50 Years Ago Today: Remembering Russ Montgomery at WKYC-TV

By Frank Macek

Fifty years ago today, viewers in Northeast Ohio were watching Russ Montgomery deliver the weather on WKYC-TV. To many, that’s the name they remember. In later years, he would be known professionally as Russ Minshew — but in the mid-1970s, “Montgomery” was a familiar presence at the Channel 3 anchor desk.

Montgomery followed a classic broadcast path of his generation, building experience in smaller markets before arriving in Cleveland. Those early years demanded versatility. Reporters wrote their own scripts, edited film, and often handled multiple roles in the newsroom. By the time he reached WKYC, he was polished and precise — a broadcaster who understood timing down to the second in the era of spliced film and manual cueing.

His delivery was calm and deliberate. In a decade marked by economic shifts and civic change in Cleveland, that steadiness mattered. Anchors were not celebrities; they were trusted narrators. Montgomery fit that mold perfectly.

A snapshot of his work lives on from March 2, 1976 — a broadcast featuring an exchange with longtime anchor Doug Adair. Adair’s commanding presence paired naturally with Montgomery’s composed cadence. Watching the two together reveals the professionalism and quiet chemistry that defined local news at the time.

Like many broadcasters of the 1970s, Montgomery’s style carried the influence of radio: tight copy, clean delivery, no excess. His use of the professional surname “Montgomery” during his WKYC years reflected industry norms of the period. Later in his career, he returned to his given surname, Minshew.

Russ Minshew passed away from cancer in Perdido Key near Pensacola, Florida, shortly after his 48th birthday and final broadcast in 1993. What remains clear is that his professional legacy is firmly rooted in Cleveland television history.

For longtime viewers, his broadcasts are tied to an era when the evening newscast felt like a daily ritual. There were no digital graphics packages or social media teases — just preparation, credibility and connection.

That March 2, 1976 clip captures it all. The pacing. The tone. The teamwork. It’s a reminder of how local journalism once looked — and how foundational those broadcasters were in shaping community trust.

You can watch that exchange now on the Director’s Cut Blog. Fifty years later, Russ Montgomery’s presence at the WKYC anchor desk still feels steady, confident and unmistakably Cleveland.