Former Weatherman Herb Clarke Dies At Age 84
By Kim Glovas
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Herb Clarke, the long-time weatherman for Channel 10 in Philadelphia, has passed away. The organization Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is reporting that Clarke died late Sunday afternoon, but no other details were immediately available. Clarke was president of that organization for a number of years.
Gerry Wilkinson, chairman of the board of the Broadcast Pioneers, knew Clarke for many decades.
"Herb was really a warm, wonderful human being," said Wilkinson. "That down-home guy that you saw on the TV, that was really Herb."
Clarke became WCAU-TV's weatherman in 1958, after moving to Philadelphia from television jobs in Virginia and his native North Carolina. He retired 40 years later, in 1998.
That's when he followed his other passion, gardening, and took the post of garden reporter at KYW Newsradio 1060.
In his early days at WCAU, Clarke was often seen wearing the uniform of a gas station attendant on camera, as Atlantic-Richfield Oil Company sponsored the forecasts. He also made appearances in a live TV western that took place on the back lot of the WCAU building on City Avenue -- now home to numerous office buildings.
He served in the Navy in both World War II and the Korean War.
Herb Clarke died at the age of 84.
He is survived by his wife, three children, and two grandchildren. Herb Clarke's funeral is Friday morning at 11am at the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, 625 Montgomery Avenue, in Bryn Mawr.
