Ernest Raymond “Ray” Dantzler Jr. started at WTVT Channel 13 in 1963 as a news anchor and was eventually promoted to head of programming and public affairs for the station. He was best known for his on-air editorials from the early 1970s until his retirement in 1989. After he left Channel 13, he was a contributor at WFLA Channel 8 for two years, doing a regular segment on elder affairs called “Best Years.” In addition, he and his wife Nancy were frequent world travelers, and he wrote several stories and shared photographs about their journeys for the Tampa Tribune. Dantzler died in 2004 from congestive heart failure. He was 79.