Charles Gray’s name is synonymous with groundbreaking journalism and fearless reporting. With a career spanning 50 years, his coverage of historic events and his contributions to news broadcasting have left a lasting impact on the industry and beyond.
Charles Gray graduated from Sand Springs High School in 1947. He retired in 1997 after an illustrious 50-year career as a news broadcaster in both television and radio. Throughout his career, Gray covered ten National Conventions and reported on some of the most significant events of his time.
Notably, he was the first newsman on the scene of a major gasoline fire at a Conoco Oil bulk gasoline plant, an incident he later narrated in a training film still used today to instruct on proper gasoline fire response. Gray also reported on the dramatic rescue of 175 people from a 10-story apartment building fire in Kansas City and the tragic Hyatt Regency skywalk disaster, where 116 lives were lost. He captured the second blast live during Kansas City’s worst chemical explosion, among many other notable events.
In recognition of his contributions, Gray received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Broadcast Service in 1997 and has been honored by the International Association of Firefighters. An accomplished author of two books and currently working on a third, he has made significant contributions to journalism and literature. Charles Gray, who has two sons and grandsons, now resides in Leawood, Kansas.