Ukee Washington Biography
Ukee Washington whose full name is Ulysses Samuel Washington III is an American journalist currently working as the co-anchor for the weekday evening newscast on CBS 3 (KYW-TV) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He as well anchors CBS News Philadelphia at 5,6 and 11 p.m. with Jessica Kartalija and CBS News Philadelphia NOW on The CW Philly at 10 p.m. and on a sister station WPSG-TV, also with Kartalija. Ukee also hosts CBS 3’s popular Brotherly Love segment profiling people who have had a positive impact in their communities. Previously, he was a sports anchor at WBBH-TV in Fort Myers, Florida, and at WSB-TV in Atlanta.
Ukee Washington Age
Washington was born on August 20, 1958, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Therefore as of 2022, Ulysses is 64 years old.
Ukee Washington Height
Washington stands at a height of 1.7m, and his weight is about 72kg.
Ukee Washington Family
Washington was born to his parents Ulysses Samuel Washington Jr. an American football coach and long-time educator at Delaware State University. Jack Myers, an expert in genealogy and family trees, traced the Washington name years back and found out that Ukee and Denzel are second cousins. Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. an American actor and filmmaker, gave Ukee a part in the remake of his film, The Manchurian Candidate as Ukee has also covered a number of his movies since they first met during the shooting of Philadelphia in 1991.
The Washington side of the family settled in Virginia in the 1800s, 60 miles west of Richmond in Buckingham County, right between the towns of Farmville and Dillwyn. Denzel lived with his mother in Mt. Vernon, New York, but after his parents divorced during the summer, he would visit his dad near Dillwyn. Moreover, Ukee is the godfather of former Philadelphia Eagles safety Nate Allen.
Ukee Washington’s Wife/ Laurie
Washington is happily married to Laurie Washington a physical therapist at BAYADA Home Health Care in Wilmington, Delaware. Together, they do not have any children yet but currently, they live in Philadelphia and love watching movies together on weekends.
Ukee Washington Career
As a graduate of the University of Richmond in Virginia, Washington as well attended Dover High School in Dover, Delaware where he was a celebrated athlete. He loved music and as a member of the Philadelphia Boys Choir’s Elite, Ukee traveled to Russia, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Denmark, and even Mexico to perform. The experiences have been helpful in his broadcasting career as host of the station’s live telecasts of the Philadelphia Orchestra and his live coverage of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games from Nagano, Japan. Before joining the CBS Network in July 1986, he was previously a sports anchor at WBBH-TV in Fort Myers, Florida, and at WSB-TV in Atlanta.
Originally, Ukee co-anchored the first segment of CBS 3 at 4 p.m. alongside Natasha Brown and Alexandria Hoff, the main anchors until May 2020, when they were both unclearly removed from their anchor positions. This happened as a result of redundancy that occurred because of corporate restructuring in the wake of both the December 2019 merger of Viacom and CBS’s parent company CBS Corporation to become ViacomCBS officially known as Paramount Global and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Kartalija joined Washington in co-anchoring the broadcast until October 2021 and in that month Brown was put back as the sole anchor of the 4 p.m. newscast until joined by the former WMAQ-TV sports anchor Siafa Lewis on November 15, 2021. Alexandria Hoff left CBS3 in August 2021 after 6 years at the station and is currently a general assignment reporter for Fox News.
KYW-TV (CBS 3)
Ukee joined the Channel 3 news team as a sports anchor in July 1986 and in 1996, Washington moved over to the news desk as the early morning and noon anchor. He made coverage on Super Storm Sandy in 2012, the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, and Pope Francis’ historic visit to the City in 2015. Additionally, Washington’s assignments run the range from hosting the 2015 Philadelphia Mayoral Candidates Forum to going behind bars to interview a high school classmate on death row. Formerly, Washington anchored Eyewitness News This Morning on CBS 3 and The CW Philly with co-anchor Erika von Tiehl, and also the mixed news and entertainment program Talk Philly with Pat Ciarrocchi airing weekdays at noon. The entertainment program, Talk Philly was later canceled and reverted to a regular newscast on June 29, 2015, anchored by von Tiehl until she left the station in March 2016.
Four days after hosting the final episode of Talk Philly, on July 1, 2015, Ukee was named the new co-anchor of Eyewitness News weeknight broadcasts a day after Chris May the lead anchor was fired by station management along with the then-Chief Meteorologist Kathy Orr and Sports Director Beasley Reece. Additionally, his daily anchor duties provide viewers with Keeping It Reel, a special segment of the morning newscast that previews one of the week’s theatrical releases and interviews the releases’ stars and directors. Washington also hosted the local teen issues discussion show, Rap Around which dealt with topics like race, prom fashions, and having a brother. In 2004, Ukee put together a special report on the still controversial Philadelphia Experiment.
Other Experiences and Appearances
Being the second cousin of actor Denzel Washington, Ukee has had small features in the movies like Unbreakable in 2000, Signs in 2002, Shooter in 2007, and the 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate. Likewise, he has also appeared in The Happening in 2008 portraying a television news anchor, his real-life profession. Moreover, Ukee had a minor, non-speaking part in the film Live Free or Die Hard in 2007. A performance was aired on KYW-TV on November 11, 2011, where Ukee joined his former group the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale, and the Facebook Volunteer Choir at the Zion Baptist Church in north Philadelphia in singing God Bless America, in tribute to America’s military veterans.
Washington was asked by the Philadelphia Phillies to sing God Bless America at a seventh-inning stretch at Citizens Bank Park during the 2011 National League Championship Series. Unfortunately, because the Phillies had been eliminated from the playoffs in the previous round by the St. Louis Cardinals, he could not perform for the Phillies but instead, he chose to film a performance for Veterans Day. Television-wise, Ukee appeared in an episode of the short-lived CBS drama series Hack and also made four appearances as a co-host of the CBS daytime show The Talk in a special week held every season. Washington appeared in October 2013, July 2016, April 2019, and May 2020 the last of which he did virtually from his home due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. At the CBS station, Ukee works alongside fellow CBS 3 journalists like;
- Natasha Brown
- Jan Carabeo
- Janelle Burrell
- Jim Donovan
- Siafa Lewis
- Joe Holden
- Jessica Kartalija
- Bill Kelly
- Kate Bilo
- Tammie Souza
- Andrew Kozak
- Don Bell
- Pat Gallen
Awards and Recognition
Ukee was named to both the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2008. Later in February 2017, Philadelphia’s City Council named Ukee a Living Legend during its special Black History Month observance.
Ukee Washington Salary
Washington’s salary is about $98,500 per year.
Ukee Washington’s Net Worth
Washinton’s estimated net worth is $ 5 million. His primary source is his job as the co-anchor for the weekday evening newscast on CBS 3 (KYW-TV) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Social Media Accounts
Washington is active on social media and he posts personal and work-related stuff from time to time. He has over 2000 followers on Instagram, 20k on Facebook, and 21.1k on Twitter.