Bobbie Wygant will always be a legend in Texas broadcasting and was an important part of the fabric of NBC 5 and a pioneer in local television. She touched so many lives far and wide before her death Sunday at age 97.
Wygant was a fixture at NBC 5, even a conference room is named in her honor at our newest broadcast facility in Fort Worth.
Remembering Bobbie Wygant
As the NBC 5 family copes with the loss of a colleague and friend, staff members past and present share their fondest memories of Wygant.
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I will never forget my first conversation with Bobbie in the newsroom. Known for her legendary interviews with bold-faced names, Bobbie had a brand of her own. I asked Bobbie how she managed to get the good sound bites out of her interview subjects and she said simply, “authenticity.”
Over time, Bobbie taught me how to step outside of myself and to listen to people during interviews, to do the research myself, to connect with people authentically in the moment, and most importantly, to enjoy it. Bobbie was the queen of finesse; she was proud of her faith and she loved helping other women forge their own paths.
I will always cherish our dinners in between shows, talks of her incredible travels, and her memories with her beloved husband, the late Phil Wygant. I know they have rejoined again in heaven. Rest in Peace, dear Bobbie.
– Meredith Land, NBC 5 anchor
Bobbie was simply the best. She was always prepared for her interviews, always quick with a story or one-liner, always camera-ready, always willing to put in the hard work. She took her craft seriously and was meticulous with her scripts.
I was so fortunate that she took time to offer advice, counsel and feedback as I tried to find my way as a young reporter. Later, she became my cheerleader, a friend there to encourage me to keep at it, stay true to myself and to always remember the viewer.
Bobbie didn’t try to be a star but she was. I’m so glad and honored I got to be in her orbit for a little while. I will miss her.
– Deborah Ferguson, NBC 5 anchor
When Bobbie would come to the station, people would drop everything to run over to see how she was doing. She was definitely our local newsroom celebrity and was always such a bright light!
Around 2016, I was working on deadline when she came in. She stopped by my desk to let me know how much she had enjoyed one of the investigations we had been working on. I told her our team spends most of our time in the conference room named after her. She had a bright smile and I told her how many hours I’d spend in that room. So happy I got to tell her that. I still spend time in that room and will always remember her kindness. ❤
– Eva Parks, NBC 5 Investigates senior producer
I remember meeting Bobbie for the very first time … It was after a Saturday late newscast; I couldn’t believe she was here working when I came out of the booth just before 11 p.m. She was working on a package after doing an interview with another celebrity. She stopped down so I could introduce myself and from that point on when I would see her – most often after a late weekend newscast – she always had time for a kind word. A delightful woman. Rest in Peace.
– Janeen Duckett-Hall, NBC 5 producer
Bobbie became my mentor in 2015 and I will never forget our first lunch. It lasted five hours as she offered advice, encouragement and insights into the industry she loved. Subsequent lunches lasted no less than three hours and phone calls were often two hours long. We are both night owls and we regularly exchanged emails about research, writing, interview tips and photography well after midnight. When the pandemic shuttered arts organizations, she was the first person I called. Over the next few months, we discussed how to cover the arts industry during that extraordinary crisis. "Keep on keeping on, Kimberly," she would say on the most difficult days. Bobbie generously invested her time, energy and wisdom in the professionals she mentored, and I am eternally grateful.
Gracious, intelligent, and witty, Bobbie was more than a mentor; she was a devoted friend and trusted confidant. We laughed about our favorite ‘Downton Abbey’ episodes, planned museum visits and shared travel stories. A friend recently told me Bobbie is still my mentor, simply in angel form. I like that. NBC 5's "Iron Butterfly" now has angel's wings.
– Kimberly Richard, NBCDFW.com arts writer
Bobbie will forever be a legend in Texas broadcasting, and I’m honored to have worked with her, but more than that I feel blessed to have known her. Those of us who worked with her know she was a night owl, and I LOVED our late-night chats in the newsroom. Many a night I would go home late because I was having an awesome conversation with her about the movies, the arts or life. Conversations with her were effortless, and I think that’s what made her an excellent interviewer and why celebrities enjoyed spending time with her. She was an amazing, sweet soul who lit up a room. Rest in peace, Bobbie. You’ll be missed.
– Elvira Sakmari, NBCDFW.com digital director
As a morning show producer, I would be at the station starting late in the evening through the morning. One of the highlights of working those hours was getting to see Bobbie. She loved to work at night. It was so inspiring to watch her work. We talked about her incredible career, all of the celebrities she interviewed and the history of women in television. It was an honor to know her and she will be missed dearly.
– Holley Ford, current audience editor and former NBC 5 producer
Working with her was getting the golden ticket to a magical world of art and music and theater. The performances of so many amazing artists like Van Cliburn, Madonna, Ella Fitzgerald were unforgettable. Shooting shows at Casa or the music hall with Bobbie are some of my best memories. Another favorite moment was when Patrick Swayze showed her dance moves for his new movie Dirty Dancing. No matter if we were talking to Tommy Tune, Tom Hanks or Carol Burnett, Bobbie was charming and professional and a delight to be with. She sparkled as brightly as the stars themselves. I will miss our lunches, her humor and her kindness. She delighted us and inspired us. She was amazing.
– Linda Angelle, former NBC 5 photographer
So sad to learn of the passing of Texas Legend Bobbie Wygant. The kindest person you would ever meet and a fixture at NBC5/KXAS for more than 70 years.
I remember meeting Bobbie as a child when my sister and I would do live commercials at KXAS with my mom who was a model for Leonard’s Department Stores. During breaks, Bobbie would talk about the latest Easter fashions available at Leonard’s as we twirled around with mom in pink frilly dresses, white gloves, and shiny white patent shoes.
Almost 40 years later I would come to work at KXAS as a senior news producer. It was such a joy seeing Bobbie again (she seemed to not age one bit). She was one of the first people to welcome me and I was so overwhelmed by her genuine kindness and making me feel like an old friend. We talked about those days gone by and she remembered my mom and her kids and those segments modeling the latest fashions during live commercial breaks.
Bobbie was a bright light, kind to everyone, a class act, who will be missed by all who knew her.
– Kimberlee Leach, former NBC 5 executive producer
Well. I met Bobbie in 1976 when I started at KXAS. She, along with Chip Moody, was hosting Dateline at 4 p.m. Everyone came into the small studio, which later became a 'pass-through' area in order to get to the news set, for that talk show. From Lily Tomlin to Halston, they all sat there in those blue audience chairs and waited to be called over and mic'd up for their interview. This was '76 and everyone in the entertainment business knew Bobbie from her previous 30 years of work. She was a little engine. She didn't stop.
After Dateline, and the advent of local news at (gulp) 5 o'clock, and then 4!, Bobbie transitioned into reviews of stage and screen. In the same little studio we had a blue wall and, this time nicer chairs, to give the impression of a theatre. I think this is where her dislike of chroma-key began. Sometimes it would take a while for everything to work. I know. Sounds ridiculous in this tech-driven era. Christina and I had many discussions with her, Christina much more than me, towards implementing new graphic designs and little 'switcher' tricks into her news segments and the Oscar special. Ray Schultz worked a long time to get those award envelopes to flip over and open to reveal the winner. We worried as to how she would react, but, she liked them. She was okay with the changes. However, she was FAR too civilized and savvy to call us off to the side and complain. That just wasn't in her DNA. She couldn't do it.
Bobbie was just radiance. She was always the smiling face walking into the room. Really. Even during the MDA Telethon, when she had changed into gown number 17, or 23, or umpteenth, she walked on stage and was ready to go. Always the trooper. She began calling me Steverino, after The Steve Allen Tonight show and sidekick Louis Nye, very early on. And it stuck. Sort of the way we all have memories of Bobbie and the way she touched us and made a lasting impression on us all.
I will really be thinking about her during the upcoming Oscars. I can hear her telling a little story, or inside info about this actor, director, or film. I will always be able to hear her voice. In that way she will never be gone. You can't see her but you know she's just in the next studio, ready to shine. Thank you Bobbie, we all will always love you.
– Steve Moffett, former NBC 5 newscast director
Bobbie Wygant (my bonus mom), I’m trying to find the words. I first met Bobbie at Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral when I was 6 years old. She and her husband were parishioners as well as my family. Then at the age of 22, in 1976 I started working at Channel 5. She loved that story and that we were able to meet again many years later. In 1976 there were no females in the production department. Bobbie “adopted” me and was my mentor, a bonus mom, and one of my best friends. I cherished our time together and our late, (very late) night talks. I last spoke with her a week ago. I was to visit her this Wednesday. Bobbie, who will I talk with late night now? I’m really going to miss your wonderful laughter!
– Carmen Vasquez, former NBC 5 newscast director
I was a skinny movie nerd in my freshman year at UTA and I answered an ad that said Bobbie Wygant at NBC needed an intern. I got the interview and figured there was no way this put-together lady would like me. And to my shock, she called me back but said its not a paid internship. So I turned it down because I needed money for school. Two days went by and she called me again and said "I've talked to management, and they said they would make an exception and pay you." I asked her years later why she went to bat for me and she said "Because I think you might know more about movies than I do."
Bobbie and I became fast friends and then she became family. She became my second mom. We worked weird hours, 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. some nights at the station. We would talk about everything and she taught me how television is made. She was an inspiration to me of how damn hard she worked. I felt lazy in comparison some days. To this day whenever I am tired on set or just not getting an edit right I think to myself, "What would Bobbie do" And I get the job done.
Bobbie was always there for me through the best of times and the worst of times. I've always felt there is no way I could ever repay her for giving me a chance. I worked for her in one capacity or another for almost 30 years. She was a guiding light for me, a beacon of hope when there seemed little was left.
I will miss our chats, her stories, and her razor-sharp wit. Bobbie was no ordinary human being, she was revelatory in every sense. I was lucky that day to be looking for a job and as a result, I found the best thing that's ever happened to me. Bobbie. I love you so much and will miss you, but I know you're still here in some form whipping everything into shape!
– Erik Clapp, former NBC 5 associate producer, archivist for Bobbie Wygant
My heart is heavy at the loss of my dear friend Bobbie Wygant. Of course, Bobbie was the friend to almost everyone, but she was a constant confidant in my 30 years at NBC-5. There will be many historical accounts of Bobbie's trailblazing at NBC-5, but my experience was so personal. Bobbie was whip-smart, never failed to answer the call to help, and took a deep interest in my family. When I got my first boat she gave me one of her late husband's prized books, "Boating Rules of The Road." But most importantly, Bobbie was just a kind soul who brought sunshine into my life every time she walked into the newsroom. We will celebrate your long and wonderful life. I can just hear God say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
– Mike Snyder, former NBC 5 anchor
I was star-struck when I first met Bobbie in 1997. She was after all my source for entertainment news while growing up in North Texas.
Through my first years at NBC 5, I watched her from afar as she logged, wrote and voiced her packages. Before I knew it, I was editing with her as she sat by my side directing on timecodes and shots. She would often come to log tapes in the evenings which meant I got to spend quality time with her during those late night hours. We would chat about all the things but she knew my favorite topics were family and my dogs.
One of the stories she shared with me that still remains in my memory is when her husband, Phil, and she would load up their Dalmatians in their convertible and drive around Fort Worth. I can just see it. How cool would that have been to see? She said she loved her Dalmatians but after her husband passed she didn’t want to get any more because they were “too ornery.”
The stories are endless but even the routine quiet times were special. When she’d come in late at night and ask to get set up in a bay, those were little moments of collective journalists working together. When we switched our technology to digital video, it didn’t take Bobbie long at all to pick it up and continue to log away.
She will be missed. She was kind. She was a force. She paved the way for women journalists in unchartered territory. And she did it all with grace.
– Dominga Gutierrez, NBC 5 digital producer
One of my favorite people has passed away. Bobbie Wygant was a legend in TV entertainment. When I started at Channel 5 in 1991, she was the first person I worked with. So kind and patient with the new editor. I loved visiting with her about anything and everything. She always wanted to know what was going on in your life. She was a night owl like me and would often show up at the station after the 10pm news because that was when everyone was gone and she could get things done. When Charlie and I eloped, I was more concerned about what Bobbie would think about what I wore to get married than my own mother! She also encouraged me to keep the "English" part of my name. "Smith" is so common, she told me. She once told me that Charlie reminded her of her late husband Phil. Wish I had seen her more in recent years, damn Covid made me scared to pass on any germs. I thought about her often. Those of us who knew Bobbie, were pretty lucky to have such a sparkling gem in our lives!
-Carla English Smith, former NBC 5 editor
(As more memories flow in, we'll update this article)
