Enid Roth, Television Pioneer

Enid Roth of New York City and Amagansett, who had a long career in television, died on Jan. 27 of complications of breast cancer at the Bristal, an assisted-living facility in Holtsville. She was 87.

 In 1950, between her junior and senior years at college, Ms. Roth began what would turn into a 40-year career in television with a job at CBS and a salary of $45 a week. A year later, after she had graduated from Syracuse University, she thought a starting salary of $70 a week at NBC sounded better, and so she signed on, eventually becoming the associate director and then director of NBC’s local news.

Between news assignments, she worked on dramatic and entertainment specials. She traveled all over the country, to witness space shots in Houston and Cape Canaveral, Fla.; and political conventions in San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, and Kansas City. She was a part of the first satellite broadcast, with Telstar, and broadcast variety shows such as “Hullabaloo,” “The Perry Como Show,” “The Steve Allen Show,” and many others.

Several of Ms. Roth’s NBC friends had moved to East Hampton, or were summering on the East End, and she built a house on Skimhampton Road in Amagansett in 1971, staying there from May through late October.

She was born in Brooklyn on Feb. 10, 1930, one of two children of the former Minnie Kaufman and Hugo Roth. Her brother, Jerrold Roth, died many years ago. She grew up in Brooklyn, attending elementary school and graduating from high school before earning a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University.

In recent years, Ms. Roth devoted herself to volunteerism, donating her time to Guild Hall and the Ladies Village Improvement Society. She was also a member of the community supported agriculture program at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett.

There was no service. Ms. Roth was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn.