Kaity Tong

Kaity Tong

  • Birthday: 1947-07-23

Biography

Kaity Tong (Chinese: 董恺悌; pinyin: Dǒng Kǎitì; born July 23, 1947) is a Chinese-born American broadcast journalist. She has been a television news anchor in New York City since 1981. Tong's television career began as a reporter for KPIX-TV in San Francisco, where she worked from 1976 to 1979. Originally hired as a writer for the station, Tong was asked to do an on-air test and was immediately promoted to street reporter, where her first on-air story was a report on the new carts that transported people around the airport. In December 1979, she became co-anchor of the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts on KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California where she soon became the number one-rated out of all the television news personalities in Sacramento. Referring to the difficulties of having a family and career, she said at the time: "Anchoring is fun. At one time I wanted to be a network reporter, but now I think that is too difficult a life. One of these days I want to have a baby."[6] In 1981, she moved to WABC-TV in New York City. Within two years, she became co-anchor of the station's 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts, first with Tom Snyder from 1983 to 1984 and later with Ernie Anastos until 1986. She moved to the 6 p.m. newscast, rotating the anchor chair with John Johnson alongside Bill Beutel after Roger Grimsby was fired in 1986, while still co-anchoring the 11 p.m. broadcast with Anastos until he left for WCBS in 1989. Eventually, her sole anchor role was the 11 p.m. news, as Beutel became a solo anchor of the 6 p.m. broadcast. In 1984, she appeared as herself, reporting on the defection of the Soviet circus performer played by Robin Williams in the feature film Moscow on the Hudson. She has also played a newscaster in Wolf, City Hall, Marci X, Night Falls on Manhattan, and the 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate.

Filmography

Moscow on the Hudson

1984

As Kaity Tong

Wolf

1994

As TV Newscaster

Night Falls on Manhattan

1997

As TV Newsperson #4

Lost Souls

2000

As Kaity Tong

People I Know

2002

As Self

The Manchurian Candidate

2004

As Newscaster #2

The WPIX Yule Log: A Log's Life

2006

As Narrator (voice)

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