Don Westbrook

Don Westbrook arrived in New Orleans in 1960, with his wife (and high school sweetheart) Jean Tedder Westbrook, at the invitation of WWL-TV. He graduated from Suwannee High School in Live Oak Florida, where he played in the band and acted in school and community productions (his favorite role was that of Huey P. Long). Don graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science (major: Communications, minor: music) degree in 1957. During both high school and college, he acted on stage, played in the marching band, and worked as a disc jockey and announcer on the local radio station. In addition to playing the French horn, baritone horn, and drums (all percussion instruments), he was a bandleader (big band music). After working as a news and music announcer in the U.S. Army, he took a job in 1951 at a small radio station in Live Oak, Florida. He worked at three other radio stations during the 1950s. He also worked for a short time in advertising for a film company. His television career started in 1958 when he went to work for KFDM-TV in Beaumont. Though his intention through college was to make his career as a bandleader, by 1957 big band music was no longer as popular as it had once been, so he utilized his experience as a broadcaster to obtain his position at WWL-TV. At that time, the station was still finding its feet after only 3 years on the air. In those days of less specialization, he first worked as a television and radio news announcer, and an on-air celebrity interviewer (Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, Kris Kristofferson, etc.). Since becoming a meteorologist in 1986, he has been best known as the weather anchor for WWL-TV, a respected and trusted source of information, especially in times of serious weather events (was, in fact, called away from many a summer vacation during hurricane crises and was referred to by his successor Carl Arredondo as “Ironman” for his dependability). He appeared weekday evenings at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00, and moved to The Morning Show for the last decade of his television career. One collaboration he particularly enjoyed was his collaboration with dear friend Sally Ann Roberts on her book “Going Live.” An avid photographer, he contributed the images for the book. He was a longtime member of the local chapter of AFTRA, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. In 1989, the group presented him with its Jim Metcalf Memorial Award for outstanding achievements. He was inducted into the Greater New Orleans Broadcast Hall of Fame in 1999, and retired later that year. He continued to play horns for free concerts with the New Orleans Pops orchestra, and also occasionally taught courses in Communications at Loyola University. The smooth baritone voice of Don Westbrook could also be heard in numerous television and radio advertisements and public service announcements. Don Westbrook avidly enjoyed camping, photography, golfing, and family summers at New Smyrna Beach in Florida. He passed away of pneumonia at hospice “Sanctuary at Passages” in New Orleans on July 20, 2015. The family will hold a private celebration of his life. He is survived by his wife Jean T. Westbrook, daughters Laura R Westbrook and Diane J Westbrook, brother John D. Westbrook, and grandchildren Joshua Rosenbaum and Eli Rosenbaum.