David Horowitz (consumer advocate)

David Horowitz
Born June 26, 1937 (1937-06-26) (age 74)
Bronx, New York, USA
Occupation Consumer Advocate
Spouse Suzanne E. McCambridge
(August 26, 1973 - Present)

David Horowitz (born June 30, 1937) is an American consumer advocate and former reporter for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, whose Emmy-winning TV program Fight Back! would warn viewers about defective products, test advertised claims to see if they were true, and confront corporations about customer complaints. He is currently on the board of directors of the National Broadcast Editorial Conference, City of Hope, and the American Cancer Society.[1]

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Appearances

Horowitz made a guest appearance on the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! in 1989. He also appeared as himself on an episode of Silver Spoons. Horowitz was also a regular guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (which also occasionally parodied him as "David Howitzer").

Hostage situation

On August 19, 1987, during KNBC's 4 p.m. newscast, a gun-wielding mental patient got into the NBC Studios in Burbank, California, as a guest of an employee on the set and took Horowitz hostage live on the air. With the gun pressed on his side, Horowitz calmly read the gunman's statements on camera. However, the unidentified man revealed at the end of his statement that the gun was fake, and later set the gun down on the newsdesk, at which point anchorman John Beard quickly confiscated it. It led Horowitz to start a successful campaign to help ban "look-alike" toy guns in several states, including California and New York.

Background

David Horowitz attended The New York School of Printing (Class of June 1954). He was elected Student Body President in 1953. Always an outstanding student, David was an A student in Journalism and his teacher Benjamin Greenwald introduced him to his friend Irving R. Levine the veteran newscaster for NBC who suggested to David that with his high intellect he might want to pursue a career in Journalism.

He was in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1954 to 1962.[1]

Quote

"Stay aware and informed. Fight back and don't let anyone rip you off!"

References

External links