Dave Schwartz

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Dave Schwartz
Schwartz.jpeg
Born(1953-02-20)February 20, 1953
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedJuly 30, 2016(2016-07-30) (aged 63)
Atlanta, Georgia
Alma materTemple University
Mississippi State University
Occupation(s)Meteorologist (former), The Weather Channel
Years active1985–2016
Known forMeteorologist on the Weather Channel

David Schwartz (February 20, 1953 – July 30, 2016)[1] was a meteorologist at The Weather Channel from 1991 to 2008 and again from 2014 to 2016. Often referring to viewers as "my friends" before giving forecasts, Schwartz presented in an easygoing manner and with a gentle sense of humor that made him popular with the viewers.[1]

Early life and education

Schwartz was born on February 20, 1953, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[2] where he grew up and earned a degree in psychology from Temple University in 1979.[3] after having previously briefly attended Arizona State University.[4] Much later, in 2003—well into his career at The Weather Channel[3]—he would receive a certificate in meteorology studies from Mississippi State University.[1] He recalled that his interest in meteorology came from watching the sky as well as seeing the tornado featured in the movie The Wizard of Oz (1939).[4]

Career

Prior to joining The Weather Channel, Schwartz worked in the mental health field. He joined the network in 1985 after making an offer to clean the bathrooms for free, hoping to learn from experts no matter what it took to get there. In his early years with the network, he would work at the Fulton County Health Department during workdays but work at TWC on Saturdays. On Sundays, he would practice his on-air delivery in an empty studio.[5] He described himself in the first few years as a "gofer" who, while learning from scratch how to work in his new environment, would be "producing graphics, downloading satellite and radar images, ripping charts from fax machines and disseminating them to the forecasters" during his work day.[3] He would later work in the TWC's Forecast Center, and, in 1988, he took a position as a radio broadcaster for TWC's radio division.[6] Eventually, in 1990, he would get into the network's apprenticeship program for on-camera meteorologists (OCMs), where he would have his chance to be on the air during early morning hours with another OCM. He tried multiple times to apply for an official OCM position, but failed each time,[5] prior to finally becoming an on-camera meteorologist in 1991.[4] According to Bailey Rogers, a communications specialist at TWC, Schwartz got the position after having written an application letter he titled, "10 reasons why Dave Schwartz should be the next on-camera meteorologist for The Weather Channel."[5] Shortly after NBC Universal bought The Weather Channel in 2008, Schwartz was one of a handful of longtime on-camera meteorologists who were laid off in a shakeup that sought to send the network in a new direction. After years of viewer feedback—including a website called "Bring Back Dave Schwartz"—the network rehired him in the spring of 2014.[7]

Delivery style

Schwartz was well-known for his approach to on-air delivery as an OCM. He described his perspective on presenting as follows:

I became one of the most noted weathercasters because of my approach to it. Utilizing an "I and you" approach to the medium, I connected with the viewer by my ability to ingest the information and present it to them in my own, inimitable way. The creative aspect of the work was the most rewarding for me. I created my own shows, and occasionally my own graphics, to tell the story exactly as I wished. Until corporate news people were brought in who considered me and my colleagues "the talent", I was like a kid in a candy shop! I got to work with some of the finest forecasters in the profession, such as Dr. Greg Forbes, Dr. Steve Lyons, Dr. Heidi Cullen, Dr. Jon Nese, John Hope and Paul Kocin, among others.

— Dave Schwartz[8]

Health problems

Schwartz dealt with cancer three times during his life—two occurrences of pancreatic cancer and an ultimately fatal occurrence of stomach cancer. Schwartz had Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, which put him at higher risk of cancer due to a BRCA2 mutation. However, this worked in his favor when he had pancreatic cancer the second time since there were medicines available that were known to help those suffering pancreatic cancer with said mutation.[5] Because of this, despite the slim odds of survival being against him, Schwartz eventually beat his pancreatic cancer.

On February 4, 2016, World Cancer Day, Schwartz announced on air that he was battling cancer a third time, this time stomach cancer. Schwartz had a positive attitude throughout his fights with cancer, knowing that he couldn't control what he had to experience but could control how he responded:

None of us is guaranteed tomorrow — we all know that. As far as I’m concerned whether you have cancer or not we are all in the same boat. None of us really know that we have more time than what we have right now. So I’m no different than anyone else. I have my struggle. I have my cross to bear — other people have their crosses to bear, and let’s hope that we wake up alive tomorrow.

— Dave Schwartz[9]

Death

Schwartz died on July 30, 2016, after his battle with stomach cancer.[10] He was 63.[1] The Washington Post published a tribute article with essays from many of Schwartz's coworkers.[11]

Personal life

His personal interests in the field of meteorology included nor'easters, hurricanes, and unusual weather events, particularly the Blizzard of '93. Schwartz had a variety of other interests as well, including classic films, cloud watching, physical fitness, dancing, singing, and art,[4] the latter of which he cited as a major comfort from his cancer.[5]

See also

External links

  • This article was originally retrieved from the "Dave Schwartz" article on Wikipedia, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 McDonald, William (August 1, 2016). "Dave Schwartz, 63, Dies; Was Weather Channel Meteorologist". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Ho, Rodney (August 1, 2016). "Weather Channel vet Dave Schwartz dies of cancer (1953-2016)". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Schwartz, Dave. "Dave Schwartz - Weather columnist - Orange County Post Sentinel". LinkedIn. Retrieved July 19, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "weather.com - On-Air Personnel". The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on June 18, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Rogers, Bailey (March 14, 2016). "Cancer sucks. But it doesn't have to". Medium. Retrieved July 19, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ↑ Schwartz, Dave. "Dave Schwartz - Weather columnist - Orange County Post Sentinel". LinkedIn. Retrieved July 19, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ↑ Mersereau, Dennis (August 2, 2016). "Weather Channel Meteorologist Dave Schwartz Dies at Age 63". Mental Floss. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  8. ↑ Schwartz, Dave. "Dave Schwartz - Weather columnist - Orange County Post Sentinel". LinkedIn. Retrieved July 19, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ↑ Rogers, Bailey (March 14, 2016). "Cancer sucks. But it doesn't have to". Medium. Retrieved July 19, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ↑ Trotter, Vann (July 31, 2016). "Weather Channel meteorologist Dave Schwartz dies from cancer after beating it twice". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  11. ↑ Prociv, Kathryn (August 1, 2016). "So long, friend: The weather community lost one of its best in Dave Schwartz". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 13, 2017.

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