Marilyn Manely, 71, Atlanta TV anchor

As an Atlanta TV anchor in the mid-70s, Marilyn Manely interviewed stars like Milton Berle, Gene Kelly and Ann-Margret.

To Ms. Manely, they weren’t just celebrities; they were heroes. But she feared they wouldn’t live up to her expectations in the flesh, daughter Polly Briley said.

“She was always afraid they would disappoint her,” Mrs. Briley said. “She was specifically surprised at Milton Berle. He was beyond warm and wonderful and friendly and sweet, and she was always glad to see a celebrity be the person they presented themselves to be: genuine.”

Whether she was rubbing elbows with bigwigs, hosting a cooking segment or covering the Dogwood parade, Manely’s style on camera reflected the times.

“She was sort of old school,” Mrs. Briley said. “You enjoyed it, you had fun with your audience, but it was a little more formal.”

Marilyn Ann Manely, 71, formerly of Marietta, died April 27 of congenital heart failure at Sterling House of Oshkosh in Wisconsin.

The funeral service will be today at 5 p.m. at Northwestern Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Sandy Springs. The family is handling arrangements.

Ms. Manely began her career while in high school hosting a dance program on KAKE in Wichita. After college, she went into radio, then advertising.

In the late ’60s, she did marketing for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and served as executive director of the Piedmont Arts Festival. In the ’70s, she joined WSB-TV, where she hosted “Today in Georgia.”

Her true passion was being behind the scenes, producing and writing, Mrs. Briley said.

“She loved writing for television,” she said. “She thought it was an art form — to find the picture and use the words to enhance the picture.”

Charlenne Carl worked with Ms. Manely at The Weather Channel in the mid-80s. She remembers Ms. Manely doing on-air promotions and writing science-related study guides for students.

“She was a communicator, whether she was communicating with her voice or as a writer,” Ms. Carl said.

Mike Lerner, once Ms. Manely’s supervisor at The Weather Channel, remembers that voice well. In fact, he said, many others likely recognized it, too. Throughout the ’80s and into the early ’90s, Ms. Manely was the voice of the Atlanta airport.

“That voice you heard for years and years going up and down the escalator at the airport was hers,” Mr. Lerner said. “When you heard, ‘Welcome to the airport,’ … that was Marilyn Manely.”

Additional survivors include son Michael Manely of Marietta; sister Linda Lloyd of Marietta; and brother Kent Wiemeyer of Virginia.