Tritia Toyota
| Tritia Toyota | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Letritia R. Miyake March 29, 1947   Portland, Oregon |
| Ethnicity | Japanese-American |
| Education | UCLA |
| Occupation |
News anchor Adjunct Professor |
| Notable credit(s) |
KNX-AM KNBC-TV Ch. 4 KCBS-TV Ch. 2 |
| Spouse(s) | Michael R. Yamaki |
Tritia Toyota (born March 29, 1947) is a former Los Angeles television news anchor and a current adjunct assistant professor in anthropology, Asian-American studies and the media at the University of California at Los Angeles.[1]
Early life and education
Born in Portland, Oregon, Toyota earned a master's degree in journalism from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1970 and later earned a PhD in anthropology.[2][3] Toyota's real name is Letritia R. Miyake.
Professional career
Toyota began her broadcast career in Los Angeles in 1970 as a radio reporter with KNX-AM.[4] In January 1972 she was hired as a general assignment reporter at KNBC-TV; she became a news anchor there in 1975. Toyota quit KNBC in March 1985 and, after a standard three-month period between contracts, signed on as a news anchor at KCBS-TV.
On November 17, 1999, the Los Angeles Times reported that Toyota had left KCBS and that she previously had been removed from early morning and noon newscasts in September and October 1999. The story also reported that Toyota had been offered an opportunity to continue at the station and that she had declined.
Personal life
Toyota is married to lawyer Michael R. Yamaki and lives in Los Angeles' Brentwood area.[5] She met her husband while they were both students at UCLA in the early 1970s.
Cultural Influences
Los Angeles punk rock band The Dickies recorded a song called "(I'm Stuck in a Pagoda with) Tricia Toyota." It is unclear whether the misspelling of Toyota's first name was deliberate or accidental.[6]
Toyota is also mentioned in "The L.A. Song," a song by L.A. hip-hop group People Under the Stairs, from their 2002 album O.S.T.
The TV news reporter character Tricia Takanawa on Family Guy may have been inspired at least in part by Toyota; KTTV Fox 11 reporter Tricia Takasugi has also been suggested as a source for the character.
References
- ↑ UCLA Asian American Studies Faculty
- ↑ Teaching at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center
- ↑ More Than Just A Pretty (Asian American) Face « Epicanthus (Beta 0.95)
- ↑ ~Los Angeles Radio People, Where Are They T-Z
- ↑ Michael R Yamaki | Top Asian American Professionals | GOLDSEA
- ↑ http://www.losanjealous.com/2006/02/23/tritia-toyota/