Donald "Don" Webster (born 1939) is a retired television host, weather forecaster, and station manager best known as the host of the national syndicated music program Optimistic and old weather for Cleveland, Ohio, ABC affiliate, WEWS-TV 5.
Video Don Webster (media personality)
Bio
Webster was born in the town of Chatham, Ontario, Canada in 1939. His father had died when he was 11 years old. After graduating from high school, he worked in the radio business, working at stations in Hamilton, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec.
In the early 1960s, Webster had hosted an American Bandstand-style dance performance in Hamilton. In 1964 (after that, WEWS general manager Don Perris happened to see his Canadian show on TV while on vacation in Erie, Pennsylvania) Webster was taken to Cleveland to hold a local music and dance show called The Big 5 Show Upbeat . The show was able to attract many big names in the music industry to Cleveland to appear on the show, and with Webster's many national job offers, including working for American Bandstand host Dick Clark.
But Webster chose to stay in Cleveland, and when Upbeat was canceled in 1971, he became a weather lover for WEWS ' Newscast Witnesses . Webster was chosen for this job because he studied meteorologists on the way to becoming a licensed pilot. Webster was the chief weather expert on WEWS throughout the 70s, into the 80s, and returned to the post through most of the 90s. Webster had left the weather table for a while in the 1980s to become WEWS station manager, stepping down in 1989 to continue the weather duty.
In addition to optimistic and weather forecasts, Webster also during his tenure on TV 5 served as the host for Ohio Lottery pictures, was the original host of The Morning Exchange , and hosted versions local Bowling For Dollars . He also hosted The Gene Carroll Show after Gene Carroll died, and served as the host of the Academic Challenge .
Maps Don Webster (media personality)
Retirement
Webster retired from WEWS in 1999, moving to Hilton Head, South Carolina with his wife, Kandi. Although he sometimes still appears in the media of Cleveland, doing advertisements for local hearing loss centers and assisted living facilities.
Awards and honors
- 1995, Great Great Emmy Awards, Silver Circle Award Recipient
- Inductee 1995 - Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame
- 1999 inductee - Cleveland Hall of Fame Announcer Association
References
External links
- Don Webster's 20th Birthday at WEWS (circa 1984)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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