Comments on: Colder than.......

Colder than.......

HuronBob — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:04:12 -0800

Sonny Eliot celebrated 50 years in television back in 1997. Sonny, a B52 bomber pilot who was shot down and spent months in a POW camp in Germany, returned to Detroit after the war and began accepting any position/role he could in local TV.

Over the years he forecast the weather, wrote an episode of the Lone Ranger, was the voice of a TV puppet and became the most recognized TV personality in Michigan. After 63 years on TV and a million bad jokes ( "It's 52 degrees in Three Rivers; that's the highest temperature in the state. Three Rivers--that's where they started a new business, making the front ends of horses. Then they ship them to the Detroit council chambers for final assembly." ) Sonny signed off for the last time, at the age of 89. Sonny passed away today at the age of 91, future generations of Michigan children will never know where the Keweenaw Peninsula is, or that it can be removed from the state at will.

By: The World Famous

The World Famous — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:14:11 -0800

By: Palindromedary

Palindromedary — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:17:21 -0800

Did he pilot B-52s while he was a newscaster? Because otherwise I missed the Third World War.

By: grubby

grubby — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:18:40 -0800

Yeah, that would be B24, not B52

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:21:40 -0800

OK, that would have been "he piloted big airplanes".. sorry guys, thanks for catching the error.... evidently the neurons are not firing correctly today.

By: marxchivist

marxchivist — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:22:01 -0800

Wow. I forgot all about him. I remember when the forecast would for like "windy & snow" he would come with some word like "snwindy". My Dad hated him, as a kid I thought he was pretty entertaining. I didn't know he was anything else except for a weatherman.

By: monster free city

monster free city — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:37:15 -0800

By: zippy

zippy — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 11:38:42 -0800

Because otherwise I missed the Third World War. Did you not get my evite?

By: getawaysticks

getawaysticks — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:24:50 -0800

By: evilcolonel

evilcolonel — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:58:20 -0800

60 years in broadcasting is an amazing run. I can recall watching him fill in a couple of times on the weather on Channel 7 back in the late 80s or so. .

By: Lentrohamsanin

Lentrohamsanin — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 13:12:00 -0800

I've only lived here 12 years, so I'm a relatively new Michigander. And I basically only ever encountered Sonny when I would be stuck in horrible traffic and would turn to WWJ radio to see if the cause was horrible enough for it to make their traffic report. But man was it great to hear him do some kinda goofy weather update while stuck in the middle of that garbage. Sad that I'll never have that experience again.

By: NorthernLite

NorthernLite — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 13:28:56 -0800

Have lived in Detroit area for approx. 30 yrs altogether. Never knew if I liked him or was a bit annoyed. Which means he was memorable either way. .

By: texorama

texorama — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:21:03 -0800

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:34:29 -0800

A few more Sonnyisms • It's colder than a former wife's hello. • It will be as pleasant as diaper rash. • The storm is as suspicious as a dermatologist with acne. • Driving will be as hazardous as tap dancing in a canoe. • This is a storm so bad, it looks like a talent scout for a reform school.

By: jet_silver

jet_silver — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:40:20 -0800

When the family visited my grandparents he would turn up on the television. I was about seven when he said something like "it's snowing and when it freezes it's going to get slippery... so yes, it's going to be snippery outside tonight". My sister and I laughed about that for a long time. ISTR he had an intriguing way of flipping his chalk or pointer as well. He seemed like a good guy, and bonus points for the way he irritated my dad. .

By: Mojojojo

Mojojojo — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 01:25:31 -0800

By: QIbHom

QIbHom — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 12:44:20 -0800

He certainly was a Detroit institution, although not in the same league as Ernie Harwell, but I never could stand him. I was a very serious kid, and his frivolity interfered with the serious business of the ski report.