Jim Boyd, Longtime WCVB Anchor Who Started in a TV Mailroom, Dies at 84

Featured photo: A WCVB Channel 5 news truck in Cambridge (file photo, 2022). Photo: Pi.1415926535, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Jim Boyd, who spent more than three decades as a reporter and anchor at Boston’s WCVB-TV after starting his television career in a mailroom, died Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 84, the station and the New York Post reported. He had been in declining health, and no cause of death was disclosed.

WCVB anchor Maria Stephanos announced his death on air, calling him “a true gentleman,” the Post reported. More Boston local news is on our Boston News hub.

From a New York mailroom to Boston’s Channel 5

Boyd was born in Harlem in 1942 and grew up in New York City, graduating from George Washington High School, according to the Post. He got his start in a public television mailroom in New York and moved into public affairs and production, including work on WGBH’s Say Brother and as producer of News in Perspective, PopCulture.com reported, citing WCVB.

He joined WCVB in 1972 as a general assignment reporter. He later anchored the station’s weekend and EyeOpener newscasts and co-anchored the midday news with Susan Wornick before retiring in 2008, according to PopCulture.com. About five years after retiring, at 71, he earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Tufts University.

After leaving the anchor desk, Boyd took small film roles in movies including American Hustle, Patriots Day and Manchester by the Sea, the Post reported. In 2022, he returned to WCVB alongside Wornick for the station’s 50 Years Fund telethon.

Awards and tributes

Boyd received the Golden Circle Award from the New England chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2011 and was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2012, according to the Post.

The Rev. Liz Walker, a former WBZ-TV anchor, said “Jim was the consummate hard-working reporter,” according to PopCulture.com. Wornick described him as “the straight man in our team.” His wife, Linda Polach, told the Boston Globe that he treated everyone as an equal, from presidents to garbage collectors, PopCulture.com reported.

Survivors

Boyd is survived by Polach, his wife of 42 years, and their three daughters. For other Boston news today, browse our latest local coverage.

Sources

• New York Post via Yahoo: NYC-born broadcaster Jim Boyd, who became a beloved Boston news anchor, dead at 84
• PopCulture.com: News Anchor Jim Boyd Has Died
• ABC News: Longtime news anchor Jim Boyd of WCVB dead at 84