Former Channel 4 Anchor Dan Slocum dead at age 54

[SoonerQueen]

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/artic...186.php#src=fb

[SoonerDave]

What an awful, tragic story.

[MikeOKC]

This got buried after Sooner Queen posted the sad news late last night. It should be said that Dan was one of the best anchors to ever come through this city. He co-anchored KFOR's 6 & 10 with Linda Cavanaugh from '82-'90 when he moved on to anchor at KOMO in Seattle.

If you didn't read the whole story from the Seattle PI - this is his blog where he published a lot of his poetry. He posted one last poem on the day he died, February 25th. http://eslocum.blogspot.com

A look back at Dan's career in TV and radio at KOMO in Seattle which was produced when he left KOMO to become a full-time writer. Many here at OKCTalk will remember Dan.



KOMO remembers Dan here and the Seattle Times here.
The Oklahoma Gazette has a short article here.

Finally, a local Seattle media personality writes how "We MUST Talk About Suicide And Depression." I agree with her 100%.

RIP, Dan.

[MikeOKC]

Wouldn't normally do this....but, I'm bumping the thread....as its late at night and I don't want this to fall off the front page of "What's New?"
So many probably missed it when SQ posted this late last night. Anybody over 40 and been in OKC since the 80's will remember Dan.

[Okiezmom]

Wow...so sad. RIP Dan.

[Pete]

It said he had been out of TV since 2001 and off radio since 2008.

It's often very hard for people who made their living in the public eye to move on when their careers end. There are some exceptions but TV news is still a young-persons game and it would have to be very hard to be shoved aside by the new generation.

Just in OKC, there have been some very notable melt-downs of former TV news personalities.

[progressiveboy]

This got buried after Sooner Queen posted the sad news late last night. It should be said that Dan was one of the best anchors to ever come through this city. He co-anchored KFOR's 6 & 10 with Linda Cavanaugh from '82-'90 when he moved on to anchor at KOMO in Seattle.

If you didn't read the whole story from the Seattle PI - this is his blog where he published a lot of his poetry. He posted one last poem on the day he died, February 25th. http://eslocum.blogspot.com

A look back at Dan's career in TV and radio at KOMO in Seattle which was produced when he left KOMO to become a full-time writer. Many here at OKCTalk will remember Dan.



KOMO remembers Dan here and the Seattle Times here.
The Oklahoma Gazette has a short article here.

Finally, a local Seattle media personality writes how "We MUST Talk About Suicide And Depression." I agree with her 100%.

RIP, Dan.

I was thinking he co anchored with former anchor Bella Shaw? Anyway, so sad to hear.

[MikeOKC]

Progressiveboy, See the Gazette article linked above and the Linda Cavanaugh comments. They were the team for a good part of the eighties. He might have anchored with others at one time or another, but they were the main anchor duo.

One of the striking things to me, is how open Dan was with his battle with depression.

- He says it began in high school and never left.
- He actually left the anchor slot at KOMO TV in 2001 and went to a lighter schedule at KOMO radio - due to the depression. It only worsened, despite numerous treatment attempts.
- He eventually turned to alcohol to numb the pain.
- He spoke of his lifelong struggle living as a closeted gay man. Coming out didn't help.
- He spoke often of suicidal thoughts and how they had been with him for many years.

All of this makes Dan's story of severe depression a sad but compelling one. A story that is played out quietly - every day - for millions of Americans due to the stigma attached to it. As Dan wrote, if you have a broken arm, everybody can see the cast. Mental disease is invisible on the outside, but it's like the brain on fire inside. He turned to poetry to try to quiet the noisy beast inside. His writing is so brutally honest and open that one can't help but feel that Dan was fighting not only for his life - but as a call to all that mental health be talked about more openly.

Some things wake people up and bring about awareness. I think Dan-Erik Slocum's life of depression, a gallant effort to fight it for years and, unfortunately, ultimately his suicide has done that for me. It has awakened me to the tragedy that takes place for so many silently, and is way too often just as deadly as the worst physical illness.