Sam Champion

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Sam Champion bigraphy, stories - American television personality

Sam Champion : biography

August 13, 1961 –

Samuel James "Sam" Champion (born August 13, 1961) is the weather anchor of ABC’s Good Morning America and weather editor of ABC News.

Cultural References

Sam Champion was mentioned in Dame Edna Everage’s song Friends of Kenny, a humorous song about her (fictional) gay son.

Early life and education

Champion was born in Paducah, Kentucky to Sylvia and James H. Champion. He has one sibling, a sister named Teresa. His father, who died in 2010, was a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in Vietnam. He has a B.A. in broadcast news from Eastern Kentucky University, where he interned at WKYT-TV in Lexington, Kentucky.

Career

Champion is a veteran of ABC. He was also a veteran weatherman for WABC-TV’s Eyewitness News in the New York City media market since 1988, and has continued to do fill-in work on WABC-TV since taking the network job full-time. He currently works on Good Morning America as a weatherman, making reportedly $1.5 million per year. He was also seen on a segment of World News with Diane Sawyer on January 4, 2010. On April 7, 2012, he debuted as host of Sea Rescue, an educational and informational program in Litton’s Weekend Adventure that focuses on the rescue, rehabilitation, and in many instances release of animals back into wildlife.

He worked at WPSD-TV in Paducah, Kentucky, and WJKS (now WCWJ) in Jacksonville, Florida. On WABC-TV, he had helmed the weekday weather forecasts (5, 6 and 11 p.m.) since 1988, adding the latter two newscasts following Storm Field’s departure from the station. In August 2006, Good Morning America announced that Champion was named to his current positions with GMA and ABC News, effective September 5, 2006.

Champion is not a meteorologist, but gained weather forecasting knowledge through his broadcast work. He has occasionally appeared on Live! with Kelly and Michael, the daily talk show produced by WABC-TV, and CNN’s Larry King Live. He often begins his 30-second weathercasts by saying "Let’s get to the boards." His catchphrase during weather reports for local ABC stations is "That’s the weather around the nation. Here’s what you can expect this morning."

Personal life

Champion is active in many charitable organizations in the New York City area. He was the Grand Marshal of the Multiple Sclerosis Society Fall Bike Tour, the chairman of the 25th annual March of Dimes NYC WalkAmerica, and master of ceremonies of "Stopping AIDS Together", a part of Sunday by the Bay. He hosted the New York City Project’s 2002 "Courage Awards", along with movie critic Frank DeCaro.

The Wall Street Journal reported in November 2011 that Sam listed his New York Penthouse for $5.5 million. He has lived there since 1996. On February 20, 2013, The Wall Street Journal reported that a former Mets teammate of Mike Piazzas said in 2000 that the two of them were involved in a homosexual relationship. Piazza denied this in 2002.

Sam had a cancerous spot (basal cell carcinoma) removed from his skin in May 2010 while on air, this after numerous previous bouts with the disease, which is rarely life threatening. Criticisms were made that it was a sweeps month publicity stunt, but Sam maintained that raising awareness about skin cancer during Cancer Awareness Month was his real cause.

A New York indie rock band is named after him.

Champion and his partner of several years, Rubem Robierb, announced on October 5, 2012 that they were engaged. They married on December 21, 2012.http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2012/12/21/sam-champion-marries-partner-ruben-robierb/1785985/