Background
Fischbeck was born in Wallington, New Jersey and grew up in Farmingdale, New Jersey, the son of Johanna (Mohlenhoff), a teacher, and George Stelling Fischbeck, a farmer.
Fischbeck was born in Wallington, New Jersey and grew up in Farmingdale, New Jersey, the son of Johanna (Mohlenhoff), a teacher, and George Stelling Fischbeck, a farmer.
He studied education while attending the University of New Mexico, graduating in 1955 with an Master of Arts. Fischbeck worked as an Albuquerque–based teacher for 23 years, which help him develop an "ebullient" personality.
In 1972 he moved to KABC-television in Los Angeles, replacing Alan Sloane, where he became a staple on the station"s Eyewitness News broadcasts. He would retire from KABC-television in 1990, but returned to television with a brief stint at KCBS-television from 1994 to 1997. Fischbeck was stationed in Hawaii and worked as a tank mechanic.
He worked with the Air National Guard during the Korean War, and began learning basic meteorology.
His unique, sometimes humorous forecasts were unscripted and often turned into an opportunity to educate his viewers on the subject of weather. He started his television career at KNME-television in Albuquerque as a host of a children"s science program
In 1979 he was awarded the Silver Beaver by the Boy Scouts of America for his service to youth. In 2013, Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge declared April 10 to be Doctor George Day in the city.
A month later, Fischbeck"s autobiography was published by the University of New Mexico Press.
Fischbeck died on March 25, 2015 in Woodland Hills, California. Fischbeck was an amateur radio operator, and carried the call sign KE6SBY. In retirement, he was a volunteer with the Los Angeles Zoo and also worked with the Los Angeles Police Department"s Volunteer Surveillance Team. At the end of Tom Waits" comic song "Emotional Weather Report" (from his 1975 album Nighthawks at the Diner), he quips, "Doctor George Fischbeck ain"t got nothin" on me!" Mark Jonathan Davis recorded a parody of Mötley Crüe"s "Doctor Feelgood" called "Doctor Fischbeck" about the weatherman.