Charlie Langton

My road to FOX 2 just didn't happen overnight. It's actually taken quite a long time with lots of twists and turns, hard work and a little bit of luck.My real job is an attorney. I have been practicing law for nearly 25 years, have my own law firm, and have tried many cases in multiple areas of law. Some people might call me an ambulance chaser, as I handle a lot of car accidents, workers' compensation cases, slips and falls and dog bites. Basically when somebody gets injured, that's when they call me. I have also represented many criminal cases and actually find the criminal cases to be more interesting than the civil cases. Criminals just have so many more stories to tell.The law has always been a part of my family. My father was an attorney until his retirement about 15 years ago. I remember, as a little kid, watching him spread out an entire file after dinner, going over the legal issues or arguing with him about the facts of the case. Obviously, joining the debate team at Notre Dame High School seemed to be a natural for me. It wasn't until college that I slightly changed my interests.I was a theater major at Kalamazoo College. I won the Best Supporting Actor award for my role as the dirty old man in William Inge's play, "Picnic." It obviously took a lot of hard work to portray that role.After graduating from the Detroit College of Law, I wanted to combine my legal training with my performing interests. When I was asked to host the Macomb County Bar Association's cable television program, I knew I was up to the challenge. I had the opportunity to get one-on-one interviews with people like Rosa Parks, Johnnie Cochran, Charlton Heston, and even Barney the Dinosaur. I wanted to make broadcasting more than just a hobby. So, after ten years of practicing law, I enrolled at Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts.After graduating number one in my Specs class, I was offered a job at WYUR-AM 1310 hosting a political-legal talk show from noon to one, Monday through Friday. Although the ratings were pretty good, the station eventually folded. I then went to WXYT-AM 1270 where I hosted a talk show Monday through Friday from 9 to 11 at night. It was at that time I knew that a career in broadcasting was definitely in my blood.While I was on the radio, somebody at FOX 2 News heard me and thought I would make a good legal analyst. I eventually became a regular daily commentator during the Stephen Grant murder case in Macomb County. It was about that time that Kwame Kilpatrick's dirty deeds became public and I was called upon for legal commentating. I have to say that to some extent, I owe my television career to the former mayor of Detroit.I have enjoyed some success in broadcasting. I won four Emmys and three Wade McCree Jr. awards for excellence in legal journalism presented by the State Bar of Michigan. I have been honored by the Macomb County Bar Association for outstanding service and have been asked to speak at various legal and charitable events, as well as moderate numerous political debates.What you may not know about me is that I helped designed the Michigan quarter, am a big collector of Michigan art, a huge Beatles fan, attended the Detroit Tigers fantasy camp and can't get enough of chocolate milk shakes! I am also honored to serve as a trustee at the Michigan State University College of Law.I love being part of the FOX 2 team. The people here are professional and thoroughly entertaining, and I can't wait for my next assignment.Charlie handles many roles: FOX 2 legal analyst; a reporter; weekend morning anchor and also co-hosts "Let It Rip", "Let It Rip Weekend" and "Let it Rip On the Road."