NECN cuts veteran anchor Tom Ellis

NOT HAPPY TO BE LEAVING "I've had my turn with them and I am not dead yet and I am not retired yet," says Tom Ellis, at NECN since 1994.

Cutbacks have claimed another Boston news anchor. NECN said yesterday that it has laid off weekend anchor Tom Ellis, who's been at the station since 1994. He signs off on Saturday.

Ellis, who learned Dec. 1 that he was losing his job, said he feels humiliated.

"I am disappointed. I feel humiliated. I feel like a part-time throwaway," Ellis, 76, said from his Sandwich home.

"I feel like I have contributed a great deal to that organization and company. I appreciate the fact they have given me an opportunity to be with them for over 14 years. I am just disappointed that this has happened."

Charles J. Kravetz, president and general manager of NECN, released this statement about Ellis:

"Tom Ellis has served New England with exceptional grace and professionalism in his long and storied television career. The decision to eliminate Tom's part time position, necessitated by the difficult economic climate, is done with regret. We wish Tom great health and happiness in the future."

Ellis has been a Boston TV presence for four decades, serving as anchor at WBZ-TV Channel 4, WCVB Channel 5, and WNEV-TV (now WHDH) Channel 7. He was demoted in 1986 because of poor ratings and later left Boston for New York, where he appeared in commercials and landed roles in soap operas and films.

In 1994, he returned to the news when NECN hired him as weekend newscaster.

"I've had my turn with them and I am not dead yet and I am not retired yet," Ellis said.