View source for Stu Kerr

{{short description|American television personality}}
'''Thomas Stewart "Stu" Kerr''' (March 9, 1928 - July 17, 1994) was a [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]] television personality who developed and hosted a number of programs on Baltimore television from 1952 through the 1980s.
Kerr was born in [[Yonkers, New York]] and as a teenager worked as an [[NBC page]] at the network's [[Rockefeller Center]] headquarters. He later recalled "sitting in Lowell Thomas' [sic] seat right after he left, while it was still warm", practicing script reading.<ref name=sun>Scott Shane, "Television host Stu Kerr, beloved by children, dies", Baltimore ''Sun'', July 18, 1994.</ref> His first full-time broadcasting job was on the radio at the age of 19. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1950 and saw combat action during the [[Korean War]].
Kerr's television career began in 1952 at [[WMAR-TV]] in Baltimore, where he created ''The Janitor'', a late-night show displaying his talent for improvisation. He then played in various [[children's television|children's shows]] at WMAR-TV, beginning with ''The Early Riser'' and  ''[[Bozo the Clown]]'' in the 1960s and, later, inventing the character [[Professor Kool]] on his popular ''Professor Kool's Fun Skool'' program, which aired Saturday mornings from 1967 to 1977. He was also the weatherman on the early and late evening news programs throughout most of the 1970s. The station's weather set was notable for having hand-movable dials that looked like a digital thermometer and barometer. Kerr also hosted ''[[Dialing for Dollars]]'' on [[WMAR-TV]] until that show ended its 38-year run on Baltimore radio and television in 1977.<ref name=sun/> While playing a "conductor" on the show ''Caboose'' in 1978, he discovered [[Kevin Clash]] and [[Todd Stockman]].
After leaving WMAR-TV in 1981, he was a [[weather forecasting|weatherman]] on [[WJLA-TV]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], and also performed in ''54 Space Corps'', a [[puppet]] show televised on [[WNUV-TV]] in Baltimore. For a number of years, he hosted a call-in gardening program, airing Saturday mornings on WCBM radio.
Kerr had a bit part in the 1982 film ''[[Diner (1982 film)|Diner]]'' and small roles in ''"The Adventure of the Action Hunters"'' and ''[[Morgan Stewart's Coming Home]]'', both filmed in 1987.
He created the recurring character role of "Scoop Toot" on the long-running national network children's program ''[[Captain Kangaroo]]''.
Kerr died of [[multiple myeloma]] in [[Baltimore]] on July 17, 1994.
==References==
<references/>
== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|0449808}}
* [http://www.baltimoresun.com/bal-stukerrobit-story.html/ Baltimore Sun obituary - July 18, 1994]
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[[Category:American children's television presenters]]
[[Category:Mass media people from Yonkers, New York]]
[[Category:Television anchors from Baltimore]]
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:Mass media people from Baltimore]]
[[Category:Deaths from bone cancer in the United States]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Maryland]]
[[Category:Deaths from multiple myeloma in the United States]]