Indiana Broadcast History Archive

Bob McLain's Hall of Fame Video Bio

Aired

2011

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Video bio of Bob "Swoop" McLain, inducted to Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2011.

Producer/Voice-over: Reid Duffy;
Post-production: DreamVision Media Partners;

Bob McLain was born and raised in Chicago where he watched his hero Harry Volkman on television. Volkman is known for being the first weatherman to issue a tornado warning. McLain majored in meteorology and minored in Radio/TV at the University of Wisconsin in Madison where he did a weekly weather program on the campus TV station. Graduating in 1967, he became a weather officer in the Navy. His first TV weather job was at WKZO-TV in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In May 1972, he became a TV meteorologist at WFBM-FM/TV (now WRTV-TV), staying until 2002. McLain is remembered for making swooping gestures while talking about weather fronts.
--Words from the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers