Sonny Eliot Celebrates 60 Years as an AFTRA Member! 

AFTRA member Sonny Eliot

"As of 2007, Sonny Eliot has been a member in good standing of AFTRA for 60 years. He's been a tremendous supporter too... always willing to do ANYTHING to help the cause," says AFTRA Detroit Local President Jayne Bower. Detroit's beloved wacky weatherman is no stranger to Tiger baseball. Every opening day for the past several years he has acted as the celebrity umpire as the governor or other dignitary tossed the first pitch. When the Tigers took on the Texas Rangers last September 13, Sonny was on the mound. Sonny says the pitch he whipped across the plate at Comerica Park to celebrate his 60 years on WWJ Newsradio 950 was a remarkable accomplishment—because he's only 38 years old! And to hear Sonny tell the tale—it was a strike.  Sonny Eliot's first broadcast on WWJ was in 1946, and he's been a fixture on the station ever since-serving up his one -of-a-kind forecasts every weekday at 4:40 and 5:20pm.

Sonny also was the toast of Detroit on television for decades. He was the meteorologist on Channel 4 (WDIV-TV) and Channel 2 (WJBK-TV). For 18 years, he hosted the widely popular "At The Zoo with Sonny Eliot," and along with his wife Annette, hosted television coverage of Detroit's Thanksgiving Day parade. Sonny has won dozens of awards—including the coveted Founders Award from the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and a longevity award from Screen Actors Guild.