Gil Noble's Obituary

Gilbert Edward Noble was born to parents Gilbert Robert Noble and Iris Villiers Noble both from

Jamaica, WI on February 22,1932 in Harlem, New York.Seven years later, his brother Keith Alexander

Noble was born. Keith was an aspiring professional golfer. The brothers were very close which left

Gil devastated by his brother's sudden death, due to a brain tumor, in 1968. His mother was a

community center leader and his father owned an auto repair shop. Gil Noble attended City College

in Harlem and was later drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War where he trained

as a medic.

Gil Noble loved music, and was a jazz aficionado. His mother played classical piano, but Gil Noble

loved Jazz. His love for Jazz began in his teens when a friend played a new record, "Laura" and

"Somebody Loves Me" by pianist Erroll Garner. He was hooked. He purchased his own piano and

taught himself how to play this "new" music. He later formed a jazz group called the "Gil Noble Trio"

and recorded several albums. His love of jazz music and performing as a jazz musician continued

throughout his life. Gil Noble was also an accomplished artist and sculptor in his free time.

In November of 1959 Gil Noble was introduced to the love of his life, his wife Norma Jean

Johnston. At the time, they were both hired as African American models in New York for a fashion

show in Moscow, Russia, part of the American Exhibition. He proposed to Jean after one month of

courtship and romance. Gil and Jean's presence in the show, and their wedding on August 7, 1959,

was historic and made the cover of the New York Times, and was featured in Life, Ebony, and

Jet magazines.

On February 21, 1965 Malcolm X was assassinated. A neighbor invited Gil Noble to hear an

unedited recording of a speech by Malcolm X.That speech had the most profound impact on Gil as an

African American man, father, and journalist. Malcolm's words drove Gil to explore African

American History, African History and Malcolm's message helped Gil navigate with grace, dignity

and strength through forty years in the headquarters of the most challenging corporate media

environment in America - The American Broadcasting Company (NABC").

Gil Noble began his career in broadcasting at the radio Station WLIBin New York.As a new, young

newscaster at WLIB, Gil was forced to perform all the tasks of news radio; from announcing, to

reading and writing the newscast, to operating all the technical equipment, to making sure the

teletype machine did not run out of paper. Developing the ability to perform these multiple tasks,

many often times performed simultaneously, helped prepare him for his career in Television.

Harlem was an incredible incubator for Gil in his early professional years. WLIB was located

around the corner from the Lewis Michaux bookstore, The National Memorial African Bookstore,

where the historians Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Dr. Yosef A. Ben-Iochannan and others gathered,

planned, and envisioned a better future for African Peoples. It also served as the hub for many rallies

and speakers such as Kwame Nkrumah, Fidel Castro, Dr. Martin Luther King [r., Malcolm X, and

many others. Many of these individuals were later guests or subjects on Gil Noble's Emmy Award

winning weekly WABC show, "Like It Is."

In 1967,Gil Noble was hired by WABCTV.One of his first assignments was to cover the urban

rebellion in Newark, New Jersey. While other reporters stayed outside of the city, Gil Noble crossed

the police barriers and reported the story of the people. As a young reporter waiting outside a Harlem

restaurant with a few dozen reporters, he was spotted by Muhammad Ali.Ali was so excited to see an

African American reporter that he invited him for lunch and agreed to an interview. After just four

months of employment at WABCTV,Gil Noble's impactful live reports throughout New York and

New Jersey had impressed senior executives at ABC and he was hired as The Anchor for the WABC

weekend news.

In 1968,after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.,WABC agreed to the idea of a program

featuring African American current events and topics, which would be produced with African

Americans. It was Historic, the first of its kind to include African Americans as the producers of their

own TV network shows. Initially done with Robert Hooks as the Host and Gil Noble as the the news

correspondent, they created "Like It Is." They fought hard for the title, music by Jackie McLean, and

content. After a few months, Mr. Hooks left and continued his acting career. Gil Noble took over as

host, producer, writer, and editor. Like It Is produced the first documentary for television on Marcus

Garvey, and the first one for Malcolm X including the first interview of his widow, Dr. Betty Shabazz.

For his outstanding achievements and monumental contributions, Gil Noble received several

honorary degrees, and over 700 awards, including seven Emmy Awards for his documentaries El

Haij Malik El Shabazz, Paul Robeson, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Rev. Adam Clayton Powell [r., Decade

of Struggle, Essay on Drugs, and Outstanding Series. Like It Is remains one of the longest running

programs on Television.

Like It Is provided a platform and documented the telling of the "untold stories." Gil Noble was

most proud of the symbiotic relationship between Like it Is with Harlem and its magnificent people.

Gil Noble enjoyed and cherished wonderful unwavering support and love, from the community of

Harlem, and the African Diaspora throughout the United States and the World. He was proud of his

attention to accuracy. Because of his meticulous preparation, no one was able to question his

authenticity. Gil Noble made sure to ask pointed questions, in a way that allowed him to report on

indisputable facts, rather than merely .commentary. Like It Is was the much needed balance to

everything else on television. Gil Noble was always grateful for the message that Like It Is told, and

felt blessed by the people and the struggle that made it all possible.

Two of the most transformational moments of his great career occurred in the 1970's and 1980's.

With the collaboration of his talented associate Elombe Brathe, Gil Noble was able to present exposes

on the Liberation Movements and Independent struggles of African Peoples on the continent and in

the Caribbean. In 1986 Gil Noble traveled to Egypt to participate in a historic pilgrimage and

conference in the Nile Valley which involved more than one thousand people of African descent.

After taking part in this powerful experience, Gil Noble, through Like It Is, was able to bring the truth

of African history to schools worldwide. With the assistance of scholars like Dr. Ben and Dr. Clarke,

he was able to film, document and brilliantly clarify the issues surrounding the stolen legacy of the

Africans of the Nile.

The last two paragraphs of Gil Noble's book, Black is The Color of my TV Tube, reads "Many in this

business say I am too serious. I believe I am not serious enough. The condition of Black people today

is serious to me, and that condition requires serious action. I will be preoccupied with the question of

race until racism is dead."

Gil Noble fought long and he fought hard and he made a difference. Gil Noble's legacy will

forever challenge racism and be a source of inspiration for African Peoples and others to pursue the

truth and hold it up high to light the way to the future. His illustrious career was truly a great and

mighty walk through contemporary history and his Legacy will surely endure through

the ages.

Dr. Gilbert Edward Noble, Husband, Father, Brother, Grandfather, Teacher, Artist, Musician, and

pioneering World Renown Journalist departed this life on April 5, 2012. He is survived by: his loving

wife of fifty-two-plus years, Norma Jean Noble; his son, Chris; his daughters, Lynn, Lisa, Leslie, and

Jennifer; and his grandchildren, Alexandria, Jordan, Jasmin, Jade, Christian, Ejiah, Kayla, and Miles.

The family is thankful to the many friends, colleagues, and fans who expressed their love and

support during his illness, and after his passing.

Gil Noble's dream was to have his work empower children everywhere. In lieu of flowers, the

family appreciates kind contributions to maintain The Gil Noble Archives.Please send contributions
to the Gil Noble Archives, P.O Box 431138, Upper Montclair, New Jersey 07043 or online,
www.gilnoblearchive.com