Goodbye, my TV dream girl

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/09/2011 (5239 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s going to be more of a love letter than a typical newspaper column today.

You might want to grab a big box of Kleenex, folks, because the forecast shows it’s going to get a little bit mushy in here.

It begins Thursday afternoon with me standing in CTV Winnipeg’s downtown offices, a bouquet of slightly wilted flowers in my hand, waiting to see the woman legions of guys in this city, including myself, have worshipped from afar since we were teenagers with bad skin and brand-new driver’s licences.

As you have already deduced, I’m waiting to see Sylvia. In this province, you don’t need to hear the last name to know I’m talking about Sylvia Kuzyk, weather specialist, talk-show host and news anchor at the local CTV station since 1974.

As hard as it is to imagine, tonight, after almost 38 years of making us feel good about cold fronts and warm fronts and high-pressure systems, Sylvia makes her farewell appearance on the supper-hour newscast.

I’m here, flowers in hand, because I didn’t want Sylvia to ride off into the sun and above-normal temperatures without first letting her know how much she has meant to guys of my gender for almost four decades and how much we are going to miss her.

Sylvia took the job as then-CKY-TV’s “weather gal” back in 1974, which was when I arrived here from Vancouver.

From the moment I first saw her elegantly pointing at a weather map, I was smitten.

In my defence, I was far from alone. I have one friend who, back in the day, wrote a love song for Sylvia and another who, during a tour of the station, pressed his moony face up against the glass of a studio door to get a better glimpse of her.

Over the years, in addition to presenting the top-rated weather forecast, Sylvia has produced documentaries, been named a woman of distinction, been inducted into the Order of Manitoba and even had a sticky bun (the “Sylvia Kuzyk citrus-honey bun”) named after her at a local specialty bakery.

But to middle-aged guys with fragile teenage hearts, she’s always been more than a beloved TV icon. She was our TV dream girl.

She gave us the weather and we gave her our rapidly beating hearts.

My wife has always understood. When our kids were little, she’d lean over during the forecast and whisper: “That’s Sylvia. Daddy adores her!” And my kids would make goofy faces at me and laugh.

Just check out the hundreds of gushing farewell wishes fans, friends and colleagues have left on the station’s website, including one of my favourites: “Wow! My dad had a crush on her back in the day. Hehe.”

You know how when you idolize someone and then meet them in person and it’s really disappointing? Well, it’s not like that with Sylvia. Up close, she’s even more lovely, more elegant, kinder and sweeter than she is on TV.

At a charity pumpkin-carving contest a few years back, I stood there, arms coated in pumpkin guts, watching as smitten shoppers lined up in the mall just for a chance to tell Sylvia how much they love her.

The first time I met her was about 28 years ago when my buddy, Bob, now the publisher of this paper, and I performed in a charity talent show. We turned five minutes of comedy, magic and juggling into a 30-minute act. When it was over, Sylvia told us: “You two are the funniest guys I have ever seen!”

What did Bob and I say in reply? Nothing! Like two star-struck idiots, we just stared in gap-toothed adoration.

So I’m thinking about all this Thursday when, suddenly, there she is, looking radiant. I give her the flowers and croak out a few questions that now strike me as extremely silly.

Did she realize the impact she’s had on a generation of fans. “No,” she says, giggling, “I don’t know how to answer that. I had no idea. In all the years I’ve been here, I’ve been absolutely delighted with the messages and emails I’ve received from viewers.

“Having those notes early on in my career let me know there were real people out there and I could look at the camera and think of the people who’d sent such lovely notes.”

And will she miss us, too? “Very much so,” she beams, “Totally! Totally! Already I miss the people I work with. I’ve had such an outpouring of support. It’s really overwhelming. It’s such a great community. I just feel lucky I’ve been able to have my whole career in this city and that people haven’t gotten tired of me.”

So Sylvia signs off tonight. On TV, the show will feature highlights of her career, tributes and, probably, more than a few tears.

In dens around the city, the overwrought teenage hearts thumping in the chests of guys my age will skip a few beats.

Sylvia’s future — getting back into theatre, cooking a little more and doing the flamenco for the Dancing with Celebrities fundraiser — looks pretty bright.

For heartbroken guys like me, it’s going to feel a little cloudy for a while.

 

doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca