One of the best has passed away at the age of 91:[[
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One of the best has passed away at the age of 91:[[
See ya on the other side war hero.
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/11/...ny-eliot-dies/
RIP, Sonny!!
He once made this little girl's day [[and week and year) when he responded to a letter I wrote him about those misspelled words in his forecast!! It's FOG, not PHOG!! And what is CLOOL?? Couldn't find that word in the dictionary!!
That man was a fixture on TV and radio my whole life. Even listened to him on WWJ up until a year or so ago. He will be missed.
Tears falling this morning for the loss of this irrepressibly cheerful man. Walk safely into the Spirit World, Sonny.
Anyone else old enough to remember him at the Parade or his show called 'At the Zoo'?
"and he's going to be buried, in a tiny little cemetery, "pffft" right about here"Quote:
Originally Posted by Maof
R.I.P., funnyman. You were one of a kind.
Now all we have left are the 'weather babes". Weather forecasting on TV now is all T&A.
Very sorry to hear the news.
...and nevermore will the Keeweenau Peninsula be pulled off the Michigan map and squeaked with his chalk [remember when weathermen used chalk?]. I have never seen a TV personality who could be so likeable while being mildly annoying. Only Sonny could pull that off.
I only saw him once off screen. I was in the old Lindell AC around midnight and he rolled in, after work I guessed, and sat alone at a corner table. He was brought what must have been a regular drink with no words exchanged. He appeared rather melancholy as he had his drink, distant and with sad eyes, so quiet and opposite from his voluble and outgoing on screen sunniness.
And while it is non-Detroit and off topic, Helen Milliken, a class Michigan first lady, also passed yesterday. Condolences to her husband and great former Governor William Milliken and their family.
Never seen him on TV. Always listened on radio. Until now I never knew what he looked like.
Such a fun guy. He was like a cartoon character come to life. Used to see him at the Wings games at the Olympia all the time. He was a huge hockey fan, even played goalie for the Wings at practice sometimes.
"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 Elliot
YES! Classic Sonny! LOL!Quote:
Originally Posted by rjlj
Resciat In Pace, Sonny Elliot, A great World War II hero. You were the architect of local television media. The greatest TV weatherman ever. You will be missed.
The Street Prophets Salute you.
Damn. But it was a good, long life that brought much joy into our part of the world.
RIP
Very very sad news indeed.... I was "At The Zoo" with my gradeschool class when we were on TV with dear dear Sonny... he was always so cheerful and funny...
I'll always remember his TV weather forecasts.... especially as was already mentioned his pulling the Keeweenau Peninsula of the map and made that funny sound.... and of course he'd often mention the temperature in "Enga-denga-denga-dine".
I still remember driving down McNichols one day and he gave his famous radio weather report telling about the weather in some foreign location. On that day he said "... the temperature in Athens Greece was [[foreign words)... that's 83 to us here in Michigan... you know Athens... that's where they separate the men from the boys... with a crow bar!" :p
Found him and his family in the 1940 census. Living at 3242 Calvert. Occupation [[not shown here) has him clerking in the family hardware store.
He was a true icon of Detroit. I also found that when he was done with the weather forecast you could ask me what the forecast was and I would be like "Ummmm". Sometimes it was difficult to separate the report from the many inside jokes he inserted.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gistok
All in all, he was a great man who loved his job and loved Michigan. He will be missed, but never forgotten.
Prayers go out to his family and may God Bless his soul.
It would be nice to honor Sonny Elliot with a statue in Campus Martius.... and they could put it "exac-ictacly" in a shady spot "cooler than an Eskimo at a Nudist Colony".... and dedicate it on a "Freezing and Hazy or Frazy sort of day..." ;)
Ing..ading... ading...agding...adine!
from the article, let me put a spotlight on his war record...
Quote:
Eliot’s college education at Wayne State University was interrupted by World War II, where he served as a B-24 pilot. A plane Eliot was flying was shot down during a bombing mission over Germany and he was captured. He spent 18 months in the Stalagluft I prison camp before being freed by the Russians when the war ended. While in captivity, he lifted the morale of the other prisoners by staging original skits and revues.
Sonny Eliot on 50 Years in Broadcasting
There are other videos available of course.
I had the pleasure of meeting Sonny at a book-signing a few years back and during our brief chat I took advantage of the opportunity to thank him for his service in WW II. In exchange I not only received his autograph but also his "trademark". R.I.P. Sonny.
Here's another good one: Sonny Eliot: The Pioneers of Detroit Television
Yuck.....sad to hear this. Channel 4 news was all that was watched in my house while growing up.
RIP Sonny.
Sonny EliotQuote:
Laugh while you can ... or live while you can.
Ranks right up there with the passing of Ernie Harwell. A true Detroit legend! I always made sure my radio was tuned into WWJ at 4:19 and 5:19 just to hear his forecast. After he retied about 2 years ago I aways wondered how I would know the score of the hockey game. Remember the Barky report? Later amended to the Barky-Bailey report. My brush with Sonny came in 2002 when I "won" a bus trip to Motor City Casino and Sonny was on board as entertainment.
I sit here typing this in a sad yet happy frame of mind. Sad that another piece of my childhood growing up in Detroit has passed yet happy that I was fortunate enough to grow up in what was, at least for me, a much simplier time when "humor" like Sonny Elliot's made you at least smile if not laugh. Thanks Sonny!!:)
I remember hearing that on the radio in 2008 or 2009. Never laughed so hard in my life. He really nailed it. Now that I have left Michigan, he passing is even more poignant.Quote:
Originally Posted by rjlj
mikeg, that brings back memories! I saw Sonny Eliot once at the LindellAC and he gave me an autograph with that same drawing. The LindellAC had their own autograph cards so you could collect signatures from all the athletes that hung out there.
And of course, Thanksgiving wasn't complete without watching Sonny and Annette Eliot hosting the Thanksgiving parade.
Wow, thanks, Ray! i love census records...fascinating!
More tributes....
Sonny Eliot made lasting impression on television meteorologists
http://www.mlive.com/weather/index.s...ing_impre.html
Co-workers Share Fond Memories of Funnyman Sonny Eliot
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/11/...n-sonny-eliot/
Sonny Eliot off the air: Pranks, Pinching, Teasing
http://www.deadlinedetroit.com/artic...you_didn_t_see
Commentary [Jack Lessenberry]: Sonny Eliot
http://www.michiganradio.org/post/co...ry-sonny-eliot
Sonny Eliot had a lot of soul, in more ways than one - he was a great fan of Jazz, Blues and early Black R&B. He lived in Lafayette Park in the 80's, where I lived at the time [[and now again). I'd talk to him about his days when he'd return to Hastings Street where he was born [[and where my father, Joe Von Battle, had a renown record shop) and he'd listen to music there, and in Paradise Valley. He was a lovely man, a real Detroiter.