CBS 3) PHILADELPHIA Legendary newsman and former Channel 3 pioneer broadcaster Tom Snyder passed away Sunday in San Francisco from complications of leukemia, the CBS Early Show is reporting.
In 1965, Tom Snyder, along with Marciarose Shestack, made television history anchoring the first noon news show in the country. The show was broadcasted from the Eyewitness News studios in Philadelphia.
In the 70s Synder gained national attention as the host of the the talkshow Tomorrow with Tom Snyder. His show aired late nights on NBC after the Tonight Show.
Tom Snyder was 71.
― m coleman, Monday, 30 July 2007 13:03 (eighteen years ago)
Tom Snyder of 'Tomorrow Show' Dies at 71
The Associated Press
Monday, July 30, 2007; 8:55 AM
SAN FRANCISCO -- Talk show host Tom Snyder, whose smoke-filled interviews were a staple of late night television, has died after a struggle with leukemia. He was 71.
Snyder died Sunday in San Francisco from complications associated with leukemia, said his longtime producer and friend Mike Horowicz.
Known for his improvised, casual style and robust laughter, Snyder conducted a number of memorable interviews as host of NBC's "The Tomorrow Show." Among his guests were John Lennon, Charles Manson and Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols.
Snyder began his career as a radio reporter in Milwaukee in the 1960s, then moved into local television news. He anchored newscasts in Philadelphia and Los Angeles before moving to late night. He gained more fame when Dan Ackroyd lampooned him in the early days of Saturday Night Live.
In 1972, Snyder left news to host "The Tomorrow Show," which followed "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson.
His catch phrase for the show was: "Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air." Snyder smoked throughout his show, the cigarette cloud swirling around him during interviews.
In 1995, he returned to late night television as the host of "The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder" on CBS. The program followed David Letterman's "Late Show" until 1998, when Snyder was replaced by Craig Kilborn.
Snyder announced on his Web site in 2005 that he had chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
"When I was a kid leukemia was a death sentence," he wrote then. "Now, my doctors say it's treatable!"
― m coleman, Monday, 30 July 2007 13:17 (eighteen years ago)
"The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder"
watched this religiously, right after Letterman. I was always charmed by the atmosphere of the show, which more resembled late-night radio than late-night tv. It was painful sometimes to watch CBS try to shoehorn him into the late-night talk show standard format. Tom Snyder is not the man to interview LL Cool J, srsly.
― kenan, Monday, 30 July 2007 15:26 (eighteen years ago)