On the Town: Coleman honor is a laughing matter
Gary Olson, president and chief executive of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce, and Eric Foster, the organization’s board chairman, were forecasting a great evening as they welcomed more than 300 supporters to their 2015 annual gala that honored NBC4 weathercaster Fritz Coleman this past Friday evening.
With the 2015 theme, “Showtime,” this long-standing annual event, which serves as the chamber’s major fundraiser, drew a gathering of Burbank’s government, media and business leaders to the Marriott Burbank Hotel to thank Coleman for his years of community service and participation.
“We are excited and proud to honor a man who for more than three decades has been a familiar face in most of our living rooms,” Foster said. “Fritz is not only a trusted weatherman (but) he’s also celebrated for his dedication and generosity to numerous charity benefits.”
Originally from Philadelphia, Coleman studied broadcasting and film production at Temple University and Salem College in West Virginia.
After working as a disc jockey and talk show host at various stations throughout the country, 1980 saw him shuffle away from the brutal winters of Buffalo, N.Y., to bask in the warmth of the spotlight on the stages of Hollywood’s comedy clubs.
“I came out to L.A. to pursue a career as a stand-up comedian,” Coleman said. “I was working all the clubs and was a staff performer at the Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard. Then, one night, Steve Antonetti — who was the news director at KNBC at the time — was in the audience. That was the very odd start to my weather-forecasting career. When the show was over, Steve came backstage and asked if I would be interested in doing vacation-relief weather for him. Well, I was making $45 a night at the Comedy Store so I said: ‘When do you want me to start?’ He explained there was an audition process, so I auditioned and got the job doing weekends and fill-ins. Then, two years later, when my predecessor left, I was bumped up to the main job. I always say my career is the greatest stroke of show-business luck since that woman was discovered at the counter of Schwab’s Pharmacy.”
Along with his work in delivering forecasts, Coleman has devoted countless hours of his time to local charitable organizations.
Serving as the master of ceremonies for more events than he can remember, he said that being involved with various communities throughout Southern California is the best part of his job.
“I love the community outreach — the grass-roots stuff that gets you involved,” he said.
“I always tell people, in the personal-satisfaction universe, when I put my head down at night and think about what I may have accomplished as a human being on any given day, it’s infinitely more satisfying to have been involved with a nonprofit group and people who are out trying to make a difference in their community than to have had a bad week where I’ve been inaccurate about the weather on four out of five days,” he added with a laugh.
Among the notables in attendance at Friday’s gala were Coleman‘s NBC4 colleague, anchorwoman Colleen Williams, Burbank Mayor David Gordon, Vice Mayor Bob Frutos, council members Jess Talamantes and Emily Gabel-Luddy, former Burbank Mayors Mary Lou Howard, Bill Wiggins and Anja Reinke, members of the chamber’s executive committee composed of Nancy Guillen, Mike Thomas and Lee Wochner, chamber staff members Kimberly Thompson and Chris Hunter, City Manager Mark Scott and former City Manager Bud Ovrom.
--
DAVID LAURELL may be reached by email at dlaurell@aol.com or (818) 563-1007.
