Dick Goddard
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Dick Goddard (born February 24, 1931 in Akron, Ohio) is a meteorologist, author, cartoonist, and animal activist. For over four decades, he has served as the evening meteorologist at WJW-TV, the Fox Broadcasting Company-owned television station in Cleveland, Ohio. His lengthy career in television broadcasting, emcee hosting of special public events, and affection for animals has made him a popular figure in Northeast Ohio.
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[edit] Early career years
Goddard began his weather career while taking classes on meteorology during a stint with the United States Air Force in the early 1950s. During this time, Goddard's most notable assignment was forecasting for atmospheric nuclear weapons tests by the United States Atomic Energy Commission in the Pacific.
He then attended Kent State University, where he majored in drama and broadcasting. While there he had notable success as the lead character, Curly, in the school's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!.
After graduating from Kent State in 1960, he joined the weather team at Westinghouse Broadcasting-owned KYW-TV (now WKYC-TV) in Cleveland a year later. Goddard was one of several employees of KYW-TV who agreed to move to Philadelphia in June 1965, after Westinghouse was ordered by the FCC to move its operations there in a reversal of its 1956 station trade with NBC. However, Goddard did not take a liking to Philadelphia, and returned to Cleveland several months later. In 1966, Goddard became the chief meteorologist at WJW-TV, where he has worked ever since.
After returning to Cleveland, Goddard also took a job with the NFL's Cleveland Browns as the team's official statistician for home games. He has also held this position since 1966, with the exception of a three-year period when Cleveland had no NFL team (the original Browns moved to Baltimore after the 1995 season, and were replaced by an expansion team in 1999).
During the late 1970s, Goddard also hosted WJKW's version of Bowling for Dollars, a syndicated franchised game show. [1]
[edit] The Woolybear Festival
In 1973 Goddard created the first Woollybear Festival, a day-long family event dedicated to teaching children about the weather and animals. Some of the events include a caterpillar race, animal costume contests, musical performances and more.
The Woollybear Festivals were originally held in Birmingham, Ohio, from 1973 to 1980. After a local church minister in Birmingham got tired of the crowds, Goddard asked WJW-TV (known at the time as WJKW-TV) colleague Neil Zurcher, who did a travel segment on the station's newscasts called "One Tank Trip", to scout towns in northeast Ohio. In 1981, Vermilion, Ohio was picked, and the Woollybear Festival has continued annually there, in late September or early October. There are marching bands from high schools across northeast Ohio and some 150,000 people come into Vermilion for this event.
[edit] Big Chuck & Lil’ John Show era
Goddard’s classic broadcaster voice, lengthy tenure in Cleveland media, and involvement with WJW-TV's long-running late night comedy sketch program, the Big Chuck and Lil' John Show, have made him somewhat of a cult figure.
On the Big Chuck and Lil' John Show, their old beginning had them running from a King Kong-like gorilla. While they ran, Goddard would be walking through the hallway with his weather models from the National Weather Service. Big Chuck and Lil' John would bump into Goddard, and he would fall to the floor with his papers flying. Goddard appears in some of Big Chuck and Lil' John's skits and routines.
When asked his age, Goddard always gives it in Celsius.
[edit] Awards, honors, accomplishments
Goddard is also the author and illustrator of two books, Dick Goddard’s Weather Guide for Northeast Ohio and Dick Goddard’s Almanac for Northeast Ohio. He is one of the longest active members of the American Meteorological Society, with an AMS seal of 45.[2] Goddard has done some local stage work.
[edit] Bibliography
- Dick Goddard’s Weather Guide for Northeast Ohio (1998)
- Dick Goddard’s Almanac for Northeast Ohio (2002-2005)
[edit] References
*http://www.grayco.com/cleveland/authors/goddard-dick/author.shtml *http://164.109.57.227/dynamic/images/stories/personalities/dick_goddard.html
