It was at WSU that he began his broadcasting career as an actor in several University dramatic productions. He also appeared on network radio shows The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, and Challenge of the Yukon. On stage, he appeared at Will-O-Way Playhouse, The Sun Parlor Playhouse in Leamington, Ontario opposite George C. Scott, and Detroit's Northland Playhouse and Vanguard Theatre.
Sonny Eliot's career began at WWJ-TV, now WDIV, after the war. Much like the man who came to dinner, he was called to do a bit part on a local variety show produced by WWJ-TV, and ended up staying 35 years. While there he hosted a variety of programs including the 17-year series At the Zoo, and Hudson's perennial Thanksgiving Day Parade. Eliot also appeared on children's programs, quiz shows, comedy-variety stanzas, specials, commercials and a multitude of other program classifications, but earned his greatest reputation as a weathercaster on both Channels 4 and 2. He also hosted the Channel 50 Movies for several years and is currently heard on WWJ Newsradio 950 with his unique weather presentation, which premiered on WWJ-AM in 1950.
Sonny's been making Detroiters smile about the weather for years. Unlike any other in the country, Eliot's weathercasts are a mixture of fast-paced humor, bits of far-out philosophy, one liners, improbable analogies and similes, and, not to be overlooked, easy-to-understand weather forecasts. The National Association of TV Program Executives (NATPE) has named his witty reports the nation's best.
