George F. Putnam's House

Putnam landed at KTTV in Los Angeles in 1951 and quickly became a staple of local television. Over the next quarter-century, he worked for most of the market’s independent stations, including KTTV, KCOP, KTLA and KHJ (which is now KCAL), becoming the quintessential celebrity-style newsman.

He was awarded three local Emmy awards and at one time was reportedly the highest-paid and highest-rated news anchor in Los Angeles.

Putnam made the transition into opinion later in his career — becoming an outspoken conservative voice on both TV and radio, and paving the way for some of the talkradio movement embodied by Rush Limbaugh and others. He continued to host “Talk Back” on L.A. radio after leaving TV in the 1970s. More recently, he opposed the Iraq war, wrote a weekly Web column for Newsmax.com and hosted “Talk Back” on CRN Digital Radio until May