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RIP Dick Goddard (1931-2020)


Georgie56

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They'll never be another Cleveland meteorologist like Dick Goddard. He'll always and forever will be a Cleveland institution and the most trusted voice in Cleveland Television weather. Goddard's contributions

and for his love for animals throughout the entire Cleveland and Northern Ohio area were great. Goddard's weather forecast was honest, trustworthy, and he was very hard working delivering winter and severe

weather alerts to his viewers to keep people safe ahead of the storm. He was the weatherman who, for over 50+ years, told many Clevelanders whether they need sunglasses, a rain coat/umbrella, or another

log on a fire. 

 

Thoughts, prayers and condolences goes out to The Goddard Family, and his entire family at WJW FOX 8.

RIP Dick Goddard and Godspeed... You'll forever and always be one of Cleveland's Own.

 

https://fox8.com/news/dick-goddard-legendary-fox-8-meteorologist-dies-at-89/

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1 hour ago, TexasTVNews said:

PPL8ykj.png

 

They'll never be another Cleveland meteorologist like Dick Goddard. He'll always and forever will be a Cleveland institution and the most trusted voice in Cleveland Television weather. Goddard's contributions

and for his love for animals throughout the entire Cleveland and Northern Ohio area were great. Goddard's weather forecast was honest, trustworthy, and he was very hard working delivering winter and severe

weather alerts to his viewers to keep people safe ahead of the storm. He was the weatherman who, for over 50+ years, told many Clevelanders whether they need sunglasses, a rain coat/umbrella, or another

log on a fire. 

 

Thoughts, prayers and condolences goes out to The Goddard Family, and his entire family at WJW FOX 8.

RIP Dick Goddard and Godspeed... You'll forever and always be one of Cleveland's Own.

 

https://fox8.com/news/dick-goddard-legendary-fox-8-meteorologist-dies-at-89/

 

What a terrific legacy both on and off the air that Dick Goddard has left, and a huge loss for the generations of Cleveland area viewers who watched him over the years. 

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Sad to hear about Dick's passing. Was such a legend and an institution in Cleveland for generations.

 

I know he won the Guinness World Record for longest career as a weather forecaster. In the local news business, has there been anyone else that was on the air as long as he was?

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Where to begin.....

Such a tremendous loss to not only WJW, the Cleveland area, but to television in general.  This one hits deep, since Dick was a legend growing up, and was a legend for all 55 years of his career in Cleveland (and a short stint in Philly thanks to Westinghouse and KYW going home). 

 

Beyond weather, he made it his life's mission to care for the "four-foots", had a cult-like following for his yearly Woolybear festival, and possessed so many talents, whether it was singing, performing, and even poking fun at himself in on air gags, goofs, and when he made guest appearances on Big Chuck & Lil' John.

 

Rest in Peace, AMS Seal #45, you lived a wonderful 31.666667 years (in Celsius).

 

I can only imagine how happy he is to be seeing Dorothy, Don, Nev, Casey, Gib, Ernie, and all the other Cleveland TV legends up there right now...

 

 

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19 hours ago, Newsjunkie24 said:

Sad to hear about Dick's passing. Was such a legend and an institution in Cleveland for generations.

 

I know he won the Guinness World Record for longest career as a weather forecaster. In the local news business, has there been anyone else that was on the air as long as he was?

 

I think it's safe to say that Stan Chambers has that nailed down, he was at KTLA from 1947 to 2010.

 

In terms of radio and TV, Luther Masingill worked for WDEF (now WXCT) and WDEF-FM in one long continuous run from 1940 to 2014; this also included time at WDEF-TV when channel 12 was under common ownership.

 

Bob Chase worked at WOWO Fort Wayne for nearly six decades but was the lead play-by-play man for Fort Wayne Komets hockey on WOWO from 1953 to 2016. That's Vin Scully territory.

 

These should not diminish Dick's lengthy list of achievements and on-air tenure with one station, but burnish them. I liken Dick to a Ralph Renick or Bill Bonds, someone so influential and iconic that they redefined their position. Dick was one of the first, if not THE first, weather presenters who knew of what he spoke and was certified in it. He literally paved the way for other legendary mets like James Spann, Bryan Norcross, Tom Freaking Skilling and one-time market competitor Al Roker.

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What other person would get the street where their employer is located at named after them a good five years before they actually retired? Let alone a piece of legislation, the aforementioned "Goddard's Law" that reformed animal cruelty laws?

 

I know "legend" gets tossed quite a bit, but Dick really and truly was a living legend. His co-workers, his competition and everyday viewers all knew it. His "final forecast" in November 2016 was a total formality—injuries from a fall he suffered at an APL telethon he emceed a few months earlier accelerated his frailities, and effectively forced his retirement already—but it didn't stop WJW from completely, and I mean completely, blowing out their 6pm newscast that night in celebration of the man.

 

Bill Shiel's obituary package for Dick had that same emotional punch Bob Mayer's obit for Ralph Renick did in 1991. Like Bob, Shiel had time to prepare for it... not just by several months, but by years and years.

 

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29 minutes ago, news89 said:

Front page of Today's Cleveland Plain Dealer.

 

Screenshot_20200805-114633_Chrome.jpg

The PD photo caption above the fold says it all:

"Goddard had a great affection for animals, and for those who may take comfort in the Rainbow Bridge ... they know he most certainly has quite a welcoming at hand."

 

Jeff Darcy's PD editorial cartoon tribute to Dick:

image.png.adc35ca06354bcad40d1fa17c7ef478f.png

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On 8/4/2020 at 12:42 PM, TexasTVNews said:

PPL8ykj.png

 

They'll never be another Cleveland meteorologist like Dick Goddard. He'll always and forever will be a Cleveland institution and the most trusted voice in Cleveland Television weather. Goddard's contributions

and for his love for animals throughout the entire Cleveland and Northern Ohio area were great. Goddard's weather forecast was honest, trustworthy, and he was very hard working delivering winter and severe

weather alerts to his viewers to keep people safe ahead of the storm. He was the weatherman who, for over 50+ years, told many Clevelanders whether they need sunglasses, a rain coat/umbrella, or another

log on a fire. 

 

Thoughts, prayers and condolences goes out to The Goddard Family, and his entire family at WJW FOX 8.

RIP Dick Goddard and Godspeed... You'll forever and always be one of Cleveland's Own.

 

https://fox8.com/news/dick-goddard-legendary-fox-8-meteorologist-dies-at-89/

Really sad. I heard it yesterday at work on ESPN Cleveland and I had no idea until I went online to FOX 8's website and found out that he did pass away. AMS Seal of Approval 45. Even the old WJW TV 8 logo is crying over the loss of Dick Goddard. Even old logos cry.  Getting back on this topic, Dick's passing is a real bummer. We'll really miss you Dick Goddard.

WJW TV 8 Crying Dick Goddard.png

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Robin Swoboda's tribute to Dick Goddard. They genuinely had love and respect for each other.

 

Virgil Dominic revealed in a Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com interview upon Dick's retirement that, when Robin announced her first departure in 1991, Dick went to Virgil and begged for a salary cut if that's what it would take to keep her in town.

 

There was a true bond between that anchor team and it's presence is still felt at WJW to this day.

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1 hour ago, scrabbleship said:

 

Wasn't this also the one that tied into her husband being cut by the Browns and her co-hosting the short lived NBC dud Cover to Cover with an on-leave-from-WFSB Gayle King?

Yes, Art Modell cut Brian Wagner after the honeymoon ended. Her first return to WJW was possible at the tail end of Brian's career.

 

WKYC AFAIK never clear Cover to Cover as they already had been sold to Multimedia.

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  • 1 month later...

There was a small remembrance for Dick earlier today (9/18), Kim Goddard scattered some of her dad's ashes by a tree in front of the WJW studios. Roosevelt Leftwiche's report is in the below link:

https://fox8.com/news/special-remembrance-held-to-honor-the-life-and-legacy-of-clevelands-own-dick-goddard/

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