Alex Wong/Getty ImagesBrian Williams failed in local news before striking up a friendship with an important news director in Washington, D.C.

Before Brian Williams was the Emmy-winning anchor and managing editor of NBC “Nightly News,” the 55-year-old struggled to even find a job after dropping out of college.

Now earning a reported a
$10 million annual salary, Williams went bankrupt in his early 20s after “a failed experiment in local news.”

It wasn’t until a news director in Washington, D.C. took a chance on him that Williams resumed his on-air career years later. 'I worked at a small television station for 13 months and started making $US168 a week for a 7-day work week.' 'I had a resumé, reel, tape -- nobody was buying it, nobody was digging it. There were a lot of people just like me and I was unexceptional.' 'My experiment in small market television failed. I went bankrupt, I had to work out deals with all of my credit card companies to pay them down $US10 or $US20 a month. I was borrowing money, I lost my car. I was, by any standard, poor.' 'I went on the air in the 9th largest market in the country. And I decided this was it, these things don't happen outside of (Frank) Capra films.' In 1993, he landed at NBC News and has been there ever since. In 2004, Williams replaced Tom Brokaw as anchor of the NBC Nightly News. To this day, he remains anchor and managing editor of the broadcast. Despite his demanding career, Williams still finds time for his wife of 27 years, Jane Stoddard Williams, son Douglas, and his 'Girls' actress-daughter, Allison Williams.
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