Clifton Maxwell Utley, Chicago radio and television foreign affairs commentator, was born in Chicago and received most of his education in that city. In 1926 he earned his Ph.B. from the University of Chicago. From there he went to the University of Munich, 1926-1927, and, also in 1927, to the University of Algiers. Mr. Utley has received honorary degrees from Lawrence College, 1945, and from Illinois College, 1946.
From 1930 to 1942 Clifton Utley was editor of Foreign Notes, a bi-weekly international news sheet published by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, and from 1931 to 1942 he was director of the Council. Mr. Utley's journalistic talents were also engaged from 1951 to 1953 when he wrote a column for the Chicago Sun-Times; these columns may be found on microfilm in the library of the State Historical Society.
Mr. Utley's career in broadcasting officially began in October, 1935, with a current world affairs program called Today's Topics, sponsored by the Charles A. Stevens Company, a Chicago department store. The Stevens Company continued to sponsor Clifton Utley's programs from this time until his retirement in 1959.
The only significant interruption in Mr. Utley's broadcasting career was due to the illness which ultimately caused his retirement. On June 8, 1953, he suffered a stroke, which resulted in partial paralysis, and he spent the following nineteen months in the hospital and several years in recuperation. Because of Clifton's illness there were no Utley programs from July to December of 1953. However, in 1954 Frayn Utley, herself an experienced news commentator, substituted for her husband and delivered weekly commentaries on the Stevens program. In 1955 and the early part of 1956 Mr. and Mrs. Utley worked together to produce the programs.
By the fall of 1956 Mr. Utley was sufficiently recovered to return to his radio work and the following year he resumed his television commentaries. In 1958 he received the Du Pont Citation for outstanding work as a commentator, the first mid-westerner to receive this coveted award.
However, in March, 1959, the disabilities resulting from his illness forced him to drop his daily programs, although he continued the weekly commentaries with his wife. On June 26, 1960, Frayn Utley delivered the final Utley broadcast, thus commemorating the end of twenty-five years of continuous sponsorship by the Stevens Company.
