Spencer Christian
It’s interesting how life comes full-circle sometimes.
I remember fondly, joining the ranks at ABC7 in San Francisco – my first big step into the ‘big leagues’ as it were and at almost the same time, Spencer Christian left Good Morning America to join the team there.
He has always been a delight and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to speak with him during my weekly podcast, Break throught the Noise, today at 11:30 AM. It’s archived at the link below.
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[Click here to listen if the player above does not appear]
In the event you you’re not already aware, Spencer Christian joined the ABC7 News team in January 1999 and is the weather forecaster for ABC7 News at 6. He’s also the co-host of The View from the Bay, ABC7’s daily, live one-hour entertainment program that airs at 3 p.m. weekdays.
Spencer moved to ABC7 after nearly 13 years with Good Morning America – based in New York – where he did the national weather reports in addition to traveling throughout the United States and abroad reporting on a wide range of topics from current events to human interest stories.
Spencer’s time in New York actually spanned 22 years, including 13 years at GMA and nine years at WABC-TV, the ABC owned station in New York, where he served as weatherman and sportscaster from 1977 to 1986. For a brief time, Spencer also hosted WABC-TV’s Good Morning New York.
Prior to his years in New York, Spencer was weathercaster in Baltimore from 1975-1977, where he also hosted Spencer’s World, a weekly half-hour talk show. He began his television career in 1971 in Richmond, Virginia, as a news reporter, covering state and local politics, the public school system, and landmark cases in the Fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals.
While in Richmond, he won the Better Life Award for his reports exposing abuses in Virginia’s nursing homes; and, in Baltimore, he won an Emmy Award for a special series of reports entitled ‘Does Anyone Here Speak English?’, focusing on declining language skills among America’s youth.
A veteran of the US Army Reserves with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and a minor in journalism from Hampton University, Spencer taught English at the Stony Brook School in Long Island, New York, for one year before launching his television career.
He is a native of Charles City, Virginia, and was inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame in April 1993, and was named Virginian of the Year by the Virginia Press Association in July, 1993.
Spencer devotes a good deal of his time to charitable and community-service organizations such as the March of Dimes, Special Olympics, the American Cancer Society, Big Brothers, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America, the United Negro College Fund, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and others. In addition, he has served as the ABC Network’s spokesperson for children’s literacy, and has worked as a mentor in a number of service-to-youth programs. He has also had the honor of working with Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter on Habitat for Humanity, and he was the emcee for former President Carter’s 75th birthday celebration in October 1999, in Americus, Georgia.
Spencer is the author of a series of children’s books under the general heading “Spencer Christian’s World of Wonders.” The first four books are titled: “Can It Really Rain Frogs?,” “Shake, Rattle, and Roll,” “What Makes the Grand Canyon Grand?,” and “Is There a Dinosaur in Your Backyard?.” Education and literacy continue to be among Spencer’s passionate concerns.
A wine enthusiast and collector since 1977, Spencer at one time maintained a private collection of more than 1,600 bottles of fine wine. From January 1995, to December 1999, he hosted Spencer Christian’s Wine Cellar, a lively and informative program which aired on HGTV (Home and Garden Television) and on the TV Food Network. Spencer continues to be a serious wine enthusiast and visits California’s wine country regularly.
Spencer is also an avid sports fan. He played varsity baseball in college and actually had a tryout with the Baltimore Orioles in 1968, his junior year in college.
[cross-posted here…]
