Jim Gerard was a beloved television personality known for his warm interviewing style and long-running talk show. He hosted The Jim Gerard Show, a daily live program featuring celebrity guests and an eight-piece band, which aired on WFBM and WTTV in Indianapolis from 1962 to 1987. His work in television and radio made him a well-known figure in Indiana media, earning him induction into the Indiana Broadcast Hall of Fame in 1992.
After graduating from Newton Falls High School, in Ohio, Gerard served in the U.S. Navy during World War II before attending Kent State University, where he earned a degree in broadcasting and theatre. He began his career in broadcasting in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, as an announcer and disc jockey for WBBW before transitioning to television in 1952 working at WLW-D in Dayton, Ohio as a weatherman, hosting a live dance show Teen Time, announcing sports and auto racing, and hosting a live late night in-studio wrestling show. He later worked at KYW in Cleveland, WJW-TV, and KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, where he was a staff studio announcer and hosted a late-night weather show.
In 1962, Gerard moved to Indianapolis to join WFBM-TV, where he co-hosted an afternoon movie show with actress Frances Farmer and launched Sounds of the City, a radio program featuring man-on-the-street interviews. His signature program, The Jim Gerard Show, debuted in 1962 on WRTV (formerly WFBM-TV) and quickly became a local television staple.
The show featured a diverse lineup of guests, including Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Bob Hope, Betty White, and Liberace. It 1976, Gerard moved his talk show over to WTTV-Channel 4, where it continued until 1987. At the time it was the longest-running local television show in Indiana.
Beyond television, Gerard served as the Master of Ceremonies for numerous Indianapolis fundraising events and later did freelance broadcast commercials and public relations in the Indianapolis area. He and his family lived in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood of Indianapolis.
Jim Gerard later passed away on May 1, 2020, at the age of 93.
