Lisa Howard

Lisa Howard, born Dorothy Jean Guggenheim on April 24, 1926, in Cambridge, Ohio, was an American journalist, writer, and pioneering television news anchor who transitioned from acting to become ABC News's first female correspondent.

Of Jewish heritage, she attended Miami University briefly before pursuing theater at the Pasadena Playhouse, appearing in off-Broadway productions like 'Tis Pity She's a Whore and soap operas such as The Edge of Night, As the World Turns, and Guiding Light, as well as films including Guilty of Treason, The Man Who Cheated Himself, and Donovan's Brain.

In the late 1950s, Lisa Howard shifted to journalism as a stringer for Mutual Radio Network, securing the first American interview with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at the 1960 Democratic National Convention and covering the Vienna summit between Khrushchev and President John F. Kennedy, which led to her hiring by ABC in 1961.

Full Name	Lisa Howard
Other Name	Dorothy Jean Guggenheim
Gender	Female
Occupation	Journalist/Actress
Date of Birth	24-April-1926 (39 years)
Birth Year	1926
Birth Location	Cambridge, Ohio, U.S.
Death Time	04-July-1965
Death Location	East Hampton, Long Island, New York, U.S.

Lisa Howard anchored the groundbreaking ABC program Lisa Howard and News with the Woman's Touch in 1963, the first national network news show hosted by a woman, interviewing figures like the Shah of Iran, Eleanor Roosevelt, Barry Goldwater, and Nelson Rockefeller.

Her 1963 Cuba trip yielded exclusive interviews with Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, positioning her as a secret backchannel for U.S.-Cuban diplomacy; she facilitated meetings between White House officials and Cuban diplomats at her New York apartment and relayed messages to President Kennedy, efforts noted in CIA memos before his assassination halted progress under Lyndon B. Johnson.

She edited the political journal War/Peace Report and authored the novel On Stage, Miss Douglas in 1960.

Her career ended in September 1964 when ABC fired her for partisan involvement in New York's Senate race, supporting Republican Kenneth Keating against Robert F. Kennedy via the Democrats for Keating group, despite warnings; she filed a $2 million lawsuit against the network, which was dismissed.

Married first to director Felix E. Feist with daughter Fritzi, then to producer Walter Lowendahl with daughter Anne, Lisa Howard suffered a miscarriage in June 1965, battled depression, and died by barbiturate overdose ruled suicide on July 4, 1965, during a family vacation in the Hamptons at age 39.