Ukee Washington, R'80

The life of a news anchor is a busy one. There are the public appearances, the charity events, and just the challenge of getting the news out every day. But Philadelphia’s CBS 3 morning news anchor Ulysses Samuel “Ukee” Washington, R’80, has managed to fit in a side career as an actor, appearing in films and TV shows.

Interview by Rich Griset

What’s your schedule like for the show?

I’m a morning person. I’ve turned into one since ’96. I go to bed between 7:30 and 8 o’clock every night, and I get up at 2:35 in the morning. I’m in the shop by 3:40 a.m. I write, I talk to the producers, I do the show from 4:30 to 9, take a 45-minute break, then start preparing for the noon show, Talk Philly.

On a normal day, I’m usually leaving the building by 1 o’clock in the afternoon. Sometimes I’ll stay in the shop and prepare for the next day or two and won’t get out until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. That makes for a long day.

Local media has seen some major changes in recent years. What is your take on this, and what does this mean for journalism?

It’s amazing, between the equipment, the newsgathering, social media, the entire presentation — it’s just incredible.

People just have so many options now compared to what they had back in the day. Back in the day, they just had newspapers, magazines, and television.

Now we have Twitter, we have Facebook, we have Instagram — just to get the word out and get involved in the community. Now everything is 24/7. It’s nonstop. I like that, but I’m still old school. I like to meet people face-to-face, I like to shake a hand, I like to look people right in the eye, and I’ll always be that way.

How did you get into acting?

I tell people that it must be in my DNA. My cousin is Denzel Washington, and our families are from Buckingham, Va. We didn’t grow up together, and I didn’t realize we were related until ’82 when my dad told me after he did his first movie.

I didn’t believe it, but I later found out it was true, and we met in the late ’80s, early ’90s when he was here filming Philadelphia with Tom Hanks. It seems to be in my blood. I love it, but I’m stereotyped — I always play a broadcaster.

Denzel put me in The Manchurian Candidate. I’ve also been in four M. Night Shyamalan films. It’s fun, and people seem to get a kick out of it.

How did you get involved with Shyamalan?

We became friends. He’s from the area, and he watched me on television. He’s made some spooky films from time to time. I’ve been in four out of the six, and I couldn’t be in the others just because of my schedule.

I believe he’s doing another film this September, but I haven’t heard from him yet. Bruce Willis is supposed to be here for it, so that should be interesting. I’ll be covering it, but I’m not sure if I’ll be in it.

Should you really get the Philly cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz?

“Wid Whiz,” as the saying goes. Gotta have it, and if you are like me, a touch of mayo kicks things up a notch! Not too many are into it, but that’s how I grew up.

This piece was originally published in the University of Richmond Magazine, Autumn 2014.