KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For decades, Carl Williams was a voice that echoed through the hills and mountains of East Tennessee. Families across the region recognized his as the voice that told them news of the area. He passed away on April 17, 2023.
He was the first anchor and newsman to sign up with WBIR during its very first days in 1956. He worked with the news station for 37 years. The station's earliest-known surviving news broadcast also featured him, airing on June 21, 1960.
"Good evening. The White House announced tonight that President Eisenhower considers his visit to the Philippines, Formosa and South Korea completely successful," he says at the start of the broadcast.
Over the course of his nearly four-decade-long career, he told stories about an ever-changing world. He worked at WBIR when people took their first steps on the moon, and when the Vietnam War came to a close. He was reporting news as computers entered the consumer market and the internet began to be born.
He got his start at 17 years old working in radio. In WBIR's earliest surviving broadcast, he reported on stories about boxing, an anti-litter project in Knoxville, and the Tennessee Smokies.
During a 2015 interview with WBIR, he shared how he started his days at the news station by waking up every morning at 2:45 a.m. and arriving at the newsroom by 4 a.m. before getting the 6 a.m. broadcast ready.
"There was two people in the newsroom. That's what made up the news staff," he said during that interview.
He was 94 years old. According to an obituary posted by Atchley Funeral Home, he is survived by his sons, Ted and Melody Williams, and Chris and Rebecca Williams, as well as his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
A private family gathering was held in honor of Carl. Anyone who wants to share their condolences can do so online.
"That's the news for tonight," he says in the 1960 broadcast. "Until tomorrow night, then, Carl Williams reporting. Thanks, and good night."