Tex Antoine
Encyclopedia
Herbert Jon Antoine, Jr. (April 21, 1923 – January 12, 1983), known professionally as Tex Antoine, was an American
weatherman
on New York City
television
for nearly three decades.
, and was raised in California and Texas. His father was Herbert Jon Antoine, Sr. (1894–1972), an auto supply salesman. His mother was Bertha Campbell, and by 1930 the family was living in Los Angeles
.
Antoine (whose nickname "Tex" came from his growing up in Texas) first joined NBC
in New York as a page
in 1943, and a year later became a staff announcer
for the network. He was the first announcer, beginning in 1944, for the long-running religious drama
, The Eternal Light
. His run with the program ended in 1945. His other radio announcing credits include The Adventures of Archie Andrews and The Adventures of Frank Merriwell.
), working with a cartoon sidekick known as "Uncle Wethbee." His theme music was "Fine and Dandy
." Originally, Antoine used several records to reflect the weather of the day. ("Stormy Weather," "Let it Snow
", etc.) However, all of the records but one were damaged or broken, and he was left with "Fine and Dandy". The theme served him for years.
According to Bob Tilden, who wrote a column reminiscing, "His nightly weather report was a wonderful mix of weather, cartoon art, and storytelling. He would start his weather segment standing next to an easel covered by blank papers, and he would proceed to draw the weather systems that were pertinent to the nation and the area. As his hands drew in the lows, highs, and fronts, his voice would narrate their past and expected movements, and what their effects would be. As he filled page after page of the easel, building the map as he described each feature, he engaged his audience. He instructed the viewers about their weather, rather than just informing them of a forecast."
Antoine also entertained viewers young and old alike during each report by writing the temperature in large numerals on his big blank pad of paper and then adding further strokes of his marker as he proceeded with a narrative about the weather until the numeral was finally all but concealed in a simple cartoon representing some aspect of the day's weather or forecast. It was a unique and fascinating talent and it was a draw to many viewers regardless of their interest, or lack thereof, of weather information.
. He was not allowed to plug his new home on his last channel 4 broadcast. So, with Uncle Wethbee's Magic Marker in hand, he said and wrote something to the effect of: "Remember that 4 plus 3 equals 7, and that's as easy as ABC
."
Two years later, in 1968, WABC revamped all its newscasts under the banner of Eyewitness News
under a new news director, Al Primo
, who decreed that all their on-camera talent would wear matching blue blazers with a "circle 7" crest displayed on their jacket pockets. When Antoine, who up to that point wore smocks on the air, protested that it would affect his image, Primo retorted, "Either we all wear jackets, or we all wear smocks." Tex would wear jackets on the air thereafter.
: 'If rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it.'" (The same comment later helped derail Texas gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams
' 1990 election bid and got Indiana University
Basketball coach Bob Knight in trouble during an interview with Connie Chung
in 1988). Roger Grimsby
led the 11 p.m. newscast that night with the official apology from WABC. Five days later Grimsby would introduce Antoine's replacement, Storm Field
, with "Lie back, relax and enjoy the weather with Storm Field." Antoine closed out his career with a brief stint as weatherman for WNEW-TV
in 1977.
He had married Suzannah C. Glidden in summer 1965, and he died in Manhattan
in 1983, at age 59, under the name "H. Jon Antoine".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
weatherman
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
on New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
for nearly three decades.
Biography and early career
He was born as Herbert Jon Antoine, Jr., in IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and was raised in California and Texas. His father was Herbert Jon Antoine, Sr. (1894–1972), an auto supply salesman. His mother was Bertha Campbell, and by 1930 the family was living in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Antoine (whose nickname "Tex" came from his growing up in Texas) first joined NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in New York as a page
NBC page
An NBC page is a person usually in his or her early twenties working in various departments of the NBC television network during a one-year period as a training ground for careers in television broadcasting and entertainment...
in 1943, and a year later became a staff announcer
Announcer
An announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
for the network. He was the first announcer, beginning in 1944, for the long-running religious drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, The Eternal Light
The Eternal Light
The Eternal Light is a long-running American radio and television program on the NBC Radio Network, produced in conjunction with the Jewish Theological Seminary, that was broadcast between 1944 and 1989. Featuring interviews, commentary, and award-winning dramas from the perspective of Judaism, it...
. His run with the program ended in 1945. His other radio announcing credits include The Adventures of Archie Andrews and The Adventures of Frank Merriwell.
The WNBT / WRCA-TV / WNBC years (1949-1966)
He started out his weather career in 1949 on WNBT (later WRCA-TV, now WNBCWNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
), working with a cartoon sidekick known as "Uncle Wethbee." His theme music was "Fine and Dandy
Fine and Dandy (song)
"Fine and Dandy" is a popular song from the 1930 Broadway musical of the same name.The music was written by Kay Swift, the lyrics by Paul James . The song was published in 1930....
." Originally, Antoine used several records to reflect the weather of the day. ("Stormy Weather," "Let it Snow
Let It Snow
"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in 1945. The song was written in July 1945 in Hollywood, California during one of the hottest days on record. First recorded by Vaughn Monroe, it became a popular...
", etc.) However, all of the records but one were damaged or broken, and he was left with "Fine and Dandy". The theme served him for years.
According to Bob Tilden, who wrote a column reminiscing, "His nightly weather report was a wonderful mix of weather, cartoon art, and storytelling. He would start his weather segment standing next to an easel covered by blank papers, and he would proceed to draw the weather systems that were pertinent to the nation and the area. As his hands drew in the lows, highs, and fronts, his voice would narrate their past and expected movements, and what their effects would be. As he filled page after page of the easel, building the map as he described each feature, he engaged his audience. He instructed the viewers about their weather, rather than just informing them of a forecast."
Antoine also entertained viewers young and old alike during each report by writing the temperature in large numerals on his big blank pad of paper and then adding further strokes of his marker as he proceeded with a narrative about the weather until the numeral was finally all but concealed in a simple cartoon representing some aspect of the day's weather or forecast. It was a unique and fascinating talent and it was a draw to many viewers regardless of their interest, or lack thereof, of weather information.
To WABC-TV
In 1966, Tex Antoine moved from WNBC to WABC-TVWABC-TV
WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
. He was not allowed to plug his new home on his last channel 4 broadcast. So, with Uncle Wethbee's Magic Marker in hand, he said and wrote something to the effect of: "Remember that 4 plus 3 equals 7, and that's as easy as ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
."
Two years later, in 1968, WABC revamped all its newscasts under the banner of Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
under a new news director, Al Primo
Al Primo
Albert T. Primo is a television news executive who was credited with creating the Eyewitness News format.-Biography:He was born in 1937 and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, who decreed that all their on-camera talent would wear matching blue blazers with a "circle 7" crest displayed on their jacket pockets. When Antoine, who up to that point wore smocks on the air, protested that it would affect his image, Primo retorted, "Either we all wear jackets, or we all wear smocks." Tex would wear jackets on the air thereafter.
Rape quip and final years
On November 24, 1976, his weather spot came up just after a report of a violent rape of a five year old girl. Tex, thereupon quipped: "With rape so predominant in the news lately, it is well to remember the words of ConfuciusConfucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....
: 'If rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it.'" (The same comment later helped derail Texas gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams
Clayton Williams
Clayton Wheat "Claytie" Williams, Jr. , a businessman from Midland, Texas, was the unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1990 against the Democratic State Treasurer Ann Richards even though Williams initially led in opinion polls by twenty points.-Biographical information:An independent...
' 1990 election bid and got Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
Basketball coach Bob Knight in trouble during an interview with Connie Chung
Connie Chung
Connie Chung, full name: Constance Yu-Hwa Chung Povich is an American journalist who has been an anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC. Some of her more famous interview subjects include Claus von Bülow and U.S...
in 1988). Roger Grimsby
Roger Grimsby
Roger Grimsby was an American journalist, television news anchor and actor. Grimsby is known as one of the pioneers of local television broadcast news.-Early life:...
led the 11 p.m. newscast that night with the official apology from WABC. Five days later Grimsby would introduce Antoine's replacement, Storm Field
Storm Field
Storm Elliot Field is a retired American television meteorologist, most noted for his time in the New York media market. Storm Field followed his father, longtime New York weatherman Dr. Frank Field, into the business.-WABC:...
, with "Lie back, relax and enjoy the weather with Storm Field." Antoine closed out his career with a brief stint as weatherman for WNEW-TV
WNYW
WNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
in 1977.
He had married Suzannah C. Glidden in summer 1965, and he died in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in 1983, at age 59, under the name "H. Jon Antoine".