Remembering Legendary Cleveland Broadcaster Doug Adair
With the recent passing of long time Cleveland broadcaster Doug Adair at age 89, I wanted to highlight images of Doug at work, beginning with Doug covering the daily weather forecast during WJW-TV8’s City Camera News sixty years ago on January 22, 1959. The image can be found in the Media Watch section of Memories of a Lifetime Volume 3, (p. C27). See the TV schedule HERE!
Doug began his award-winning career at Channel 8 a year earlier on January 27, 1958 with the debut of “City Camera“ pairing Doug with John Fitzgerald. The all-local weekday news show replaced “Annie Oakley” in the 6:30 p.m. slot. See the TV schedule that day HERE!
At the time, all cast and crew members were given Polaroid cameras to capture “news-worthy incidents” around the city. See Tom O’Connell’s column announcing the new show HERE!
Above right, Doug poses with his award-winning Action3 News teammates Al Roker, Mona Scott, Dave Patterson, and Joe Pellegrino in 1981. The image can be found in the Radio and TV section of Memories of a Lifetime Volume 1 (p. F56).
Looking at the 1981 image, newly-married Doug stands next to Mona, his new bride, while weatherman Al Roker stands to their right in the same spot legendary Cleveland weatherman Dick Goodard stood (above image), twenty years earlier as he began his career at TV3 in 1961.
Leaving the city in 1965, after a short stint in Philadelphia, Dick returned to Cleveland in 1966, beginning his tenure as WJW-TV8’s chief meteorologist “in color” on March 28th. See the Ad and TV schedule highlighting Dick’s return HERE!
Fifteen years later on January 26, 1996, Al Roker became the Today Show’s regular weekday weather forecaster shortly after Willard Scott announced his semi-retirement.
I hope you enjoy the memories, George Cormack
