James Francis Howard III

James was the only child of James F. Howard, Jr. and Kathleen Beeks Howard. He leaves behind an aunt, Betty Howard, numerous cousins, many close friends, and his devoted and constant companion, a dachshund, Hans.

James was a native of Greenville, S.C. He was a 1965 graduate of Greenville High School, and a 1969 graduate of Presbyterian College. James grew up in The First Presbyterian Church where he volunteered with many aspects of worship and had a special knack for electronics.

James was a leader in network broadcast operations over the past four decades. He also was one of the nation’s foremost experts on early television pioneers. Beginning his career in 1965 with the Greenville County Museum of Art, he was a Director of Electrographic (print, film, and video production) for the Education Department, and an Instructor of Photography and Silkscreen Printing. James worked for South Carolina Educational TV from 1975-1981 as Producer/Director of the PBS series STUDIO SEE.

James moved to Los Angeles in 1981 after being hired by NBC as a senior editor in the network’s new West Coast marketing department. He loaned his creative talents to launching some of the 1980’s most iconic programs including: Golden Girls, Remington Steele, Knight Rider, The Cosby Show, Cheers, Hill Street Blues, LA Law, Family Ties, and Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories. During the golden era of the network miniseries, Howard’s work on Fatal Vision, Mussolini, Anastasia, V, and The Two Mrs. Grenvilles garnered numerous advertising awards. During his years at NBC, James developed an interest in preserving historic electronic devices. When RCA, the parent company of NBC, was acquired by GE in 1986, James rescued many vintage engineering manuals from being purged. He realized the need to archive this technical data for future historians. This was the start of his lifelong passion for preserving artifacts from the evolution of broadcasting in America and all of Edwin H. Land’s innovations of Polaroid cameras.

In 1988, James joined Fox Broadcasting Company. He helped grow Fox from a weekend-only programming service to a major rival of “The Big Three.” In the early 2000s, he teamed with senior Fox Management to transition the network from an analog operation to high definition digital. When Fox became broadcast partners with the NFL and MLB, he was one of the first managers for live games. He remained with Fox until his retirement in 2013. After retirement, he lived half of the year in Los Angeles, CA and the other half of the year in Greenville, S.C.

One might say James Howard III’s entire youth, professional career and preservation efforts were a reflection of 70 years researching, capturing, watching, sharing, and storing visual memories. James was a beautiful and kind person. He had unlimited patience, a love for “impossible projects” and complicated instruction manuals.

Memorials may be made to Thornwell Orphanage 302 S. Broad Street, Clinton, S.C. 29325, Miracle Hill, 490 S. Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville, S.C. 29602 or to the charity of your choice.

A visitation will be held on Sunday, March 12, 2017 from 1 – 2 p.m. with a service to follow in the chapel at 2:00 pm at The Mackey Mortuary 311 Century Drive, Greenville, SC 29607. Interment to follow at Springwood Cemetery.