Gerry Brooks is a news anchor at WVIT-TV NBC Connecticut in Hartford, and has been with the station for the past 22 years.
A dean of Connecticut broadcasting, Gerry is a two-time Emmy award winner and was inducted into the Silver Circle of the New England Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2008. He is also one of the first inductees into the Connecticut Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame, and will be honored later this year.
Before joining NBC Connecticut, Gerry spent 14 years across town as an anchor and reporter at WFSB-TV. Before working full-time in television, he worked at WPOP radio in Hartford (and was a weekend sports anchor for NBC CT at the time); he was also news director at WAVZ radio in New Haven; and a reporter for WMAS radio in Springfield, MA.
A native of Boston, Gerry is a 1974 graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he studied communications.
1. What kind of phone do you have, and what are your favorite apps?
iPhone 6. I like my Kindle app, so I can read my book instead of “Highlights for Children” in waiting rooms. Google Maps for navigation. And the NBC Connecticut weather app, because it actually is quite good.
2. Favorite and least favorite news topics to cover (besides violent crime)?
Not a fan of bank robberies. I have a :12 template I can fill in for most any bank holdup. And I complain about the penguins and pandas stories that all producers love. (But they really are kind of cute.)
3. If you weren't working in TV news, what would you be doing?
I come from three generations of Boston plumbers, and I flunked out. Still have a nice scar on my left hand to show for my incompetence. My family’s long gone, but the company’s still there. If you have a plumbing problem in Boston, call S&S Plumbing at 617-266-3613. The phone number’s been the same for 60+ years.
4. What was your favorite cartoon growing up?
The Hanna-Barbera shows. The Flintstones/The Jetsons.
5. When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time?
I have been known to stare vacantly into the lights.
6. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?
My wife is a retired flight attendant, so we have traveled extensively. I’d like to travel Australia and New Zealand when my TV time is up, and I can take more than two weeks off.
7. Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
Bill Russell and/or David Letterman.
8. Do you collect anything?
No. At my age, it’s time to get rid of stuff.
9. What are the top 3 played songs on your iPod?
On the way to the golf course, I play “May I” by Bill Deal & The Rhondels. It gives me an extra 10 yards of the tee. “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You,” is my go-to mellow song, but it has to be the Van Morrison version. “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” The Four Tops. There were Temps guys and there were Tops guys. I was a Tops guy. Can’t beat Levi Stubbs’ lead vocals.
10. What is one of your favorite quotes?
“Don’t do as I do, do as I say.” My father. Looking back, not terribly profound, but sufficiently intimidating.
11. What was the last experience that made you a stronger person?
Having prostate cancer seemed to be a decent character builder.
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No endorsement between WVIT-TV and New England One is implied or intended by Gerry Brooks' participation in "11 Questions"
