Shelby Scott, the longtime Boston TV news anchor and former AFTRA leader who pushed for the union’s 2012 merger with SAG, died June 1 at her home in Tucson, Ariz. She was 86.
Scott was a beloved news anchor for CBS’ WBZ-TV Boston for 30 years. She served as national president of the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists from 1993 to 2001.
“In front of the camera, Shelby Scott’s career spanned decades and broke barriers. But it is for her work off camera as a dedicated union leader that we at SAG-AFTRA will always be most grateful,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s National Executive Director. “As AFTRA national president for eight years, and a board member for many more, as a trustee on the AFTRA Health and Retirement Funds, and through her foresight in working to merge SAG and AFTRA, Shelby’s legacy is profound and she will be deeply missed.”
Scott worked for WBZ-TV — a bastion of Beantown broadcasting once owned by Westinghouse and now part of CBS Television Stations — from 1965 until her retirement in 1996. Per WBZ, Scott’s on-the-scene coverage of Boston’s many storms led the Boston Globe to occassionally measure snowfall in “Shelbys” rather than feet.
“We are so sad to learn of the passing of Shelby Scott. Shelby was a force of nature and a legend for her coverage of New England storms. Every time there is a blizzard or nor’easter, viewers always reminisce about Shelby’s reports and are quick to try to crown the ‘next Shelby Scott,’” said Justin Draper, WBZ-TV president and general manager. “There will never be another Shelby. She was one of a kind, and so much more than a storm reporter.”
More to come