Early life

Snyder was born to Frank and Marie Snyder in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His parents were of German, Cornish, and Irish heritage. He was raised in the Roman Catholic faith and attended St. Agnes Elementary School before graduating from Marquette University High School, a Jesuit-run institution. Following high school, he furthered his education at Marquette University with the initial intention of studying medicine to pursue a career as a doctor.

Newscasting career

From a young age, Snyder had a passion for radio. Originally studying pre-med, he eventually switched his focus to journalism. He admitted to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Tim Cuprisin that he prioritized broadcasting over his studies, often skipping class. His career started as a radio reporter at WRIT-AM in Milwaukee (now WJYI-AM) and WKZO in Kalamazoo during the 1950s; however, he was dismissed from the latter by John Fetzer. For some time, he worked for AM station WSAV (now WBMQ) in Savannah, Georgia.

Snyder transitioned into television during the 1960s. Around 1963, he drove cross-country from Atlanta to Los Angeles in an early Corvair model. After working at KTLA for a year, he became a news anchor at KYW-TV (now WKYC-TV) in Cleveland in 1964. The following year, when Westinghouse Broadcasting relocated KYW-TV back to Philadelphia due to an FCC ruling, Snyder moved with them and stayed there until 1970.

In July of that year, Snyder moved back to Los Angeles and joined NBC News as an anchor for the weeknight newscast on KNBC at 6:00 PM Pacific Time. Even after hosting the Tomorrow show launched by NBC in October 1973, alongside Tom Brokaw, Jess Marlow and Paul Moyer at the KNBC anchor desk – with Kelly Lange stepping in as his regular guest host before Rona Barrett was hired as co-host – Snyder continued anchoring this newscast. In late 1974, he relocated to New York City with the Tomorrow program and remained involved in news reporting until 1977.

After ending Tomorrow in 1982, Snyder returned to local news as an anchor at WABC-TV in New York City. Then in 1985, he went back to Los Angeles and continued working with ABC as an anchor at KABC-TV.

Tomorrow with Tom Snyder

Tom Snyder became a national icon as the host of Tomorrow with Tom Snyder, known generally as The Tomorrow Show, which ran on NBC from 1973 until 1982 following The Tonight Show. The show stood out from other late-night programming due to the unique style of Snyder, who would alternate between probing inquiries and personal commentary while smoking his cigarette. This approach made the interviews feel more like casual conversations.

The show was famous for its one-on-one discussions, particularly with notable figures such as John Lennon in 1975, John Lydon of PiL and The Sex Pistols in 1980, Charles Manson in 1981, actor-writer Sterling Hayden, author Harlan Ellison, and philosopher-author Ayn Rand. A solo interview with David Brenner revealed that Brenner and Snyder had collaborated on several documentaries. “Weird Al” Yankovic made his first national TV appearance on the show in 1981 performing Another One Rides the Bus.

One memorable edition of The Tomorrow Show aired on October 31, 1979 when Snyder interviewed rock band KISS. Band members Gene Simmons (bass) and Paul Stanley (guitar) struggled to control a tipsy Ace Frehley (lead guitar), whose constant laughter dominated the conversation. However, Snyder and Peter Criss (drummer) seemed amused by it all. Criss repeatedly mentioned his large gun collection much to Simmons’ annoyance. Parts of this episode were later featured in Kissology—The Ultimate KISS Collection Vol. 2: 1978–1991 DVD released in 2007.

In the late ’70s, Snyder interviewed Disney animator Ward Kimball about his toy train collection and life-sized trains. Displaying child-like enthusiasm throughout the segment, he picked up various locomotives while asking numerous questions sparked by his love for toy trains that began with his first Lionel model steam switcher that he confessed didn’t work well. His collection was later gifted to the NJ Hi-Railers toy train club in New Jersey.

When he wasn’t conducting interviews, Snyder would often engage in banter with his offstage crew and his unique laughter became the inspiration for Dan Aykroyd’s impersonation of him on Saturday Night Live (1976-79 & 1995). After a failed attempt to transform Tomorrow into a conventional talk show (rebranded as Tomorrow Coast to Coast) with a live audience and co-host Rona Barrett added – changes that Snyder did not appreciate – the

After Tomorrow

In 1982, Snyder began working with WABC-TV in New York, co-anchoring the 5 pm Eyewitness News program alongside Kaity Tong. After a two-year stint at WABC, he reverted to the talk show format in 1985 at KABC-TV in Los Angeles by hosting a local afternoon program. Syndication of this program was planned for the subsequent year; however, these plans were abandoned when Oprah Winfrey’s Chicago-based syndicated show debuted first and assumed Snyder’s time slot on KABC-TV.

Snyder initiated a comparable three-hour radio program on ABC Radio in 1988. The structure included chatting with a celebrity guest during the first hour and interviewing someone newsworthy during the second hour. The final hour was dedicated to his numerous fans conversations. Renowned figures like David Letterman or Ted Koppel often phoned in as callers. Sherman Hemsley, known for his role as George Jefferson on the popular TV sitcom The Jeffersons, was one of Snyder’s favored callers. The Tom Snyder Show for ABC Radio Networks ceased broadcasting towards the end of 1992.

On January 21, 1993, Snyder made a comeback to TV on CNBC, allowing viewers to directly pose questions to his guests. His show was affectionately referred to as ‘the Colorcast,’ reviving an old advertising term used by NBC-TV during the early 1960s for its color broadcasts. He maintained his unique style of engaging with off-screen crew members and frequently mentioned the studio’s location in Fort Lee, New Jersey. His last show aired on December 1, 1994 on CNBC.

The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder

Letterman had since transitioned to CBS and was tasked with developing a new program for the 12:35 am slot. A long-time admirer of Snyder, Letterman hired him as the host of The Late Late Show in 1994. This news was jointly announced by Letterman and CBS president Howard Stringer on August 9, stating that Snyder’s show would premiere on January 9, 1995. The idea originally surfaced as a recurring gag on Letterman’s show, suggesting that Snyder would follow him on air just like he followed Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show.

As part of this jest, Snyder made an appearance in a 1993 episode of ‘The Larry Sanders Show’ titled “Life Behind Larry”. In the episode, talk-show host Sanders (played by Garry Shandling) poaches Snyder from Letterman to host a talk show immediately after his own.

‘The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder’ aired live for Eastern and Central Time Zones and was broadcasted concurrently on radio for other time zones allowing everyone an opportunity to call in. Charles Grodin took over Snyder’s CNBC show which retained its original format largely. Some notable interviews conducted on The Late Late Show included Gloria Vanderbilt discussing her son’s suicide and Robert Blake shortly before his murder charge.

When Snyder fell ill with the flu, comedians Martin Mull and Jon Stewart substituted as hosts. Following his last appearance on March 26, 1999, The Late Late Show was revamped into a more traditional late-night format under Craig Kilborn featuring comic monologue, comedy segments, shorter interviews and increased focus on entertainment industry guests.

After leaving The Late Late Show, an offer came from KCBS-TV in Los Angeles for a news anchor role but he declined it. He did however host two episodes of ‘The Late Show Backstage’ during February 2000 while Letterman was recuperating from heart surgery.

Additionally, Snyder hosted a video production titled ‘A Century of Lionel Electric Trains’ marking 100 years of Lionel Trains from 1900 to 2000. He also hosted another show by the same production company titled ‘Celebrity Train Layouts 2: Tom Snyder’ showcasing his personal collection of trains.

Colortini.com

During the early 2000s, Snyder was known for his frequent updates on his now-closed website, colortini.com. According to Snyder during his time at CNBC, a “colortini” was a metaphorical drink to be enjoyed while viewing his show, with the phrase “Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air”. For the CBS show, this term was changed to “simultini”, as his program was simultaneously broadcast on select radio stations.

On July 28th, 2005, after maintaining it for six years, Snyder announced that he would be taking down his website. He cited that “The novelty of communicating this way has worn off” as being the reason. By August 1st of the same year, his page had been abruptly removed. In its place stood a blank white screen with the simple message: “Colortini is gone. Thanks for the Memories.” Despite this closure, around 140 pages of content from the site have been preserved via The Wayback Machine (an internet archive). The domain name has since been repurposed.

Personal life

Snyder was not only passionate about collecting model trains but also had a keen interest in cars. He would often share details about his current car possessions as well as those from the 1950s and 1960s that he admired or owned during his youth on his radio and TV shows. Upon his departure from The Late Late Show in 1999, David Letterman presented him a white 1960 Cadillac Series 62 convertible as a farewell gift.

Final years and death

In April 2005, it was disclosed by Snyder that he was suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia. By June 2006, he sold his residence in the Benedict Canyon section of Los Angeles, a place he called home for nearly three decades. He then moved to Belvedere located in the San Francisco Bay Area where he already owned another property.

Eventually, Snyder succumbed to complications associated with leukemia on July 29, 2007, in San Francisco. He was 71 years old at the time of his demise.

Legacy

Snyder was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame after his death, in 2008. In the film A Futile and Stupid Gesture, his character is portrayed by actor Ed Helms.

Credits