The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

(Left photo) Bill on KYW-TV, Philadelphia
(Right photo) Bill on KUSA-TV, Denver

The legendary Bill Kuster was the folksy Eyewitness News’ weatherguy who was known for his vegetable garden outside the station and the funny characters he designed for viewers to know how to dress that day. He died of leukemia on Saturday, August 12, 2006 in a Denver hospice. He lived in Littleton, Colorado. He left Philadelphia in 1978.

"In the mid-1970s, we were known in the industry as the Dream Team," said Broadcast Pioneers member Al Melzer. "It was Jessica Savitch, Vince Leonard, Mort Crim, Bill and me."

Broadcast Pioneers member Vince Leonard, the station’s main former news anchor stated: "Bill's jokes were really corny. In September or October he was fond of saying, 'You can always tell when Indian summer arrives, you get Apache of hot weather.' He was not too happy about leaving Philadelphia, but he learned to love Colorado and the Broncos. We stayed in touch.… I have never had a kinder, more thoughtful friend."

Bill Kuster was raised in northern Pennsylvania "in a town so small, it doesn't even show up on the Pennsylvania road maps," he said in a 1979 Philadelphia Journal story. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1956 from Pennsylvania State University.

Bill got his start in television on a Lancaster station, WGAL-TV, Channel 8, before being hired by Channel 3 in 1963 as the principal weatherman.

He was here in Philly for a decade and a half. Each summer, Mr. Kuster amused viewers with his “Kuster Garden.” In 1978, Kuster hit a bumpy road with KYW-TV’s management. The lineup was changed and Carol Erickson was hired for his slot.

He took a gig as the weatherman at what was then KBT-TV (now KUSA-TV) in Denver, where he planted his garden and told his corny jokes until he retired during 1996. During his tenure there, he got his meteorological degree.

Bill and his wife, Dottie had two kids, Mark and daughter Kim.

The e-mail address of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com