Robert "Bob" Richards (January 10, 1956 – March 23, 1994), born Robert L. Schwartz, was an American local television personality on KSDK in St. Louis, Missouri, where he worked as chief meteorologist in the 1980s and early 1990s. He began his career as a meteorologist at WOLO-TV in Columbia, South Carolina; WATE-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee; and WSB-TV in Atlanta[1] before leaving to join The Weather Channel.[2] While at WATE, he earned the Seal of Approval from the American Meteorological Society. Because of The Weather Channel's connection to its founder John Coleman, former weather forecaster for ABC's Good Morning America, Richards occasionally filled in on that show's morning broadcasts. Later he moved on to the short-lived Satellite News Channel before joining KSDK in 1983.
Richards' death resulted from a plane crash, which is thought to have been suicide due to his anxiety over an alleged extra-marital affair that was increasingly becoming public knowledge. After a radio interview in which his former girlfriend provided messages he had left on her phone answering machine, Richards became despondent. After delivering the 10pm weather report on the night of March 23, 1994, Richards took off from Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, Missouri, and flew his plane, a Piper Cherokee,[3] into the ground.[4][5]
See also
References
- ^ Zoglin, Richard (April 30, 1982). "Forecast For New All-Weather Channel: Uncertain". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 11-B. Retrieved August 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lhotka, William C.; Malone, Roy (April 10, 1994). "Bob Richards Off Camera: Weatherman Had Smooth Image, Rough Personal Life". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. pp. 1D, 8D. Retrieved August 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Linsalata, Phil (1994-03-24). "Was it news? 25 years ago some soul searching after the death of weatherman Bob Richards". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
- ^ Linsalata, Phil (May 1994). "High-Pressure System: When a Private Storm Breaks in Public". Columbia Journalism Review. Archived from the original on 2007-03-06.
- ^ Kramer, Staci D. (1994-03-24). "St. Louis TV Weatherman Apparently Takes Own Life". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
Further reading
Stiles, Nancy. Weatherman Bob Richards’ Suicide 25 Years Ago Rocked St. Louis at Riverfront Times
External links