Film historian and television host Tom Weston was born Thomas Edward Wisniewski on May 6, 1948. In 1966 he matriculated at Sienna College in New York. While in college he was employed at the public radio station WVCR, ultimately working up to the position of station manager. He graduated from Sienna College magna cum laude in 1970 with a B.A. in English and a minor in education. For the next two years he worked as a teacher and directed and acted in school and community theater. In 1972 he began graduate work at Michigan University, concurrently working at MSU Instructional Television as a cameraman, audio engineer, and production assistant. In 1973 he received an M.A. in communication arts and an M.A. in English literature.
After three years in Maryland, where he taught high school and was active in community theater, Wisniewski came to Madison to begin studies for a Ph.D. in communication arts and to work for WHA-TV. Weston worked in many capacities for the station, but he was best known as the writer/host for several series which were broadcast nationally. It was in this capacity that he adopted the name Tom Weston. Among the programs on which Weston appeared were Marquee Theater for which he wrote the film commentary. While a student, he also taught a public broadcasting course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and offered seminars on film programming for WHA-TV. Wisniewski remained enrolled at the University through December, 1984, although he never completed his dissertation. He died suddenly on June 5, 1985.
