Tedi Thurman | Radio 'weather girl,' 89

Tedi Thurman, 89, the "weather girl" on the long-running NBC radio show

Monitor

in the late 1950s and early '60s whose breathy, alluring voice brought her fame, died Monday

Ms. Thurman would take over the mike and in soft, sultry tones - with lush music in the background - virtually drawl, "Cleveland, 34, snow; Boston, 41, cloudy; Phoenix, 62, fair; New York City, 43, sunny; Paris, 38, cloudy."

But she would always lead with Atlanta, "because Georgia was her home state," said Dennis Hart, the author of Monitor: The Last Great Radio Show (2002), a history of the program, which Pat Weaver, the president of NBC, created in 1955. Starting at 8 a.m. on Saturdays, it originally stayed on the air till midnight on Sundays.

Ms. Thurman made the forecasts "sound like an irresistible invitation to an unforgettable evening," Jack Gould wrote in the New York Times shortly after the show's premiere.

In Hart's estimation, Ms. Thurman "probably became the most recognizable female voice in the country within a few short months."

With hosts like Dave Garroway, Hugh Downs, Frank Blair, Gene Rayburn, Henry Morgan, and Bill Cullen, Monitor was a hit, offering news, sports, comedy, variety, music, and live remote pickups from around the nation and the world. It lasted 20 years, the first six of that featured Ms. Thurman as Miss Monitor, who updated the weather hour after hour.

Ms. Thurman died at her home in Palm Springs, Calif., after a brief illness, Hart said. She is survived by her longtime companion, Elke Schliwa. - N.Y. Times News Service