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Chris Marrou returning to KENS 5 with a historic new role

On Friday, Chris Marrou and KENS 5 announced a partnership to cover one of San Antonio's biggest milestones.

It's a voice that commanded the attention of San Antonio for decades, and one you listened to growing up in South Texas.

Now, Chris Marrou is returning to KENS 5 Eyewitness News in a special new role.

Deborah Knapp caught up with her former co-anchor about a new book and a reason for you to "stay tuned" to KENS 5.

It has been eight years since Marrou's retirement, so we asked him to come back to KENS 5 to take a look around.

"You've really modernized. It looks great," he said as he checked out KENS 5's new studio, which debuted in February. "Wish we could have afforded this back in the old days!"

The old days date back to 1973, when Marrou began anchoring at KENS 5. For 36 years, Eyewitness News had one voice that made it the highest rated 10 p.m. newscast in the nation.

Marrou's quick wit and fun with sportscaster Dan Cook made the newscast "appointment television," along with his signature feature, the comedic "Eyewitness Newsreel" that capped the evening. He later took on more than 250 jobs with a segment called "Marrou in My Shoes."

Marrou is still instantly recognized across the city.

"I'm a little surprised... People are really nice," he says.

Lately, he's been back on camera as the anchor of a weekly online newscast for The Texas Monitor.

He's also written two books and is working on a documentary about the people who live along Highway 281, which stretches from Mexico to Canada.

He even got his law degree, and he practiced for a bit.

"I enjoyed being a municipal judge for a while, and in doing so, I was able to be part of both of the girls' wedding ceremonies," he said. "I was the judge, although in each case we had a minister, also."

He's also taken on a new role in life: grandfather to 1-year-old Carson. We asked him what that has been like.

"It's fun. It didn't hit me. It's just like when I became a parent, I don't know," he said. "Some people are like "AHHHH!" It takes a while. It's growing on me."

He celebrates his 70th birthday next month, and he's still full of plans.

"When you get to my age... five years from now, you don't want to be dead! That's the first thing," he joked.

"I would like to be into more of movie production -- documentary production. I don't want to be on camera. I'll be glad to help produce it, to write."

He also had a big announcement that we're excited about here at KENS 5:

Marrou will be joining the Eyewitness News team once again as we celebrate San Antonio's tricentennial. He'll be contributing special reports about the city's 300th anniversary.

"Despite the publicity, I wasn't here for the 100th," he noted with a grin. "I was here for the 250th, went to HemisFair, got my first press card there."

Marrou will help us tell stories about the city's history, much of which he's reported and lived.

"What is now Loop 410 and San Pedro... When we moved to that part of town, I was eight years old," he said. "There was a four-way stop at what was then Loop 13 and San Pedro, and it didn't need any more! Every day or so you'd see a car go by."

We're thrilled that as the city turns back the clock to remember its history, Chris Marrou will be doing the same here at KENS 5.

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