Spencer Christian (born July 23, 1947) is an American television broadcaster, best known as the former weather forecaster for ABC's ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'' from 1986 to 1998. He currently is the weather forecaster for ABC-owned

KGO-TV KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been owned and operated by the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network through its ABC Owne ...

in San Francisco. Christian is also the author of several children's books.

Biography

Christian was born in Newport News, Virginia in 1947. He began his broadcasting career at

WWBT WWBT (channel 12) is a television station in Richmond, Virginia, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Media alongside Ashland-licensed CW affiliate WUPV (channel 65). The two stations share studios on Midlothian Turnp ...

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

as a news reporter, covering state and local politics, the public school system, and landmark cases in the Fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals. His first stint as a weatherman came in 1975, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, when he was hired by news director

Ron Kershaw Ron Kershaw (August 19, 1943 – July 3, 1988) was an American television news reporter. Kershaw was the news director in several U.S. markets, including New York City, Chicago and Baltimore. Early life Kershaw grew up in Hendersonville, North Car ...

WBAL-TV WBAL-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship property of Hearst Television, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to the company's sole ra ...

to join the station'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, ...

'' team which included Sue Simmons, Mike Hambrick, Ron Smith,

Curt Anderson Curtis Stovall Anderson (born October 12, 1949) is an American politician, lawyer and former broadcast journalism, broadcast journalist. He was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1983, was the chairman of the Baltimore City Del ...

and

Joe Krebs Joe Krebs (March 22, 1943 – April 6, 2021) was an American television news reporter who worked for stations in North Carolina, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., the most recent being WRC-TV. He has been awarded numerous Emmy Awards for his work in ...

. From there, Christian moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

WABC-TV WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, WABC-TV maintains studios in the Hudson Square neighborhood ...

, where he served as a general assignment reporter, weatherman and sportscaster for ''

Eyewitness News ''Eyewitness News'' is a style of television presentation that emphasizes visual elements and action videos, instead of the older ,"man-on-camera" style of newscast, and is most prominently featured in the New York City metropolitan area. Hi ...

'' from 1977 to 1986. In August 1986, Christian joined ''Good Morning America'' as their weather forecaster. In addition, he occasionally traveled throughout the United States and abroad, reporting on a wide range of topics from current events to human interest stories. From 1992 to 1993, Christian was also seen on the

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

cable network as the host of the music game show ''Triple Threat''. For decades, Christian had a serious gambling addiction. He describes his addiction and his recovery in his 2018 book, ''You Bet Your Life: How I Survived Jim Crow Racism, Hurricane Chasing, and Gambling''. Christian left ''Good Morning America'' at the end of 1998 and began doing weather forecasts at

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in January 1999, a position he holds to this day. He was host of

HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. HGTV Dream Home is an ...

's ''Spencer Christian's Wine Cellar'' from 1995 to 1999. Christian has also hosted the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

train series '' Tracks Ahead'' since 1997. In 2006, he began hosting the popular afternoon show in San Francisco, ''The View from the Bay''. In June, 2014, Christian temporarily returned to the set of ''

'' as a substitute weather forecaster while Ginger Zee was having her wedding. He also returned on November 19, 2015, to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of ''Good Morning America''. In 1996, Christian appeared in a music video of the song Change Like the Weather by Bounty Killa (feat. Busta Rhymes and Junior Reid). url="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DSGf6UpXsd0" He is a member of the Beta chapter of

Iota Phi Theta Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded on September 19, 1963, at Morgan State University (then Morgan State College) in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth largest Black Greek Lettered ...

fraternity.

Bibliography

Spencer Christian co-authored the following books with Antonia Felix: * ''Can it Really Rain Frogs: The World's Strangest Weather Events'', 1997, * ''Is There a Dinosaur in Your Backyard: The World's Most Fascinating Fossils, Rocks, and Minerals'', 1998, * ''Shake, Rattle, and Roll: The World's Most Amazing Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Other Forces'', 1997, * ''What Makes the Grand Canyon Grand? The World's Most Awe-Inspiring Natural Wonders'', 1997, With co-author Tom Biracree, he wrote: * ''Electing Our Government: Everything You Need to Know to Make Your Vote Really Count'', 1996, He also wrote: * ''Spencer Christian's Geography Book'', 1995, * ''Spencer Christian's You Bet Your Life: How I Survived Jim Crow Racism, Hurricane Chasing, and Gambling'', 2018,

References

External links

Spencer Christian's biography
from

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Spencer 1947 births Living people African-American game show hosts African-American television personalities American game show hosts Hampton University alumni Television meteorologists from New York City People from Charles City County, Virginia Television anchors from San Francisco United States Army soldiers American television reporters and correspondents Television anchors from Baltimore People from Newport News, Virginia Scientists from Virginia 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people