Inducted in 2022
David is an Eagle Scout who began his television career while a student at Rogers, working evenings as a camera operator at KTUL-TV. He attended the University of Tulsa, then joined CBS Television in Hollywood, where he was a Cameraman and Director of Photography for over 45 years. He worked on The Young and the Restless soap opera, The Redd Foxx Show, and hit variety shows like the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. David covered Miss America, Miss Universe, and political conventions, presidential campaign debates for CBS News, and shot multiple features for CBS 60 Minutes.
David filmed his first Masters golf tournament in 1977, and his studio experience and creativity soon changed the way sports appeared on television. Using a handheld camera, he walked with the golfers, capturing new, closer views of their individual games. His professionalism also gave him a rapport with players in other sports, where he made creative shots with new angles and framing, transcending sports coverage with the art of filmmaking, and influencing other photojournalists.
He covered hundreds of PGA golf tournaments for over four decades, walking courses with every golf legend, including Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. David shot the Mohammed Ali vs. Michael Spinks Heavyweight Championship Fight, and made his mark on eight NFL Super Bowls, the NBA, the US Tennis Open Championships, and NASCAR, including the Daytona 500. Working NCAA basketball, including Final Fours, he captured Michael Jordan scoring the winning goal as North Carolina won the 1982 championship. He worked winter Olympics in Albertville, France, Lillehammer, Norway, and Nagano, Japan.
David is the recipient of 19 Emmy Awards, and was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2010. There he was hailed as “the standard-bearer of the handheld camera era, able to turn this mechanical instrument into a paintbrush, creating an artistic platform for the mini-camera and changing the look of sports on TV.”
