Update: Bret Lewis has passed

 

Former KFWB sports anchor Bret Lewis has passed. Also known for his TV work on KNBC-TV and KCBS-TV, he had hip replacement surgery earlier this summer and appeared to be recovering well. He is believed to have been in his mid-70s.

John Brooks, Tammy Trujillo

John Brooks was a reporter with KFWB, who worked with Lewis. "His voice had a smile in it. That's because the sports stories he often told were funny the way he told them," recalled Brooks. "He enjoyed karaoke, and was really good at it!" Brooks said Lewis was a "consummate pro, never late to the microphone."

"I always enjoyed watching him on TV when he did sports on NBC Channel 4 here in Los Angeles.  When he came over to KFWB, I happily found out he was also a great person to be around and talk sports with," said former anchor Tammy Trujillo.  "Funny, honest, caring and really talented!  Another of the people that I am proud and honored to have gotten a chance to work with and call a friend."

Back in June, 2013, we had the privilege of interviewing Lewis as he prepared for retirement. We again present his story, highlighting both his career, how he helped others diagnosed with sleep apnea, and his recovery journey:

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For most of his life, Bret Lewis has been able to satisfy two of his passions through his work, as a broadcast journalist reporting on sports. After 16 years, Lewis has decided to hang up the headphones and retiring as KFWB’s morning sports anchor.  But he won’t be found on the local golf course or watching daytime tv.  The Texas native is very excited about his next journey, spending more time sharing another passion, helping others with what he’s learned from his own life experiences, both the good and the bad. 

Penny Griego, Phil Hulett

“I’m going to miss him.  He provides us laughs every half hour – it’s been a pleasure working with him these past five years, I can’t imagine mornings without him,” said KFWB morning co-anchor Penny Griego.  “His comedy is from an era gone by – we tease him about it since he’s the ‘senior member’ of our group, we make fun of him when he brings up something old.  He makes sports interesting for the non-sports fan.”

 Lewis with Maggie McKay (Courtesy www.ocregister.com)

“I always found Bret easy going and professional, a lot of fun to work with, a good sense of humor and very kind,” added afternoon co-anchor Maggie McKay. “He's a stand up guy and will be missed at KFWB ....that's for sure!”

Phil Hulett, the other half of the KFWB’s morning anchor team, said “I told Brett it’s been a pleasure to work with him, but that’s secondary to knowing the man.  He’s been through a lot, he brings lots of history.  He brings knowledge of so many different things.  He knows everything about movies, especially Old Hollywood, and of course, Texas.”  Hulett said that Lewis isn’t the typical sportscaster. “He’s someone who loves the game, he comes from a fan’s perspective.  Of course, when something bad happens to a team from Texas, we give him a hard time.”

Lewis is a fourth generation Texan.  Born in Dallas, he traces his roots back to a relative that fought in the 1836 War of Independence.  His father was the sports editor of the Dallas Times Herald.  “Dad tried to get rid of my Texas accent.  He would upbraid me if I talked like my peers.  The running joke was that I was the only 10-year-old that knew what ‘pedantic’ means.”  

While attending the University of Texas as a journalism major, Lewis wanted to be a football player.  “For two years I was a walk-on. I was passionate about football, but I wasn’t very good.  So I had to find something else.  The other thing I wanted to do passionately was becoming a performer.”  He walked into the studios of KNOW, the leading rock-and-roll station in the college town.  “Since I didn’t have the Texas accent, I was able to get myself hired.  I was under the pressure of preparing comedy five days a week.  That was my first job on the air.”

Lewis interviewing Michael Irvin, courtesy Issac Lowenkron

He then worked as a weatherman and news anchor in Dallas, before eventually getting into sportscasting.  At that time, one of the most popular radio personalities was Ron Chapman.  “He was the Johnny Carson of local radio on KVIL for 30 years.  I didn’t work with him but in later years, I always met with him whenever I was in Dallas.  Since he knew I wasn’t looking for a job, I could pick his brain (and get) great advice.  Chapman shared from his experience as a pd – ‘when you walk through my door, you want to be a solution, not a problem.’”  Lewis said that Chapman always had the attitude of being the number two broadcaster in town, demanding him to work harder.  “Another thing (Chapman) said was that ‘if you’re not doing something that scares you a bit, you’re not fulfilling your potential.’  When Ron fell from the number one show to the number two show, (Chapman) went skydiving to motivate himself – and his ratings went back up.”

Lewis moved to the NBC affiliate in Miami in 1984, before landing at KNBC/tv in Los Angeles in 1988.  He was at KLAC doing Lakers call-in shows before his work as a sports anchor at KFWB in 1997.  When asked about the difference between working on radio versus television, Lewis compares his experience to movie actors who return to the stage.  “It’s like going back to your roots.  A movie actor will do scenes out of sequence and deal with different (technical) details.  When he goes back to the stage, the actor remembers why he got into this.”

“With tv, you’re dealing with lighting, talking to directors, working with your co-anchors.  I really enjoy doing tv, but in radio, you’re going back to basics.  You’re talking to one person, you can be more spontaneous.  So when I did tv, I brought in some of the spontaneity that I had from doing radio.  But when I returned to radio, I brought in a little more of the structure I learned from tv – get in, get out with your report”

Ted Sobel, Randy Kerdoon, Bret Lewis (courtesy Ron Kilgore)

Lewis recalled some of his most memorable interviews.  “I did a sit-down with John Wooden at KNBC.  It was a classic, we did an extended interview.  I grew up reading about him in Sports Illustrated when I was growing up.  It turns out we didn’t talk that much about basketball, but more about his philosophy of sports and life.  I still remember this quote: ‘It’s not about winning or losing.  It’s about success or failure.’  If you go out and try your best, that’s being successful.  That helped me to focus on my own life.”

Lewis considers himself privileged to speak to – and learn from – many of the legends of sports.  “Pat Riley charges $10,000 or more for speaking.  I get to talk to him for free!  I spend less time talking with him about details of the actual game and more about questions such as ‘what’s the secret of winning?’  Nancy Lieberman (WNBA Hall-of-Famer) is a pistol.  She was a regular on my radio show, she really motivates you.”

“In sports, you deal with a lot of successful men and women…sports is a simplified version of real life.  There’s principles you can apply in lots of situations.  Sports has a beginning and an end (compared to) a teacher who doesn’t have a scoreboard to measure success.”  He admires athletes without fawning over their celebrity.  “Athletes know that they have to be disciplined – a college player knows he or she can’t do what others do, they have to get their rest so they can’t go out all night.  I learned from (athletes) the principles of sacrifice and always learning.  The basics of succeeding in sports carry over to real life.”

Lewis reminisced about Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry while working in Dallas.  “I worked with him through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  I saw a side of Coach Landry that most people don’t get to see.  Once a week, we’d talk less about sports and more about success and failure, particularly under pressure.”  Because Lewis has been both an athlete and a reporter, he “can see both sides” of sports.  “I wasn’t good (in football) but I did know about the unique pressure that athletes deal with…their value may be judged on one play.  I respect that – that’s enormous pressure to deal with.”

“There was a pitcher for the Texas Rangers back in the ‘70s.  He was the biggest jerk – he gave arrogant one-word answers.  But then he blew out his arm.  A year later, I interviewed him again.  I was blown away – I had the most insightful, thoughtful interview with him.  He had to get in touch with himself during rehab…an athlete depends (on the belief) that his body’s always going to be there for you.  When you’re recovering from injury, it’s lonely, it’s slow, and it may not even work.”

Jim Healy (LA Times)

It was his friendship with one of Los Angeles radio’s most unique broadcasters that resulted in his most unique interview.  “Jim Healy was the guy that was on everybody’s case…my biggest fear was that he was going to catch one of my mistakes and highlight it on his show.  And he did!”  While driving past the KTLA lot (the location of the KMPC studios), Lewis decided to stop by the station and meet the fabled – and feared – local sportscaster.  “I had an advantage because I was the son of a newspaperman, so he regarded my credentials as being more than just another guy on tv.  We talked a long time and became friends.  Of course, I wonder what he was thinking when I got there – I’m six-feet-four, and Jim wasn’t a particularly big man, given what he’d said about me on the air…it was funny, it all came about because I was worried about him and what he had to say about me.”  Healy’s daily show personified what Lewis always wanted to do.  “He would do drop-ins and highlight out-of-context statements at a fast pace.  In fact, one of his famous drop-ins was Jerome Brown (then a defensive tackle at the University of Miami) asking ‘did the Japanese sit down and have dinner with Pearl Harbor before they bombed it?’  I called my former station in Miami and was able to produce the video, which impressed Jim.”

Their friendship allowed Lewis to do an exclusive tv interview when Healy was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  “I got to turn the tables on him – he was the subject.  He wasn’t used to that.  I tried to make (the tv) piece like his radio show, really fast paced, videos of drop ins…there wasn’t much coverage of the ceremony on the day he got his star, and then the whole day was overshadowed when I got the page to go to The Forum where Magic Johnson was announcing he’d acquired the HIV virus.  We had to finish the story a few weeks later.”

On television, Lewis had the chance to revisit his days in football.  “Back in 1993, I did a story on a semi-pro football team.  I just wanted to put on the gear and hit somebody.  I hadn’t put on the pads since 1967.  (Though I) was older and weaker, when I put on the pads it was if I never had taken them off.  I got to hit and I got hit…it was a joy.”

Lewis realized the power of the local media during the days after the 1994 Northridge earthquake.  “There was a significant aftershock, and I was the only anchor in the (KNBC/tv) building.  While the other news anchors were still heading to the station, I went on the newsroom camera – I knew I had to stay calm, talk to the viewers in a one-on-one manner, don’t try to speculate, it was as if I was talking to a friend.  There was no pressure, no tape to roll.  We were the only station on live at the time, and back then there was no social media to get the word out.”  Afterwards, Lewis said he was “astonished” at the feedback and the number of people who appreciated his work that day.  “You have to remember how jittery people were after the quake.  It turned out to be an aftershock, but it was felt pretty significantly in the Valley.  We learned later that we had 40 percent of the audience tuned in during that time.  And I was completely surprised when, a few days later, Chick Hearn sent in his compliments to the station.”

"Update on today's right hip replacement surgery. I've been told I'm way ahead of schedule being able to get out of bed and walk with a walker. Prayer works!!!" - July 11, 2022

Lewis thinks his greatest influences were derived from his friendships outside of sports and broadcasting.  “Bill Farrish was my roommate in Texas, he’s now in Huntington Beach and we talk just about every day.  He was there when I started my journey of faith.  It’s astonishing to have a friend that you don’t have to play games.”  Hearing about how many families endure estranged relationships, Lewis considers himself fortunate to have a strong relationship with his younger brother.  “He’s five years younger than me, working as a minister.  We’re able to talk about growing up, we grew up in the same household and can talk about growing up, the ups-and-downs and how that helps us understand (our lives) today.”

A story on Lewis and his struggles with sleep apnea were featured in the Los Angeles Times.  “Back then, a lot of people didn’t know much about sleep apnea.  I stopped breathing 40 times an hour according to the tests.”  After his story became public, he received many letters and calls from people who were experiencing the same symptoms and circumstances.  “It was nice to know that my platform (as a broadcaster) could be used to help out others.”

And it’s helping others that will define what’s next for Lewis.  “I’m a functional alcoholic.  Though I was a classic born-again believer back in 1972, I didn’t quit drinking.  I could still work and I thought I was under control…I took a year off from drinking, I always stopped so I could go to bed by 8 p.m. since I knew I had to work the next day.  But I needed something to get off that treadmill, it was impeding me from emotional growth.”  One Saturday morning, Lewis experienced a divinely-inspired message – his faith would go no deeper unless he quit drinking.  “That day – June 3, 2006 – I went to an AA meeting that very night.”  He’s taking his experience and augment his work with the “Celebrate Recovery” ministry at his church, Bel Air Presbyterian.

“Addiction isolates us.  We have to strip past this.  In my case, my real battle was with self-worth, coming from broadcasting as well as what I do at church.” His zeal for his work with “Celebrate Recovery” is obvious.  “One of the most exciting things is the tools I found in the 12-steps…you hear how important it is to forgive and be forgiven, steps four through nine (of the 12-steps) teaches you how to do it).”  Already his schedule allowed him to meet with others throughout Southern California.  “Since I was available during the day, I could travel to Riverside, Chico, all over and meet with people…recovery is not just about reading a book.  It has to involve one-on-one training but more importantly, one-on-one relationships – some call this discipleship.  We’re called to build community, but we can’t do this without restoring relationships.”

Courtesy www.ocregister.com

As to why he’s retiring now, Lewis said it just seemed as if it was the right time to do so.  “Physically, I never adjusted to the early mornings, even though I really liked doing the early shift…the timing seems right for me to retire.  A year from now, I may want to go back to radio, but for right now, I can look forward to doing more of what I want to do, developing more one-on-one relationships and do other things to help others experience the freedom of recovery