Editing Stone Phillips

{{Short description|American television news anchor (born 1954)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Stone Phillips
| image              = 
| caption            = 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1954|12|2}}
| birth_place        = [[Texas City, Texas]], U.S.
| known_for          = Former Anchor / Correspondent for NBC News
| education          = 
| alma_mater         = [[Yale University]]
| employer           = 
| occupation         = Former news anchor
| years_active       = 1978–2014
| title              = 
| spouse             = Debra Phillips
| children           = 
| parents            = <!-- include only if they are independently notable or particularly relevant. -->
}}

'''Stone Stockton Phillips''' (born December 2, 1954) is an American television reporter and correspondent on NBC, ABC and PBS. He is best known as the former [[news presenter|co-anchor]] of ''[[Dateline NBC]]'', a [[news magazine]] TV series. He's also worked as a substitute anchor for ''[[NBC Nightly News]]'' and ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]'' and as a substitute moderator on ''[[Meet the Press]]''. Prior to his tenure at [[NBC]], he was an [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] correspondent for ''[[20/20 (American TV program)|20/20]]'' and ''[[ABC World News Tonight|World News Tonight]]''.

==Early life==
Phillips was born December 2, 1954, in [[Texas City, Texas]], to parents Victor and Grace Phillips, a [[Monsanto]] chemical engineer and school teacher, respectively.<ref name="Riggs">{{cite book |last=Riggs |first=Thomas |title=Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television |volume=55 |year=2004 |publisher=Cengage Gale |isbn=9780787670986 |page=233 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1XVFAQAAIAAJ&q=%22full+name:+stone+stockton+phillips%22|access-date=May 1, 2021|archive-date=September 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925084920/https://books.google.com/books?id=1XVFAQAAIAAJ&q=%22full+name:+stone+stockton+phillips%22|url-status=live}}</ref> Victor Phillips is a veteran of [[World War II]].<ref name=Parents/> Phillips and his siblings—brother Victor III and sister Minta—were raised in the Claymont section of [[Ballwin, Missouri|Ballwin]], Missouri, in the [[Greater St. Louis]] area.<ref name=Parents/>

As a boy Phillips was an [[acolyte]] at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in [[Ellisville, Missouri]], where his parents were founding members of the congregation.<ref name="Parents">{{cite web |last=Palermo |first=Gregg |url=http://ballwin-ellisville.patch.com/groups/arts-and-entertainment/p/stone-phillips-documentary-chronicles-care-for-his-parents |title=Stone Phillips documentary chronicles care for his parents |website=Ballwin-Ellisville Patch online newspaper |date=May 8, 2013|access-date=September 14, 2013|archive-date=September 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905172137/http://ballwin-ellisville.patch.com/groups/arts-and-entertainment/p/stone-phillips-documentary-chronicles-care-for-his-parents|url-status=live}}</ref> Phillips attended [[Parkway West High School (Ballwin, Missouri)|Parkway West High School]] in [[Ballwin, Missouri]], where he was an honor student and starting quarterback on the football team.<ref name="Legends">{{cite book |last=Brown |first=John W. |title=Missouri Legends: Famous people from the Show-Me State |year=2008 |publisher=Reedy Press |pages=215–216 |location=St. Louis |isbn=9781933370286}}</ref> Phillips is of [[Scottish Americans|Scottish]] ancestry.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stenhouse |first1=David |title=The Tartan Spangled Banner |url=http://archives.wbur.org/insideout/documentaries/tartan/synops.php.html|access-date=December 31, 2016|archive-date=January 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101001253/http://archives.wbur.org/insideout/documentaries/tartan/synops.php.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Stenhouse |first1=David |title=The Tartan Spangled Banner (Listen) |url=http://archives.wbur.org/insideout/documentaries/tartan/listen.php.html|access-date=December 31, 2016|archive-date=January 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101001102/http://archives.wbur.org/insideout/documentaries/tartan/listen.php.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Phillips matriculated at [[Yale University]] where he continued to excel in academics and in athletics. In 1976, he was starting quarterback for the Yale Bulldogs squad that won the [[Ivy League]] football championship.<ref name=Legends/> Phillips was a member of Yale's [[Scroll and Key]] [[Collegiate secret societies in North America|secret society]] and earned the university's prestigious F. Gordon Brown Award for outstanding academic and athletic leadership.<ref name=Legends/><ref name=NBCNews>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3949454 |title=NBC Dateline |website=[[NBC News]] |year=2013|access-date=September 11, 2013|archive-date=September 25, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925001107/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3949454|url-status=live}}</ref> Phillips graduated with honors from Yale in 1977, earning a [[Bachelor of Philosophy]].<ref name=Legends/>

==Broadcasting career (1978&ndash;2013)==
After graduating from Yale, Phillips moved to [[Atlanta|Atlanta, Georgia]], where he worked as a remedial reading and math teacher at the [[Fulton County, Georgia|Fulton County]] [[Youth detention center|Juvenile Detention Center]].<ref name=Legends/> He was supplementing his pay by moonlighting as a waiter when he landed an entry-level news position at [[WXIA-TV]], the local [[NBC]] affiliate.<ref name=NBCNews/>

In 1980, after less than two years as a reporter, writer, and broadcast producer in Atlanta, Phillips was hired by [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] as an assignment editor for its [[Washington, D.C.]], news bureau.<ref name="Legends" /> In 1982, he began filing stories as an on-air correspondent for ABC, covering such major events as the war in Lebanon, the exodus of [[Vietnamese boat people]] in the mid-1980s, and Rajiv Gandhi's election campaign following the assassination of his mother, [[Indira Gandhi]].<ref name="NBCNews" /> In 1986, Phillips was promoted to a regular role on the ABC news magazine ''[[20/20 (American TV program)|20/20]]''. Beginning that year, he also served as a substitute host on ''[[Good Morning America]]'' and a sports anchor for ABC's ''[[World News Sunday]]''.

Phillips ended his twelve-year relationship with ABC in 1992, joining [[NBC News]] to serve 11 years as co-anchor with [[Jane Pauley]] and co-anchoring with [[Ann Curry]] 4 years on ''[[Dateline NBC]]''. While at NBC News, Phillips also hosted ''Weekend Magazine with Stone Phillips''. He conducted a long list of notable interviews during his time with NBC. Among them was the first network interview with [[Lynndie England]], the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] soldier, about her role in the [[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse|Abu Ghraib prison scandal]].<ref name=NBCNews/> Others included notorious [[serial killer]] [[Jeffrey Dahmer]], Russian President [[Boris Yeltsin]], and [[Bernhard Goetz]] (a man who shot four black teenagers in the [[New York City Subway]]). The last earned Phillips an [[Emmy Award]] for Outstanding Interview.<ref name=NBCNews/> Phillips co-anchored ''Dateline NBC'' from its inception until July 2, 2007, when [[NBC]] did not renew his $7 million contract.

On October 17, 2005, Phillips was the guest on the premiere episode of ''The Colbert Report''. Phillips' delivery was part of the inspiration for [[Stephen Colbert|comedian Stephen Colbert]]'s [[Stephen Colbert (character)|persona]] on ''[[The Daily Show with Jon Stewart]].''<ref>{{cite news |last=Schillaci |first=Sophie |date=December 8, 2013 |title=Stephen Colbert Reveals Month-Long Headache Surrounding Daft Punk's Scheduled Appearance |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stephen-colbert-reveals-month-long-604364 |newspaper=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |location=Los Angeles |publisher=Lynne Segall |issn=0018-3660 |access-date=July 8, 2014 |archive-date=March 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313072741/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stephen-colbert-reveals-month-long-604364 |url-status=live}} (46 mins 45 seconds into The Paul Mercurio Show audio file at the bottom of this Hollywood Reporter web page)</ref> On December 18, 2014, Phillips would again appear on [[Final episode of The Colbert Report|the final episode]] of ''The Colbert Report''.

As of 2012, Phillips was contributing reports to the ''[[PBS NewsHour]]''. In 2013, he reported on golf course water usage for [[Golf Channel|The Golf Channel]].<ref name="golfchannel">{{cite press release |url=http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2013/07/24/stone-phillips-examines-golf-course-water-usage-concerns-and-conservation-efforts-on-new-episode-of-in-play-with-jimmy-roberts-tuesday-july-30-at-1030-p-m-et/ |title=Stone Phillips examines golf course water usage concerns and conservation efforts on new episode of In Play with Jimmy Roberts, Tuesday, July 30 at 10:30 p.m. ET |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=July 24, 2013 |website=NBC Sports Group Press Box |access-date=July 8, 2014 |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714144332/http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2013/07/24/stone-phillips-examines-golf-course-water-usage-concerns-and-conservation-efforts-on-new-episode-of-in-play-with-jimmy-roberts-tuesday-july-30-at-1030-p-m-et/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 2013, Phillips produced and hosted ''Moving with Grace'', a documentary airing on PBS stations that chronicled his efforts and those of his siblings to provide care for their aging parents. It also explored various issues faced by other baby boomers in similar circumstance.<ref name=Parents/>

==Personal life==
Phillips lives in New York with his wife Debra Del Toro-Phillips who is [[Puerto Ricans|Puerto Rican]] and moved to New York City as a child. After a successful career in the fashion industry, she returned to college and earned a master's degree in [[social work]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hispanic-culture-online.com/debra-del-toro-phillips.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101004200812/http://www.hispanic-culture-online.com/debra-del-toro-phillips.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 4, 2010 |title=A Moment in the Life of Debra Del Toro-Phillips |last1=Hede |first1=Marcela |date=July 14, 2013 |website=hispanic-culture-online.com |access-date=July 8, 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3949454 Biography at nbcnews.com]
* {{IMDb name|0680812}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Stone}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:American football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:American people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:American television news anchors]]
[[Category:American television reporters and correspondents]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:NBC News people]]
[[Category:ABC News people]]
[[Category:People from Texas City, Texas]]
[[Category:People from Ballwin, Missouri]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Missouri]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Galveston County, Texas]]
[[Category:Yale Bulldogs football players]]
[[Category:Journalists from Texas]]