Like It Is

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Charles Hobson the original creative force behind the long-running "Like It Is," a morning current affairs program hosted by Gil Noble. Actor Robert Hooks was the original host and Noble was the interviewer. When Hooks accepted an acting job, Noble replaced him as host, and originally co-hosted with Melba Tolliver. In the beginning, "Like It Is" focused on mostly entertainers, however, when Noble became producer in 1975, he turned its focus to the more serious issues of the black experience. Noble's show debuted on ABC's flagship station in 1968 amid the racial and political turmoil of the era. As producer and host, Noble's goal was to document untold stories of African-American history. Among the notables he interviewed for the program and other WABC-TV broadcasts were African leaders Nelson Mandela and Robert Mugabe; entertainers Bill Cosby, Harry Belafonte and Lena Horne; sports legends Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe; and political figures including Jesse Jackson and Louis Farrakhan.