Catching Up with Dr. George

The L.A. Times chats with former KABC weathercaster Dr. George Fishbeck, who’s still going strong at age 86, and is still married to his wife, Susanne, after nearly 60 years together:

KABC claimed at the time that more than 90% of people in this market could identify Dr. George. Schoolchildren waved. Women stopped for hugs. Marlon Brando once called from a movie set in Canada, needing to know for a scene at what temperature his breath would freeze.

Dr. George said he doesn’t really miss live forecasts because “I still do it.”

“Suzy will say, ‘Look at those clouds over the mountains,’ and I say, ‘Well, those are coming off the ocean, but then along the mountains the air condenses and you get the rain.’ “

“He gives me the whole lesson,” Susanne interjects, as Dr. George barrels ahead, on-air style, with a forecast that concludes: “And there’s a second front coming in behind it in less than a week. And . . . oh my!”

Before I know it, the old weatherman has produced a giant plastic bottle, dropped in a burning match and begun blowing in and out of the mouth like a steam engine. He creates a cloud, then makes it disappear, chanting: “High pressure, low, high, low.”

But don’t think that Dr. George survives merely for the next big Arctic blast. The octogenarian volunteers like a fiend. A docent at the L.A. Zoo, he brings animals to cheer rest-home patients. He raises money for a couple of firefighter charities, including one that runs a camp for child burn victims.

But what gets his blood really pumping are the nights that he spends with the LAPD’s Volunteer Surveillance Team. Susanne wonders if her husband is getting a little old for stakeouts that can last until 2 or 3 in the morning. But it’s clear how much Fischbeck loves it. “We got him. We got him in six minutes,” Dr. George chirped of a purse snatcher he radioed in to his police.

Above, some classic Dr. George in action.

Retro: When The L.A. Times Actually Was The L.A. Times

From 1981: An ad for the Los Angeles Times — get a load of the size of that newspaper on the driveway, as a dog lifts it up with his teeth. Can’t remember the last time my weekday paper looked that big.

Also in this clip: An ad for In N Out Burger, plus a couple of promos for KABC/Channel 7.

Bloodbath at KCBS/KCAL

You’ve probably heard by now about the big layoffs at CBS TV stations across the country, including L.A.’s KCBS and KCAL (or, as the company affectionately calls it, “the duopoly”).

The top news: Big time L.A. anchors Harold Greene and Ann Martin, whose contracts were up at the end of May, are suddenly out of a job.

That means quite a few top L.A. anchors are nowhere to be found on the airwaves; count John Beard among them as well.

Greene and Martin are probably still better known for their long-running stints on rival KABC/Channel 7. Both were brought to KCBS in attempts to push the longtime also-ran back into the race, but both were eventually pushed off the key 11 p.m. newscast.

Martin, who joined in 1994, was replaced by Gretchen Carr in 2000; Greene, who left KABC in 2000 and joined KCBS in 2001, was moved (alongside Martin) to the 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. newscasts in 2003, when Paul Magers joined the station. (That 4 p.m. newscast later migrated to KCAL.)

Of course, after Magers joined, KCBS’ ratings jumped.

KCBS/KCAL hasn’t yet announced Greene’s and Martin’s replacements; today, Sylvia Lopez and Glen Walker anchored the 4 p.m. KCAL newscast.

Check out this 1990 “Eyewitness News” piece from Dr. George Fishbeck, featuring interviews with Ann and Harold. Also, prepare your eyes for Paul Moyer’s button-down look. Yipes.

And of course, don’t forget the infamous Paul Moyer/Ann Martin flare-up; listen to it here.

Meanwhile, also out at KCBS/KCAL are reporters Jennifer Sabih and Jennifer Davis. Meanwhile, in Chicago, the story was similar: Two top anchors on CBS-owned WBBM, Diann Burns and Mary Ann Childers, were also let go. Like Martin and Greene in L.A., Burns and Childers once anchored at Chicago’s top-rated ABC station, WLS, before being lured away. Guess that was the CBS O&O M.O. for a while.

Bloodbath at KCBS/KCAL

You’ve probably heard by now about the big layoffs at CBS TV stations across the country, including L.A.’s KCBS and KCAL (or, as the company affectionately calls it, “the duopoly”).

The top news: Big time L.A. anchors Harold Greene and Ann Martin, whose contracts were up at the end of May, are suddenly out of a job.

That means quite a few top L.A. anchors are nowhere to be found on the airwaves; count John Beard among them as well.

Greene and Martin are probably still better known for their long-running stints on rival KABC/Channel 7. Both were brought to KCBS in attempts to push the longtime also-ran back into the race, but both were eventually pushed off the key 11 p.m. newscast.

Martin, who joined in 1994, was replaced by Gretchen Carr in 2000; Greene, who left KABC in 2000 and joined KCBS in 2001, was moved (alongside Martin) to the 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. newscasts in 2003, when Paul Magers joined the station. (That 4 p.m. newscast later migrated to KCAL.)

Of course, after Magers joined, KCBS’ ratings jumped.

KCBS/KCAL hasn’t yet announced Greene’s and Martin’s replacements; today, Sylvia Lopez and Glen Walker anchored the 4 p.m. KCAL newscast.

Check out this 1990 “Eyewitness News” piece from Dr. George Fishbeck, featuring interviews with Ann and Harold. Also, prepare your eyes for Paul Moyer’s button-down look. Yipes.

And of course, don’t forget the infamous Paul Moyer/Ann Martin flare-up; listen to it here.

Meanwhile, also out at KCBS/KCAL are reporters Jennifer Sabih and Jennifer Davis. Meanwhile, in Chicago, the story was similar: Two top anchors on CBS-owned WBBM, Diann Burns and Mary Ann Childers, were also let go. Like Martin and Greene in L.A., Burns and Childers once anchored at Chicago’s top-rated ABC station, WLS, before being lured away. Guess that was the CBS O&O M.O. for a while.

Retro Friday: Local News Blooper Edition

(Great stuff uploaded by YouTube user BLoblaw005.)

Retro Friday: Local News Blooper Edition

An Interesting Prediction From Live Mega Doppler 7000 HD Plus

Still don’t believe in global warming? It’s going to be snowing in the middle of 100 degree weather this Sunday! Wait, what?

Retro Friday: Los Angeles’ Lame Millennium

Retro Friday: Los Angeles’ Lame Millennium

It’s Guy Lombardo’s last New Year’s Eve, telecast on CBS as 1976 turned into 1977. The entertainer synonymous with New Year’s Eve passed away later that year.

Covering the Fire Coverage: A Return to Normalcy?

Above, coverage of the San Diego fires from that market's CBS affiliate, KFMB Channel 8.

As San Diego becomes the focal point to the fire disaster, Los Angeles’ TV stations are finally pondering a return to normal programming.

KABC, for example, is expected to return to “Good Morning America” this morning for the first time this week. But every station is still likely to go back on the air this morning at 4 a.m. with the latest local coverage.

Stations again spent much of Tuesday commercial-free, broadcasting non-stop news as the Southern California inferno got more out of hand. With nearly 1 million people evacuated from their homes, the story continued to grow in scope.

One local TV general manager I spoke to said he knew exactly how much money he had lost so far — “down to the penny” — by dumping commercials. But in cases like this, it’s important to take a leadership role — partly because community service is still a factor in TV licenses, and partly because it brands you as the go-to TV station in times of crisis.

Meanwhile, over at KNBC, the station once again bucked the trend and kept much of the “Today” show on the air — while KABC jettisoned “Good Morning America” (actually, it ran “GMA” on its digital sub-channel) and KCBS pre-empted “Early Show.” Why? According to KNBC news director Bob Long, he’s trying to send a message to the East Coast “Today” show folk, who were already producing a special live west coast edition. By airing “Today,” which was pretty much wall-to-wall fire coverage anyway, Long is still trying to get the New York news operations to pay more attention to the world out west.

In radio, L.A.’s all-news KNX and KFWB stuck to the story, but for the most part kept their ads (after all, this is more their usual duty). In evening, however, the fire coverage waged enough out of the control.

In San Diego, radio stations banded together to share resources and simulcast feeds, much like the New Orleans radio stations did in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. All of the Clear Channel stations, for example, went with one feed, from news/talk KOGO. Also, in the spirit of cooperation, alternative rocker FM 94.9 turned its signal over to public broadcaster KPBS, after the station’s transmitter was shut down by the fires.