The actor in this commercial is Jerry Lambert. Before this, he played the first boss in the Geico lizard commercials. And has been in numerous commercials and shows since.
I remember when they syndicated this show in 1972 to a local indep. station here in DC, they used this promo, but covered the ABC logo with a black dot.
I remember the second one on John Wayne's death in 1979. They broke in late during the CBS late movie around 11:15 and it scared the s^^t out of me. Any time they used to break in with these bulletins in the 70's, it was always the death of a major celebrity or political figure, or a major catast...
How come Gilligan doesn't die when this happens to him?