Where is David Hartman today? Dead or alive? Net Worth, Wife (2024)

• David Hartman is an American journalist, TV show host, and former actor.
• He is best known for having been the first host of ABC's news talk-show "Good Morning America" from 1975 to 1987.
• He has won multiple Emmys and other awards for his work hosting the Discovery Channel and PBS-affiliate TV station WNET.
• He is married to his second wife Mary Clark Putman and had four children with his late first wife Maureen Downey.
• As of April 2022, his net worth is estimated to be over $4 million.



Known for movies

Who is David Hartman?

David Downs Hartman was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island USA, on 19 May 1935 – his zodiac sign is Taurus, and he holds American nationality. He’s a journalist, TV show host and former actor, while he’s probably still known best for having been the first host of the ABC’s news talk-show “Good Morning America”; David hosted the show between 1975 and 1987.

Early life and education

David was raised in Pawtucket by his father Cyril Baldwin Hartman and mother Fannie Rodman (nee Downs), but little is known about his parents, because he respects their privacy; it’s said that his father was a high school football coach, and that his mother was a housewife. Because David hasn’t mentioned having any siblings, most of his fans believe him to be an only child.

He studied at Mount Hermon School, which is today called Northfield Mount Hermon, and was mostly into playing baseball during his four years there. David was the best player at school and was expected to pursue it as a career, however, upon matriculating in 1953, he turned down a baseball scholarship, and instead enrolled at Duke University, from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in economics in 1957. During his time at Duke, David was a member of the business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi, and the fraternity Sigma Chi.

Between 1957 and 1960, David was an officer in the US Air Force, Strategic Air Command, and began acting in local musicals when he was stationed at Bangor Air National Guard Base in Maine, appearing in plays such as ,“Oklahoma!”, “Mister Roberts” and “Kismet”.

Career as an actor

David appeared in his first Broadway play, “Hello, Dolly!” in 1964, and the following year saw him appear in his second and only other play “The Yearling”.

He went on to play supporting characters in the 1967 comedy western movie “The Ballad of Josie”, the 1968 comedy film “Nobody’s Perfect”, and the 1968 comedy movie “Did You Hear the One About the Travelling Saleslady?” David gained recognition with his portrayal of a doctor in the medical series “The Bold Ones: The New Doctors”, which aired from 1969 to 1973, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

He played the supporting character David Sutton in more than 20 episodes of the western series “The Virginian”, and then went on to make a guest appearance in an episode of various series, such as the drama “Marcus Welby, M. D.”, the drama “The Name of the Game”, and the action crime drama “Ironside”.

David starred in the 1973 comedy movie “Miracle on 34th Street”, as well as in the 1974 fantasy adventure movie “The Island at the Top of the World”.

He played a retired baseball player in the drama series “Lucas Tanner” in 1974 and 1975, and after it was cancelled, David chose to retire from acting.

Career as a journalist

David launched his career as a journalist on 3 November 1975, when he became the original co-host of “Good Morning America”; he spent 11 years on the show and it was often the highest-rated morning news show on TV. He was the only co-host who didn’t have a background in journalism but still managed to successfully conduct over 12,000 interviews.

David closed each episode by saying ‘Make it a good day today’, which he believed reflected the “Good Morning America”’s values and beliefs.

After leaving the show in 1987, David joined Discovery Channel, and hosted several of their documentary series, while he then worked for the PBS-affiliate TV station WNET, a job for which he had to move to New York City, hosting various documentaries such as the 1998 “A Walk Down 42nd Street”, the 1999 “A Walk Through Harlem”, and the 2001 “A Walk Through Greenwich Village”; he hosted a total of 11 documentaries from their “Walk Through” series, and David has been presented with multiple Emmys and other awards for his work on these documentaries.

He’s still actively working today and can be heard hosting the North Carolina Symphony radio broadcasts on WCPE and North Carolina Public Radio; in 2017, David was honored with a National Association of Broadcasters Distinguished Service Award.

Love life and wife

David hasn’t shared a lot about his private life with his fans, but it’s still widely known that he has married twice. He exchanged vows with his first wife Maureen Downey in 1974, in a private ceremony attended by many of their friends and family members; Maureen was an actress and journalist, who passed away from cancer on 17 September 1997. David and Maureen had four children together.

He married his second wife Mary Clark Putman in 2001; she’s a non-celebrity American housewife, whose first husband had passed away a couple of years prior to her marrying David.

As of April 2022, David’s married to his second wife Mary Clark Putman, and has four children with his late first wife Maureen Downey.

Hobbies and other interests

David was physically quite active during his 20s, 30s and 40s, and had multiple training sessions at the gym every week. He no longer works out and only occasionally plays golf with his friends and colleagues.

He was once passionate about travelling and his career has taken him all around the world, visiting several countries on every continent, with the exception of the Antarctic; David today prefers to stay at his home in Rhode Island.

He’s a lover of animals and has had several pet dog and cats, while he has donated money to a couple of animal shelters.

David enjoys watching movies in his spare time, and his favorite actor and actress are Leonardo DiCaprio and Natalie Portman, while a couple of his favorite films include “Titanic”, “Shutter Island” and “V for Vendetta”.

Age, height and net worth

David’s age is 86. He has short grey hair and blue eyes, his height is 6ft 5ins (1.95m) and he weighs around 190lbs (85kgs).

As of April 2022, his net worth stands at more than $4 million.

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia