Neil Zurcher got a lot of mileage out of one-tank trips.
By his estimate, he traveled more than 1 million miles on Ohio roads over nearly 30 years as a travel reporter.
The Cleveland broadcast veteran, famous for his “One Tank Trips” segments, died Wednesday evening at age 89, WJW-TV confirmed.
Neil Zurcher (1935-2025).
“Neil Zurcher could use words like an artist would use watercolors or clay,” Fox 8 News reported. “With his words, he made the everyday into something extraordinary.”
He was born Nov. 12, 1935, in Henrietta Township, a farming community in Lorain County. His high school class had only eight students, and he used to joke that he graduated ninth.
He credited Lowell Gatts, a teacher who became a friend, for instilling in him a sense of curiosity that served him throughout life.
After serving in the Marines, Zurcher began his media career in 1955 as a reporter and photographer for the Oberlin News-Tribune and served as news director at WEOL-WBEA radio in Elyria before joining WJW in 1967.
The Cleveland TV station noted that Zurcher covered Vietnam War protests, civil rights marches and interviewed the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
The “One Tank Trips” series began in 1980 amid volatile fuel prices during the Mideast oil crisis. News director and general manager Virgil Dominic assigned Zurcher to tell stories about interesting destinations close to home in the manner of Charles Kuralt’s “On the Road” on CBS.
“Your vacation is closer than you think,” WJW advertised in May 1980. “How to spend a summer vacation … a trip to the beach, the mountains, the city, the country? Neil Zurcher took a look at Ohio and found a state full of possibilities that are less than a tankful away.”
Zurcher crisscrossed the Buckeye State, traveling off the beaten path to find oddball museums, mysterious caverns, prehistoric mounds, wildlife preserves, unusual restaurants and hidden gems.
The initial concept was to report on round trips that viewers could complete on one tank of gas. By the second year, the formula changed to any place that could be reached on one tank. Zurcher ventured into Pennsylvania, Michigan and Indiana.
His No. 1 tip for travel: “Always call first. Hours, prices and even locations can change without warning. If the destination is important to you, or is some distance away, be sure to call first.”
His travels took him to Hale Farm & Village in Bath, Quaker Square in Akron, Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad in Peninsula, St. Helena III in Canal Fulton, Canton Classic Car Museum and countless other spots. His signed photo hangs on the walls of many of the places where he once stopped.
“What I try to do is direct you to lesser known, hidden away gems in the tourist world that might not attract lots of attention, but are still very worthwhile as a place to visit,” Zurcher explained.
WJW-TV personality Neil Zurcher waves from his 1959 Nash Metropolitan convertible.
Zurcher drove around in a 1948 Chevrolet convertible and then a 1940 American Bantam Roadster before switching to his trademark 1959 Nash Metropolitan convertible, which he often displayed at car shows when he wasn’t traveling.
The Emmy-winning reporter was inducted into the Akron Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Cleveland Press Club Hall of Fame and the Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
He authored several books for Gray & Co. in Cleveland, including “Neil Zurcher’s Favorite One Tank Trips,” “Strange Tales from Ohio,” “Ohio Oddities,” “The Best of One Tank Trips,” “More of Neil Zurcher’s One Tank Trips,” “Tales from the Road” and “Ten Ohio Disasters.” He dedicated them to his wife, Bonnie, his children Melody and Ernie McCallister, Melissa and Peter Luttmann and Craig W. Zurcher, and his grandkids, Allison and Bryan McCallister, and Ryan and Jason Luttmann.
Zurcher spoke before hundreds of local groups and held book signings across Northeast Ohio. His most recent local appearance was at the Buckeye Book Fair in Wooster in November 2022. He visited the Dover Public Library earlier in 2022 to promote his book book about disasters.
He initially retired in 2004, but WJW brought him back in 2012 to resume “One Tank Trips.” He retired from television for good in 2016, but continued to travel.
As Zurcher once wrote in a special section for the Beacon Journal: “Happy trails, and I hope I see you somewhere down the road.”
Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Neil Zurcher, WJW-TV reporter famous for his ‘One Tank Trips,’ dies