American TV weatherman and co-founder of The Weather Channel, John Coleman, who retired from broadcasting in 2014 after working as a weatherman almost 61 years, passed away at his home in Las Vegas, Saturday, January 20, 2018.
The last 20 years of Coleman’s weather forecasting career were spent at KUSI-TV in San Diego.
Coleman started his career in 1953 at WCIA in Champaign, Illinois, doing the early evening weather forecast and a local bandstand show called At The Hop while he was a student at University of Illinois. After receiving his journalism degree in 1957, he became the weather anchor for WCIA’s sister station WMBD-TV in Peoria, Illinois. Coleman also worked as a weather anchor for KETV in Omaha, WISN-TV in Milwaukee and then WBBM-TV and WLS-TV in Chicago. Coleman worked at ABC 7 Chicago from 1968-1979 with a very popular news team including News Anchor John Drury, News Anchor Joel Daly, News Anchor Fahey Flynn, and Sportscaster Bill Frink.
In 1981, Coleman persuaded communications entrepreneur and media mogul Frank Batten to help establish The Weather Channel. Coleman served as TWC’s CEO and President during the start-up and its first year of operation. After being forced out of TWC, Coleman became weather anchor at WCBS-TV in New York and then at WMAQ-TV in Chicago. At WMAQ-TV, Coleman worked with news anchors Ron Magers and Carol Marin, and Sports Anchor Mark Giangreco.
He moved to Southern California about 1994 to join the independent television station, KUSI-TV in San Diego. Coleman fondly called his KUSI-TV job “his retirement job.” Coleman abruptly left KUSI while on vacation in April 2014, with no on-air farewell.
KUSI Coleman Retirement Announcement Online
Thank you and goodbye.
Nothing is forever. The universe, the galaxy, the solar system, the sun, Earth… every species fades away in time. We individual people are very small and very temporary parts of the big picture.
Now is the time to wind down the professional working part of my life and make the most of my private time in the years I have left.
Thanks to my fellow team members, you have been very kind and patient with me and helped me along when the going got tough.
I’m grateful to you all. I wish you all every success and happiness.
Most of all, thank you to the San Diego viewers who have been kind enough to watch me and support my efforts through thick and thin. I owe everything to you!
And now, goodbye!
Coleman was a vocal skeptic of global warming, and was respected by another global warming skeptic, Joe Bastardi (Chief Forecaster at WeatherBell.com).
John Coleman, founder of The Weather Channel and longtime San Diego meteorologist, dies at 83 https://t.co/tgUKYA4t3Y pic.twitter.com/8fqZOrdr0H
— 10News (@10News) January 21, 2018
We are deeply saddened to report that longtime KUSI weatherman and founder of The Weather Channel, John Coleman has passed away at age 83.
Full story: https://t.co/Yt3dIOSnkz pic.twitter.com/D11tL14pXV
— KUSI News (@KUSINews) January 21, 2018
RIP: John Coleman, former weatherman for @ABC7Chicago and co-founder of @weatherchannel, has died at age 83: https://t.co/KUqowCLnpj pic.twitter.com/fHb2lja9Qs
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) January 21, 2018
Weather Channel founder John Coleman passed away Saturday night at the age of 83: https://t.co/nwnzGOkMqU pic.twitter.com/eeF2lb4yTD
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) January 21, 2018
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Eyewitness News team, 1972. Back row from left: News Anchor John Drury, News Anchor Joel Daly. Front row from left: Weatherman John Coleman, News Anchor Fahey Flynn, Sportscaster Bill Frink.