Former WBRZ anchor Ed Buggs passes away

[PelicanGuy 117]

 

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/92866049.html

 

Former WBRZ TV anchor dies

 

By Steven Ward

Advocate staff writer

Published May 5, 2010 - Updated 4:30 pm

 

Baton Rouge radio and television personality Ed Buggs died sometime Tuesday at his home, his brother said Wednesday.

 

Buggs, 55, was a longtime news anchor at WBRZ–TV and the first black television news anchor in Baton Rouge, said John M. Spain, a former Channel 2 news director and station manager.

 

His brother, Clarence Buggs, said foul play is not suspected in the death, and that family members and officials assume he died of a heart attack.

 

An autopsy was performed Wednesday afternoon, said Don Moreau, East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office Chief of Operations.

 

Preliminary results could be announced as early as today unless toxicology tests are needed, Moreau said.

 

Ed Buggs’ business partner called Buggs Tuesday and got no answer, Clarence Buggs said.

 

The business partner is a friend of East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreaux, Clarence Buggs said. The partner called Gautreaux and asked him to send a patrol car to check on Buggs.

 

The deputies knocked on the door when they saw both of Buggs’ cars at his home, Clarence Buggs said.

 

When they entered the home, the deputies found Ed Buggs lying face down on the sofa.

 

Clarence Buggs said his brother was born in New Orleans but raised in Baton Rouge.

 

“My dad was in the Army so we lived all over,” Clarence Buggs said.

 

After graduating from LSU in the mid 1970s, Spain hired Ed Buggs out of college to work as a reporter and weekend anchor.

 

Soon after, Ed Buggs moved on to work at a television station in Dallas.

 

"Things didn’t work out and Ed came back home,” Spain said. “Ed loved Baton Rouge because Baton Rouge was home.”

 

Spain said Buggs was so talented, “he could have been a national anchor for one of the major networks had he wanted that. He was a natural.”

 

Buggs and former WBRZ-TV news anchor Andrea Clesi McMakin worked together as co-anchors for years.

 

“We were good friends. We could always pick up right where we left off,” she said.

 

The last time McMakin saw Buggs was at a retirement party at her home following her last appearance on WBRZ-TV on Dec, 20 2007.

 

“He looked great and seemed very happy,” McMakin said. “Ed was very talented and knowledgeable. He was a trailblazer in our business. I’m very sad today.”

 

Former WBRZ-TV reporter Ken Pastorick interned at the station in 1988 and 1989 when Buggs was an anchor.

 

"I admired him. He was a very good reporter and anchor, actually better than this market,” Pastorick said.

 

Pastorick, who reported for WBRZ-TV from 1995 to 2007, said Buggs was one of the reasons he wanted to work as a journalist.

 

"I sought advice from him and he provided me with guidance. I loved watching Ed in college and he is the reason I got into the business,” Pastorick, now a spokesman for the state Department of Health and Hospitals, said.

 

Following his television work, Buggs worked as a radio talk show host on WJBO-AM in 1997 and later for WIBR-AM.

 

Clarence Buggs said his brother had recently been working for Win-Tech, a company that manufactures bullet proof coats for buildings and vehicles.

 

“The last time I saw him was Saturday. He was in wonderful spirits and seemed as happy as he had ever been,” Clarence Buggs said.

 

Clarence Buggs also said it was well documented that his brother had battles with drugs in the past.

 

“He overcame those demons. He was mentoring people and working with a prison ministry. He came to grips with that part of his life,” Clarence Buggs said.

 

Clarence Buggs said his brother’s death comes as a complete shock.

 

“With Ed, what you saw is what you got. He was loving, kind and loved Baton Rouge. He always shot straight from the hip,” Clarence Buggs said.

 

Ed Buggs was not married and had no children.

 

Funeral arrangements are pending.