, and 2020). He has also won two Peter Lisagor Awards, two Associated Press Awards as well as the prestigious Iris Award from the National Association of Television Program Executives. He was named Illinois Sportscaster of the Year in 2017.

LYNN HAuLDREN

Across America and even internationally, people recognize the Empire Carpet commercials for two distinct reasons, the Empire Carpet Man and the Empire Carpet jingle.

Lynn Hauldren was the man behind both. Lynn was an independent copy writer and producer of broadcast advertising when Empire became his client. In 1977, Lynn created the Empire Carpet Man character. After unsuccessfully auditioning several actors, the company’s owner requested that Lynn play the role. The character was part blue-collar superhero and part pure entertainment. Lynn was the friendly face and the soft sell.

People from all over the world would stop him on the street and say: "I know you --- are you that TV guy?" And his reply would be: "You watch too much TV!" He appeared in almost every commercial for the company from 1977 to 2011, the year he died. In 2012, the company switched to the animated character fashioned after him. You can still hear him say "today" at the end of every commercial appearing now. The Empire jingle "800-5-8-8, 2-300, Empire today” has made the company's phone number one of the most recognizable in the country. The jingle has been the subject of several late night talk show skits. Lynn also recorded the jingle with his barbershop quartet, The Fabulous 40s.

Lynn was a decorated World War II veteran. As a 23-year-old radio operator in Asia along the Burma Road from India to China, he volunteered to answer the call to deliver supplies to Chinese port cities to troops who were starving from a Japanese naval blockade. During his career, Lynn won 2 Cleo advertising Awards. He also was a lifelong barbershop quartet singer. He was awarded the Quartet Champions Association Barbershop Harmony Society Music Man award in 2007 for his talents and contributions as an international quartet medalist, eminent writer, parodist, and arranger.

Lynn Hauldren was a boating fanatic known for giving his boats clever musical names such as Sea Sharp. He also loved to ski, a sport he took up at the age of 60. He was married to Helen Helmke Hauldren for 68 years. They had 6 children, 16 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

ALAN KRASHESKY

Alan Krashesky has reported and shared major news stories with Chicago viewers for nearly 40 years. The veteran news anchor and reporter currently co-anchors three of ABC 7’s top-rated weekday newscasts at 5 PM, 6 PM and 10 PM. Among Chicago’s most trusted news anchors, Alan is wellknown and respected for both his news anchoring and news reporting. He joined ABC 7 as a general assignment reporter in 1982 and began co-anchoring ABC 7's 4pm weekday newscasts and its morning newscasts. In fact, he was the first anchor of ABC 7's weekday morning news program. Every newscast he has anchored has consistently been rated No. 1 in the Chicago market.

Alan's reporting in Chicago and abroad has earned high praise. He is considered one of the top reporters in the market to cover major domestic and international stories, and has been lauded in particular, for his coverage of the Roman Catholic Church. He has covered three Chicago Cardinal Archbishops as well as three Popes. He has earned numerous Chicago Midwest Emmy® Awards and a Chicago Headline Club Peter Lisagor Award.

Early in his career, Alan served as a news reporter and weathercaster for KTBC in Austin, Texas. Prior to his work at KTBC, he was a news reporter, weathercaster and weekend sports anchor at WBNG in Binghamton, New York. He gained his first broadcasting experience in college when he was a news anchor on WICB-FM radio in Ithaca, New York.

In addition to his career accomplishments, Alan has a long and outstanding history of volunteering his personal time to community service. He serves as a mentor for students interested in broadcast journalism and is a local spokesperson for the fight against Alzheimer's disease. He is also a member of the Chicago Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Society of Professional Journalists. Alan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but attended the Milton Hershey School in Hershey, a residential school for children with financial and social need. The school honored him as Alumnus of the Year in 2005. He graduated with honors from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, with a B.S. in Communications Management.

He and his wife, Colleen, have three adult children and three grandchildren.

Marda Le Beau

Marda Le Beau is proud of her 40 years working in Chicago news at ABC 7 and CBS 2. From desk assistant to news writer to producer and executive producer, she has loved every minute of her career covering everything from war in Israel to sex- abuse conferences at the Vatican as well as supervising investigations into corruption here in Chicago.

Marda was born in Chicago and raised in suburban Lombard. Most of her time in high school was spent in Thailand where her microbiologist father was working in epidemic control. She graduated from Mundelein College which is now part of Loyola University. Her news career started in the late 1970s when she was hired to answer phones on the ABC 7 assignment desk. Later, she produced the 4pm and 6pm news as well as the 10pm weekend shows.

But the turning point in her career came when she started producing stories on the health beat. She and anchor/reporter Mary Ann Childers had a long partnership covering health and medicine. Their motto was knowledge is power. The more you know about your health, the more you can take control. They took a critical look at treatments and procedures such as Lasik and the complaints and side effects no one was talking about. She honed her skills as a writer and segment producer on the health beat and began to delve into investigations.

Marda and Mary Ann were assigned to Israel during the Persian Gulf War in 1991 when Israel was attacked by 40 Scud missiles. Fears were high that Iraq would use chemical weapons. Over the weeks of the conflict, they covered the political situation and the human stories of Israeli and Palestinian families coping with the stresses of war, gas masks and sealed rooms. For the last 14 years of her career, Marda was the Executive Producer of the CBS 2 Investigators. Award winning stories by the investigative unit included the critical ambulance shortage in Chicago, a company spewing fumes linked to cancer into a suburban neighborhood, Chicagoans getting billed tens of thousands of dollars for water they did not use and Chicago police terrorizing families by raiding the wrong homes. Marda has won a national Emmy® and 10 regional Emmy® Awards as a producer and 12 more as an executive producer in addition to Peabody and DuPont Awards.

She juggled this rewarding career with marriage and a daughter. All of it made possible by Ronald Klein, her incredibly supportive and sharing husband who passed away seven years ago. Marda’s daughter, Adina Klein, is now a segment producer at Fox 32 Chicago. Since retiring in May of 2019, Marda has become a docent at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center where the mission is to encourage all of us to be upstanders and speak out when we see injustice. She feels it is an extension of her many years working in investigative news.

JENNIFER LYONS

Jennifer Lyons joined CBS 2 Chicago as President and General Manager just last month, another step up the management ladder for an executive with a proven track record of success in the Chicago television market.

As the former Vice President of News for NewsNation, Jennifer led the creation and launch of the new national cable news outlet. Under her leadership, a daily three-hour newscast and all digital products were put in motion to deliver unbiased national news. She oversaw the design and buildout of NewsNation’s 24-hour newsroom and studio.

Jennifer is an award-winning television news executive with 30 years of experience, more than 27 in Chicago, the 3rd largest TV market in the United States. Since 1993, she has worked in a variety of capacities at Chicago’s WGN-TV including Executive Producer of the WGN Morning and Midday News, Director of News and Content from 2014 to 2020 and Assistant News Director from 2008 to 2014. An innovative and industry leading journalist, Jennifer led the conversion of the traditional broadcast newsroom into a successful multi-platform digital operation by enabling and organizing the distribution of content on a variety of digital outlets. She also led the charge to expand WGN’s news footprint by several hours, producing more local news than any other Chicago station, 75.5 hours weekly. Newscasts can be seen on WGN-TV, WGNTV.com and the WGN-TV News app.

She began her career in Davenport and Des Moines Iowa, working as a news photographer, live truck operator and producer for KWQC and WHO after earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Iowa State University. Her Awards include Chicago/Midwest Emmy® and Silver Dome awards. And in 2017, Jennifer was named News Director of the Year by Broadcasting & Cable Magazine. She serves on the Advisory Council for Iowa State University’s Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, she is a member of The Chicago Network and she is active in The Mercy Home for Boys and Girls Leader Council.

JACK AND ELAINE MULQUEEN

Theirs is a love story between a man and a woman... and a bunch of puppets. They were Jack and Elaine Mulqueen and they met on Chicago’s south side. Jack had developed a talent for puppeteering as a child, orchestrating backyard puppet shows for his neighbors. While stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, his Army commander asked Jack to put on puppet shows to help improve relations with surrounding communities. When Jack returned to Chicago, he met and married Elaine where they began a lifelong partnership not just in the home, but in the TV studio as well.

Jack and Elaine’s career in children’s TV programming began in the early 1960s on WTTW when they appeared on the Totem Club featuring Elaine as Pandora, a fun-loving pixie-like clown. The couple performed at supermarkets on weekends promoting Borden’s dairy products with “Elsie the Cow’s Puppet Carnival.” Jack and Elaine got a big boost in 1962 when they appeared in weekly skits on WGN-TV’s Bozo’s Circus. That led to a show they produced independently for WGN called The Mulqueens featuring cartoons and puppetry. As Pandora, Elaine was always the on- camera star, with Jack creating the puppets and bringing them to life on the airwaves.

In 1965, the Mulqueens took their puppets to WBKB (now WLS) where they debuted a new program, Kiddie A-Go-Go, a preteen version of American Bandstand. But management changed at WBKB in 1966 and a new boss said the program contributed to the delinquency of children. So Jack and Elaine took Kiddie A-Go-Go to UHF upstart WCIU, Channel 26. Record labels sent stars to appear on the show including Glen Campbell, Lesley Gore, the Cowsills and Frankie Valli. YouTube visitors can even watch a young New Colony Six perform on Kiddie A-Go-Go, a video that has been viewed more than 150,000 times.

After Kiddie A-Go-Go went off the air, Jack and Elaine launched Mulqueen Productions, producing industrial films, radio and TV commercials and promoting events like Disney on Ice and Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. They also expanded their passion for television and movies by hosting Hollywood Collectibles, memorabilia shows attended by thousands of fans.

Although the Mulqueens never had children of their own, they fostered several children over the years. And Jack and Elaine left a lasting impression on hundreds of thousands of kids with their groundbreaking work in children’s programming during the early days of television.

Marlin Perkins

Zoologist Marlin Perkins began his career at the St. Louis Zoological Park, rising through the ranks to become the zoo’s Curator of Reptiles in 1928. From St. Louis, he moved to the Buffalo Zoological Park in New York, as Curator and was named Director in 1938. Six years later, Perkins came to Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, where he served as Director from 1945 until 1962. He then returned to the St. Louis Zoo as Director, and from 1970 until his death in 1986 served as Director Emeritus.

In the 1940s during the early days of experimental television, when only 250 television sets received a TV signal, Perkins appeared first on Chicago’s WBKB (now WLS-TV) educating local TV viewers about zoo animals, their characteristics and habitats. These in-studio appearances on a show called A Visit to Lincoln Park Zoo, led to the creation of Zoo Parade, a local program airing live on Sunday afternoons from Lincoln Park Zoo. The program originated on WNBQ (now WMAQ-TV), at a time when TV cameras and equipment were far from hand-held or portable. Soon after its launch as a local program, Zoo Parade joined the NBC Television Network, where it aired from 1950-1957. Starting in 1955, Zoo Parade expanded the show’s scope from its weekly Lincoln Park Zoo location, traveling to film a series of pioneering on-location programs in Africa.

Zoo Parade’s successful run led to the creation in 1963 of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, with Director Don Meier of Don Meier Productions, which aired on NBC for 9 years before it began first-run syndication in 1971. In 1974 Wild Kingdom parted from NBC and remained in syndication until 1988. Filmed in 47 countries, it aired in 40 countries and was watched by 34 million Americans on 224 U.S. TV stations during the height of its popularity. Perkins’ many accolades include five honorary doctorate degrees and his television programs received industry-wide recognition. Zoo Parade was honored with a Peabody Award and Wild Kingdom won four National Emmy® Awards. Perkins living legacy includes founding, with his wife Carol, the Endangered Wolf Center, a sanctuary known for protecting and preserving wolves and reintroducing them back into their natural habitats.

Perkins’ lifetime love of taking pictures went from developing his own black and white photos to amassing thousands of photographs taken on his world travels. His legacy includes two substantial collections of archives and memorabilia, The Marlin Perkins Papers located at The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-St. Louis (SHSMO) and the Missouri Historical Society Library and Research Center in St. Louis. Each may be consulted by historians and other researchers.

Marlin Perkins pioneered the nature program genre from the earliest years of television and became one of the most visible advocates for healthy ecosystem preservation, nature conservation and the protection of endangered species.