David Thomas Boreanaz (born February 14, 1936) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television broadcaster who broadcast under the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

s Dave Thomas in Buffalo, and Dave Roberts in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. He was the main weatherman for

WPVI-TV WPVI-TV (channel 6), branded on-air as 6 ABC, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the stati ...

in Philadelphia from 1983 until his retirement in 2009.

Early life and education

Roberts was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

to a working-class family and is of

Valle d'Aosta , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French , ...

(northern Italian) descent. The name Boreanaz was originally spelled ''Berginc'' and is of Slovenian origins. Roberts attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

as a speech and dramatic arts student, graduating with dual majors in English and communications.

Career

Roberts began working as a radio broadcaster at

WAER-FM WAER (88.3 FM) is a radio station in Syracuse, New York. It is located on the campus of Syracuse University, and is a part of the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. The station features a jazz music and National Public Radio forma ...

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester. At the 2020 census, the city' ...

in 1954, later moving to WOLF-AM. His

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

broadcasting career began at WBUF in Buffalo in 1956. Two years later, Roberts served as the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

's news director for the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

Forces Radio-TV Network, located in the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the ter ...

, as well as working in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

as a broadcaster for

Armed Forces Radio The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which i ...

. In 1961, Roberts joined

WKBW-TV WKBW-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains studios at 7 Broadcast Plaza in downtown Buffalo and a transmitter on Center Stree ...

as the station's weatherman and as the host of the children's show ''

Rocketship 7 {{refimprove, date=April 2014 ''Rocketship 7'' was a children's television series that aired weekday mornings on WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York from 1962 to 1978 and from 1992 to 1993. The host of the show was Dave Thomas, who had joined WKBW in ...

'', as well as hosting '' Dialing for Dollars''. In Buffalo, because the use of ethnic surnames was at that time discouraged, he temporarily adopted David Thomas as his stage name. He is also a member of the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to me ...

; he has had roles in ''

Blow Out ''Blow Out'' is a 1981 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by Brian De Palma. The film stars John Travolta as Jack Terry, a movie sound effects technician from Philadelphia who, while recording sounds for a low-budge ...

'', ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...

'', ''

Doogie Howser, M.D. ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'' is an American medical sitcom that ran for four seasons on ABC from September 19, 1989, to March 24, 1993, totaling 97 episodes. Created by Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley, the show stars Neil Patrick Harris in the ...

'' and ''

thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust any ...

''. His son

David Boreanaz David Paul Boreanaz ( born May 16, 1969) is an American actor, television producer, and director known for playing the roles of vampire-turned-private investigator Angel on The WB/ UPN ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' supernatural drama (1997–200 ...

became famous for playing the vampire

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles ...

in both ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the 1992 film of the same name, also written by Whedon, although the events of the film are not consid ...

'' and its spin-off, ''

'', as well as his role as FBI Agent

Seeley Booth Seeley Joseph Booth is a fictional character in the US television series '' Bones'' (2005–2017), portrayed by David Boreanaz. Agent Booth is a co-protagonist of the series with Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel), whom he affectionately re ...

on ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...

''. Roberts made an uncredited cameo appearance, as an extra in the FBI office, in the 100th episode of ''Bones'', " The Parts in the Sum of the Whole", which was directed by his son.

6ABC

In 1978, Roberts joined

in Philadelphia as a co-host for the morning television show ''AM Philadelphia''. To avoid possible confusion with

Lisa Thomas-Laury Lisa Thomas-Laury is a retired news presenter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. From 1983 to 2003, she co-anchored the 5 p.m. newscast aired by WPVI-TV. Career Thomas-Laury started at WPVI-TV in Philadelphia on February 20, 1978, as n ...

, he changed his stage name from David Thomas to Dave Roberts. After the death of

Jim O'Brien Jim O'Brien may refer to: Sports Basketball * Jim O'Brien (basketball, born 1950), American coach for Emerson College, Ohio State and Boston College * Jim O'Brien (basketball, born 1951), American player for the New York Nets and Memphis Sounds *J ...

on September 25, 1983, he began reporting the weather for WPVI's ''

Action News ''Action News'' is a local television newscast format originating in the United States. First conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it is characterized by a tight format with strict time limits on set packages, a focus on surrounding suburbs, ...

''. In 1993, Roberts became a recipient of the

National Weather Association The National Weather Association (NWA), founded in 1975, is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities. Background The National Weather Association is, ...

's "Weathercaster Seal of Approval". In 2000, he was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

, and selected "Person of the Year", the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia's highest honor. The following year, he was inducted into the Buffalo, New York Broadcasting Hall of Fame. On November 18, 2009, at age 73, Roberts announced his retirement from WPVI-TV. His last on-air appearance was on December 11, 2009, during the 6 p.m. newscast alongside long-time colleague

Jim Gardner James or Jim Gardner may refer to: * James Gardner (surveyor), British engineer * James Gardner (designer) (1907–1995), British industrial designer * James Gardner (musician) (born 1962), British musician and composer * James A. Gardner (1943� ...

. Upon his retirement he was honored by the

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number. Each ...

for his broadcasting and charity work. In 2011 he and his son David were jointly awarded the Gold Medal by the

Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters The Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters, commonly referred to as PAB, represents radio and television broadcasters across the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with the National Association of Broadcasters The National Ass ...

for their successful careers in broadcasting and acting respectively.

Personal life

Roberts and his wife Patti have two daughters and a son,

, who is an actor, director and producer. Roberts has made several uncredited appearances on his son's show ''

'' as an extra. Roberts is well regarded for his community service. He is active with numerous

charities A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...

in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and has hosted the

Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon The ''MDA Labor Day Telethon'' was an annual telethon held on (starting the night before and throughout) Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The Muscular Dystrophy Association was founded in ...

. He has been granted the "Man of the Year Achievement Award" by the Central Delco Lodge #2438,

Order of the Sons of Italy The Order Sons of Italy in America ( it, Ordine Figli d’Italia in America, OSIA) is the largest and the oldest Italian American fraternal organization in the United States. A similar organization exists in Canada. It has more than 600,000 mem ...

in America, as well as being selected as "Person of the Year" by the

Muscular Dystrophy Association The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is an American 501(c)(3) umbrella organization that works to support people with neuromuscular diseases. Founded in 1950 by Paul Cohen, who lived with muscular dystrophy, it works to combat neuromuscular d ...

References

External links

*
Profile at 6abc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Dave 1936 births Living people American male journalists American people of Italian descent American people of Slovenian descent American television journalists Philadelphia television reporters Syracuse University alumni Television personalities from Buffalo, New York Television anchors from Philadelphia Weather presenters Journalists from New York (state)