Son of Clifton Utley, noted Chicago radio and television commentator of
the 30's-50's and of Frayn Garrick Utley, who was a foreign affairs
specialist, leader in educational reform, and pioneer female radio
commentator.
He was a full-time foreign correspondent for NBC News, as well as an anchorman. He reported from some 75 countries, and was bureau chief in London and Paris. He also worked for ABC and CNN.
He was fluent in Russian, German, and French.
He won a Peabody Award and the Overseas Press Club's Edward R. Murrow Award.
In 1964, he became one of the first TV network reporters based in Saigon. In 1968, he covered the invasion of Czechoslovakia as Soviet forces crushed the so-called Prague Spring political reforms. He covered the 1973 Yom Kippur war, and interviewed Nazi leader Albert Speer in 1976.