Commander Tom
As I sit here on a Thursday afternoon, the tv weather and internet are buzzing over the season's first winter storm watch. Apparently, a "Rather Complex And Extended Period Of Wintry Weather Is On Tap For The Later Part Of The Week Into The Weekend." Still, listening to the reports on the Weather Channel, no one is willing to declare definitively whether we are going to have rain, snow, ice, a mixture of those, or nothing. It seems to me that weather forecasting may be the one area where advances in technology have increased the odds of a wrong forecast.
I've often been heard to say that if I could get the chance to go back in my life and choose a new career, I would not choose to be a lawyer. I say this even though I absolutely love my job and have had more success than I would ever have imagined when I started in 1981. Nope. If I could do it again, I would opt to become a television weather personality.
My favorite television weather personality is not Willard Scott (the original Bozo the clown). It is not Bob Ryan, the local NBC affiliate's weather guy. It is not Sue Palka, from Fox's dc station. And it is not Al Roker, slimmed down or fattened up. Nope. My favorite, all-time weatherman has been -- and always will be -- Tom Jolls of WKBW-TV in Buffalo, NY.
Tom Jolls was a 34 year vet of WKBW-TV’s "Weather Outside" and host of one of the city’s most memorable children’s programs, "The Commander Tom Show." Before Channel 7, he anchored news at WBEN-TV, wrote and produced radio dramas f or WBEN-AM. Seated at the Channel 7 news desk with Rick Azar and Irv Weinstein, Jolls made up the longest running anchor team in the history of television (24 years - begining in 1965.) I believe he finally retired in 1999. He never had a college degree in meteorology but usually got the forecast correct.
Tom's shtick was to do the weather outside -- literally. His studio was in the lot of WKBW-TV, and rain or shine, Tom would be outside. In the wintry weather, his forecast was usually quite quick and to the point. Oftentimes, he was not visible because there would be a "white-out" from all the snow falling between the end of the camera lens and where Tom stood a few feet away. In the summer, Tom could be seen flipping burgers on the grill. Everyone in Buffalo watched his report, particularly when the weather was bad, to see how cold he was. Once in a while, some college students (me on one occassion) would time a drive-by and pelt him with a snow ball while he was live on tv.
As was true with many local television personalities of that era, Tom also hosted one of the city’s most memorable children’s programs, "The Commander Tom Show." I recall that show would feature the Three Stooges and Spanky and our Gang, although I might be wrong about it.
So, if I was about to graduate high school, I would look to become a tv weatherman and salute Commander Tom by continuing his tradition of doing the weather outside. I think I could do better without a meteorology degree than today's so-called tv weather experts.
Snapped on 12.04.03 || More Celebrity Mugshots Photos || Comments
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I know this is a long time after your original posting of this piece, but I think you nailed Tom Jolls perfectly. He was my favorite weather guy too, and your description of the Weather Outside is perfect! By the way, I referred this page to MetaFilter (http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/38114#806483).
Posted by: Paul H. on 12.24.04
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