The impressive career of Percy Saltzman — CBC Toronto's first weatherman
On this day in weather history, Percy Salzman became the first English-speaking person on Canadian television.
This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them.
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On Monday, September 8, 1952, Percy Saltzman, a weatherman, became the first person to appear on English-speaking Canadian television.
Saltzman was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but lived in many places across Canada. When he was young, his family moved to Saskatchewan and then again to British Columbia. Saltzman moved to Montreal to study medicine but dropped out before graduating. He then had random jobs like opening envelopes for contests.
Saltzman moved to Toronto and started as a Linotype operator at Eveready Printing (printshop for the Communist Party of Canada).
In 1943, Saltzman became a meteorology officer for the government of Canada. He worked on the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during World War II. Saltzman stayed with the Dominion Weather Service for 25 years.
On Sep. 8, 1952, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Toronto launched, and Salzman was the first person to appear on the channel. He started giving the forecast on a puppet show called "Uncle Chichimus and Hollyhock," but switched to Stop Watch and Listen.
Saltzman became co-host of Tabloid (CBC's daily current affairs show). His first major story was Hurricane Hazel, which caused about 81 deaths in Toronto.
Saltzman became a CBC staple, initially getting paid $10 per appearance. Throughout this time, he kept his position with the Dominion Weather Service because he wasn't so sure about the longevity of television. But in 1968, Saltzman became full-time at the CBC.
In 1972, Saltzman left the CBC to become a co-host of a CTV morning show, Canada AM. Throughout his career, Saltzman reported all forecasts from memory — not using any notes or teleprompters.
To learn more about Percy Saltzman, listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History."
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