Tom Erwin
| Thomas Barry "Tom" Erwin, Sr.
(Pioneering Louisiana radio and television journalist who covered sports play-by-play, human interest features, and travel reports) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Born | August 30, 1924 Near Alexandria, Louisiana Resided after 1967 in Shreveport, Louisiana | ||
| Died | June 7, 2020 (aged 95) Baton Rouge, Louisiana | ||
| Political Party | Republican | ||
| Spouse | Nancy Seifert Erwin (married 1956–2008, her death)
Two children | ||
| Military Service | |||
| Service/branch | United States Navy | ||
| Years of service | 1943–1945 | ||
| Rank | Sonar operator | ||
| Battles/wars | South Pacific Theater of Oprations | ||
Thomas Barry Erwin, Sr. known as Tom Erwin (August 30, 1924 -- June 7, 2020), was a radio and television broadcaster in Louisiana.
Background
Erwin was born in central Louisiana near Alexandria in Rapides Parish but reared in New Orleans, where as a boy he delivered newspapers on St. Charles Avenue, worked in a bakery, and went to dances on riverboats. He was also employed by Higgins Industries, which constructed ships for use in World War II. Erwin himself enlisted at the age of eighteen in the United States Navy with service from 1943 to 1945 in the South Pacific Theater of Operations. He worked as a sonar operator for a destroyer escort.[1]
Career
After the war, Erwin studied broadcasting in California and began working in radio. In 1948, he came to KALB Radio in Alexandria. At KALB, he played records, read news, and voiced commercials and announced sports play-by-play. Later, as the new medium of television came along, he made the transition and in 1954 helped open one of Louisiana's early stations. In 1956, he wed the former Nancy Seifert (1931-2008), his wife for fifty-two years until her death. From 1967 to 1987, he was affiliated with KSLA-TV, the CBS affiliate in Shreveport, Louisiana, with colleagues Don Owen, the news director, and Bob Griffin, a specialist in sports and travel. As an anchorman and television journalist, Erwin covered politics and disasters and piloted the station's first airplane. He is best remembered for his travel segments based on visits by motorhome to communities in southwestern Arkansas, east Texas, and northwestern Louisiana, a region known locally as the Ark-La-Tex. He presented human interest stories about the everyday people of the region and spotlighted their history, cultures, and traditions. After his time at KSLA, he and Nancy spent much of their time in motor coaches visiting every state in the nation and every province in Canada. The couple also went on cruises to Alaska, Hawaii, Europe, Russia, the Balkans, and the Panama Canal.[1]
In 2005, Erwin published his memoirs, The Time of My Life: An Autobiography from the Greatest Generation. It is a remembrance of his early years in New Orleans, his military service, and the launching of his broadcasting career. He was honored for his work as a sonar consultant to the Tom Hanks World War II film, Greyhound, which was filmed in Baton Rouge, where Erwin died at the age of ninety-five. The Erwins had two children, Thomas Barry Erwin, Jr. (born 1957), known by his middle name, and his wife, the former Mary Durusau, of Baton Rouge, and Kathleen "Kathy" Erwin Doyle (born 1959) of Lafayette and two grandchildren, Dexter and Samantha Doyle.[1] Barry Erwin, Jr., is a former journalist and the president and chief executive officer of the Council for a Better Louisiana, a statewide, nonprofit organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Louisiana.[2]
Erwin's obituary suggest memorial donation to the U.S.S Kidd Veterans Museum in Baton Rouge.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Tom Erwin obituary. The Baton Rouge Advocate (June 8, 2020). Retrieved on June 9, 2020.
- ↑ Staff, Council for a Better Louisiana: Barry Erwin President and CEO. cabl.org. Retrieved on June 9, 2020.
