Background
Cummins was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Cummins was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Cummins was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was a basketball player and member of the Regis Catholic High School 1962 state champion squad. From 1963 to 1967, Cummins attended Northwestern University"s and earned both his bachelor"s and master"s degrees.
He was also a forward at NU.
Cummins began his professional career at KGLO-television in Mason City, Iowa, in 1969. From there, his career took him to WOTV (Grand Rapids, Michigan), WTMJ-television (Milwaukee) and WMAQ (Chicago). He joined National Broadcasting Company News in 1978 working out of their Chicago bureau.
In 1989, Cummins reopened National Broadcasting Company"s Southwest bureau in Dallas, becoming its correspondent.
Over the years, he reported on various stories including United States. political coverage, plane crashes, the Iran hostage crisis, the Salvadoran Civil War, the Oklahoma City bombing, many hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes, and live coverage of the Waco Siege. He also earned two National Emmy nominations for his coverage of Hurricane Hugo and the Salvadoran Civil War.
Cummins retired from his National Broadcasting Company position in 2007 but shortly after was diagnosed with cancer. He died at the Presbyterian Hospital of Plano on October 26, 2007, aged 62, and was buried at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas.
In 1962, Cummins, then a 17-year-old altar boy, alleged that he was sexually molested by his parish priest, Reverend William Roach.
In 2002, his repressed history was reflected through Cummins"s interview with a family dealing with a similar, situation. Cummins finally rectified his personal demons in 2004 by filing the first of fifteen lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Dubuque and priests accused of child molestation.
He became a somewhat recognizable member of the network, having worked there for nearly thirty years.