R.I.P.: Tom Jolls, Longtime Buffalo Weatherman, TV Personality

Tom Jolls, the affable weatherman on the legendary WKBW-TV (Channel 7) anchor team alongside news anchor Irv Weinstein and sports director Rick Azar that dominated local news for decades, died Wednesday in Buffalo Hospice in Cheektowaga. He was 89, reports The Buffalo News.

Jolls was the last of the legendary trio to retire and the only one who stayed in Western New York after exiting television, and even after he briefly lived in Florida. Weinstein died in 2017 and Azar in 2021.

Jolls family released a statement Wednesday:

"As a family, we could not be any prouder than we are of his illustrious television career. Better yet, he was an even better family man. His brief illness was a blessing, as he did not suffer much and passed away with all his family by his bedside," the statement read.

(1934-2023)

"He was a very shy and private man off the air and, as such, we will celebrate his life with a private, family-only service. He will always be our commander. To all his family, friends and fans, he would hope you all make your lives salubrious," the statement continued.  

Jolls was almost as well-known for playing Commander Tom on a kids program that premiered in 1965 and ran until 1991. It carried cartoons and featured puppets, including the popular dog named Dustmop and the alligator puppet Matty the Mod.

"Tom Jolls was exactly the man you saw on camera, gentle, considerate and his delivery was as smooth as silk," said Bob Koshinski, a former Channel 7 sports director. "Tom's childhood ambition was to be on the radio, but he didn't stop there. Tom's ability to reach out to a television audience was unique. Whether it was children watching Commander Tom or the adults tuned in to the nightly weather, Tom Jolls was the master communicator."

"Tom Jolls was one of the truly nicest persons I worked with in broadcasting," said Nancy Sanders, a former Channel 7 news executive. "I think people loved him because of his impish smile and for his long run as Commander Tom. Many were thinking of his homemade puppets Dustmop, Matty the Mod even while he changed roles doing the Weather Outside.

The down-to-earth Jolls came to Channel 7 from Channel 4 in 1965, where he was an anchor who briefly competed with Weinstein. Prior to that, he worked at WUSJ Radio in Lockport, in 1953 and at WBES-TV, a short-lived UHF station with studios in Buffalo. After a tour in the Army, Jolls returned to WUSJ and joined WBEN AM-FM-TV in 1963.