Longtime WJW television personality Neil Zurcher, known for his 'One Tank Trips' series, passed away this week.
Neil Zurcher, the cherished Cleveland TV figure famed for "One Tank Trips," has died at 89, leaving a legacy of exploring Ohio's less-known treasures.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Longtime Cleveland television personality Neil Zurcher, best known for his iconic “One Tank Trips” series, has died. He passed away Wednesday at the age of 89,
Born and raised in Lorain County and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Zurcher launched his journalism career in the 1950s as a reporter and photographer for the Oberlin News-Tribune,Zurcher joined WJW full-time in 1967, starting as a reporter. Over the years, he covered hard news stories, including the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, and even interviewed Martin Luther King Jr.
“For some reason the five-part series struck a nerve with viewers,” Zurcher recalled in a 2010 interview with The Plain Dealer. “Mail and phone calls poured in to the station— so many that Virgil decided to continue the series on a weekly basis until the end of the year. Once again December, when we finally ended the show, viewers let Virgil know they enjoyed my travels and urged him to continue the show. He did, as did seven other news directors over the next 25 years.
Zurcher chronicled his travels in the book “The Best of One Tank Trips” and authored several other works, including “Ten Ohio Disasters,” “Strange Tales from Ohio,” and a memoir titled “Tales from the Road.”
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