Gilman "Gil" Whitney (1940-1982) was an American television personality in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, who worked primarily at WHIO television and

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

until his death in 1982. He was posthumously inducted into the Dayton Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2005.

Career

Whitney's career at WHIO was multi-faceted, having worked as an occasional fill-in news anchor, but also as a sportscaster and field journalist, usually covering stories of human interest. By the early 1970s he was permanently assigned as a weather specialist. His sense of humor and folksy

everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin and history The term ''everyman'' was used ...

approach to weather reporting made him a favorite with viewers. As a weatherman, Whitney is best remembered for his timely warning on April 3, 1974, of an F5 tornado that went through

Xenia, Ohio Xenia ( ) is a city in Greene County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in southwestern Ohio, it is east of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton and is part of the Greater Dayton, Dayton metropolitan area as well as the Miami Valley region. As o ...

, during the

1974 Super Outbreak The 1974 Super Outbreak was one of the most intense tornado outbreaks on record, occurring on April 3–4, 1974, across much of the United States. It was one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. It was also the most violent t ...

. He specifically identified the Xenia neighborhood of Arrowhead as being directly in the tornado's path; his report proved to be correct as Arrowhead was leveled by the twister. During the fall seasons, Whitney often referred to the wooly worm's supposed ability to predict the severity of an upcoming winter. His frequent reference to wooly worms led to the creation of a kids' fan club with the wooly worm as its mascot.

Other work

During the summer months Whitney also hosted ''Summertime '7x'' (the number in the title changed each year), a weekly late-night talk show which featured local talent and other TV, movie and radio personalities making guest appearances. By 1980, the show was renamed ''The Gil Whitney Show''. After his death the show was again renamed ''Summer Nights'' and ran five more years. He was a regular on the community parade circuit, acted as emcee for numerous public events, volunteered as a firefighter, and most notably was one of the founders of the Dayton Air Show.

Personal life and death

Whitney and his wife Mary had three children together: *Gil Whitney Jr. (born 1963), a filmmaker now living in

Cape Porpoise, Maine Cape Porpoise is a small coastal village in the town of Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, and was the original English settlement of the town. It is located northeast of Dock Square and southwest of Goose Rocks Beach. The village occupies the ...

*John, a filmmaker (born 1964), Columbus, Ohio *Jennifer (born 1967) Whitney died November 4, 1982, at the age of 42.

Awards

*2005: Dayton, Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame inductee

References

External links

*
Video clip of Gil Whitney's April 3, 1974 broadcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitney, Gil 1940 births 1982 deaths Mass media people from Dayton, Ohio American television weather presenters Deaths from cancer in Ohio Deaths from Hodgkin lymphoma Deaths from lymphoma in the United States