Chris Jussel, known to many Americans as the original host of the Public Broadcasting Service television series Antiques Roadshow and most recently a senior vice president at Samuel T. Freeman & Company, is leaving the Philadelphia auction house at the end of December.

A resident for nearly 30 years of Bedford Village, N.Y. (often confused with the fictional town of Bedford Falls in the 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life), Jussel said he is preparing to settle back and enjoy his own wonderful life in the original 1680 settlement with historic buildings that date to the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries.

“I want to own more of my time, spend more time with my children, and be closer to them,” said Jussel with regard to his reason for stepping down from Freeman’s. “My son lives in Bedford, and my daughter lives in Boston †too far.”

At Freeman’s, Jussel served in the trusts, estates and appraisals group.

Jussel hosted Antiques Roadshow for its first four years, following a prominent career of more than 20 years as the owner of Vernay & Jussel, which he closed in 1994.

Founded in New York City in 1906, Vernay & Jussel was one of the oldest established antiques businesses in America. The firm dealt in fine English antique furniture and works of art and was instrumental in forming several important collections of English furniture in the United States. Vernay & Jussel also supplied many major museums in the United States and Europe with fine English furniture.

From 1999, when he left Antiques Roadshow, until 2004, Jussel was a senior vice president at Sotheby’s, where he worked at the firm’s Internet initiative and later in the business development and trusts and estates departments.

He also managed Boston’s Ellis Antiques Show, for two years, 2007 and 2008. The show, which was conducted every year in November, would have celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010. It was recently announced, however, that the show has been closed.

What is next for Jussel? “I presently manage the Antiques in Alexandria show, which is conducted in early March every year; 2010 will be its 14th year. I enjoy managing shows a great deal and take a special interest in the marketing, publicity and promotional needs of antiques shows. I hope to be able to add another show or three to my plate in the next year. In the meantime, over the next three months, I will spend much more time working on the Alexandria show, and also designing a new garden for the house in Bedford.” ‼i>WD