November 27, 2017
Los Angeles – The Directors Guild of America made the following statement upon learning of the passing of news director Richard B. Armstrong:
“The DGA mourns the passing of 1999 DGA Lifetime Achievement in News honoree Richard B. Armstrong. Armstrong was a news director for over 40 years. His directorial career began in 1953 at WMAL in Washington, DC. In 1962, he became the Washington Director for ABC News, a position he held for 20 years, where he directed Ted Koppel’s nightly update of the Iran hostage crisis, America Held Hostage, a show that would eventually become Nightline. From 1982 to 1987 Armstrong was the Washington Director for Good Morning America, and from 1988 to 1993 he directed This Week with David Brinkley.
A DGA member since 1963, Richard directed news coverage of some of the most significant events in modern U.S. history including: the network pool coverage for: the Apollo 11 splashdown in the Pacific and President Nixon greeting astronauts Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins in 1969; the Senate Caucus Room coverage of the Watergate Hearings in 1974; the 1976 Ford/Carter Debate in Philadelphia; the Iran Contra Hearings in 1987; the US/Soviet Summit Meetings between Bush and Gorbachev in 1989; and the Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas hearings in 1991. He will be deeply missed.”