Christine Chubbuck (August 24, 1944 – July 15, 1974) was the host of a morning talk show in Sarasota, Florida. She was also a volunteer at a local hospital. There she gave puppet shows for the mentally handicapped children. She is best known as the television broadcaster who committed suicide during a live television program.
Chubbuck was born in Hudson, Ohio, on 24 August 1944.[1] She grew up in a middle-class family and attended Laurel School for Girls. She went to college at Ohio State University. Then she graduated from Boston University with a degree in broadcasting.[1] She held several jobs with small television stations. In 1973 she was hired by WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida as the host of a morning talk show.[1] According to her co-workers she was pretty, easy to get along with and did a good job.[2] According to her mother she wanted a family but had not found the right person to marry yet.[1] In her spare time she held puppet shows for mentally handicapped children at a local hospital.[3]
Three weeks before her death she had received approval to do a program on suicide.[4] On the morning of Monday, July 15, 1974, during her broadcast, Chubbuck read a prepared script. She said: "In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going to see another first, an attempted suicide."[5] Chubbuck then shot herself with a handgun.[5] It was not a quick decision but an event she had planned for months.[a][5] Chubbuck had even joked about shooting herself on the air but nobody had apparently paid much attention.[5] She had been dealing with depression for several years before she died.[3] Chubbuck was 29 years old.