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Fly em High Sonny Elliot (RIP)

16 11 12 - 08:34

Detroit's quirky & beloved Weatherman, Sonny Elliot has passed away this morning at his home in Farmington Hills, MI. Born Marvin Schlossberg in 1920 to parents that owned a hardware store in the city he loved, Detroit.

Eliot said it was his mother who gave him the nickname Sonny and in the post-depression tough times, also gave him his legendary sense of humor Detroiters have missed since Eliot's retirement in 2010. (CBS) Sonny was a fixture on TV for decades & many of us would only listen to his radio report for his humorous prognostication on our daily commute. His quick paced, semi-philosophical, delivery was laced with 1-liners, odd tales, & much good cheer. Some folks thought a bit too much, but he still had THE biggest audience share in history (50%) when he was on Channel 4 in Detroit.

Eliots college education at Wayne State University was interrupted by World War II, where he served as a B-24 pilot. A plane Eliot was flying was shot down during a bombing mission over Germany and he was captured. He spent 18 months in the Stalagluft I prison camp before being freed by the Russians when the war ended. While in captivity, he lifted the morale of the other prisoners by staging original skits and revues.

Sonny was very active in his support of the Yankee Air Museum & the annual air show that the museum puts on above Willow Run Airport. He was a frequent sight piloting their B-24 bomber above the Detroit suburbs, where he ferried "paying" passengers that donated to the museum's efforts to replace the old WW2 hangar that burned down a number of years ago.

Thankya Mr Elliot for all the laffs! May the sun never set "exact-adact-adact-adactly" on your cheerful memory.

Check out Sonny Elliot on Youtube.