Neal Leslie Spelce Jr. (1936–)

Neal Spelce is a pioneering figure in American broadcast media whose formative years in Clarksville (Johnson County) set the foundation for a storied career spanning radio, television, journalism, and consulting.

Neal Leslie Spelce Jr. was born on April 18, 1936, the elder son of Fannie Lou Bennett Spelce and Neal Leslie Spelce Sr. His mother was a registered cardiac nurse and was also heralded as an American memory painter, known especially for her evocative works reflecting her years in Arkansas. Many of her nearly 100 paintings capture memories of her time in Clarksville and in Dyer (Crawford County).

The family lived in Clarksville for much of the 1940s, where Neal and his younger brother, William Bennett Spelce, were raised by their mother following their parents’ divorce. During their years in Clarksville, the Spelce boys attended Holy Redeemer Grade School and Clarksville High School. Neal excelled academically and actively participated in school life—earning the rank of Eagle Scout, playing snare drum in the band, and joining the football team. He has often credited Clarksville’s close-knit community and quality schooling as formative in developing his sense of curiosity and ambition.

In the early 1950s, the family relocated to Texas, where Spelce completed high school before enrolling at the University of Texas at Austin at sixteen years old. He enrolled in the Plan II Honors Program in 1952 and graduated in 1958 with three bachelor’s degrees: Bachelor of Journalism (BJ), Bachelor of Arts (BA) in speech, and Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in radio and television. In 1960–61, he pursued graduate studies in economics and government at Columbia University while on a CBS Fellowship.

In 1961, Spelce married Sheila Allen Spelce, whom he had met at the University of Texas; they had two children, Allen Bennett Spelce and Cile Leslie Spelce.

Spelce’s professional journey encompassed roles in radio, television, print journalism, marketing, advertising, public relations, TV syndication, public speaking, and consulting. In television, he rose to prominence as a news director and anchor. He began his career at KTBC Austin in 1956, initially working in a part-time role while attending the University of Texas. Upon graduation in 1958, Spelce went full-time at KTBC. Spelce was a broadcast journalist, news director, anchor, and reporter, serving in various roles at the station throughout his tenure in Austin. He left KTBC in the late 1960s to start his own advertising and public relations agency. Spelce owned the Neal Spelce Company throughout the 1970s to the mid-1990s. In 1995, he joined the CBS affiliate KEYE-TV in Austin as the evening news anchor. He retired from his journalism career in 2002 and continued to work as a consultant, public speaker, and author for the next twenty-plus years.

His impact on the field was recognized through numerous honors, including the Society of Professional Journalists’ highest national award for radio news reporting and the National Headliners Club’s top award for consistently outstanding television news coverage in the United States. Both awards were given in 1967 for his on-the-scene, live reporting of the University of Texas at Austin Tower mass shooting on August 1, 1966.

Spelce’s journalistic rigor led to opportunities to interview, consult, and interact with U.S. presidents Harry Truman, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush, as well as, to a lesser extent, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. Spelce was appointed chairman by Lyndon Johnson to oversee the May 22, 1971, dedication of the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum in Austin. He also served as a senior advisor to U.S. Senator John McCain, traveling with McCain’s 2008 campaign for president.

Spelce’s leadership extended into program development—he was CEO of the company behind the “An American Moment” television segments, first starring Charles Kuralt and later James Earl Jones, which were syndicated to more than 100 U.S. markets. The segments ran mainly throughout the 1990s.

Spelce and his first wife divorced in 1989, and he married Connie Davis in 1996.

The University of Texas named him Outstanding Alumnus of its College of Communication in 1990 and further honored him in 2016 by permanently naming the university’s broadcast journalism studio after him. He was named Austin’s Most Worthy Citizen in 1988 for his civic and charitable leadership.

Spelce authored a memoir, With the Bark Off: A Journalist’s Memories of LBJ and a Life in the News Media, published by the University of Texas in 2021. The memoir shares firsthand memories of his longtime association with President Lyndon B. Johnson and others across the corridors of power in Texas and Washington DC.

For additional information:
Neal Spelce. https://www.nealspelce.com (accessed January 16, 2026).

Spelce, Neal. With the Bark Off: A Journalist’s Memories of LBJ and a Life in the News Media. Austin: University of Texas at Austin Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, 2021.