Ira Joe Fisher

Ira Joe Fisher (born October 31, 1947, Salamanca, New York) is an American broadcaster, poet, and educator.[1] The winner of two regional Emmys, he currently presents Speaking Fearlessly seminars and teaches at UConn and Mercy College. He was the weather reporter for CBS's The Saturday Early Show, a position he held from 1999 until 2006.[2] He is known for his ability to write backwards on Plexiglas during his weather presentations.[2][3][4]

Ira Joe Fisher
Born
Ira Joe Fisher

(1947-10-31) October 31, 1947
Salamanca, New York, USA
EducationNew England College
OccupationBroadcast journalism, teaching
Notable credit(s)
The Saturday Early Show
Spouse(s)Shelly Fisher
ChildrenJoshua, Shelby, Ashley, Dylan

Background

Fisher spent his childhood in Cattaraugus County, New York, a rural area in western New York, south of Buffalo. He was born in Salamanca,[2] got his first job at WGGO there and graduated from Little Valley Central High School in 1965. He attended college at the State University of New York at Fredonia but left before graduating for a four-year stint in the Air Force.[3] He was stationed in Syracuse, New York and attended Syracuse University, majoring in drama and Russian; he later worked for the Air Force as a Russian translator.[1][3][5] He has a Master of Fine Arts from New England College.[2]

Fisher has been a college professor,[2] author, columnist,[2] poet,[1][2][6] disc jockey,[7] reporter, actor,[2][7] and weatherman.[2] He played himself in the 1985 TV movie California Girls, and starting in 1995, he played the role of Hucklebee in approximately 500 performances of the long-running off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks.[7][8][9] He is the author of three works of poetry: a chapbook titled Remembering Rew,[2] and two full-length collections, Some Holy Weight in the Village Air[6][10] and Songs from an Earlier Century.[11] He has extensively studied the life and works of Robert Frost,[5] and has taught poetry at the University of Connecticut,[2] New England College,[2] Pace University,[6] and Mercy College.[12]

Fisher lives in Connecticut with wife, Shelly. They have four children: Joshua, Shelby, Ashley, and Dylan.[3][5]

Television career

Fisher began his television career at KHQ-TV in Spokane, Washington in 1970 as a reporter and host of "The Noon Show". He worked there for 10 years, until 1980. While at KHQ he also had evening weather duties. He worked at WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio between 1980 and 1983. While there, he was a weather reporter and co-host of PM Magazine. He also worked at WKRC radio as a commentator. From 1983 to 1985, Fisher served as a weatherman and feature reporter at WABC in New York City; during this time, he also worked on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee.[1][2]

Fisher returned to WKRC-TV from 1985 to 1989, where he hosted The Ira Joe Fisher Show, a daily talk/variety show; he won two regional Emmy Awards for his writing at WKRC.[2][5] From 1989-1995, he served as a weather and feature reporter on WNBC-TV in New York City.[2] In 1995, he moved to WCBS where he remained until 2003.[1][2][13] At different times during his tenure there, he served as the weather anchor for every one of the station's newscasts.[2]

Fisher left WCBS in 2003. After that, he appeared on the CBS News Saturday Early Show and as a voiceover artist for the CBS Morning News and The Early Show until 2007. He occasionally serves as a substitute anchor on CBS morning news shows.[2]

References
  1. Minor, E. Kyle (July 12, 1998), "What's Behind the Forecast? Pure Poetry", New York Times.
  2. Biography at cbsnews.com, retrieved 2011-01-10.
  3. McCarty, Mary (December 1985), "Ira Joe Is Home for Christmas", Cincinnati Magazine: 68–75..
  4. Friedman, Jim (2007), Cincinnati Television, Arcadia Publishing, pp. 29, 44, 52, 58, 87, 127, ISBN 978-0-7385-5169-2.
  5. "Ira Joe Fisher displays his passion for Robert Frost's poetry and life", The Ridgefield Press, April 9, 1992.
  6. "Poetry in the forecast for Ira Joe Fisher", Times Union, September 28, 2006.
  7. Lewis, Gerri (March 30, 1995), "Ira Joe Fisher's 'Fantastick' Week", The Ridgefield Press.
  8. Ira Joe Fisher at IMDb.
  9. Barron, James (January 14, 2002), "'Fantasticks' Will Trip The Lights No More", New York Times.
  10. Athanata Arts Archived 2010-10-30 at the Wayback Machine, 2006, ISBN 978-0-9727993-2-4; reprinted by NYQ Books, 2009, ISBN 978-1-935520-03-0.
  11. NYQ Books, 2009, ISBN 978-1-935520-02-3.
  12. Hamilton, Shedeiky (May 4, 2010), "CBS Weather Man joins the Mercy College Faculty", The Impact News.
  13. "Ira Joe a WCBS forecast-away", New York Post, August 12, 2002.
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