Update: We were crushed to hear that Dr. George Fischbeck died on Wednesday, March 25. He was 92 years old. Here's Patt's 2013 interview with Dr. George:
Not only was George Fischbeck, also known as Dr. George, one of the most beloved characters on local television, he also an award-winning journalist and educator. Fischbeck spent the better part of 25 years on TV in Los Angeles.
The man with the bow tie and glasses is 90 years old now, but is still a character, a performer and a teacher. He has never pretended to be a meteorologist, but he does know how to get peoples' attention. And how to get them to learn and remember. Patt Morrison spoke to him about his new book, "My Life In Weather."
On being a weatherman and a teacher:
"Well, I couldn't do anything else. I come from a family of teachers, and I'll tell you one thing about teaching, if you can get a kid's attention you can teach them anything. You've got to do whatever you can to make sure they're listening to you and not doing anything else. And then you can teach them."
On doing the weather in the early news days:
"I knew everybody in the viewing audience. They were all my friends to begin with, and when I opened up and said 'my friends' they knew who I was talking to. And I've got their attention, and that's the whole secret."
On how doing the weather changed over the years:
"I started in the early days I was a weather forecaster with the National Weather Service. I put in my time down at the weather station three times a day. I had my maps and I'd take my maps, make Xerox copies and I'd put the maps on the air so people could see what I was doing. And now everyone does it."