William "Bill" John Tush, III (born October 16, 1948) is an American news journalist and humorist.
Living in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh,[1] Tush attended Arsenal Washington Vocational Technical High School, graduating in 1966.
[5] While a junior in high school, Tush was hired by a nearby Latrobe, Pennsylvania radio station as a utility broadcaster, working as a disk jockey, news announcer and engineer, filling in for an employee who had been drafted.
Tush said he found himself playing recorded crop reports and hosting the station's "Mid Morning Polka Party".
[3] Returning to Pittsburgh, Tush was the late afternoon drive time disk jockey on WEDO AM radio.
[2] The FCC required the station to broadcast news, so Turner suggested Tush record a 20 minute newscast to air after the end of the late night movie.
"[1] The late night time slot and having full control over content allowed Tush to take great liberties with the news presentations.
The day the new "weatherman" started, Tush placed an older announcer who worked off-air for the station in front of a weather map.
The dog (who belonged to an associate) was shown next to Tush on set wearing a shirt and tie while eating a peanut butter sandwich.
[9] Tush was often joined by a so-called "Unknown Newsman" who read the news while wearing a paper sack on his head.
Tush and his team invented stories and false news, reporting made up holiday parades and a "rocket launch" which included footage of a paper airplane set on fire.
Tush said he knew the reach of the new cable SuperStation had grown when he was invited by fans in Valdez, Alaska to be the grand marshal of their winter festival parade.
[2] Tush's parody news programs are now considered a forerunner of both Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update and The Daily Show.
It also featured Ted Henning, Bonnie and Terry Turner (SNL writers and co-creators of 3rd Rock from the Sun and That '70s Show).
Ironically, later that year, Tush made a comedic appearance in a Night Tracks sales presentation video playing an investigative reporter.
Eventually, Tush became senior entertainment correspondent for CNN in 1993 and relocated to New York City to host Showbiz Today.
Tush made a rare public appearance September 12, 2009, at Atlanta's Variety Playhouse to introduce Darryl Rhoades & the Hahavishnu Orchestra Celebration.
[citation needed] In 2014 Tush travelled to Nigeria to help launch a television station; when he returned to Atlanta in 2015, he was hired as the manager of a small multiplex movie theater in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs, where he continued to work after the theater changed hands and was renovated to include a full bar and restaurant.