Jim Boyd died Tuesday at age 84 after a nearly four-decade career at WCVB-TV. The longtime Boston anchor had lived in Needham for many years, and his death closes a run that made him one of Channel 5’s most familiar faces.
He was a top-rated anchor of morning and midday newscasts for years. Jim Boyd began in the mailroom of National Educational Television in New York City, later traveled the world as an NET producer, and then moved to Boston.
Linda Polach on Boyd
Linda Polach said he carried that same approach into daily life. “Anybody who came up to talk with him, he would talk with them,” she said. “He met presidents and lawn workers, and speakers of the house and garbage collectors. He was the same with everybody. He respected everyone as an equal.”
That description matches the public image Boyd built over decades on WCVB-TV and in the community. He made numerous visits to schools and community groups such as the YMCA in Roxbury and the Youth Enrichment Services to speak with and inspire children and youths.
WCVB and Boston viewers
Susan Wornick, his longtime Channel 5 co-anchor, said viewers often asked her, “Is Jim as nice as he seems?” She answered that he was, adding, “Truly, he had that impact on people.” Emily Rooney called him “every manager would like to clone — loyal, dedicated, didn’t call in sick, and never complained about an assignment.”
Rooney also said “he was also movie-star handsome and had that elusive journalistic credibility.” Liz Walker said, “Jim was the consummate hard-working reporter and more importantly he was a great guy,” and added, “Jim was friendly, kind, knowledgeable, welcoming, and helpful. He was a real gentleman on and off camera.”
Hall of Fame in 2012
Boyd’s path was not a straight one. At age 19, he left college after being asked to leave because his grades were poor, then spent years building a career that later brought him into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2012. He finished his long-set-aside bachelor’s degree the following year, a late chapter that followed the career recognition.
That sequence leaves the central question of his final months unanswered in the record provided: what specific illness or condition caused his health to fail. What remains clear is that the broadcaster remembered in Boston for warmth and credibility leaves behind a body of work measured in nearly four decades on WCVB-TV and in the people he met along the way.
