Former CNBC Commentator Wayne Shannon Dies, 64

[orpheus]

Wayne Shannon, whose quirky "What's It All Mean" commentaries were a
staple in the early years of CNBC, was found dead at the age of 64.

Family members had reported Shannon missing in September and his body
was found this week in woods near Lewiston, Idaho, according to his
son, Chris Schetzle.

Schetzle says Wayne Shannon died in an apparent suicide. An autopsy
found no signs of physical trauma, but the coroner is awaiting results
from toxicology testing, according to the Associated Press.

Shannon joined CNBC, then known as the Consumer News and Business
Channel, as a commentator when the network launched in 1989. His wry
essays, typically as many as three per day, continued until CNBC began
focusing more heavily on financial news in the early 1990s.

Before joining CNBC, Shannon held similar positions in Detroit,
Philadelphia and San Francisco, where a local newspaper once referred
to him as "The Will Rogers of Bay Area TV." Shannon was the recipient
of six Emmy awards and four CableACE nominations, his son said.

Shannon is survived by five children and a sister. Memorial services
are planned for later this month in Eugene, Oregon.

© 2012 CNBC.com

[Brad Ferguson]

In article
<444b260c-5091-4881...@bh8g2000vbb.googlegroups.com>,

Pic from back in the day:

<http://goo.gl/BKV7N>

I don't remember him at all, and you'd think a guy who looked like that
would be memorable.

[BobF]

On Fri, 04 May 2012 23:00:43 -0400, Brad Ferguson
<thir...@frXOXed.net> shouted from the highest rooftop:

>In article
><444b260c-5091-4881...@bh8g2000vbb.googlegroups.com>,
>orpheus <pbl...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>> Wayne Shannon, whose quirky "What's It All Mean" commentaries were a
>> staple in the early years of CNBC, was found dead at the age of 64.
>>

<snip>

>
>Pic from back in the day:
>
><http://goo.gl/BKV7N>
>
>I don't remember him at all, and you'd think a guy who looked like that
>would be memorable.

I'm wondering whether that was a wig or a helmet ...


--

"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[MWB]

http://vimeo.com/41561023

[Diner]

On Friday, May 4, 2012 11:00:43 PM UTC-4, Brad Ferguson wrote:
> Pic from back in the day:
>
> <http://goo.gl/BKV7N>
>
> I don't remember him at all, and you'd think a guy who looked like that
> would be memorable.

I remember him quite well from his time on KYW Philadelphia (1980-82), where he did "Thinking Out Loud," a nightly Andy Rooney-type comedy essay at the end of the 11pm newscast. I thouht he was pretty funny. One incident that stands out in my mind is when Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Clark DeLeon, another pretty funny guy, picked a fight with Shannon over one of his commentaries. I think he misinterpreted something Shannon had said to make it seem that Shannon was rooting AGAINST the Phillies instead of for them. Or something silly like that. But Shannon had to do a lot of backtracking/apologizing/clarification, and I don't think he lasted in town much longer. (The fact that he was on a third place station with a lot of internal turmoil had a lot to do with it too. KYW was a ship that a lot of people were abandoning.)

At one point, the station gave him his only weekly half-hour comedy show called, and I'm not making this up, "Wayne-Bo." (There's a YouTube clip of him with that title, although I can't access it at work.)

-Tim

[Rick B.]

Diner <bway...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:20156081.5.1336396552246.JavaMail.geo-discussion-forums@vbhe9:

I recall that that started out with somebody adlibbing during a
newscast...over at WPVI Jim O'Brien had been calling anchor Jim Gardner
"Jimbo" for a while, and somebody at KYW impulsively decided that they
should have a "-bo" of their own. The wordplay may not have been apparent
to the person who came up with it until it was spoken on the air.

[R H Draney]

Rick B. filted:

>
>Diner <bway...@gmail.com> wrote in
>news:20156081.5.1336396552246.JavaMail.geo-discussion-forums@vbhe9:
>>

>> At one point, the station gave him his only weekly half-hour comedy show
>> called, and I'm not making this up, "Wayne-Bo." (There's a YouTube clip
>> of him with that title, although I can't access it at work.)
>
>I recall that that started out with somebody adlibbing during a
>newscast...over at WPVI Jim O'Brien had been calling anchor Jim Gardner
>"Jimbo" for a while, and somebody at KYW impulsively decided that they
>should have a "-bo" of their own. The wordplay may not have been apparent
>to the person who came up with it until it was spoken on the air.

Or even after...there's an old story about a guy whose wife gives birth to his
third son, and he goes to the family priest and lays down the law..."My first
boy, I told you his name was Tom, and you baptized him as Tom-ass...my second
boy, I told you I wanted him called Sam, and you had to get cute and say his
name was Sam-mule...now listen and listen good: this boy, I want his name to be
Jack, and I'm gonna wring your neck if you call him Jack-ass!"...r


--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.