Goodbye Irv

This story is a very sad one for me to write. 

Legendary Buffalo Anchor Irv Weinstein died yesterday at 87 years old at his home in California. Irv was that rare Anchor that you could call by only his first name and everyone knew who you were talking about. 

I grew up watching Irv Weinstein anchor the news on WKBW in Buffalo. In its heyday, WKBW drew the highest ratings of any station in the country and that was all because of Irv. 

When I did my first internship in college, it was at WKBW and I got to watch Irv in action. 

Weinstein was well known and loved for his rapid-fire delivery and his use of alliteration. 

"Buffalo Blazebusters battle a 3 bell burner on the eastside...." is how Irv would start off a story about a downtown fire. "Pistol packing punks knock off a Queen City grocery store..." was how he would describe and armed robbery. 

The man was one in a million and he loved delivering the news. 

As I was wrapping up my TV career, I wanted to go home to the station I grew up watching. I wanted to work (and not just intern) where Irv worked. I wanted to walk into WKBW as an employee. 

I finally did, but by that time, Irv had retired and the great WKBW was going downhill fast. 

Irv would come back to Buffalo to visit and always stopped by the station. It was like royalty was walking in the door. 

I was able to share a few lunches with Irv and for me, it was the thrill of a lifetime. 

When I started FTVLive, Irv would send me emails with encouragement and tell me that he enjoyed reading the website. 

To know that my TV idol was reading and encouraging me, meant more to me than Irv would ever know. 

There will never be another Irv Weinstein and there will never be another Buffalo Anchor that will come even as close to being as well loved and popular as Irv. 

He did it his way and it was awsome. 

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