Longtime local television personality Jack Hanson has died following a long illness. He was 91.
Hanson, a third generation San Franciscan, started his broadcast career in the KPIX mailroom after graduating from San Francisco State and serving in the U.S. Air Force.
Throughout his more than 50-year career, Jack worked at KRON, KPIX, KTVU, KGO-TV and the Cable Health Network.
“Jack was a gracious, beautiful, and charming human being. Beyond his accomplished career in television which spanned over five decades, he was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. He will be dearly missed,” his family wrote in a statement.
He also hosted Comcast Newsmakers, a news interview show on CNN Headline News, according to a statement posted on the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences SF chapter website when Hanson was inducted into the organization’s Gold Circle.
One of Hanson’s popular shows was called “Jack’s Place,” which aired on KPIX in the mid-1960s and featured interviews with local celebrities and Hanson doing drawings.
Hanson worked in television, movies, commercials, industrial productions and hosted award shows and served as emcee for many charity events, according to the statement on the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences SF chapter website.
He is survived by his wife of 30 years, former professional tennis player Pauline Hanson, eight children and nine grandchildren.
