Bruce DuMont | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1944-06-18)June 18, 1944 New London, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | September 10, 2025(2025-09-10) (aged 81) |
| Education | Columbia College Chicago (BA) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses | |
| Relatives | Allen B. DuMont (uncle) |
Bruce DuMont (June 18, 1944 – September 10, 2025) was an Americansyndicated radiopolitical analyst and television presenter based inChicago, Illinois.[1] He was the host ofBeyond the Beltway, a syndicatedtalk radio show that was airing on 14 stations around the United States when it ended production on January 19, 2025.[2][3] The program, which began in 1980 asInside Politics, also aired a televised version on Chicago's secondary PBS station,WYCC, from 1996[4] to 2017,[5] when WYCC went off the air.
DuMont got his start in broadcasting as a producer forWGN 720 AM in 1968. He interrupted his radio career to make an unsuccessful run for a seat in the Illinois Senate in 1970, then returned to WGN, this time as a producer for Howard Miller, a controversial radio personality.[6][7] DuMont gained his first on-air radio experience atWLTD, now WCGO, inEvanston, Illinois, a 1,000-watt AM station at the time. It was at WLTD that he became nationally known for his investigative reporting on subjects such asWatergate and theCIA.[8]
He then began to focus on producing news and documentaries for local television. A documentary about teenage suicides forWBBM-TV earned him anIris Award from the National Association of Television Programming, while another documentary, this one about censorship in public libraries, earned him the Golden Gavel Award from theAmerican Bar Association. He then worked as a producer for Chicago's primary PBS station,WTTW, heading up its broadcasts of the 1983 mayoral debates between MayorJane Byrne and her challengers,Richard M. Daley andHarold Washington.[9] DuMont also produced WTTW'sChicago Tonight, and his on-camera work began in 1984 as the program's anchor for both the Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention.
DuMont was the founder and former president of theMuseum of Broadcast Communications, which began development in 1982. The MBC opened in June 1987 inside the River City condominium complex at 800 S. Wells St. in Chicago, then relocated to theChicago Cultural Center five years later, where it remained until December 2003.[10] After eight and a half years of delays related to construction and financing,[11] the MBC reopened in its new location at 360 N. State St. on June 13, 2012.[12] In August 2016 DuMont announced that he planned to retire as the museum's president; however, according to the website Chicagoland Radio and Media, "Officially, DuMont is voluntarily retiring from the MBC, claiming the decision is entirely his own, although in reality, there is far more behind it," including alleged financial mismanagement and controversy surrounding his personal life.[13] He officially retired from the MBC on December 31, 2017.[14]
From 1987 to 2006, he was the host ofIllinois Lawmakers, a television show covering legislative news that originated from theState Capitol inSpringfield during the months of the year when theIllinois General Assembly was in session.
DuMont was a member of thePeabody Awards'Board of Jurors from 1992 to 1998[15] and was the nephew ofAllen B. DuMont, founder of theDuMont Television Network.[16] He had one child, a daughter, from his first marriage, to Marcia DuMont;[17] his second marriage was toKathy Osterman from May 1, 1992, until her death from cancer on December 8, 1992.[18] DuMont began dating Kevin Fuller in 1997; they were married from September 20, 2023, until DuMont's death.[19][20] Fuller served a prison sentence from 2011 to 2016 for possession and online distribution of child pornography.[21][22][23]
DuMont died of complications from cancer inChicago, on September 10, 2025, at the age of 81.[24][25]
