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LABEAU, Steve: KFI, 1982-87, pd; KLAC, 1987-89, pd. Steve grew up in the San Fernando Valley and married his high school sweetheart. As a kid, he "played" radio in his bedroom and had his own little mock studio. Steve ended up in Detroit radio, then returned to his roots to work as assistant pd of KFI under Jhani Kaye. He became pd at KFI in 1985 and added game shows to the evening programming. As one of the traffic anchors, Steve would tell freeway traffic riddles and ask listeners to "sing for your supper." He was at KFI during the "Super 64" and "Amazing AM" periods. If you listen carefully in the movie The Night of the Comet, you will hear Steve. He substituted for Lohman & Barkley when they broke up in 1986. From KFI, he crossed the street and programmed Country KLAC. During the 1990s he programmed KAMJ/KMXX-Phoenix, WMXN-Norfolk, WQAL and WLTF-Cleveland. Steve is a regional executive for the AP bureau based in Phoenix. |
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LABOE,
Art: KGFJ, 1952; KFWB, 1954-55;
KXLA, 1955; KPOP, 1955-59;
KDAY, 1960-61; KPPC, 1970 and 1972-73;
XPRS, 1970-71; KRTH, 1970-75; KRLA,
1975-79; KFI, 1983-84; KRLA, 1985-98;
KCMG/KHHT, 1998-2015; KDAY, 2015-19.
Art was the longest on-air personality on the local airwaves. Recipient
of the LARadio Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 (photo), Art has been
on the air in Los Angeles since 1947, programmed a number of stations,
started Original Sound, an enormously successful record label, among
many other achievements. Art died October 10, 2022, at the age of 97.
Art was born and lived in Utah until he was 13. His father was a smelter worker, while his mom was a maid. “They divorced when I was nine or ten,” remembered Art. “My mother used to work in this motel/gas station for four hours every morning for twenty-five cents an hour so my brother and I could have lunch. I came from pretty simple beginnings.” Art was known in his neighborhood as the fix-it kid who could fix appliances or anything electrical. “Neighbors would bring me a broken toaster. Usually it was just an AC cord but I got a great reputation for fixing things. I still like to fix things. If something breaks, I fix it.” With his next door neighbor, Art built a telephone with earphones while the kid next door had a pair of earphones. “If we connected the two earphones together we could talk with each other. I ran some wire between the two houses with a little switch and it was our own personal telephone. They didn’t realize until I listened to them one day that I could listen in on everything going on in their house. I thought that was pretty slick. They never messed with the switch and it was always on. I knew how to click it off.” Art continued to tinker and built a Ham radio set and a broadcast station that was heard a couple of miles away. One day he got the scare of his life when officials from the FCC knocked on his door. “Before World War II, the government was really monitoring the airwaves,” said Art. “These two guys came to my house and busted me for this Ham Radio rig I had. I also had a second one, which was on the broadcast band. For all you engineers, it was an electron coupled oscillator that I built with some of my buddies at school who were radio people. I played music. They scared the bejesus out of me. They told me I could go to jail for five years and be faced with a $10,000 fine. I had a good looking sister and the guys kinda liked her. The FCC guys said to me that they would come by the next day and if the antenna was down they’d let it go but they told me to get a license. I went and got a Ham license and I was only 14 years old. I still have it – W6TTJ.” Pioneer Broadcasters luncheon. |
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Second Class License. It was the summer of 1942 when Art graduated from George Washington. He joined a special program for the Army signal corps, studying radar. He was in that program for a year before he learned that the signal corpsmen sent to the South Pacific, were the first to go ashore and they would run along the beach with a big spool of wire and lay the telephone wire. This way when the soldiers hit the beach they would have communication, but the Japanese were sitting the hill watching these two guys with a big spool of wire. I heard the casualty rate was 85% and I thought that was a little high.” In the class with Art was Engineer Bill (Stula). He suggested to Art that since he wasn’t 18 and never signed with the Army and was just a student, he could get out of Army duty. “I checked on it and Bill was right. I joined the Navy. I weighed 111 pounds and looked much like I do today. They were thrilled with me because I had these FCC licenses. I became a radio officer on the Pan American Clipper fleet for three years and flew to Hawaii 147 times along with trips to the South Pacific carrying blood and important people.” Art was stationed at Treasure Island in San Francisco between assignments. He lived in the City and decided he wanted to get his first commercial radio job. There was a 250-watt AM station, KSAN, which was housed in the Merchandise Mart. With some trepidation he went to the station and was taken to see the general manager, a gruff man who declared that Art had a squeaky voice and was too young. “I kicked the ground and started to walk away,” Art recalled. “And then he says, ‘Besides, you have to have an FCC license. We need at least a 3rd Class license. We’re a combo station.’ I walked back and pulled out of my jacket pocket these certificates and said, 'You mean one of these?' I laid out a First Phone, 2nd Telephone and a Ham license. He looked up at me and said, “You’re hired.’ He put his arm around me and said, come with me. He took me to a room with three huge transmitter boxes and asked me if I could tune one of these things. I told him I thought so.” There was a sign on butcher paper in the transmitter room on the wall: “If these damn things works leave it alone.” Art asked him why he was hiring him. The radio station owner had been operating illegally because all his engineers had been drafted into the war. “Now with your First Class license, I’m legal again,’ the owner said. “That First Class license got me my first job in radio.” In late 2012 he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. In addition to syndication, Art was heard in the Inland Empire on KDAY. In early 2019, he was honored at a Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters luncheon.
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LACY, Jack: KIQQ, 1981-85. Jack had a long and successful career at WBAL-Baltimore and in New York at WCBS/fm and WINS before joining "K-100." Jack moved to Spain to live with his daughter and died on June 9, 1996, in San Sebastian at San Juan de Dios Hospital. He was 79 and had lived in San Sebastian since 1989. He suffered a lengthy illness, his family said. Jack was a contemporary of such veterans of the airwaves as Murray (the K) Kaufman and Bruce (Cousin Brucie) Morrow. His "Listen to Lacy" program on WINS treated his audience to "easy listening" music and live interviews. He left WINS when it changed to all-News, after which he worked for stations in Baltimore and Los Angeles. Jack, who grew up in the Hartford area, was in the Army in World War II and worked as an English teacher before going into radio. |
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LADD, Jim: KNAC, 1967-69; KLOS, 1969-75; KMET, 1974-87; KLOS, 1985-86; KMPC/fm/KEDG, 1988-89; KLSX, 1991-95; KLOS, 1997-2011. Jim, who was there for the birth of "underground" AOR, chronicled it in a book, Radio Waves: Life and Revolution on the FM Dial. Born in 1948 in a small farming community outside Sacramento, at age 21 he moved to Long Beach to work at KNAC. In 1980 Jim was cited as the Top Rock Jock for "the passion that he brings to both the songs he plays and the words that set the mood. Ladd cares and it shows." In 1974, he started hosting "The Every Other Sunday Stereo Special," an interview show described by Jim as "a cross between 60 Minutes and a kick-ass hour of rock 'n' roll." It later became the ABC syndicated show, "Inner View," put together by Damion and a KLOS salesman. In 1984, he hosted "Live From the Record Plant" for RKO Radio Networks. Jim left KMET for a brief time in 1985, going to KLOS for a Saturday night show, which he left on September 26, 1986. He returned to "the Mighty Met" and was there when the plug was pulled on February 6, 1987. Listen for Jim's voice in the MGM movie Rush. In 1994, producer Howard W. Koch, Jr., optioned his book to be made into a movie for Paramount Pictures. Jim was let go from KLSX when the station changed from "Classic Rock" to "Real Radio" Talk format in the summer of 1995. On his departure he told Gary Lycan of the OC Register: "The problem is not KLSX but radio in general. It's not run by people who know the music anymore. This decision was made 3,000 miles away, and all radio is like that. They try to pick a little narrow slot." Jim returned to KLOS September 22, 1997, while the station was attempting to regain its Rock glory years. Jim worked late night at KLOS until leaving the station 10.26.11, following the Cumulus take-over of Citadel/LA. He started at Sirius/XM in February 2012. |
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Laetz,
Hans: KBUU, owner/gm, 2015. From 1977 to 1984, Hans worked at
KTAR-Phoenix and two Tucson stations, KTUC and KNST. He went on to
television as assignment editor at KOLD/TV, CBS News, KCBS/TV, and
news ops manager at KTLA and KABC/TV. He's currently running the
LPFM, KBUU-Malibu.
Lake, Martin, KNAC, 1969-70. Unknown.
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LA LA:
KKBT, 1999-2002. Alani "La La" Vasquez Anthony joined
The Beat (KKBT) for middays on August 30, 1999, from Atlanta and left in
the spring of 2002. She spent some time with "HOT 97" in New York. La La is married to NBA player Carmelo Anthony. In Atlanta, Vazquez worked as a programming assistant at WHTA radio. While a student at Redan High School, she received her first big break with her debut in a radio show, alongside Ludacris, called Future Flavas. After working for some time at the station, she decided to relocate to Washington, DC, where she attended Howard University and studied Communications. While at Howard, she worked as a disc jockey at WHUR, the campus radio station. In 1999, she moved to Los Angeles and went to work at KKBT radio. There, she was noticed by MTV and was invited to audition, although was not called back until a year after the audition. She was the co-host of MTV's Direct Effect and Total Request Live. She has also hosted the reunion specials for all seasons of VH1's Flavor of Love, both seasons of I Love New York, the first season of Real Chance of Love, the first season of Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School and For the Love of Ray J. She made her film debut in 2001 in Two Can Play That Game. Her other film credits include Urban Massacre (2002), Monster Island (2004), You Got Served (2004) and Think Like a Man (2012). In early 2012, she launched MOTIVES by La La, at the Market America World Conference at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. Inspired to create a cosmetic line for women of color ranging in color variation, her cosmetic line consists of multiple products for face, cheeks, eyes, lips and nails. Each products name was composed from a life experience. |
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LAMA, Stephen: KUSC, 1994-2003. Stephen was deputy gm at KUSC. He's director of Audio Programming at Spafax in Orange County. Born and raised in Los Angeles, from 1985 to 1989 Stephen was broadcast manager of KCET/TV. Until March 1994 he was an associate director for performance programming at PBS's headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. |
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LAMAR,
Adai: KJLH, 2011-23. Adai is part of the morning show
at KJLH. She is the local voice for the Steve Harvey
Morning Show on 102.3 KJLH. She has been the co-host for several morning
shows including co-host for the 3-year run of Stevie Wonder's Morning
Thunder Thousand Dollar Thursday Show. Adai became the first African American woman to lead a morning show in Los Angeles from 2006 to 2007. Adai is also the host of "Free Talk" on Saturday mornings. The show gives her audience a voice to discuss issues and serves as a platform for businesses, organizations and people that are dedicated to helping the community. Adai is a Tatum, Texas native with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Oklahoma. She speaks to youth encouraging them to find their purpose as well as emcees various shows. She serves on the board of the Challenger's Boys and Girls Club and the Help Me Help You Foundation. In her spare time, Adai is developing television projects and her acting skills. She has appeared in several stage plays. Her latest appearance was in One Woman Two Lives. |
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LAMB, Ken: KJOI, 1974-77. Beginning in 1987, Ken was an ABC/TV network announcer, based in New York. He is the first commercial break on General Hospital. Ken did similar liners on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and on other ABC produced shows. Ken passed away November 18, 2021. He was 78 and recently diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia before his passing. Ken was a long time, NYC radio Broadcaster/PD, LA & SF Broadcaster, Daytime Staff Announcer for ABC/Disney, had a Nationally Syndicated music based show “The Special of the Week” and VO Artist. Ken was the popular afternoon host at WRFM in New York. "His easy-going, relaxed style pretty much set the 'tone for the air staff’s presentation," remarked one of his colleagues. "One thing that always amazed me about Ken is how he could do voice breaks sounding so great while having a pipe in the other side of his mouth. He has since wisely quit smoking and is now an outspoken anti-smoking person." Over the years, Ken’s voice would be heard doing breaks on many Bonneville-formatted Beautiful Music stations across the nation which did not have their own announcing staff. |
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LAMB, Mike: KFOX, 1990; KORG, 1991; KFI, 1991; KMPC, 1992-93; XTRA, 1994-95; KMPC, 1995; KLSX, 1996-97. A graduate of USC, Mike was an offensive tackle during John Robinson's first tenure as head coach of the Trojans in the early 1980s. He began his collegiate career as a member of USC's last unbeaten team - the 1979 squad that produced a #2 national ranking and a Rose Bowl victory. His broadcasting career began in 1990 as he co-hosted the "Sportsbeat" radio magazine with Larry Kahn. Mike moved to KFI and the Los Angeles Raiders broadcasts, hosting the "Raiders 5th Quarter" post-game show. At KMPC he hosted the "Football Saturday" show as well as "RamsTalk" before and after each Rams game. In 1994, he moved to XTRA and then returned to KMPC as USC Trojan color football announcer. In 1996 the commentator-packager moved USC football from KNX to KLSX. In 1997 he won best radio color commentator from the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association. In 1998, Mike was named Best Game Analyst Color Broadcaster in the annual L.A. Daily News Best and Worst of L.A. Media. He currently works for Wells Fargo insurance Services and Comcast Sports Net Bay Area and Mike lives in Sacramento. |
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Lambert, Garrett: KWST, 1978-79. Garrett works as a SuccessTracs Coach for T. Harv Eker and Peak Potentials. Lambert, Lynda: KODJ/KCBS, 1990-94. Lynda moved back to Louisville, her hometown. Lamon, Emiliano: KFI, 1995-2008; KFWB, 2008-09. Emiliano was on the air briefly and became a producer at News/Talk KFWB. Lamphear, Alpert: KDAY, 1966. Alpert moved to Big Sur and runs an old-time radio store on the wharf in Monterey. |
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LAMPLEY, Jim: KMPC, 1992-93. Jim anchors major tv sporting events and has his own production company.One of America's most experienced Olympic broadcasters, the 2000 Olympic Games from Sydney marked Jim’s 10th Olympic television assignment. When KMPC attempted an all-Sports format, Jim started working afternoon drive for the kickoff in February 1992. The former anchor for KCBS/Channel 2 (1987-90) moved to mornings on KMPC when Robert W. Morgan left the station. Jim anchors major tv sporting events and has his own production company. Accomplished as a studio host and play-by-play broadcaster, he won critical praise for his work as the late-night co-host with Hannah Storm on NBC's coverage of the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games. In 1996, he and Storm were the first to report on the bombing at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park. He first worked as a play-by-play announcer on the network's coverage of the NFL, and in 1993, he served as host of the network's pre-game show, NFL Live. Jim began his professional broadcasting career in 1974 as a sideline reporter for ABC's coverage of college football. During his 12-year run at ABC Sports, he was a college football play-by-play announcer, studio host, Olympic anchor and contributor to Wide World of Sports. He joined HBO Sports in 1988 and has served as the cable network's blow-by-blow commentator for professional boxing (over 300 championship fights), its host of Wimbledon tennis coverage, and as a contributor to the Emmy Award-winning "Bryant Gumbel's Real Sports" series. He was the first on-air host for WFAN-Radio in New York in 1987, pioneering the all-sports-talk radio format. A native of Hendersonville, North Carolina, Jim graduated from the University of North Carolina. He was married to former KCBS/Channel 2 news anchor Bree Walker, the first news anchor with Ectrodactyly. |
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LANCE, Christopher: KRTH, 1982-83; KKHR, 1983-86; KIIS, 1991. Christopher left KOOL Oldies in Phoenix in early 2006. In 2004, Christopher authored Gringos' Curve. Born Lance Habermeyer, he grew up in his native San Diego. His decision to pursue radio was influenced by listening to Rich “Brother” Robbin and Bobby Ocean. Christopher came to the Southland from KFRC-San Francisco and remembered arriving in Los Angeles: "KKHR was an exciting start-up situation in a major CHR radio war at the time. We forced 'K-100' to change format, but could not overtake KIIS." He did "Lunch L.A.! with Christopher Lance" at KKHR. When he left L.A., he spent time in San Jose and Phoenix. Christopher recalled the highlight of his time in Los Angeles: "In 1985 I was the first radio personality to emcee the Miss L.A. beauty pageant." His success at KMXZ-Monterey resulted in his being named Billboard magazine's program director of the week. In 1994 he returned to college to complete his studies at the University of Texas, El Paso. In the summer of 1995 he joined middays and is md at KPRR-El Paso. "I was thrilled to be part of the highest rated CHR in the country!" In early 1997 he moved to KTFM-San Antonio to do middays. In recent years he has been writing historical books. His first book was Gringo's Curve, a look at the Mexican Revolution and its affect on El Paso and Juarez. |
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LANDA,
Mike: KNX, 1969-2015. Mike was KNX Newsradio’s Orange
County Bureau Chief until his retirement in July 2015. For more than 30
years he kept listeners informed about happenings in the OC. He covered
storms, big fires, major crimes, the economy, politics and personal
stories of the famous and not so famous. Landa was born and educated in Alhambra. He graduated from California State L.A. He also did post graduate study at Cal State Fullerton where he taught broadcast journalism classes. Landa began his career with KNX in 1969, one year after the station adopted an all-News format. His collection of awards includes honors from the Greater Los Angeles Press Club, California Associated Press Television and Radio Association, DuPont Columbia University Award, US Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association Bill Farr Award for the KNX series “America’s Forgotten Heroes,” Seven Golden Mikes and two Merit Awards from the RTNDA for best Hard News Series and Best Documentary. |
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LANDERS,
Chase: KJLH, 1978-80; KACE. 1990-91. Chase is a Los
Angeles voice talent. He has been compared to Morgan Freeman, Dennis
Haysbert, Denzel Washington and James Earl Jones. Chase graduated from the Don Martin School of Radio and Television Broadcasting. He got his first big break in radio at WAMD, in Aberdeen, Maryland, where Chase worked from 1973-76. Chase then worked for KDKO-Denver from July 1976-78. After his stint at KJLH, Chase moved to San Antonio where he worked for KAPE. He returned to LA, where Chase later received an AA degree in radio broadcasting at Los Angeles City College. He also worked at WXOK-Baton Rouge. |
Landry, Leah: KGMX, 1993-94; KNX, 1999-2006. Leah reported traffic at KNXNewsradio. |
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LANDRY, Ron: KGBS, 1969-74; KFI, 1974-75. Ron was partnered with “Emperor Bob” Hudson at KGBS, and he was part of one of the most successful comedy albums of all time, Ajax Liquor Store. He had been fighting lung cancer for the year prior to his death on September 16, 2002. He was 67. He passed away surrounded by his family and closest friends. "Just as he lived his life, he handled his death with dignity and grace. After a full day in a coma, he found the strength to become alert and to lovingly connect with Margo as he peacefully ended his stay on this earth. A true spiritual gift,” wrote his kids, Veronica, Evan and Erik. Born in Louisiana, Ron was raised in Washington, DC. His early inspiration came from Bob and Ray and Jean Shepherd. He created voices and honed his storytelling skills at radio stations on the East Coast. Beginning in 1953, and during the next three years, Ron worked for three stations in Virginia. It was during his stop in Roanoke that he hosted an evening tv show that featured his sketch comedy. Ron was drafted in 1958 and served his two years at Armed Forces Radio in New York. "What a powerhouse of a staff we had,” Ron told me when being interviewed in 1994 for Los Angeles Radio People. “Dave Neihaus, who worked at KMPC later and now the voice of the Seattle Mariners, was doing sports and Bruce Wayne, later to be known as KFI's Eye in the Sky did news and sports. All I had to do was cover all the premieres and Broadway openings for two years for the boys overseas." |
He did a very popular music comedy show on transcription, which was heard over almost every armed forces radio station in the world. Ron started in afternoon drive at KGBS and within six months he and Hudson had recorded their first album. The success of the albums led to appearances on all the major tv variety shows and nightclubs. Ed Sullivan announced the team on the Grammys: "...And nowwww for the best comedy album of the year, Hudson and Sanders."
In 1977 he sold a pilot to CBS called Szysznyk. Ron moved full-time into producing sit-coms that included Flo, Give Me A Break, Benson, and The Redd Foxx Show. With a very successful run in radio, comedy albums and tv, Ron and his wife decided to travel...and travel. They spent two and a half years discovering Europe, Asia and the United States.
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LANE,
Chris: KFI, 2010-13. Chris joined KFI News in July 2010
from KFBK-Sacramento. KFI is a great example of the merging of a small news department with outstanding personalities to create appointment listening. During the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, KFI was by far the most listened-to station that afternoon, followed by KSPN and KNX. One could argue that the combination of live talk show hosts and a local news department delivers the best, most comprehensive news during breaking stories. Chris Lane was an excellent addition to the news department. Most news anchors are assigned to a talk show host, so Chris joined Bill Carroll from noon to 3 p.m. We followed her journey during her first summer at KFI, looking for a nanny for her child while waiting for school to begin. “Every nanny who applied for the job through an agency, I went directly looking for their Facebook page and I probably ruled out a good seven or eight applicants based on the party pictures,” said Chris back then. She left KFI in late spring of 2013. She returned to Texas to be near family. “You know, I just don't have enough chigger and mosquito bites,” she wrote on her blog. “And this beautiful weather and these glorious beaches are nice, but frankly I'd really like to feel like I'm living on the face of the sun for a couple of months out of the year. And hey, if I can feel really sticky from some insufferable humidity, all the better!” |
She hinted in her blog that part of her decision to return to Texas is the high cost of living in Southern California. “This girl has got a dream. It's called financial solvency. I'm not going to make this a blog about California taxes and the poorly funded public school system. That discussion has BEEN had, and the differences are indisputable. And yes, they are a factor for my family. Family drives every decision in my life- professionally or personally- and so it is. Time to saddle up and head back home."
Chris is a first-rate news person and a first-rate person to know, according to her colleagues. Bill Carroll was enthusiastic about Chris. “What a pro. Back in my news director days I would have snapped her up in an instant. She has all the right stuff in large measure. Great voice. Totally natural read. Journalistic depth. As part of the show, she's smart and funny and honest. We will really miss her ability to play along and keep the boys in line at the same time. You don't replace someone like Chris, you just move in a different direction and hope it still works.”
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LANE,
Chris: KFOX, 1970-72; XPRS, 1974;
KGBS, 1975-79; KHTZ, 1979;
KLAC, 1980-87; KNX, 1991-95. Chris, co-host of
the "KNX Food Hour" with Melinda Lee, died February 14, 2000, of cancer.
He was 71. Chris began his career in McMinnville, Tennessee, after recording star Eddie Arnold lined up an audition for him. His career took him to Des Moines, KISN-Portland, KJR-Seattle, KYA-San Francisco, WOKY-Milwaukee, WJJD-Chicago, WIL-St. Louis and KEGL-San Jose. |
| Chris was diagnosed with cancer in December
1999," wrote his wife, Lorna Alexander. "Last Monday he had a stroke and
a heart attack on the very day that we were supposed to meet an
oncologist at UCLA. We never did see that oncologist, and Chris joined
heaven on St. Valentine's Day, quite fitting for my darling man. Chris
and I met in October of 1991. We married in June of 1997. He was the
love of my life and the light in my heart," said Lorna. Chris’ television credits include creating and hosting ABC's American Swing Around and appearing on such network shows as Cheers, General Hospital, and the tv movie, Favorite Son. Chris was born Chris Lane Alexander in Kansas City on March 23, 1928. He was a pre-med student at the University of Kansas and for eight years was a U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman attached to the Marine Corps. During his career he was named Program Director of the Year five times nationally. He was voted Radio Man of the Year and presented with the Bill Gavin Award by his peers and members of the record industry. |
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LANE,
Daren: KFOX, 1968-77; KCAA,
1996-2008. Daren was the general manager of KCAA in San Bernardino. He
died June 18, 2008, from complications of diabetes. He was 83. “Daren
is most remembered as news director at KFOX 1280 in the late 1960s and
early 70s and prior to that at 1600 KWOW,” emailed colleague
Jonny Bruce. “He was even there before the Korean conflict when
KWOW was KPMO. Also of note was his stint as a news director at the
legendary KEWB-Oakland in the early 60s. He was a wonderfully warm
person and will be missed.” Born Daren Lane Flickinger on June 23, 1924 in Pontiac, Michigan, he was the son of a World War I Army veteran. Daren served as a radioman and waist gunner in the U.S. Army Air Corps. During World War II, Daren witnessed the return of Jews who had been imprisoned in concentration camps, said Dane’s wife Bonnie. His experience as a radioman led to a long career as a broadcaster. Daren worked as a newscaster, as well as playing a clown named Jo-Jo on his television show in Medford, Oregon. “I met Daren 15 years ago, when KCAA was just my dream,” wrote Fred Lundgren, owner and ceo of KCAA. “He shared my vision for KCAA and he soon became my trusted friend and associate. For seven long years, from 1996 until 2003, he made daily trips to Big Bear and kept KCAA, then KBBV, on the air with only 20 watts of power. During those years, things seemed hopeless, with all the endless delays. Daren always knew KCAA could be a reality. When others gave up, Daren stood by me because he understood radio and he trusted me. After almost a decade of work, we signed KCAA on the air. The day was June 23rd, 2003. It was a day of great celebration.” |
Lane, Kay: KYMS, 1988-92; KEZY, 1996-97; KWVE, 1997-2001. SEE Kay Poland.
LANGAN John: KIQQ, 1976; KMET, 1983. John (C. Foster Kane) was doing mornings at KKZX-Spokane. "I quit as GM/PD several years ago. I do my side of the morning show from my home in the mountains of Idaho - haven't been to the station in nearly a decade," said John. He did weekends at K-100 for a brief two weeks. At KMET John partnered with Mike West in morning drive for one month.
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LANTZ, Stu: KLAC, 1987-2011; KSPN, 2011. A nine-year NBA veteran who played for the Lakers in the mid-1970s, Stu joined the legendary Chick Hearn in 1987 on all L.A. Lakers broadcasts. It was Chick who recommended that the Lakers hire Lantz to replace Keith Erickson, who had been Hearn’s broadcast partner before moving on after the 1986-87 season. He added his expert analysis and unique insight to each broadcast - garnered through his 19 plus years with the NBA as both a player and color commentator. In addition to his game-time duties, his call-in talk show, which follows every home game on KLAC, has become increasingly popular. The San Diego native has played a prominent role in not only his customary color commentary over the last decade, but also several other related tasks, including the Lakers tv pre-game show (Laker Time) on KCAL, which won an Emmy for the best sports series in Los Angeles. A 1968 graduate of the University of Nebraska, Stu earned All Big-Eight Conference honors on two occasions. The Cornhuskers officially retired his uniform (number 22) on October 17, 1989, during half-time ceremonies of a Lakers pre-season game in Lincoln. Born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Stu was originally a third round choice for the San Diego Rockets in the 1968 NBA Draft (23rd overall). He spent his first three seasons in San Diego, where he enjoyed his finest pro campaign in 1970-71, averaging career-high figures both in scoring (20.6) and rebounding (5.0). Lantz also played for the Detroit Pistons (1972-74) and New Orleans Jazz (1974) prior to being traded to the Lakers in December of 1974. Stu played less than two seasons in Los Angeles before announcing his retirement following the 1976-77 campaign, due to a back injury, and still ranks third on the Lakers' all-time free throw percentage list (.849). Immediately following his playing career, he embarked on a broadcasting career, serving as a commentator for the San Diego Clippers, San Diego State University, UNLV and CBS. Stu, who joined the Lakers prior to the 1987-88 season, has also worked as color commentator for the NBA Radio Network.
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LAPORTE,
Leo: KFI, 2007-22. Originally on KFI as a local show,
the tech informative program, mostly computer related, is now widely
syndicated and was heard on KFI weekends until retiring in late 2022. Leo was born on November 29, 1956 in New York City. He is a producer and actor. From computers, the internet, iPods, and cell phones to camcorders, digital cameras, gaming systems, and home theaters, Leo provides entertaining tech talk that appeals to the inner geek in us all. |
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LAQUIDARA, Charles: KPPC, 1968-69. After graduating from the Pasadena Playhouse with a bachelor's degree in theater arts, Charles sought acting roles in Hollywood. One of those jobs was as a Classical music announcer at KPPC, at the time located in the basement of the Pasadena Presbyterian Church. When KPPC switched formats and became one of the pioneers of "underground-rock," Charles worked the overnight shift. He combined rock and roll with other types of music, including classical. One scribe said: "He's that wacky actor who doesn't know much about rock or classical music, but he mixes them pretty well!" In 1969, Charles was hired at WBCN-Boston to replace Peter Wolf, who was leaving to devote more time to his new group, the J. Geils Band. Within a few years he established that FM "underground" could attract a strong morning drive audience with "The Big Mattress Show." In the spring of 1996, Laquidara left WBCN to join WZLX, where he changed the name of his show to "the Charles Laquidara Radio Hour, (a la National Lampoon,) and played Classic Rock very successfully until August 4, 2000 when he left Boston to live in Maui, Hawaii with his family. He was nominated for the 2018 National Radio Hall of Fame. |
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LARDNER,
Lonnie: KABC, 1996; KFWB, 2008. As a
former tv news reporter in Los Angeles, Lonnie has covered thousands of
stories, from radical AIDS treatments south of the border to the
benefits of feng shui. Lonnie produced a documentary about Tinker Bell,
which played on the documentary circuit. The 49-minute documentary,
Angel in the Hood, was about two girls struggling with drug
addiction, truancy and abuse at home, who turn their lives around. The
docu appeared in a number of film festivals in 2010.
Born and raised in Great Neck, Long Island, New York, Lardner moved to L.A. in 1985, after news reporting gigs in Little Rock, Nashville and Chicago, to work at KABC/Channel 7 as a general assignment reporter and anchor. “I guess you could say I made local news headlines that year by producing a 12-part series called ‘Lesbian Nuns,’” she said. Her talent for storytelling was inspired at a young age while growing up in a family of writers, including her father, the head writer for The Ernie Kovacs Show in the 1950s and a staff writer for Sports Illustrated; her great uncle, legendary short story writer Ring Lardner; and her cousin, Ring Jr., whose screenwriting and Oscar credits include Woman of the Year and M*A*S*H. Her fascination with people and their individual stories sparked in high school, when her mother, with no experience or education, managed to land a job with Pan Am Airlines. “Within five years, she worked her way up to manager of personnel at JFK Airport in New York.” Lardner went on to graduate from the University of Denver with a double major in English and French; right after college, she became an NBC page in New York City. “Both of my brothers had done the same. My goal at the time was to become an illustrator for Scientific American. That meant creating a killer portfolio of work to present to the magazine. I thought I could make a living at NBC while I worked on my art. Well, the news business sucked me right in during a writers strike, and I never finished the portfolio.” For months, she worked eight hours a day in network radio, then another eight hours at night at WNBC/TV News. “I had a crash course in newswriting and loved it,” she said. Over the years, Lardner has earned a reputation for her award-winning news and feature reports on ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX stations in L.A., Nashville and New York. Lonnie hosted a feature on KFWB until the fall of 2008 following a company downsizing. |
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LARGENT,
Lewis: KROQ, 1985-92. While at ROQ, Lewis was producer
of the "Loveline" show. Lewis died February 20, 2023, at the age of 58,
after a long illness, according to Variety.
"Lewis was the KROQ music director. He was a very funny guy and a
treasure to work next door to. I need people like him around me to
perform," offered KROQ colleague Jed the Fish. A native of Southern California, Largent was an enthusiastic golfer as a teen, and he met the general manager of KROQ while working at a country club. Impressed with Largent’s knowledge of music, the gm offered him an internship at the station that led to a full-time role in 1985, per Variety. He rose quickly through the ranks and was named music director in 1989. Lewis left "the Roq" to be music director of MTV, where he soon began hosting “120 Minutes.” In 1999, Lewis was named a senior vice president of A&R at Island Def Jam Records. He married music executive Julie Greenwald and was a stay-at-home dad. |
LARGO, Tony: KOCM/KSRF, 1990-92. Tony hosted the weekend Saturday night mix show during the "MARS/fm" period. Today, he is a club dj. |
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LARMAN,
Howard: KPFK, 1970-2008. Howard helped shape the local
folk music landscape as the longtime co-host of the Sunday night public
radio show "FolkScene," died April 22, 2008, following complications
from an automobile accident. He was 73. The night after his death, co-host Roz Larman — his wife of 50 years — returned to the airwaves at KPFK/fm (90.7) and served as the show's interviewer, a job her husband had done with low-key aplomb since 1970. "Their show has been a stopping-off point for just about every single name in folk music in the last 30 years," Steven Starr, then interim general manager of KPFK, told The Times in 2002. "They are the folk music radio equivalent of the Grand Ole Opry." Howard Larman had an encyclopedic knowledge of folk music and an elastic definition of the genre. "FolkScene" could feature little-exposed Celtic or roots-rock musicians and such prominent artists as Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Randy Newman and Pete Seeger. "We buy our own tape, pay for our phone calls, use our own equipment," Larman told The Times in 1990. "I've spent time with people who go boating or play golf. They spend lots of money on that. This is our recreation." |
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LARSEN,
Bob: KPZE, 1987. Reverend Bob hosted a religious
call-in show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.
He is the world’s foremost expert on cults, the occult, and supernatural phenomena. He has ministered in more than 100 countries and has appeared on network tv shows such as Oprah, The O’Reilly Factor, Inside Edition, Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, Anderson Cooper’s 360, ABC-TV’s and Good Morning America. Bob is the author of 37 books translated into more than a dozen languages, including: Larson’s Book of Spiritual Warfare, Larson’s Book of World Religions, and Demon Proofing Prayers, among others. Bob attended the University of Nebraska as a pre-med major with intentions of becoming a doctor. His primary studies were in languages, comparative anatomy, and chemistry. Instead of pursuing a medical degree, he left higher education for a short career in motivational speaking, while studying for the ministry. His initial theological education was through the Global University Berean School of the Bible, which led to his ordination by a major evangelical denomination. He was also later ordained by the Calvary Cathedral International association of churches. Dr. Larson has served in active ministry nearly 50 years, since his initial ordination. (from Larsen's website) |
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LARSEN,
Lee: KAPP, 1961-64; KMPC, 1964-65;
KHJ, 1965-70 and 1972; KROQ, 1972-73;
KFI, 1973-75; KLOS, 1975-83. The
personable general manager of KOA/KTLK/KHOW-Denver had much success in
sales while in Los Angeles, however, Lee started out as a dj at Redondo
Beach’s KAPP. In the early 1970s he was station manager at KFMS-San Francisco and national sales manager at KFRC and RKO Radio Reps. In 1966 Lee earned a B.A. and master’s degree from Pepperdine University. Lee was the senior vp of the Clear Channel Rocky Mountain region. He retired at the end of 2010. |
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LARSEN,
Milt: KKZZ, 2005-06. The owner of the Magic Castle hosted a weekend show at
CRN. He co-founded Hollywood’s famed Magic Castle. Milt died May 28, 2023,
at the age of 92. Larsen had deep roots in the world of magic and in Los
Angeles. His father, William Larsen Sr., was a prominent local defense
attorney and a performing magician. His mother, Geraldine, made early
appearances on tv as “The Magic Lady.” Milt worked as a writer for tv
game shows including Truth or Consequences during 18 years of
Bob Barker’s tenure as host in the 1950s, ’60s and early ’70s. Milt was a magician at heart. He spent a lifetime in the magic industry, producing magic-oriented and musical variety shows in and around Los Angeles and in Las Vegas. Since its debut in 1963, the Magic Castle venue has evolved into a local and international hotspot for celebrity magicians such as David Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy and the late Doug Henning after Larsen purchased and renovated a run-down, 1909 Victorian mansion. “We grew up as the Larsen Family of Magicians,” Larsen said, referring to himself and his late brother, Bill, and his magic-performing parents. Larsen, who hosted a radio show on CRN the Digital Cable Network, started collecting recordings of show business personalities as a teenager, and he donated his entire vaudeville collection to UC Santa Barbara. |
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LARSON, Lars: KGIL, 2007-09; KGIL, 2010-11. Lars joined Saul Levine's talk station, KGIL, in November 2007 and his syndicated show was pulled when there was a format flip in early fall of 2009. His show was later carried late evenings at KGIL. Lars got his start in radio at age 16 spinning records and reading news, sports and weather at the edge of a cow pasture in Tillamook, Oregon on KTIL. 43 years later, he’s only moved 75 miles east to Portland, and light years to “the Right.” The Emmy and Peabody award winner delivers six hours of radio backed by four decades of experience as a radio and television journalist. Six hours of daily prep keep The Lars Larson Show on top of the news cycle and top-of-mind for listeners across the country. “‘Havana –on-the-Willamette’ (Portland) as a radio home base provides all the real red meat any talker could ever hope for. I’m thrilled to be part of the Alpha Family.” Along the way, Lars has worked for more than a dozen radio stations and five television stations. Today, Lars holds down middays at FM News 101 KXL from 12pm – 4 p.m. His local talk show airs on over 20 stations in the Pacific Northwest; the biggest local talk radio audience in the region. The national Lars Larson Show, launched in September 2003 and can be heard on over 150 affiliates nation-wide. Lars has picked up more than 70 awards from the Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists, the National Press Club, including two Emmy’s and a Peabody for his reporting and documentaries. |
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LARSON,
Mark: KRLA, 2002-03. Mark worked mornings at XEPE
(1700AM) in San Diego until late 2008. He is also served as a political
analyst on KUSI/Channel 9 in San Diego. He often guest-hosts the Dennis Prager and Hugh Hewitt SRN Radio Network talk shows and has been seen on NBC, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC. Mark's covered the Iraq war on location in the Middle East, smuggled Bibles to the underground church in Southeast Asia and done ground-breaking broadcasts from war zones including the Persian Gulf region and Afghanistan. Mark's also visited Russia and made several trips to China, including Tibet. His continuing on-site broadcasts in the USA and around the globe give him a unique perspective on current events. With the San Diego Radio Broadcasters Association, Mark served as President for a record eight consecutive terms. Radio & Records twice named him to its "All-Star Players" list, citing him as one of only twelve "local legends" in American talk radio. Prior to moving to the Broadcast Company of the Americas in August 2007 (through 2008) Mark was heard on KOGO. Before joining KOGO in 2004, he was a well-known radio talk show personality on Salem Communications' KCBQ/KPRZ-San Diego and KRLA. Mark joined KPRZ as general manager in 1994, after eighteen years with KFMB-San Diego, where he was program and operations manager. He also served as national program director/radio for KFMB's parent company. |
| Lash,
Shelley: KFWB, 1992-97. Shelley is married to KFWB reporter Bill Cooper.
LaShawn, Joy: KGFJ, 1994; KJLH, 1996-97. Joy hosts "The Joy Ride" every afternoon at KCEP-Las Vegas. |
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LASZLO,
Charles: KNX, 1991-2001. Charles reported the business
news on KNXNewsradio until the summer of 2001. A native of Detroit, he graduated from Wayne State University. Charles was a veteran stock broker and financial consultant broadcasting from the Pacific Stock Exchange. |
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LAUER,
Peter: KNX/fm, 1974-80; KJOI, 1980-83;
KFI/KOST, 1983-89; KPWR 1989-95;
KLAX 1995-97; KGGI, 1997-2014. In
2014, Peter retired from 45 years in the radio business. Most recently
he was the national/regional sales manager at iHeart/Clear Channel's
KGGI in the Inland Empire. In four-plus decades he had many joyful experiences. "I was the first national sales manager for a CBS O&O FM station, KNX/fm, back in the day when we owned only seven (7) FM’s. I was also with KJOI during Gordon Mason’s reign, KFI/KOST at the height of Lohman & Barkley’s success and spent the last 15 years of my career with KGGI." "I am now enjoying my retirement with my wife of 45 years, Barbara, our four (4) grandchildren, traveling, reading and keeping active in our hometown of Thousand Oaks." |
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LAUFER,
Peter: KABC, 1973-74. Peter is an award-winning
journalist with deep experience covering Germany and Germans dating back
to the early 1980s when he was fortunate to be the recipient of a John
J. McCloy Fellowship and spent a month touring the country and beginning
a long relationship with members of the post-War generation of Germany.
He returned on several newsgathering trips during the years he worked as
roving international correspondent for NBC News, finally moving to
Berlin in 1988 when he was awarded a Robert Bosch Foundation fellowship.
Peter learned the language that year and made several journalistic trips into the former East Germany. Just after the fellowship year ended, the Wall fell. He covered those events for CBS News and published a book about his experiences, Iron Curtain Rising. He's also written Inside Talk Radio. |
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LAUGHLIN,
Roy: KIIS, 1991-2005; KDAY, 2006-08.
Roy is most known as the general manager of KIIS/fm for a decade+ in his
30s under Gannet, then Jacor and Clear Channel. Laughlin lead KIIS to
the #1 billing radio station in the US for 9 years and as market manager
of the CCLA 8 stations, delivered record billing of $300mill annually.
Laughlin optimized Rick Dees for a decade as well as hired Ryan Seacrest to team with his wife Ellen K to re-launch KIIS in February 2004. KIIS returned to #1 in the Spring of 2005 as Laughlin exited to pursue station ownership. Laughlin and his brother launched GAP Broadcasting in 2006 which purchased 52 stations from Clear Channel in Texas for $139M (GAP later merged into TownSquare Media). Roy continues as an equity partner in Rincon Broadcasting which he co-founded with Sr. Partner John Hearne through the purchase of the Santa Barbara Clear Channel Cluster in 2006. Laughlin also re-launched the Steve Harvey Radio Show in LA Radio while upgrading the signal at 93.5 KDAY / 93.5 KDAI. Laughlin brokered the sale of move-in Riverside signal 96.1 KWIE to Liberman Broadcasting in 2009 for $25M. Hearne and Laughlin later teamed again to purchase an additional FM move-in to the Riverside/San Bernardino market in 2010. |
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Laurello, Johnny: KRLA, 1972-73. He worked as Johnny Michaels at 11/10 KRLA. Lauren, Andi: KEZY, 1989; KFI; KBIG. Last heard, Andi was the afternoon traffic reporter in Phoenix. LAUREN, Dana: KMGG, 1982-85; KLSX/KBZT, 1986. Dana arrived from WHN-New York to join "Magic 106." Born in 1960, Dana assembled a loosely knit organization calling itself Broads in Broadcasting, which was an instant Old Girl Network. The group wanted to help other female broadcasters break out of the stereotypical all-night shift. Dana complained that she had no role models. "The first job I had in San Diego, I went on the air with this squeaky voice because I'd heard a woman deejay with a squeaky voice." When she left the Southland, she returned to San Diego. |
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LAURITZEN,
Brian: KUSC, 2006-23. Brian works the early afternoon
shift at Classic KUSC. Before his on-air shift, he started at KUSC as a
production assistant in 2006. He is also the producer and host of KUSC's
nationwide concert broadcasts of the Los Angeles Philharmonic as well as
KUSC's weekly arts magazine Arts Alive and the early music
program Baroque & Beyond. Additionally, Brian writes and
produces features for KUSC's more than 50 concert broadcasts each year
including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles
Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and Piano Spheres. His work as part of these series has been broadcast internationally by NPR, American Public Media, and the WFMT Radio Network. He got his start in Classical radio at WSMC in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he served as head announcer and music director. Brian is an avid sports participant, playing tennis, golf and skiing. He's also a passionate lifelong Minnesota Twins fan and quickly learned to love the Dodgers as his National League team. |
Laurence, Bob: Bob was programming vp for Drake/Chenault from 1981-87. A 1973 graduate from the University of Maryland with a B.A. in speech and drama, he started his radio career in various Baltimore and Washington, DC stations including WPGC, WWIN and WYRE. Prior to arriving in the Southland to program the Drake/Chenault stations, Bob was the pd for KBEQ-Kansas City and national pd for Mariner Communications in Cincinnati. In 1987, he joined Noble Broadcasting as the vp of programming. In 1993 he became pd at K101-San Francisco, partner in KOCD/DWAS-Joplin, Missouri, vp of media research for Analysis Research in San Diego, followed by pd assignments in Sacramento at KGBY and KXOA. |
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La VOY,
Anne: KLAC, 1986-89; KZLA, 1989-95.
Since 2000, Anne has worked at New Music Nashville. Originally from Montclair, New Jersey and a graduate of Syracuse University, Anne's teenage years were spent in Brussels, Belgium attending the International School of Brussels. Her broadcast career began in San Francisco where positions in sales, news and music led to working behind the radio microphone and in front of the tv camera. Anne and her husband, broadcast executive and personality Bob Guerra, were in San Francisco radio and television for 10 years, in addition to a long stint with KLAC and KZLA, including “Countryline USA” a live, nationally syndicated show where she served as the LA-based host interviewing stars such as Vince Gill, Reba McEntire and many others. After moving to Nashville, Anne's work included Oldies 96.3 WMAK, Mix 92.9 WJXA, and Arrow 104.5. She is heard on the nationally syndicated show New Music Nashville. Anne is a member of The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America where she has been the State President, Chairman of the Nashville Town Committee and Museum Properties Chairman. She is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, served on many local boards. Anne and Bob are parents of two grown children, one of whom is an international airline pilot, the other works in luxury retail management. |
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LAW, Al Brady: KLAC,
1983-84, gm; KABC/KMPC, 1994-96. Al died July 30, 2012.
He was 65. From 1976 until the early '80s Al worked at WHDH-Boston as pd. When he left the Southland the first time in 1984, he went to Tampa. He was the gm of WYNY-New York and KKBQ-Houston and also managed WHDH, KQAI-Dallas, WRQX-Washington, DC, WABC-New York and WQFM-Milwaukee. During his stay in DC, Al was given credit as the architect of the highly successful "Q107" format. He worked as om at KABC/KMPC from 1994 until the summer of 1996. Following a stint in Las Vegas with the Sports Fan Network, Al was a vp for programming for Command Audio Corporation, an audio on demand company in Redwood City. Al had worked at KTRS-St. Louis, shortly before his death. |
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LAWLER,
Ralph: KMPC. Ralph grew up in Pennsylvania. He is a
graduate of Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois and was inducted into
his alma mater's Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. At 6 feet 3, Ralph was a
basketball star at Peoria Central High. When his team went to the state
tournament, the games were on the radio and the announcer was Chick
Hearn. Ralph got a basketball scholarship to DePauw in Greencastle,
Indiana, but did not make the team. After graduation, he worked for a Peoria television station. Ralph spent the early part of his broadcasting career in Riverside (from 1961-70, he was a sports reporter at KPRO-1440 and play-by-play for Riverside City College basketball) and San Diego and then spent five years in the mid-1970’s covering 76’er basketball, Flyer hockey and Temple football. Ralph was sports director for WCAU, the Philadelphia CBS television station, but the NBA was always his game of choice and he returned to San Diego in 1978 to do play-by-play for the Clippers when the franchise moved to San Diego. The franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1984. The longtime veteran of sports broadcasting is not only one of seven current NBA play-by-play announcers to broadcast more than 1,000 games for their present team, but Ralph has far exceeded that, calling more that 1,600 games for the Clippers on radio and television. He is also one of only a select few to call games for the four major professional sports, having worked games for the San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Flyers, Phillies and 76ers. Ralph spent four decades as "the voice of the Clippers," handling all play-by-play duties for games televised on KCAL9, Fox Sports West2 and KEZY Radio. Lawler has proven both his durability and his versatility over the years as a broadcaster and his work has not gone unnoticed. The Clippers telecasts won back-to-back Emmy awards in 1993 and 1994 and he has a collection of Golden Mike and Pennsylvania Sportscaster of the Year awards. In 2019, Ralph moved to Oregon after retiring from the Clippers broadcasts. |
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LAWRENCE,
Blake: KUSC, 2011-18. Blake is host of California
Classical all Night that originating from KDFC-San Francisco. He grew up
in Canon City, Colorado. Blake was the father of dance music on XM Satellite Radio. He was the founder and program director for five years of the then award-winning dance channel BPM. After wandering away from the dance music scene for five years, Blake is now back. His alter-ego, Maxwell House, was the host of the weekly Danz 20 Countdown on Radio Danz. These days you can catch him as program director of sister stations Chilltrax and PreDanz. Powered by a fascination for all kinds of music, Blake has programmed major fm stations in New York (WQCD), San Francisco (KKSF), and Houston (KZFX, KLOL). |
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LAWRENCE,
Jay: KFI, 1968-70; KLAC, 1970-78. Jay
went on to work at KTAR-Phoenix for over a quarter of a century.
Currently he is a Republican member of the Arizona House of
Representatives since January 5, 2015. Born on October 6 in Chicago, Jay started his career in Evansville, Indiana, before moving on to such cities as Peoria and the legendary KLIF in Dallas. He stopped in Tucson before going to Cleveland and worked with such Eastern personalities as Ken Draper, Jim Stagg, Jim Runyon and Specs Howard. He came to Los Angeles as a replacement for Dick Sinclair's Polka Party, which was an institution on the 50,000 watt station. When Jay went to KLAC, the station was MOR, but two weeks later the station went Country. "I really got rattled. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to relate." The station was known as the Big Auto Racing station, and Jay's task was to build up a personal relationship with the race drivers. He did morning drive for part of the time at KLAC. In the late 1950s, Jay was in a folk music trio with Jerry Bishop and Larry Helfand called the Three Jays. He recalled a highlight while in Los Angeles: "I hosted an event in El Monte where 30,000 people showed up for a prune parade." Jay also walked through Death Valley to raise money for the Foundation for the Junior Blind. Jay left L.A. for morning drive at WNEW-New York. On the decision to leave, Jay said, "My 10 years in L.A. were the best in my life. I never should have gone to WNEW, but what the heck. It's the nature of the biz." |
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LAWRENCE,
Jay: KOCM, 1990; KFI, 1987-2004. Jay
was one of those big, booming voices who delivered the news at KFI for
almost two decades. Sadly, he died September 22, 2016, of a massive
heart attack. He died returning from a golf game, a game that he loved,
in the desert. He was 69 years old. Jay influenced the next generation of KFI news people. “I owe Jay a lot,” said former KFI newsman Steve Gregory. “He and I first met on the Arizona/Mexico Border where I was covering the Minuteman Project for KFYI in Phoenix, Jay was covering it for KFI. We became fast friends. Jay is the one who recommended me to news director, Chris Little. I was hired a year later. After Jay left KFI I began doing my aggressive lockout to pay homage to Jay, who did it first.” For much of his time at KFI, Jay was the voice of Orange County and the Inland Empire. He survived firestorms, earthquakes and being shot at. Jay got his start as a college stringer, reporting golf games. His buddies at the San Juan Hills Golf Club remembered Jay. “He was the consummate competitor in golf. Jay liked being in public, he liked being with the boys and he liked the challenge of trying to improve his game. He liked golf on every level. Everyone who knew Jay liked him. One of the longest-standing members of the men's club if not the longest, he enjoyed making the club better for all who joined and all who played.” Born Joel Lawrence Vidovich in East Chicago, Indiana on May 18, 1947, he was the first of 3 children. The family moved to California and he grew up in Whittier. Jay joined the U.S. Air Force where he served abroad in Pakistan and in Alaska. His skills in reading foreign communication intercept codes was exemplary. While in Alaska, he was given an opportunity to do radio work and loved it, according to his wife Reni. While a student in radio communications at Saddleback College, he announced at many sports venues, including the Bob Hope Golf tournaments. He was given an opportunity to do stringer work for KFI radio. It was the right time and right place for him to accept the offer to be the KFI Bureau chief in Orange County. As a bachelor until he was 50, Jay had a chance meeting with the lady who became his wife. “Our life was magical,” Reni said by phone recently. “We shared the love of golf, made some extraordinary friendships, and we were best of friends to each other and truly loved each other. I will miss him deeply.” |
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LAWRENCE,
Jim: KHJ, 1966-69. Jim Mitchell used Jim Lawrence as
his newscaster name at KHJ. "I would have used my real name but there
was already a Johnny Mitchell at KHJ." Jim, a former assistant professor of practice at the University of Arizona, came out of retirement to teach press and the law for the School of Journalism. He worked as an anchor and reporter at tv stations in Louisville and Los Angeles. He received an English and political science degree from the University of the State of New York and a law degree from the University of Louisville School of Law. Jim also served as a prosecuting attorney in Mohave County, Arizona. He's written several mystery novels. Born on July 21, 1942, in Philadelphia. His father was stationed in Philly and after the war, the family moved to La Habra. "While there, I spent weekends hanging around KFWB, where my radio heroes were very kind and helpful to me," Jim said. In 1961, the family moved to Hawaii. His KFWB friends referred him to Hal Davis, who managed KORL-AM. "It was easy to get a job there because the checks always bounced." Following a move to KPOI, the owners purchased KMAK-Fresno and KMEN- San Bernardino and Jim worked there. After a year in San Diego at KCBQ, he joined his old KPOI-KMAK-KMEN boss, Ron Jacobs. "That was my last radio job," said Jim. After radio Jim moved to news reporting at KABC/TV, WCBS/TV, and winding up in Louisville, where he anchored newscasts for 17 years and went to law school. In 1993 he moved to Tucson. His law degree and broadcast experience led to his a job teaching at The University of Arizona, teaching news media law. "Teaching has been a great second career. I feel blessed." |
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LAWRENCE,
OJ: KFI. Born Larry Wansley, he had been working
afternoon drive for almost a decade at KyXy in San Diego following a
stint at KFI. According to Randy Dotinga of the San Diego North County Times, OJ was also a Baptist minister. He died April 9, 1999 of cancer at the age of 49. (OJ is third from the left in group photo) |
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LAYNG,
Rodger: KBIG, 1962-66; KOST, 1966-68;
KFAC, 1969-70; KNX/fm, 1971;
KPOL, 1976-77; KKGO, 1985-89. Rodger died in
June 2013 from stomach cancer, at the age of 70. “He was a good friend of mine for 35 years,” emailed Steve Epstein. Layng was a fourth generation Californian growing up next to Cary Grant’s house. He was at KBIG when the station boosted their power and started broadcasting in stereo in 1967. The station programmed "easy listening/light jazz" as they ended the automation from Santa Catalina Island. Rodger was part of the creative team that put together KNX/fm. In 1986, he created the "Fusion Format" for AudioNet. Rodger lived an adventuresome life in Mexico and with the Indians. His entrepreneurial projects have taken him to Hawaii, the Pacific Rim and Mainland China with talk radio. He lived for many years on Maui. |
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LEADER, Dr. John: KHJ, 1975-77. John started out at WGRD and WLAV-Grand Rapids in the mid-1960s. "While programming WGRD in 1966, I worked with China Smith (who was then Wayne Thomas) and hired Sonny Fox to do afternoon drive...he was great!" John arrived in the Southland from four years at WQXI-Atlanta. Scott Shannon had shortened John's name to Dr. John when he became pd at "Quixie." His first night on KHJ was in September 1975. John narrated the RKO radio-Drake/Chenault co-production radio special, "The Top 100 of the '70s." John left KHJ in 1977 to become the Top 40 editor for R&R. He worked at the trade publication for eight years, eventually becoming vp and executive editor. While editor he continued narrating the monthly RKO specials. John hosted the syndicated program "Countdown America." After several years as an editor at R&R, John transitioned into a very successful voiceover career in Los Angeles. He was one of the primary promo voices of the CBS Television Network for many years, and voiced hundreds of movie trailers and political campaigns. John retired in 2008 the day after his close friend and fellow VO artist Don Lafontaine passed away. John currently lives in Sherwood Forest, CA with his wife of more than 50 years, Pam. |
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LEADER,
Richard: KNX, 1964-2003. Richard was a retired local
sales manager at KNX. He died October 11, 2010, at the age of 85. Following service in the U.S. Air Corp, as a B-17 radio operator, at the close of World War II, Dick went to work in the advertising department of Sears, where he met his wife Bea. He broke into radio at KWIZ in Orange County, and from there, moved to the L.A. office of Eastman Radio Representatives. Richard joined KNX as an account executive in 1964 and retired in 2003 as local sales manager. “His passion was police work where he was a reserve officer in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the LAPD,” wrote Tom Bernstein, a KNX colleague. "His long time service for the LAPD included working a patrol car on weekends, undercover drug enforcement on the streets of L.A., and as the adjutant to the head of security for the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles. |
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LEARY,
Chris: KIIS, 1992-94; KZLA, 1995-96;
KIIS, 1997-2006; KLSX, 2006-08.
Arriving in the Southland from WPXY-Rochester and WTIC-Hartford, Chris
was originally the high-powered evening personality known as "LearJet"
on KIIS. In 1994, he became the syndicated host of "Fox Kids Countdown"
and began doing voiceover work, including many movie trailers. In late
summer 1995, Chris went to Country KZLA for evenings as Max
Ryder and left in the spring of 1996. He rejoined KIIS in early
1997 for weekends. Chris co-hosted during his time on The Single Life
with Sam Phillips. In the summer of 2017, he exited his co-hosted chores on Great Day Washington. Chris has hosted magazine and pop culture programs with the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. He's also appeared on ABC's The View as a correspondent from Tech TV. Leary spent 18 years as host of FOX All Access, a syndicated Top 40 radio show where he interviewed hundreds of artists. In his free time, Chris is a pilot of single engine aircraft. |
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LEARY, Dr. Timothy: KEZY, 1980. The former Harvard psychologist, lecturer and drug guru had a brief experiment during the launch of AOR on the AM station. The ex-Jesuit, ex-West Point officer, ex-dj and ex-convict worked his brand of "love" during morning drive. For decades, Leary was known as "the high priest of LSD." While on KEZY he ended a truck commercial with, "Hey, you can get that dreamy, hallucinogenic, new Toyota truck." It was not the traffic bulletins warning of the disappearance of the San Diego Freeway or reports of big ice packs off Malibu that caused Leary's firing in less than a month. Complaints to the station held him responsible for all the kids who killed themselves on drugs in the '60s. After the firing Dr. Leary told the LA Times: "Orange County needed me more than I needed them. I was just trying to fill a void." Born October 22, 1920, President Richard Nixon dubbed him "the most dangerous man in the world." He was jailed in 1970 on a drug-possession charge. He executed a dramatic escape, was recaptured in Afghanistan in 1973 and finally paroled in 1976. Timothy became an ardent proponent of communication in cyberspace, however, he scrapped plans to take his own life and broadcast his suicide over the Internet. He died May 31, 1996, of prostate cancer. |
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LEAVER,
Katy: KKGO, 1987. Since 1987, Katy has been an
anchor/reporter for KGO-San Francisco. She's also an excellent singer. Leaver is lead vocalist, doing r&b, jazz, blues, pop and rock tunes with a band called Girls Nite Out, which performs around Marin County, including Ristorante Servino in Tiburon. Katy was a studio musician and voiceover artist in Los Angeles before moving back to her home town of Mill Valley. She made 50 commercials, recorded with Jimi Destri (Blondie), and worked with legendary producer Lou Adler at various L.A studios, singing both commercials and albums. After returning to the Bay Area, she was a traffic reporter for KGO Radio and flew in the red jet copter for 12 years before landing taking to the ground and working as an anchor and field reporter. Katy is a huge Jimmy Buffet fan. |
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LeBATARD,
Dan: KSPN, 2015-17. Dan joined KSPN in morning drive
with an ESPN syndicated show in the fall of 2015. He is an American newspaper sportswriter, radio host, and television reporter based in Miami. He is best known for his work for his hometown paper, the Miami Herald, for whom he has worked since 1990, and his work with ESPN. Born Daniel Thomas Le Batard on December 16, 1968, Dan hosted ESPN's Highly Questionable with his father Gonzalo and revolving co-host. He is also known as “Baby Hippo.” Dan departed ESPN at the end of 2020. |
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LEBOW,
David: KPWR, 1986-92. David is a media and technology
executive with DraftKings. The Ithaca College graduate with a bachelor of science degree in Business Communications Management, ran Power 106 and was svp for the western region of AMFM, later sold to Clear Channel. When he left KPWR, he joined AOL as evp for five years and then was president/ceo of Internet Broadcasting. |
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LEE, Allen: KTWV, 1994-20179; KFWB, 1992-2012. Russell Allen Lee was a traffic reporter in middays for NewsTalk KFWB and the Pat & Kim morning show at KTWV, "the WAVE." He came from WINS-New York. The Texas native is a self-professed “Air Force brat,” and spent his youth living in all parts of the country until finally settling in the Dallas/Ft. Work Metroplex. Allen served as pd for Shadow Broadcast services in 1993 and 1994 before stepping down to devote his full-time to KFWB and sister station KTWV as AM traffic reporter. When Entercom changed traffic services and he lost his job with the WAVE, he wrote on Facebook: "After almost 23 years, I am feeling sad and grateful at the same time. 16 of those years were spent with the other woman in my life, the peerless Pat Prescott, who has hosted the KTWV morning show since 2000, and will continue to do so. I love her dearly, and will miss sharing the airwaves with her. The Wave is, in my opinion, the greatest station in LA and I am honored and thankful to have been a part of their storied history ... they have been wonderful to me all these years. I will, however, remain employed with other duties at Total Traffic, which has been the best job of my life." He works as a cantor at St. Hedwig's Catholic Church in Los Alamitos, singing at the noon mass.
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LEE,
Ana: KNAC, 1986-94; KLSX, 1997. Ana, a
Nashville radio veteran, works at WMOT-Nashville and hosts a weekly
event showcasing worthy but undiscovered artists in Music City. "There’s
artists that have broken from here that are now huge word-wide stars.
We’ve definitely got the talent. It’s just a matter of what fits our
particular format." Ana got captivated by radio growing up in 1970s Los Angeles, where she got a taste of the Deep South and roots music over the syndicated King Biscuit Flower Hour. “I used to think it was so cool to hear a concert at home without actually being there,” Lee recalls. “I think people like to hear that live feeling." Her first professional gig was at an adult contemporary station in Ventura County, in 1984. Her time in LA Radio saw her spinning Alternative rock and heavy metal. In her time spent at metal station KNAC, she got her first experience with live coverage, reporting from national events including The Grammy and MTV Awards. But she heard the call of Nashville and moved in 2003 to be a marketing coordinator for The Tennessean, working on events and sponsorships. But she got back into radio, and over eight years at Lightning 100, she became a trusted voice and taste-maker. One of her key slots was hosting their live showcase, Nashville Sunday Night. “I interviewed a lot of artists,” Lee says. “They seemed to always want to talk about their friends, producers, collaborators, co-writers…so I was constantly getting turned on to new artists that way.” Ana also worked in the marketing side of the music industry at Capitol Records in L.A., which put her in daily communication with artists. At the same time, she says, “I think that being in radio helped me more in my other jobs than the other way around - knowing what listeners like and being tapped into what works on the radio—what people respond to." |
LEE, Beverly Ann: KNX, 1975-77.
In 1977, she was appointed assistant director of community relations.
LEE, Bob:
KHJ, 1965-72. Bob was primarily the all-night newsman
during the early years of "Boss Radio." Bob, born Robert Dolnick, worked in
Albuquerque, Manitowoc, Tulare and Fresno radio (KMAK and KYNO) before
joining KHJ. He died in June 1995 at the age of 81. "...After leaving KHJ, I
retired to Joshua Tree where I bought Joshua tree Auto Supply and my family
and I ran it for ten years before selling it."
LEE, J.J.: KLOS,
1989-94; KCBS, 1998-99. JJ is working on an Internet radio
project.
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LEE,
Jennifer Jones: KFI, 2016-23. Jennifer joined KFI as a
news anchor in late spring of 2016 from morning drive news at KGO-San
Francisco. She left KFI in the summer of 2023 to head the operations of
Results Radio cluster in Redding. Jennifer's radio life has basically spanned the Golden State. She started at a small station in Redding, then moved to Chico, Sacramento and then San Francisco where she spent 16 years. And while she grew up outside Redding, Jennifer was born in San Bernardino, so in many ways she feels like her life has come full circle now that she's back in SoCal. Throughout her career, Jennifer has received numerous awards for reporting and anchoring from both the AP and the RTNDA. She also received the National Edward R. Murrow for sports reporting. She was sent across the country on a Greyhound bus to cover the Sept.11th terrorist attacks in New York City. Lee then spent a week on a bus traveling the state with Governor Schwarzenegger during his recall campaign. Shortly after that, Jennifer was the lead reporter on the Scott Peterson murder trial where her reports were broadcast around the country. She's covered political conventions both locally and nationally, and One of the most bizarre assignments of her career, was entering the media Bull Riding contest at the Grand National Rodeo. That's where a bull named "Dental Appointment" let her know he didn't appreciate her trying to ride him, and sent Lee to the hospital with a broken arm :) Jennifer married Army Cpt. Scott Lee on November 21, 2009 in St. Helena, CA. (from her website) |
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LEE, Jerry:
KGIL, 1965-68. Jerry was editor of several
outdoor and gun-related magazines at Petersen Publishing. He died in his
sleep on November 1, 2019. Jerry was 82. When he left KGIL, he joined nights at WHK-Cleveland. He eventually joined KXYZ-Houston and WWTC-Minneapolis. Jerry has retired to a small town in West Virginia, about 20 miles south of the Pennsylvania border and about 80 miles from Pittsburgh. He was editor of several outdoor and gun-related magazines at Petersen Publishing. “I left the LA office in June of ‘09, made the move to West Virginia and continued to work out of my home for Intermedia [formerly Petersen] thru the end of that year,” emailed Jerry. He did a little freelance work for the company until retiring full-time. “I’m loving it here for the most part. The people are great, scenery is beautiful, and the snow is fun when you don’t have to drive to work every day. I'm enjoying tuning in at night to all the 50KW stations from New York, Boston, Chicago, etc." Born Jerome (Jerry) Beauchamp Lee on August 12, 1937 in Maynard, Texas. Jerry worked at Gun Digest as Editor in Chief, was a lifelong gun enthusiast and NRA life member. He was author of numerous NRA articles and was named editor at Guns and Ammo, Shooting Times and Guns Magazine. In his earlier career, he was a radio announcer, disc jockey and radio station manager. |
Lee, Laura: KKGO, 1986-90. Laura is living in
Agoura Hills.
Lee, Lauren: KROQ, 1978. Unknown.
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LEE,
Melinda: KNX, 1985-94;
KABC, 1995-97; KTZN, 1997; KRLA, 1998-99;
KFI, 1999-2003; KNX, 2004-09; KFWB/KNX, 2009-11;
KNX, 2012-15. The delightful LARadio foodie Melinda
Lee had a delicious stay at a number of Spoken Word stations. She is officially retired, yet busier than ever. Her start in radio was just a matter of gumption. She was working as a caterer in Malibu. In 1985, she called Bob Sims, program director at KNX. She filled in for one “Food News Hour” and an award-winning career followed. Right now, her husband Steve is living in a Skilled Nursing Facility near Griffith Park, where he has been for more than three years. “He has an uncommon illness called transverse myelitis (to abbreviate, it is an inflammation of the spinal cord which has left him unable to walk, among other things) and a little bit of dementia, although not Alzheimer’s,” emailed Melinda. She visits him a few times a week and brings him sushi and homemade food he likes. “He’s not a fan of the facility’s food, nor does he read or play games or anything, but they (the staff) are warm and friendly, and attentive. They take good care of him, which I am no longer able to do alone at home.” Melinda is writing a book (“a major effort,” she admits), trying to learn to sculpt, and “finding it surprisingly difficult to find time for all the things I was expecting to find time for when I retired.” Melinda continued: “The closing-the-business event took a much longer time than one might think – like turning an ocean liner around in the middle of the ocean – but, as I complete the transition, more freedom comes with it, and a greater feeling of liberation.” “I was particularly saddened to read of the passing of Tom Hatten. A few notes from him had accumulated on my desk (as I procrastinated in responding to them, awaiting achievement of just the tone I wished). I don’t have the heart to toss them out, containing, as they do, examples of his quirky, elegant humor and stylish handwriting. I enjoy (I know, everyone does!) keeping abreast of the fortunes and adventures of my old pals and acquaintances. You do a great – and entertaining – service to the radio broadcast industry.” LARadio is a BIG fan of Melinda Lee for a whole bunch of reasons. We wish her well. |
Lee, Mike: KROQ, 1973. Mike is head of Brown Bag Productions in Denver.
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LEE, Paulette: KPOL, 1978. Paulette and her husband Gary Froseth live in Gettysburg, PA where they operate a bed and breakfast called Passages Inn Gettysburg. LARP Marriage. Paulette Lee worked at KPOL in the ‘70s. Gary Froseth worked at KFI and KFWB in the ‘70s. The two LARPs got married. Thirty years later they are now inns keepers of a bed & breakfast in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. "We met while were working at the old KFI on Vermont Avenue," said Gary. "I got out of the Navy in the spring of 1970, and about two months later went to work at KFI handling the inside traffic monitoring for our pilot, Bruce Wayne, 'KFI's Eye in the Sky.' Sometime later, I was asked to sub for Bruce when he went on vacation. A pilot was hired from a company at the Fullerton Airport to fly me around the LA Basin. At about the same time, I was moved to anchor/reporter, and then took on the additional responsibility of traffic reporting from Orange County. I met Paulette in 1972 when she was hired as KFI's first female anchor. About a year later, when my first marriage started to fall apart, we took a mutual interest in each other. KFI and I parted company in April 1974, then a short time later I went to work for KFWB. Paulette left KFI in 1975, and was hired as an anchor/reporter for KPOL/KZLA. We were married in August 1977." In the summer of 1979, Group W Broadcasting promoted Gary to news director at WOWO, its station in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and in 1981, he was promoted to news director at KDKA-Pittsburgh. In 1985, they moved to Harrisburg, PA where he was named state capitol bureau chief/anchor/senior producer of a Pittsburgh-based public television news operation, and Paulette opened her public relations/marketing company devoted to non-profit organizations. “Paulette has taught a graduate communications theory class at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, and has served as Development Outreach and Communications Officer for US AID in Kigali, Rwanda.” Gary continues to work in radio at WTOP-Washington, DC, and KYW-Philadelphia while running the B&B. “My wife is an international development communications specialist who speaks French, and recently returned from 11 months living and working in Africa (Ethiopia and Rwanda). In addition to foreign affairs, the couple share a love of art, theater, and dance. |
Lee, Robert E.: KIIS, 1973-74. Unknown.
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LEE,
Tom: KFWB, 2015-16.
Tom joined the all-sports KFWB as program director in the spring of 2015. He
left in mid-February of 2016 when there was a sale of KFWB. He's now a media
consultant based in the Dallas Metroplex. Tom launched FOX Sports Radio in 2000, leading the programming team that created and developed the 24/7 national sports network. In addition, Lee has also programmed ESPN Radio in Dallas, as well as sports radio stations WIP in Philadelphia and KJR in Seattle. “Tom has achieved some of the highest ratings of all sports stations across the country,” said Diane Sutter, Trustee for KFWB Asset Trust, in making the announcement. “Our listeners will benefit from Tom’s invaluable skills in producing relevant content, top-notch talent and his experience in working with sports teams.” Lee has been directly involved at all levels with several franchises, including the Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers, and the Seattle Supersonics. KFWB was the radio home of the Los Angeles Clippers and LA Galaxy. “Los Angeles sports fans are the greatest and perhaps the most underrated in America and their passion, the distinct L.A. attitude and our great sports teams will all be represented by The Beast 980,” Lee said. “I’m very excited to get back to L.A. with the opportunity to program the only radio station uniquely built for home town fans.” |
Leeds, Mel: KDAY, 1960; KMET, 1968-69. Mel has retired in Carlsbad.
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LEGG,
Harry: KIIS, 2002-03. Harry left swing duties at
KIIS/fm in the spring of 2003 for WKTU-New York Creative Services
Director. He left KTU in November 2006. Harry is concentrating on his
imaging business. Harry is the signature voice of The NBC Sports Radio Network and regularly voices for TV networks and affiliates. He has a wide vocal range which serves clients in virtually every format - CHR, Urban, Country, News/Talk, Sports, Rock and AC. Besides stations here in the States, Harry has a large international roster with stations in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bonaire, Brazil, Canada, Cairo, Cape Town, Cyprus, Hungary, Ireland, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Jordan, Malta, Manila, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tasmania, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, and Val-d'Isère. His career has taken him to legendary stations in the top 3 U.S. markets of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. He has held every programming post from program director/music director, morning show news anchor to on-air talent. Harry is the voice of Benztown’s CHR service and Today in Rock feature. |
Leggett, Milan. KWST and
KMGC. Milan was the chief engineer at KWST and KMGC. He died March 31, 2015.
Born in Dallas on October 19, 1925, he served in the Navy in the Philippines
during World War II and was honorably discharged. He worked as a radio
engineer his entire life. After he left at KLIF-Dallas, he was one of those
engineers who set up Pirate radio stations off the Atlantic coast, according
to his colleague Bob Hughes.
Legrand, Chris: KNX, 1997. Unknown.
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LeGRETT,
Kevin: Kevin took over as head of the
iHeartMedia/LA cluster in the summer of 2015. He arrived from svp of
operations for iHeart's Northeast and Midwest regions. In the summer of
2021, Kevin was promoted to president of iHeartMedia Sports. In the summer of 2018 he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Operations for the Markets Group for all radio station brands in the Los Angeles, San Diego/Riverside, Arizona, Red River, Houston, Dallas, and Austin/San Antonio Regions. LeGrett is also a 2018 Radio Wayne finalist. A close associate of LeGrett told trade pubication Radio Ink: “Kevin is a dynamic, versatile, and innovative communicator and negotiator with particular success in revitalizing underperforming media operations, developing and motivating winning teams, and providing the leadership to consistently outperform the market. He is highly effective at interfacing with all constituent groups in support of business objectives.” LeGrett has been in radio for 24 years and says it’s felt like four years as time moves so fast. He started with iHeartMedia in 2010 as Senior Vice President of Operations for the iHeartMedia Rochester Region, where he oversaw operations for over 220 radio stations across 46 markets in the Northeast and Midwest, as well as the company’s political advertising initiatives. |
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LEHMAN, Steve:
KIIS, 1984-87.
Following an on-air stint at KIIS, Steve has been an investment banker
specializing in media, entertainment, and technology. Lehman founded Premiere Networks. While at Premiere, Lehman consolidated the majority of independent syndication companies and signed or acquired talent including Jim Rome, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Costas, John Madden, Art Bell, Dr. Laura, and others. Lehman took the company public in 1992 on NASDAQ. He brought in strategic partners Steve sold Premiere to Jacor / Clear Channel for $190 million in 1997. Since 2012, he has been chairman of Business Rockstars. He is involved with Broadstream Capital Partners. |
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LEIBOWITZ,
Bo: KCRW, 1979-2019, Bo
passed away June 3, 2019. He was 74. Bo spent 40 years at KCRW playing jazz, the music he adored. Tom Schnabel wrote a warm and loving tribute that appeared on the KCRW website. “KCRW just lost a hero and benefactor of the jazz genre,” wrote Schnabel. “I hired Bo Leibowitz to produce Strictly Jazz way back in 1979, the year I came to KCRW as music director. It was a time when jazz was changing. The local jazz station and other radio stations were featuring Smooth Jazz to try to increase listenership. KCRW needed to do something of better quality. Bo was the right man for the job. Bo never compromised, preferring to showcase Classic music that has stood the test of time. He treated jazz with the respect that the artform has always gotten in Europe and Japan.” After attending Penn State, Bo moved to Boston, where he ran a Harvard Square record store and hosted a jazz show on KBUR/fm, according to the obit in the LA Times. |
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LEICHTER, Nancy:
KMET, 1974-87; KTWV,
1987-89; KQLZ, 1989-93; KZLA/KLAC, 1993-94;
KKBT, 1994-2003; KRBV, 2007.
Nancy joined KRBV, V-100 (100.3/fm) as general sales manager in March 2007 and a
few months later returned to the Central California Coast. In the early fall of 2010, Nancy became an AE for the Clear Channel/LA cluster. She has retired from radio and is based in Philadelphia. "I travel a lot and am doing volunteer work for a non-profit organization that helps low income youngsters have mentors do they can do better in school," Nancy emailed in the spring of 2016. |
Leighton, Jerry: KCBH, 1967-68. Jerry hosted Morning Madness at KCBH (98.7/fm). He was made news director in 1969.
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LEISHER,
John: KFWB, 1984-93. Since 2001, John has been an
anchor at WCBS-New York. He was an evening anchor on all-News KFWB. John joined WCBS on July 4th, 2000. He says he had a lot to celebrate: the realization of a dream to work for the flagship station of the CBS Radio Network, and a career that took him to CBS radio affiliates in all four corners of the country. That career began in Boston, following graduation from Emerson College. A desire to see the country took John to Miami, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. While at WINZ in Miami, John reported for the CBS Radio Network on Hurricane David, Eastern Airlines’ fight for survival, and the desperate attempt of Cubans and Haitians to flee their homelands for freedom and prosperity in America. John moved to KFWB in Los Angeles, in 1984, just in time to cover the summer Olympics. Other big stories John worked on, in the city of angels, include the Rodney King police brutality case and the resulting riots, the Northridge earthquake and the O.J. Simpson case. John has won numerous awards, including an Edward R. Murrow for spot news coverage. John has also worked in television news, public relations and teaching. But he says nothing beats the immediacy and intimacy of radio. |
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LEITZ,
Todd: KFWB, 1989-90 and 1993; KNX,
1999-2009; KABC, 2010. Todd became the Dodger Stadium
announcer at the beginning of the 2015 season. He was part of the news team at KNXNewsradio until the summer of 2009. He is now working with the Los Angeles Fire Department Community Liaison Office and with the LAFD's public education arm - MySafe:LA - in Public and Media Relations. Todd worked behind the scenes at KFWB in 1989 and joined in 1990 was part of the start-up Newstalk station in Lancaster/Palmdale, KHJJ. “I co-hosted the morning drive news show, call-in show in mid-mornings and was the Antelope Valley stringer for KFWB,” emailed Todd. In 1993 Todd joined Metro Networks at the L.A. Bureau Chief and reported morning news for a number of stations. “When KYSR installed Jamie, Frosty, & Frank, I lost my morning drive news gig and was fired by Metro,” said Todd. After a year of doing commercials and voiceover work, Todd missed radio and was hired by KNX as a per-diem writer. |
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LEMMO, Rick:
KLIT, 1988; KPLS, 1993. When Joe Amaturo
purchased KNJO in Thousand Oaks, he brought in Rick as general manager.
He hired a number of LA talent (Ron Shapiro, Bruce Vidal, Guy Davis,
Mucho Morales, and Paul Mahler to compete for ad dollars. In 1993, Rick brought the Children's Satellite Network to KPLS (870AM) It becomes the 10th station to take programming from the 4-month-old Children’s Satellite Network, which offers around-the-clock programming for children and families from its core station in Minneapolis, known as Radio AAHS. The format intertwines rock ‘n’ roll Oldies and current pop songs, music by Raffi and other popular children’s recording artists, along with such features as call-ins, contests, story hours and--for moms and dads--parenting tips. “We have to make certain it’s not difficult or annoying for parents to stay interested with their kids,” said Rick, who was the network’s affiliate relations representative. Rick is working at Caruso Affiliated Holdings, based in Santa Monica. |
Lennox, Don: KLOS, 1971. Don worked mornings as newsman/partner with Tom Yates. He went on to work morning drive news at KZZO ("the Zone")-Sacramento.
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LENTZ,
Steve: KFWB, 2001-09; KNX, 2009. Steve
was a reporter at KFWB until a format flip in early fall of 2009. He
moved over to KNX briefly. Since 2010, Steve has been running
LifeVideos.com, providing s content for New Media, the Internet and new
communications platforms for businesses. Additionally he is active in
doing freelance news assignments for radio and tv stations. Steve grew up in Kansas City. After graduating from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Steve embarked on a television career that started in Iowa and Florida. He eventually made his way to KABC/Channel 7 specializing in trial coverage. Then Steve went to KTLA/Channel 5 where he spent a decade as a news, feature and entertainment reporter. Why did he opt out of tv to join KFWB in 2001? “You get too old for tv,” admitted Steve candidly. “But that’s only part of it. When Tribune bought the station they changed all the management. Slowly they changed – the general manager, station manager and the news director left. The new people decided to make changes.” Steve freelanced for a couple of years acting as a consultant for start-up tv news operations, eventually making his way to San Francisco in 1999 during the boom years of the tech revolution. “On September 11, 2001, I was in Boston and fed a lot of reports to KFWB and KGO-San Francisco, where I was working. Crys Quimby [KFWB news director]remembered that and I got a part-time job at KFWB.” |
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LEONARD, Jeffrey:
KIQQ, 1973;
KHTZ/KBZT/KRLA, 1985-87. Jeff. He now hosts the popular Facebook group,
Memories of L.A. Radio. Jeff spent a quarter of a century involved in L.A. radio/media. In 1973, he was hired for his first radio station, KIQQ (K100), after it was purchased by Bill Drake and Gene Chenault. "I became the assistant to The Real Don Steele to do various projects since I had my 3rd Class License and he had let his 1st lapse." About this time, he opened JSL Enterprises, a promotion company that dealt primarily with custom made belt buckles for media outlets all over the country. He became production coordinator for American Top 40 with Casey Kasem. "I later moved onto another Watermark project, Soundtrack of the 60s with Gary Owens as associate producer." In the mid-1980s he served a stint with Dick Clark Productions before joining the staff of KHTZ (K-HITS) and KIIS/fm simultaneously. "At K-HITS, I produced the program, 60s at Six with Steve Scott, while at KIIS I served as production coordinator for Rick Dees’ Weekly Top 40 and American Music Magazine syndicated programs. The gm at KHTZ felt this was a conflict of interest and hired me full-time as md/apd when the station became KBZT (K-BEST 97) in January 1986. When the station became KLSX, I moved to sister station, KRLA, in a similar capacity." Jeffrey joined the L.A. Dodgers organization and spent 20+ years in various capacities. He produced and wrote a radio program called L.A. Spice, which aired exclusively in Sendai, Japan. Before making a major career pivot, Jeffrey became a news/traffic reporter on 710/KMPC and finally KNX 1070. In 2001, he became the school librarian at Hart Street Elementary in Canoga Park. "It turned out to be 10 of the most rewarding years of my life." |
Leonard, Michael: KNX, 1998. Unknown.
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LEOS,
Richard: KBCA, 1967-76. Richard worked as LA County Probation officer in
the 80's and 90's until his retirement, due to a stroke. Born July 27, 1936,
Richard died February 5, 2017. He was 80 years old. Richard had been living
in Monterey Park. Richard spent eight years with Saul Levine’s station working as a county probation officer during the week and hosting a Latin music on the weekends. The music was a “melting pot of ‘30s and ‘40s Cuban dance bands, African and South American influences, fortified by American jazz and popularized by such rock groups as Santana and Malo.” Leos starved for a time as a professional musician in Los Angeles, before deciding to join the Armed Forces and ending up at Arizona State University to study architecture. In 1963, he returned to the Southland. He loved KBCA and called the owner, Saul Levine, to complain about the paucity of Latin music. Levine gave him a weekend shift while during the week, Leos worked with youngsters at the county probation office. "It was always a pleasure to work with Richard with his low key style and his love of the format," said Levine. "It was part of the process in providing an outlet for some of LA’s greatest undiscovered talent, many of whom were minority persons looking for an opportunity to break into local radio." Leos told Brown: “Music is my first love and always will be. I mean, this show is like my pacifier – I just come here and trip out.” |
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LEPIDI,
Julia: KNOU, 2021. Julia's syndicated voicetracked show
from Chicago was part of the new programming strategy from Audacy. In
late 2022, KNOU became KNX/fm and became an all-News simulcast. Charese Fruge provided some insight into Julia in her AllAccess.com column: "She’s doing her night show for B96 in Chicago from the closet in her apartment right now thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Julia admits that the most challenging thing she’s experienced in her career so far is what’s happening right now. “Nobody was ready for this. And thankfully, in my short time in radio, I’ve never really had to question what things would be like on the other side of something so uncertain like this before,” she says. “What’s interesting though, is having a difficult chapter in life in common with absolutely all of our listeners. That’s what’s getting me through it. Though our circumstances can be different, I think it’s humanizing me as a personality and helping me to create genuine relationships with the audience. I’m constantly having off air conversations with them about it and I’m forming real bonds that way.” Charese continued: "With all of the competition out there, it’s important to generate loyalty. If you listen to Julia on air, or follow her on Instagram, you’ll learn why she advanced so quickly in her career. She’s not only connecting with her audience, but she’s entertaining them with humor, creativity and self-deprecation. She’s one of the lucky ones who knew as a child that she wanted to be in radio. That’s thanks to her mom who was a big fan of local morning shows. She’s a student of radio. Julia attended an eight month broadcasting program right out of high school. She started interning, and landed her first radio job in promotions in 2012 at Amp in Detroit. In the summer of 2014, she began tracking a 3 hour shift on Sundays which then led to live shifts on weekends and swing for regular day parts." |
Lerner, Bob: KGIL, 1961; KPOL. Following a number of years as
editor and broadcast specialist at ADWEEK, Bob moved to San Diego in 1983.
Lerner, Lori: KPOL, 1973; KKDJ, 1973-76; KLVE, 1975; KIIS, 1976-81; KHJ,
1981-82; KRTH, 1983-85; KMET, 1985-86. Lori owns Radio Links, providing
movie star interviews to radio.
Leslie, John: KLOS, 1980. John died January
11, 2000. He was 47.
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LESOURD,
Maureen: KABC/KMPC/KLOS, 1996-97; KRTH,
2003-07.
On May 1, 1996, Maureen became president of Walt Disney Co.'s Capital
Cities/ABC stations in Los Angeles. She
was named vp/gm at "K-Earth" in the late summer of 2003 and left in
November 2007 following a consolidation of management jobs. Born in 1948, Maureen grew up in the New York/New Jersey area. According to a profile of Maureen in the LA Times, at 21 she found herself separated from her husband and a single mother with a year-old son. She started her radio career in the traffic department at WJLK-New Jersey. She became om and eventually moved to WHN-New York. In 1978 Maureen was an AE at Grey Advertising. She began her career with ABC in 1981 working in sales for WPLJ-New York which led to a promotion of vp/gm in 1988 at WRQX-Washington, DC. Following a stint running WQCD-New York, she rejoined Cap Cities/ABC in 1993 as senior vp of affiliate relations for ABC/TV. Maureen is an alumna of Monmouth College, West Long Branch, New Jersey. She left in late 1997 after a stormy 19-months at the helm. During her reign KABC dropped the Dodgers, demotion of 30-year veteran Michael Jackson to weekends, KMPC call letter change to KTZN and then to KDIS (Radio Disney). She has held a myriad of management positions. Maureen was gm of WVMV and WYCD in Detroit. She was vp/programming and distribution for Citadel, based in Dallas, until Cumulus took over in late 2011. She went on to be the svp/gm of the Lincoln Financial cluster in Miami. She left the cluster in the summer of 2015. Maureen became a designer at a high end home furnishings store in Dallas. |
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LESTER,
Shirley: KYSR, 1996-98; KBIG,
1998-2000. Shirley and her husband owned and operated Black Dog Yoga
Studios in Sherman Oaks. Shirley arrived in the Southland from a stint at K101-San Francisco where she was "Shirley the Stunt Girl" with morning host Don Bleu. In 1999, Shirley was having some personal problems that management wanted her to talk about on air and Shirley refused. She felt that the problems were private. "I keep it together enough to go to sleep and eat one meal a day," Shirley confided. Callers were very supportive of her silence about her problem. |
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LEVI,
Titus: KUSC, 1993-99. Dr. Levi received a Ph.D. in
economics (UC Irvine) with a focus on the radio industry, media, and
policy. His work experience includes extensive involvement in music, as an events producer and promoter with the California Outside Music Association and the Los Angeles Festival, a radio program producer and host with KUSC and KPFK, a writer for Downbeat, LA Weekly, Option (contributing editor), and Keyboard magazine (“Discoveries” new talent column). He has also served as a consultant for Interep, The City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, The Durfee Foundation and The Center for Creative Innovation, among others. He hosted "Gone Global!" show at KUSC. |
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LEVIN,
Harvey: KMPC, 1981. In 1997 Harvey was co-producer and
on-air legal anchor of a new tv version of The People's Court.
He owns TMZ. Is there a morning show that doesn’t quote from
TMZ.com, or have its founder on the air during a celebrity crisis? The power and speed of the Internet has fueled a virtual overnight success for this Website, an on-line offering combining aggressive reporting plus an endless stream of exclusives about what the public seems starved to consume – celebrity gossip. KNX computer guru Jeff Levy and KNX reporter Kim Marriner interviewed Levin about the origins of arguably the most successful independent site since The Drudge Report, what TMZ means, and the future of gossip reporting. Harvey created Celebrity Justice, a syndicated tv show that aired in the early 2000s, but it had less than primetime time slots. The show aired in L.A. at 12:30 a.m. He complained that he would have a breaking story in the afternoon and have to wait until after midnight to break it. “It was frustrating,” Levin told Levy. “Telepictures started looking into doing a Website, initially an all-entertainment Website and they asked me if I would to it. I said absolutely not. I was so not interested. I was going to go elsewhere after Celebrity Justice was canceled,” said Levin. Harvey was in Mexico on a holiday and got to thinking about the immediacy of the Internet. “What if you created a news organization that could break a story at 8:36 at night or 7:14 in the morning – whenever you got the story. You didn’t have to wait for a time period. And you could break it. I started thinking about it that way and it really became interesting.” He went back to Telepictures and eventually the site was launched by Time Warner-AOL. What is the TMZ? “It is the thirty-mile zone,” responded Levin to Levy’s question. “In the ‘20s on the back of the AFTRA contract, there is this little map. The epicenter is where the Beverly Center is. In the 20s, what the 30-mile zone meant was if you shot a movie within a 30-mile radius of the Beverly Center you didn’t have to pay to overnight extras in hotel rooms. But if you shot outside the 30-mile zone you had to pay for hotels. The phrase kind of went away, but it just sounded really cool and TMZ just has a ring to it.” Levin earned an undergraduate degree from University of California, Santa Barbara and his J.D. from the University of Chicago. He was the legal reporter for KCBS/Channel 2 for many years. TMZ has a staff of 25 working as editors, reporters and fact checkers. |
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LEVIN,
Mark: KABC, 2006-15; KRLA, 2015-23.
Mark's syndicated show was heard early evening at KABC until moving to
afternoons at 870/KRLA in the spring of 2015. He continues in
syndication. Mark was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018. Mark is president of Landmark Legal Foundation. He has also worked as an attorney in the private sector and as a top adviser and administrator to several members of President Reagan's cabinet. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling book Liberty and Tyranny, as well as New York Times bestselling books Rescuing Sprite and Men in Black: How the Supreme Court Is Destroying America. Mark holds a B.A. from Temple University and a J.D. from Temple University School of Law. |
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LEVINE, Ken:
KIQQ, 1974; KEZY,
1976; KGIL, 1976; KTNQ, 1976-77;
KABC, 1979; KMPC, 1980-81; KFI,
1981-84; KABC, 2008-10. What came first, Ken’s love for
baseball or Ken’s love for baseball announcing? After the arrival of the
Dodgers in the late 1950s, Ken became just another San Fernando Valley
kid obsessed with baseball. He was that nerd at summer camp who
memorized every statistic on the back of Major League baseball cards.
Before the Internet, baseball cards were treasured by young boys because
there was so much information about each ball player. “My first love is baseball,” said Ken over lunch at Hamburger Hamlet in Encino. For three years, Ken was the LA Dodger post-game host for all Dodger broadcasts. But you may know Ken from several very successful careers. He was a Top 40 dj known as Beaver Cleaver, and an Emmy winning writer/director/producer who worked on Mash, Cheers, Frasier, The Simpsons, Everybody Loves Raymond, and many other shows. Ken was a writer/director for many of the top tv sitcoms. He hosted a Dodger post-game show and a Sunday evening sports talk show. Ken has also been the radio/tv play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, and San Diego Padres. He hosts the podcast HOLLYWOOD & LEVINE. |
Levine, Michael:
KRLA, 1998-2002. Michael runs a celebrity PR firm that he sold in the spring
of 2013. He is the author of Guerilla PR and 17 other PR-related
books.
Levine,
Michael: KKGO, 2007-21. Michael, the son of KKGO owner Saul Levine, joined
the Country outlet as head of marketing in 2007 and later was promoted to
station manager. In 2016, he added programming chores.
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LEVINE,
Saul: KMZT/KJAZ. Saul owns KKGO, "Go Country 105" and
KSUR 1260, an Oldies station. “Feisty” and “unique” are just two of the
adjectives used to describe one of this year’s Best in local radio. Over
fifty active Los Angeles radio people voted Saul Levine as #2 on the
2015 list of the Best Off-Air LARP. His peers recognized the
achievements of the president / gm of Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters, owners
of KKGO (“Go Country 105”) and KMZT (K-Mozart). Saul also is the
President of Global Jazz, which now manages all-Jazz KKJZ emanating from
the California State University, Long Beach campus. No one in Southern California has served longer as a station general manager than Saul Levine. Born in Cheboygan, Michigan, Saul attended several schools including the University of Michigan, Cal Berkeley, USC Graduate School of Social Work and the University of California School of Law. "In order to start up KKGO [KBCA] in the late 1950s, I managed to borrow a modest amount of capital to build the station,” said Saul. These limited funds were assisted by the purchase of the fm transmitter from a company in Massachusetts that had gone off the air and agreed to accept $1,500 for the equipment." A home-built fm antenna was built in a garage for $300. The station’s FM pole at Mount Wilson was traded for advertising. “The offices and studio consisted of a 20 foot by 20 foot room divided in half,” said Saul. Out of these small quarters, Saul’s stations were present on both the AM and FM dials. Saul went on to say that the station broadcast a Classical format which he thought was “the world's greatest.” Yet the combo wasn’t particularly lucrative. KFAC AM & FM was giving away the FM time with the purchase of AM time. Advertisers refused to buy fm advertising when they could receive it free, so less than a year later, KFAC/fm became KBCA and changed to all-Jazz music. When Emmis’ KZLA dropped their exclusive Country format in the market, Saul eventually made the move to flip his 105.1 frequency to “Go Country” KKGO. The station has been very successful with its stand-alone format. In February 2009, the Saul Levine owned-and-operated Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters celebrated its 50th anniversary of continuous operation under his leadership. |
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LEVINE,
Stephanie: KKJZ, 2007-23. In 2007, Saul Levine, owner
of Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters, Inc. (KMZT 1260 AM and KKGO), was granted
the management, sales and programming of KKJZ (88.1/fm, K-JAZZ), the
radio station of California State University, Long Beach. As general
manager, Levine assumed programming and underwriting responsibilities.
He selected his daughter, Stephanie Levine Fried as station manager. “I knew that I always wanted to be involved in music and the radio business," Stephanie said at the time of her appointment. "That was always in the front of my mind. I couldn’t escape it. I could tell you stories about being a young kid of nine or ten and my father would tuck me in and I would go to sleep with the radio on. It’s just what I did and I’ve always loved music.” |
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Levinson, Eric: KIQQ, 1975-77. Eric retired from radio in 1993 at the age of 39 due to kidney complications. Levinson, Marcy: KLAC, 1989-90. Last heard, Marcy was living in Atlanta. Levy, Arny: KMEN/KGGI, 1995. Unknown. |
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LEVY,
Jeff: KFI, 1995-2003; KNX, 2004-07;
KRLA, 2008-09; KABC, 2009-10;
KFWB, 2011-12. Jeff hosted a KFI weekend talk show "On
Computers," for almost a decade. He died July 15, 2015. For the past few years, Jeff had a show at LATalkRadio.com. Jeff described his show: “The show is a safe place for non-techies to jump in and participate. I get calls from ‘computer creampuffs,’ ‘Windows wienies’ and ‘keyboard curmudgeons’ who all hear the message that it’s okay to be a beginner.” Jeff became known as The Digital Doctor. Jeff taught technology at colleges, wrote tech articles for major newspapers, and spoke at numerous conferences. He left his law practice to pursue technology and have fun. |
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LEVY, Stu: KLAC,
1959-83; KNJO, 1983-88; KGIL/KMGX,
1988-94; KIK/fm, 1994-96. Stu passed away June 27, 2022,
after a two year brave battle with Parkinson's disease. In 1995, Stu joined Century Cable TV Sales, which was purchased by Adelphia Media Services in 2000. Then in 2006 Time Warner purchased Adelphia and he remained with Time Warner Media until June 2010. “I was one of the lucky broadcasters to work with Stu during KLAC's Country hay and wagon wheel days. He was one of the unsung heroes of our business: the men and women who keep us radio programming people having most of the fun. Stu was one of the best and it was an honor to know and work with him," wrote Jim Duncan. |
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LEWIN,
Josh: KLAC, 2016. In 2016, Josh was a man of bi-coastal
talent. He was the Mets radio booth since replacing Wayne Hagin in 2012.
Josh also does the play-by-play chores for UCLA Bruins football and basketball. He was a sideline reporter and broadcaster in the past and became the radio voice of the San Diego Chargers in 2005. In late 2018, it was announced Josh would do the pre- and post-game shows for the San Diego Padres. |
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LEWINE, Jerry: KVEN/KHAY, 1993-97; KLYY, 1997-99; KHJ/KBUE/KWIZ 1999-02. Jerry died December 22, 2020. For the past year he had been under treatment for T-cell Lymphoma. He was 74. Jerry’s first radio job was in his hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania, where, at age 13, his parents drove him to work at WDAD, where for $1.10 per hour, he watched the transmitter, played commercials from ET’s and read weather and station ID’s. When that job ended he built and ran a “bootleg” station in his basement, which was shut down by the FCC. “From the time I was a kid, I was fascinated with the idea that signals could be scooped out of the air and actually be heard from far away. “I built a crystal set, then a one-tube radio and become a ham radio operator at age 11. (Current callsign K6QU), got a first phone at 16 and an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Pittsburgh where I was an announcer and chief engineer of the Pitt's WPGH. I've done on air work, copywriting, production, engineering and sales but was best at engineering so that's what I stuck with. I learned long ago how signals can be scooped out of the air and actually heard from far away, but I still believe the explanation I came up with as a child: It's magic!” Jerry’s first introduction to the Southland was in the late ‘60’s when he was stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base and became a 93KHJ BossRadio fan. Following duty at Vandenberg, he was stationed at Clark Air Base in the Philippines where he was in AFRTS and then moved to Hawaii and Honolulu’s KGMB. Jerry spent 1973 to 1993 as chief engineer of most of the stations in the Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz area, owned a Carmel restaurant and was partners in an advertising agency where he wrote copy and did production. In 1993 he moved to the Southland and KVEN/KHAY-Ventura. Jerry is a radio history buff and as CE of Liberman Broadcasting's KHJ, was able to successfully argue to the FCC that they should make an exception to their Rules and Regulations and re-issue the KHJ callsign. His unique argument was that the station's then current callsign, KKHJ, was offensive to Spanish listeners since "KK" in Spanish is pronounced "caca." |
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LEWIS,
Amy: KABC, 2000-01. Amy joined Dave Williams
for morning drive at KABC on November 13, 2000. She left the morning
show November 9, 2001. But her primary legacy was working at
KFBK-Sacrament for nearly 40 years. Lewis was discovered when she was a receptionist at a taekwondo academy in downtown Sacramento. This was in 1980, and from such humble beginnings, Lewis became a pioneer for women in radio and media; a survivor in her own right of #MeToo transgressions, she endured with grit and courage; the No. 1 local radio host for much of the 1990s; an institution in a Sacramento community that she loved and that loved her back. "Her content preparation was always comprehensive, because her work ethic and her sense of style were extensions of who she is," remarked a colleague. She is the daughter of a schoolteacher and a telephone company operator who raised her to be somebody in the Plumas County community of Portola. “I’m a mountain girl,” she said. “When I came to Sacramento to attend Sacramento State, it was like the big city to me.” A By the early 1990s, Lewis had moved to KFBK, where she joined Dave Williams to form the highest-rated morning drive show in Sacramento. “It was a rush, it was crazy,” she said of those years. But it wasn’t all great. |
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LEWIS,
Ananda: KKBT, 2005-06. Ananda hosted the morning show
at "The BEAT" with John Salley. When Salley left the
station, Ananda moved to middays. She left the station in November 2006.
A familiar face on television from the mid-90s through 2004, Lewis was the host of some of tv’s most popular shows, including BET’s Teen Summit, and MTV’s TRL and "Hot Zone." In 1997, she won the NAACP Image Award for an interview she did with Hillary Clinton. Eventually, she even went on to host her own daytime talk show, The Ananda Lewis Show. Then, without warning, Lewis disappeared from the spotlight — leaving many wondering where the popular television host disappeared to. But she hasn’t gone anywhere. These days, Lewis is in the construction business; tearing down walls, painting, and renovating homes in her new career as a carpenter. "For me, this is the only work I’ll ever do in my life," Lewis says. And prior to her tv career, she was actually on a very different path. Lewis grew up in San Diego; and after her parents divorced when she was 2 years old, she was raised by her mother and grandmother, along with an aunt that lived in Los Angeles. "I had this tribe of very powerful women," she says. Lewis then majored in history at Howard University and wanted to become a teacher. But thanks to her students’ encouragement, she ended up auditioning for Teen Summit, which set her on the fast track to fame. Ananda is a spokesperson for Reading Is Fundamental, a nonprofit literacy group. |
Lewis, Bill:
KFI/KOST/KLAC/KACE/KXTA, 1986-2002 and 2002-05. When left the Clear
Channel/iHeart cluster he became vp/marketing and communications at the
Aquarium of the Pacific. In 2005, Bill joines Olson Homes as svp sales and
marketing. From 2008-14, he was director of sales and marketing Cal South.
Since 2014, he works in Solar sales and marketing. Currently Bill's the
marketing specialist for Sunrun in Orange County, Inland Empire and San
Diego.
Lewis, Bob: KGGI, 1996.
Bob Lewis is program director at KISV in Bakersfield.
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LEWIS, Bret:
KLAC; KFWB, 1997-2013. Bret broadcast morning
drive sports at News/Talk KFWB. He left in the summer of 2013. After 16
years at KFWB and also a career in television, Bret retired from the
local airwaves, but the rocking chair is nowhere in sight. He died in
late August of 2022. Brett co-hosted with Doc Harris a weekly sports show on KLAC. In 1988, Brett began reporting sports for KNBC/Channel 4. During the 1996-97 Lakers season, Brett hosted the postgame show on KLAC. In the spring of 1997, he joined KFWB for weekend sports and became part of the morning drive team. Born in Dallas, Bret started out in Austin as an all-night dj. He left his high-profile entertainment shows to pivot to a journey of faith. Lewis reminisced in an OC Register profile about the late Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry and time spent with him while working in Dallas. “I worked with him through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I saw a side of Coach Landry that most people don’t get to see. Once a week, we’d talk less about sports and more about success and failure, particularly under pressure.” “I’m a functional alcoholic. Though I was a classic born-again believer back in 1972, I didn’t quit drinking. I could still work and I thought I was under control. … I took a year off from drinking, I always stopped so I could go to bed by 8 p.m. since I knew I had to work the next day. But I needed something to get off that treadmill. It was impeding my emotional growth.” One Saturday morning, Lewis experienced what he believes was a divinely-inspired message – that his faith would go no deeper unless he quit drinking. “That day – June 3, 2006 – I went to an AA meeting that very night.” |
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LEWIS,
Chris: KJLH, 1992-2017. Chris worked nights and was
part of the production team at Stevie Wonder's KJLH. He now has his own
production company. Born and raised in Oakland, Chris grew up loving music and playing the drums in junior high school. After high school he and a friend started a mobile DJ business. "One night while having fun with the crowd a short, fat guy told me I had great pipes and suggested radio the fat guy turned out to be top Bay Area dj Roy Lee Freeman. From that night on my life changed. I ate, drank and slept radio." Chris started at KZEN-Monterey and then a series of stations in Berkeley, KPFA, KRE and KBLX. He developed two romantically music segments called "Fireside Chats" in San Francisco and later "The Comfort Zone" in Los Angeles. "I came to L.A. a few months before the 1992 riot and worked various shifts. It feels good to make listeners feel good through the music you play and the things you say. As long as there is music and a radio station to play it on, the saga will continue!" |
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LEWIS, Johnny: KWIZ,
1965-70. John Lewis Reeder has been teaching film and tv at UCLA for 35 years. He
still does voiceovers and narrating student films. "Can you start Monday?" In 1978 he saw an ad in the LA Times for the position of TV Chief Engineer for the then UCLA Department of Theater, Film & TV. He got the job and began teaching on technical issues and the operation of new production and recording equipment. Since then, I have upgraded the UCLA Film & Television Studios three times and have advanced most major production elements to digital. As a major architect of all things video at UCLA's School of Film, and Television, I am quite busy but still find time to do voiceovers for student films." Born in Palos Verdes Estates, he graduated from Narbonne high school in Harbor City and Los Angeles City College where he majored in broadcasting. "While attending L.A.C.C., I worked every weekend at KDOL-Mojave for over a year. Six months after passing the FCC First Class test, I started working at KREO in Indio for the massive salary of $130 a week." "While at KWIZ, I donated much of my personal record collection to the station and worked every shift. During this time I became interested in video and TV production and television engineering. In 1970 I left KWIZ to become the Director of Operations and Engineering for Fullerton College's new television facility. In 1971 Fullerton began offering television production classes and I started teaching that fall while studying to obtain my Community College Professional Teaching Credential from UCLA. |
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LEWIS, Marv:
KUTE,
1970-74; KSRF, 70s; KNJO, 70s, KEWE, 70s. Marv is semi-retired and living in
Lake Forest, CA. He produces history documentaries and teaches radio
broadcast speech at the Academy of Radio and TV Broadcasting. “To my surprise after a net search I cannot find any mention of Robert P. Adams who owned KUTE when it was on the 30th floor of the Occidental Building. I am sure that others must remember Bob Adams. Marv also invented the Trivia Robot in the mid-80s and he’s about to publish his book called Erma Bark N'Begs Book of Doggie Etiquette. The book is about the reflections of how we feel toward our pets, with delightful tongue-in-cheek chuckles along the way. In her very own words, Erma shares wisdom (she's got a dogtorate from Harvard Bow Wow U., you know) about how the family dog can achieve complete attention, chase cats and birds successfully, play with kids, visit the vet and more. Erma endears herself to the reader quickly in this illustrated, entertaining and humorous how-to for doggies. |
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LEWIS, Mitch: KLIT/KMPC,
1989-93; KJQI/KOJY, 1991-94; KKGO, 1993-97;
KCRW; KRTH, 1993-2000; KCRW,
2000-01. Mitch worked mornings in the Palm Springs market on 95.9 The Oasis –
KAJR. He also filled in on Country station, The Big 106 KPLM. Mitch died May 8, 2022, at the age of 64. Mitch was born on September 28, 1957, in Brooklyn, New York. The Lewis family relocated from Brooklyn to the San Fernando Valley in the late 60’s, eventually settling in West Los Angeles. Mitch attended University Highschool and later Santa Monica College where he earned his GED. He pursued a career in radio which, early on, led him across the where he lived in Louisiana and Utah. Mitch was a successful radio program director, producer and on-air personality. His radio experience included KTAR-Phoenix, Metro Source, Westwood One, Comedy World.com, and the Radio Forecast Network. His work took him throughout the Los Angeles Metro area, San Diego, Arizona, Palm Desert, Indiana and recently Fort Worth. Mitch was always a proud supporter of our country’s armed forces and served briefly in the United States Army until he was honorably discharged after sustaining an injury in 1974. He had a passion for music and had an eclectic taste that spanned a wide array of genres. He was one of the few people who could listen to Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre one minute and Frank Sinatra or the Beatles the next. Mitch could almost always be found wearing one of his classic sports jerseys or favorite teams’ ball cap. He followed the Raiders, Lakers and Dodgers and his jersey collection reflected as such. Later in his life Mitch found a strong brotherhood with the community of Freemasons. |
Lewis, Rick: KLON, 1985-91. Unknown.
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LEWIS, Rick:
KWVE, 1981; KEZY, 1982; KMET, 1983-86;
KPWR, 1986; KMET, 1986-87; KEZY, 1987-90.
For over three decades, Rick has been
working for "The Fox" in Denver. He also does a sports show on KOA
and has been the color analyst for the Denver Broncos on the Broncos
radio network for the past five years. Rick grew up in Detroit. "I would go to sleep at night with a transistor radio under my pillow listening to CKLW in the Motor City." As his friends were playing sandlot sports, he drove them crazy doing non-stop play-by-play chatter. Rick never thought about a career in radio until college. He floundered at a number of colleges before giving Hollywood a try and appeared in numerous tv commercials, shows and movies. "One night in 1979, while working at a convenience store in Anaheim, something happened that convinced me to go back to school, get a degree and get my life together. While working in convenience stores to pay the rent between acting gigs, I was held at gun point by two men. I was fired because I gave the bad guys too much money.” He went back to school and earned a bachelor's degree in radio/tv from Long Beach State in 1981. Rick started his radio career doing mornings at KWVE-San Clemente. A year later he went up the coast to KEZY, and two weeks after starting there was a format change and he was fired. "I thought maybe my radio career was over before it began, but Sam Bellamy hired me at KMET." He did evenings at "the Mighty Met" until he was fired on "Black Friday" in 1986. While at KMET, Rick was voted one of "America's Favorite Djs" in the February 1986 issue of Playgirl magazine. "I thought my time at KMET was going to be the pinnacle of my radio career but it was just the tip of the iceberg. Even though I kept getting my heart broken over and over again by KMET management, I look fondly on my days with Jim Ladd and Paraquat Kelley and the rest." In 1988 he hosted a tv dance party on KDOC called Zzapp. He was also a guest host on PM Magazine as well as appearing in numerous tv commercials, movies and ABC's Makin' It. He has hosted the in-flight entertainment programs for United Airlines along with nationally syndicated radio shows for Westwood One and the NBC Radio Network. He returned to KEZY for three years until new management fired him. Rick left the Southland when Jacor hired him to do mornings at KRFX-Denver. The Lewis and Floorwax Show was the #1 morning show in Denver for two decades, according to Rick. One of his female co-workers described Rick: "Not only is he a doll, very sexy, but one of the nicest people in the business." His experience in Southland radio? "I worked for some of the best pd's in the country in L.A., like Jeff Wyatt at 'Power 106,' and some of the worst...and, you know who you are." |
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LEWIS, Robert Q.: KHJ, 1961-62; KFI, 1972-75; KRLA, 1975. Robert Q. was a comedian actor who was a regular panelist on such popular quiz shows as What's My Line and To Tell the Truth. He was born Bob Lewis on April 25, 1920, in New York City. He got his entertainment start at the age of 7 as a boy soprano who appeared on the "Horn and Hardart Children's Hour" in New York. While in college, he worked for WTRY-Troy for $100 a month. The job came because his uncle owned the building that housed the station. To keep from being bored, he cleverly dropped in sound effects of horses, cows, cars crashing, etc. When he was hired at WNEW-New York, he was suddenly on a station with legends William B. Williams and Martin Block. It was during this time that he discovered many Bob Lewises on the air, so he added the Q to set himself apart from the others. Ted Ashley gave Robert Q. his first major break at the NBC network with a five-day-a-week program, Listen to Lewis. He also replaced Arthur Godfrey during vacations and sick time. He arrived in Southern California on KHJ in 1961 and, during his morning drive tenure, he teased his primary competition Dick Whittinghill on KMPC. He would frequently announce that the booby prize in one of his contests would be lunch with Dick Whittinghill. Lewis admitted that his first go-round in Los Angeles was "a big, beautiful bomb." He left KHJ in 1962 to do network tv and host NBC's Play Your Hunch. In the mid-1970s, he was the entertainment editor for KRLA. He formed Ouagga Productions, which was devoted to packaging tv shows. Robert Q. died December 11, 1991, of emphysema in a hospital in Los Angeles. He was 71. |
| Lewis,
Ron: KKDJ, 1973-74. Ron teamed briefly with Jay Stevens doing automated
programming services. He and Jay were working together on some
syndication projects at the time of his death in March 1994. Lewis, Sharon: KODJ, 1989-90. Sharon was working at the CBS station in West Palm Beach, Sunny 104.3/fm. Lewis, Tom: KBIG, 1965; KPPC, 1965. Unknown. |
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LEWIS,
Will: KCRW, 1978-2010. The Public Radio pioneer was
honored by his KCRW colleagues at a three-hour retirement part in 2010.
After 32 years with Santa Monica College and the station that started in
two classrooms at John Adams Junior High in Santa Monica, Will mingled
among his co-workers and those he has mentored over the years. He was
alternatively described as a strategist, pioneer, referee, and
visionary. TV and KCRW veteran Warren Olney saluted Will for his commitment to public radio. “I knew about Will before I ever met Will,” said Olney. “He was the guy who went to jail rather than giving up the audio tapes of the Symbionese Liberation Army that were sent to KPFK, when Will was the general manager with the Pacifica station. He refused to turn the tapes over to the FBI. This was one of the biggest stories in the world at the time because the SLA had kidnapped Patty Hearst and everybody had their focus on her. A moment like that seldom comes in anybody’s journalistic career to make that kind of choice. Will had the courage to decide the right way. Will did the right thing at the right time. When people deal with this nice, charming, gentle man who is cheerful all the time, there is a lion inside.” |
| Will addressed his friends and remembered a time
when he was sitting in the White House. “I was watching President
Johnson sign the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which the radio people
had formed to get radio included; I couldn’t imagine that someday as
many as 30 million people would be listening to Public Radio. If you
asked me if that was possible I would have told you it was crazy.”
“Radio is the most fleeting, ephemeral medium of them all,” Will
reflected on his love affair with radio. “Newspapers you can still pick
up a couple of days later and read. TV is constantly into reruns. Radio
is the moment and when the moment’s gone, it’s gone. There’s only a
memory.” Leykis, Tom: KFI, 1988-92; KMPC, 1994-96; KLSX, 1997-2009; KGIL, 2010. Tom worked afternoon drive at KLSX until the FM Talk Station flipped format to AMP RADIO. In early April 2012, Tom started an Internet show at BlowMeUp.com, which is no longer operational. Liberman, Jaime: Jaime and his brother Julio own a number of Southern California Spanish-language stations.
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LIEBERMAN, Carole:
KWNK, 1994-95; KGIL; KYPA, 1996-97.
Carole, a Beverly Hills-based psychiatrist, hosted "Media on Your Mind"
on KYPA. She has written a a best-selling book entitled, Bad Boys:
Why We Love Them, How to Live With Them and When to Leave Them. She
is on the staff of Clinical Faculty of Psychiatry at the University of
California Neuropsychiatric Institute and also conducts workshops around
the country. She appears frequently as an expert witness in civil and
criminal cases. Howard Rosen of the Rosen & Zimmerman law firm said: "There's only one reason I hire Dr. Carole Lieberman as my expert witness . . . so the other side doesn't hire her!" Born and raised in New York City, Dr. Carole received her M.D. degree from Belgium 's Universite de Louvain and received her psychiatric residency training at N.Y.U.-Bellevue, where she was Chief Resident. She also studied in London at Anna Freud's Hampstead Clinic and at the Institute of Psychiatry/Maudsley Hospital. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and has served as a well-respected member of the clinical faculty at U.C.L.A.’s Neuropsychiatric Institute. Awarded an NIMH grant, for research in how to use the media for public health education. She has written Murder by TV: A Descent Into Madness, a first-person account of the Jenny Jones Talk Show Murder Trial, where she was the forensic psychiatrist for the defense. Dr. Lieberman has testified before Congress on several occasions, as well, notably regarding the harmful impact of media violence. |
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LIFSON,
Hal: KIEV, 1999-2000; KRLA, 2000;
KCSN, 2005. Hal hosted an all-60s Oldies show on KCSN.
He's worked for many years as a publicist and pop culture historian in the entertainment industry and beyond. Clients have included Eric Burdon, Nancy Sinatra, and Jackie DeShannon. As a writer he has made contributions to The Enquirer, Star, Globe, and In Touch Weekly. Hal still owns three original 1960's Schwinn Sting Ray bikes. He wrote a book on his favorite year, 1966! The Coolest Year in Pop Culture History. His favorite tv shows include: Batman, The Green Hornet and Honey West. |
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LIGHT,
Joe: KIQQ, 1979 and 1984. Joe was a legend in Omaha
radio. He worked at KOIL on and off (mostly on) from about 1961 until
about 1978. He was always getting into trouble with station management
and getting fired - so he would take a job with a competitor. But he was
so popular, KOIL would hire him back. Joe was to Omaha what
Larry Lujack was to Chicago, or The Real Don Steele
was to Los Angeles. "Joe left Omaha in the late 1970s, never to be heard from again in these parts," said an Omaha colleague. Born Charles Springer, he died March 28, 2013, four days before his 80th birthday. “Well the first time Joe came to KIQQ in 1979 was when general manager Pat Shaughnessy brought him in to do mornings,” remembered Bruce Chandler who was on the air with Joe at K-100. “Pat was from Omaha so he obviously knew him from those days. The second one was when George Wilson teamed him up with comedian Jeff Thomas. It was Jeff & Joe in the morning. He never really caught on.” "After Omaha, we went to Council Bluffs, Iowa, then to Denver, Kansas City, Texas, Oregon, a few others, and then Hollywood," said Joe's son on a tribute site. "That was his goal. To one day make it to Hollywood as a dj and so he quit. When dad quit and went into radio advertisement, he did a couple more little radio shows a number of years later, one in San Diego and one in Sacramento but he really didn't have his heart into it anymore. The style of DJing had changed so much and the place in Sacramento wouldn't allow him to use the name Joe Light, he just moved on to other things. I would like to be able to tell you that he continued to do great things but in all honesty his heart never really got into anything else like it did the radio." |
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LINSKY,
Peter: KRLA, 1973. Peter was born June 23, 1942, and
was raised in the Southland. He graduated from Van Nuys High School in
1960. Peter was a weekend newsman at KRLA and then went on to KIST-Santa Barbara as John Cooper. He went to the Northwest and worked at KXL, KEX, KYXI and was a business editor at KXL-Portland. After ten years as afternoon news anchor, Peter launched his popular Money News segments on NewsTalk 750 KXL in early 1994. His most memorable interview was with President Jimmy Carter, who Peter says, "was not our best president, but honest and hard working. He did not try to enrich himself at public expense." Peter retired after a 38-year career in radio. He lives in Portland. |
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LIONEL:
KFI, 2000-01; KPLS, 2001; KLAC,
2001-02; KTLK, 2007. Lionel worked for Air America. In
the spring of 2010, he began a nightly commentary on New York's
WPIX/Channel 11. and he now hosts an early morning show. He's now
working at WWIQ, Philadelphia “IQ 106.9." Lionel, the man named one of “The 100 Most Important Talk Show Hosts in America” by Talkers Magazine, was born Michael William LeBron in Tampa where he attended Jesuit High School. Before getting into radio, he attended and graduated from the University of South Florida and the Stetson University College of Law, and then served as a trial lawyer for the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office. He began his radio career in 1988 doing weekends on WFLA, although he’d had an earlier offer to join rival WPLP, which he declined. Seven months after that, he was promoted to afternoon drive. In 1993, Lionel was hired away by New York City’s WABC after former ABC network president Jim Arcara heard his show while vacationing in Florida and made him a lucrative offer to move to the Big Apple. After a number of successful years doing local talk radio, special reports for the ABC radio network and New York’s WCBS, and hosting “Snap Judgment” on Court TV, a longtime dream of his was fulfilled in 2000 when “The Lionel Show” began national syndication. |
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LIPPINCOTT,
Ric: KHTZ, 1983-84, pd. Ric started his radio career at
KGMB-Honolulu in 1971. He used the name Dave Denver until reverting to
his birth name in 1983. He worked radio in the Midwest and was pd and gm
of WLS-Chicago (1986-89) and WISN-Milwaukee before joining "K-Hits" in
June 1983. In the summer of 1984, he departed for KYUU-San Francisco. "When I started out, pd's were guys who wandered into the station in a tee-shirt at 11:30. Then they became businessmen in three-piece suits. The pd of the future will be someone with business sense who can see the big picture, but still be creative. He'll have to give the station something more than 300 researched records." In the 1990s, Ric worked promotion for Morgan Creek Records, Zoo Entertainment and Curb Records. He was vp of affiliate relations for All Comedy Radio and pd at WLIV-Chicago in early 2007. Ric died of pancreatic cancer on February 22, 2016. He was 68. |
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Liscomb, Ken: KDAY, 1966. Unknown. Liska, James A.: KFAC. Jim hosted a long-running weekend jazz program at KFAC. He's living in Livingston, Montana and recently completed his 22nd year as editor of the Playboy Jazz Festival magazine. |
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LISSER,
Alan: KFI; KBIG, 1952-54; KGBS,
1962-64. Alan did sports broadcasting at KGBS. Born on November 11, 1919 in San Francisco, he died on June 7, 2004. He attended Galileo High School and Cal Berkeley and Stanford. He moved to Hawaii in January 1941 beginning a long career in radio. Alan witnessed the Pearl Harbor attack while working at KGMB. He returned San Francisco and while with KFRC produced San Francisco Sketchbook, a Big Band show starring Lyle Bardo and his band. While there he hired as a singer a young unknown piano player who was unable to get a spot playing piano, Merv Griffin. He also met his future wife there. They married in 1947. At KBIG Alan was honored with Golden Mic for news reporting and years at KGBS for commentary. He returned to San Francisco and KFRC, and later moved to Carmel, where he became part owner of KRML, the station where portions of Clint Eastwood's movie, Play Misty for Me was filmed. |
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LITT,
Anne: KCRW, 1996-99; KLYY, 1999;
KCRW, 2000-23. A native of Richmond, Virginia, Anne
started her radio career at the University of North Carolina and then to
work for Mammoth Records. She came to the Southland in 1992 as music
supervisor for a movie sound transfer company. Ann left “Y107” with a format change in late 1999. Anne first came to KCRW when her then-husband Scott, a record producer, did a guest dj stint with then-music director, Chris Douridas. She mentioned how much she missed radio, and he invited her to audition. “The first show Pop Secret was similar to what I do now, but less sophisticated and eclectic,” said Anne. |
She gained a life-changing career move supervising the music for the movie hit, Little Miss Sunshine. Anne is coordinating producer of the KCRWmusic.com stream. “It’s a monumental task, creating an original music service that can work on the Internet, HD radio, perhaps on other stations – and, if rights can be secured – for podcasts. But KCRW has always had been a step ahead when it comes to new technologies. And this project just proves how far ahead the station is.” She continues as weekend host of Weekend Becomes Eclectic at KCRW. |
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LITTLE,
Chris: KEZY, 1989-91; KFI, 1991-2023.
Chris is the news director at KFI. Chris is a native Californian, born in Pasadena and raised in Hacienda Heights, before moving to Indianapolis. A graduate of Indiana University – Purdue University of Indianapolis, Chris worked at the legendary WFBQ and WNAP–Indianapolis. He began his radio career as a dj in Atlanta in 1979. Throughout his professional journey, records and CDs disappeared. Somewhere along the line, Chris gave up music for news because it was more secure at the time. Eventually, Chris wound up multi-tasking as a news anchor, floor director, camera operator, booth announcer and director at KDOC-TV in Anaheim. He later created and hosted The Middle of the Damn Night Show, which was a one-man morning show from midnight to 6 a.m. on 95.9 KEZY-Anaheim. “I think MDNS was a lot better than it really was,” said Chris. He spent several years as a tv news anchor before transitioning to radio news. Chris first began filling in at KFI as an anchor and reporter in 1991, then became a full-time reporter in 1996 and news director in 2000. “I’m a failed game show host, but an accomplished radio news anchor and industrial voiceover professional. I'm also an accomplished master of ceremonies. I know how to hire well, manage and train talent.” He prides himself as a strong mentor to young journalists in teaching young people how to write short, sharp, and strong. On October 10, 2000, Chris was named news director at KFI, heading one of the most respected radio news departments in America. |
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LITTLE,
Milt: KJLH, 1994-2020. Million $$ Milt worked at
Stevie Wonder's station, KJLH. "My music career began shortly following graduation from Thomas Jefferson High School where I worked briefly with KGFJ in the promotions department. Meanwhile, I was spinning records at some of the top night clubs in the Los Angeles area." Milt also worked for the American Radio Network Program, where he did shows for the radio stations: KNDI in Hawaii, KYUF in Texas and KMXL in Utah. "I have tested the waters of the Motion Picture Industry with appearances in Deep Impact and Mighty Joe Young. Among my favorite hobbies, I have mastered one. Bowling is my game, but singing Karaoke is a close second." (from KJLH website) |
Littlefield, Dylan: KABC, 1994-95; KNX, 2000; KRLA, 2000. Dylan worked for Shadow Broadcasting. He served time in Delano Prison for bank robbery and is now out.
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LLEWELYN,
Doug: KNNS, 1996. Best known for his role on tv's
The People's Court with Judge Wapner. Doug joined all-News
KNNS as weekend anchor in February 1996. Doug left "K-News" when the
station went to an "all-Beatles" format in late 1996. Doug was a
reporter for CBS News. Born in Baltimore, he was raised in Lancaster, South Carolina, where both of his parents were physicians. A former news correspondent and magazine series host for the CBS television affiliates in Washington and Los Angeles, Doug has an extensive background as a creative producer in many areas of broadcast television. His credits include executive producer of the two highest rated syndicated television specials in history, The Mystery Of Al Capone's Vaults (1985) and Return To The Titanic ...Live in 1987. Doug is the co-creator of the Electronic Press Kit concept for the promotion of motion pictures on television news and produced this material on more than 100 major films, including ET - The Extra Terrestrial, Rambo - First Blood Part II and James Bond's A View To A Kill. Doug is the co-creator of the Judge Judy television series. He is also extremely active as a producer and host of video material created for corporate usage by companies such as s Apple Computer, The Boeing Company, Shriner's Hospitals, and many others. |
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LOAIZA,
Ronnie: KFI, 2009-20. Ronnie was a weekend newswoman on
KFI. "My broadcasting career began with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Fresh out of college, I was living in Paris studying French, and writing for a British magazine. As the news of crowds gathering at the Berlin Wall spread, I presumed correctly that American news organizations would be dispatching new crews from Paris to cover the unfolding Berlin story." Ronnie wanted to be part of covering an unfolding piece of living history. She went to the CBS News bureau to find only one man answering the flood of phone calls. She offered to help and ended up working there for four years! While with CBS, she covered Presidential visits, the Olympics, economic summits and Paris fashion shows. "My pivotal assignment was in Daharan Saudi Arabia. I then came home to become a reporter." Ronnie was born in New York City and moved to Venezuela, South America when she was one week old –thus– Spanish was her first language. Her family moved to the United States when she was five and started school reading and writing in kindergarten in English. |
Loc, Fred: KJLH, 2011-15. Fred worked at Stevie Wonder's KJLH. He's a dj, mc, grill master, event producer, and play by play announcer.
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LOCKWOOD,
Scott: KIKF; KUTE; 1982;
KFI/KOST, 1986-89. Scott is living in Eagle, Idaho and
consulting The Radio Group in Kaiserslautern, Germany. 3 Scott is a 34 year professional in Radio & TV, splitting his time on two continents: USA and Europe. While in Los Angeles he worked for 12 years. He helped build, establish and develop over two dozen radio stations in Germany, Sweden, Austria, Czech Republic and Hungary. |
Logan, John "Juke": KPCC, 1994-2000. Juke co-hosted the "Friday Night Blues Revue" at KPCC until a format change, which eliminated all music shows. He now hosts a blues show at rhythmradio.com. Logan, Lee: KLAC, 1987. Last heard, Lee was the pd at KAGM-Albuquerque. Logan-Thomas, Monica: KTWV; KACD, 1994-95. Monica was with ABC Radio Networks. In early 1996 she was named program director for its Urban AC format, "the Touch." Logic, John: KROQ, 1983-85; KMPC/FM/KEDG, 1988-89. John owns a surf and snowboard shop in Seattle. Loggins, Roy: KJLH, 1969-70; KTYM, 1971-73; KCRW, 1973-76. The long-time jazz dj and Palm Springs talk show host died in June 1994. Lohman, Al: KLAC, 1963-67; KFWB, 1967-68; KFI, 1968-86; KRLA, 1986; KWNK, 1987; KFI, 1987-89. Al died October 13, 2002, of bladder cancer. He was 69. |
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LOHR,
Alan K.: KCRW, 1976; KROQ, 1979-81;
KPFK, 1983-84; KFOX, 1986;
KGIL, 1986-88; KIEV, 1988-91. Alan is an actor and continues to
do voiceovers. Known as the 'BuddhaMan' Lohr he been hosting and producing radio shows for over 40 years. Alan has been a host on L.A's Powerhouse KROQ. Lohr has also worked on many other radio stations over his years on the air. Alan owns The Radio Domination Streaming Network which hosts two streaming radio stations. KONG - Monsterrock.net which is Classic Rock mixed in with new bands. KXFU is run by Lisa Fancher who is the founder of Frontier Records. KXFU is eclectic and has many different kinds of music. KROQ, 1978-83. Alan hosted the "International Experience" on Sunday evenings at KROQ and was the first to interview Oingo Boingo, Phil Collins and others. Alan is the “BuddhaMan” on NWEZ.net. |
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LOMAX,
Louie: KLAC, 1966-68; KDAY. Louie was
one of the first black broadcasters to work an all-Talk format. Known as
one of the major interpreters of the integration movement, he did not
hesitate to criticize both sides. "You must have the guts to stand up
and tell a black student ‘no’ when he is wrong." But he was tough on
those who delayed integration efforts. Louie was a newspaperman from 1941 to 1958 and wrote a number of books including The Reluctant African, his first book and The Negro Revolt, an analysis and history of the drive for integration, in 1962. Other books were When the Word Is Given, a report on Malcolm X and To Kill a Black Man. He was born in Valdosta, Georgia, on August 16, 1922, and graduated from Paine College in 1942. He received a master's degree at the American University in Washington. He obtained a master's in philosophy from Yale in 1947. In the 1960s he hosted a local tv talk show. Louie was killed July 31, 1970, when he lost control of his car while traveling near Santa Rosa, New Mexico. His car skidded across the highway, overturned three times and stopped on the right shoulder of the highway. He was thrown from the vehicle. At the time of his death he was working on a three-volume history of the Negro and was a professor of humanities at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. He was 47. |
| London,
Bob: KFWB. Unknown. London, Dave: KROQ, 1974-75. Unknown. London, Jack: KABC; KFOX; KLAC (late 1970s-early 1980s): Jack died August 11, 1998. |
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LONDON,
Jack: KWOW, 1969-70; KFOX, 1971-75;
KLAC, 1974-75. Jack is the president/ceo hosts of
a healthcare company called Patient PAL, based in Branson, Missouri.
Jack spent 25 years of KVVU Fox 5 in Las Vegas and was program director
and midday host of KDWN-Las Vegas from 1975-1981. He hosted On
Camera With Jack London on the Las Vegas FOX TV outlet. After 25 years on radio and tv from LA to Las Vegas Jack London now lives in the Ozarks in Missouri. He is still active in broadcasting as a voiceover announcer and nationally recognized motivational speaker and best selling author. Jack wrote 21 Keys to your Success which was an Amazon “best seller” in 1991. |
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LONDON,
John: KRTH,
1979-81; KWST,
1981-83; KKBT,
1991-99; KCMG,
1999-2000. John was the anchor host of the morning "House Party" on "the
Beat" (KKBT). John started his career while in college listening to
what he thought was the world's worst disc jockey in Nacogdoches, Texas.
He went to that station, applied for the announcers job, and got it. "It's hard to believe, one moment I'm in the dorm room doing calculus problems and the next I'm doing all night radio and picking up bus station waitresses. You can't just be funny. You have to be able to realize when there's a serious need in the community and use the power of what we do to help." In 2001 John filed a lawsuit against Clear Channel for wrongful termination. |
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LONGDEN,
Jerry: KEZY, 1964 and 1966; KNAC,
1969-72; KLOS, 1972-77; KWST, 1977-80;
KEZY, 1978-79; KROQ, 1980;
KGIL/fm, 1986-88. A Southern California native, Jerry graduated
from Norwalk High School and went to work at Bethlehem Steel. While
still a teen, Jerry recalled his schedule: "It was crazy. I ran an
indoor bay crane during the day and interned at KEZY all night long."
Before he was out of his teens, Jerry went to the Bill Ogden
Broadcasting School to secure a 1st Class FCC License. After graduation he became a combo operator in Clovis, New Mexico, and before long the 20-year-old was playing rock 'n' roll as the only English language program on Spanish KPER-Gilroy. The station took advantage of his 1st Phone, and Jerry had to “dodge bulls” to get to the transmitter site for meter readings. A series of California stations in Riverside, Santa Ana, Ontario and Garden Grove followed. Jerry and Jim Ladd created The National Association of Progressive Radio Announcers (NAPRA). They produced a series of albums featuring anti-drug messages from all the top rock artists of the day. In the early 1970s, Jerry won Billboard's Progressive Rock DJ of the Year; Billboard also named KLOS station of the year while Jerry was there. He was the voiceover announcer on Don Kirschner's Rock Concert. After KROQ, Jerry got "fed up with the noise," as he described his life in Southern California, he sold his Hollywood home and bought a lot on a lake near Fresno. He built his dream house and left Southern California, he thought, for good. Following a series of radio jobs in Fresno and Modesto, Jerry returned to Los Angeles in 1986 to produce several national public service projects while working at KGIL. He currently lives in Santa Rosa, does freelance voice work and teaches voiceover and narration for Voice Media in San Francisco. Would he return to Los Angeles radio? "If I could do my own show, you bet, but I'd want a bulletproof house." |
| LONGMIRE, Ted: KPPC, 1971. Ted was one of the first blacks working L.A.'s "underground" radio format. His father was a minister. "Ted was the only person on the KPPC staff that Doug Cox didn’t fire on the evening when Cox showed up with the Pasadena Police to escort us all out of the building," remembered Jeff Gonzer. "The entire gang assembled at the pd’s house, Les Carter. We called Ted on the hotline and talked him into quitting on the air and walking out of the building to join us as the KPPC staff in exile. After that I lost touch." |
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LOONEY,
Tomm: KLSX, 1998-2000; KFWB, 1999; KXTA,
1999-2001; KFI, 2001-02; KLAC,
2009-15. Tomm hosted the late evening sports show at KLAC with
JT the Brick. Born and raised in Elmira, New York, on July 18, 1966, Tomm grew up listening to radio greats from Chicago, New York, Boston and Philadelphia. "When I was a baby dj, Greaseman, John & Ken and Steve Cochran worked in Elmira and they were an inspiration." Although he has spent a good portion of his life in broadcasting, Tomm is a 35-year-old sports reporter who has not lived his life in a broadcast booth. He moved to Venice Beach in 1986 and drove a taxicab. "I've been a bouncer, a bartender, a waiter, a restaurant owner, a substitute teacher, a bodybuilder, an apartment manager and a vigilante," said Tomm. Tomm was the voice of The Best Damn Sports Show Period. When he was born in 1966, Tomm only had one M. "I added an extra M for the new millooneyum." |
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LOOS,
Chris: KHHT; KDAY;
KQIE. Chris began his radio career at Pasadena City
College, after learning that his college radio station had been unused
for year, he reached out to his professor Doug Johnson and they both
launched the station. His show intros and artist drops are still part of
the curriculum in the broadcasting department at the college. During college, Chris got an internship with Rick Dees & Ellen K at KIIS/fm by calling the front desk and taking his resume in while attending PCC. Chris was hired at 92.3 KKBT to be the show producer for Julio G. for the “Original Mixmaster.” When he was ready for his own show, Chris took over the late night shift at Hot 94.1 in Bakersfield and then to Hot 92 Jamz with the SoundLab Mix Show on Friday nights. Chris then took his career to the next level by becoming the pd for a start-up station called WILD 96.1 in San Bernardino, working the midday slot. Then Chris was approached about helping launch a new station in Los Angeles that eventually would become 93.5/fm KDAY, where he was the apd/md and early afternoon jock. He's been speaking to schools in every market he's done radio, encouraging students to be the best version of themsleves in everything they do. Now as founder of the iDreamSociety he begins a new chapter empowering our next generation of driven, forward thinking creatives. |
| LOOS,
Mary: KACD, 1995. Born in Long Beach, Mary was raised
behind the "Orange Curtain" in Huntington Beach, about a mile off the
beach. She attended Mater Dei High School, and then went on to Marymount
Palos Verdes. "While attending P.V. I got the idea to try and go for an
internship at my favorite radio station, the one I'd grown up with,
KROQ. Well, soon I transferred to Loyola Marymount University in
beautiful Westchester. Got on the school station, KXLU 88.9/fm, where I
was one of the only deejays to have an official "fan club" and stayed on
the air for over a year after my graduation. I interned at KROQ from
'89-'91, mainly in the middle of the night with "The Swedish Eagle"
Following that, I was in promotions at KIIS for a couple months. Later I
moved on to the Mojave Desert and FM 98 or 99 The Highway Stations.
'92-'94." Next, she moved to KCXX ("X103.9") in San Bernardino until
1995 in afternoon drive and also worked as promotions director. In the
fall of '95, she joined Groove Radio 103.1. Mary spent the rest of her
radio life in San Diego. "I still have great memories of the 'early
days' before automation and when we still were able to play actual
requests and had a jock choice a couple times an hour. I learned a lot
in those early years and appreciate everyone who gave me a chance to
shine!" "Aunt Mary" worked at WBIR/TV in Knoxville for a time. LOPEZ, Dan: KNX/fm, 1983; KKHR, 1984-86. Dan arrived in the Southland from WKZL-Winston-Salem. In 1986, he went to Salt Lake City and Dallas. He worked many years for ABC Radio Networks in Dallas.
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LOPEZ, George: KCMG, 2000-01. Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, George became a regular on the comedy circuit. In late 2000, George joined John London's morning House Party and eventually took over the show. In 2021, George and his daughter Mayan starred in a comedy pilot for NBC. George is a multi-talented entertainer whose career encompasses television, film, standup comedy and late-night television. His ABC sitcom ran for six seasons. George Lopez remains a hit with viewers in syndication on both broadcast stations and cable’s Nick at Nite, ranking as one of the top-rated shows on the network and among the top five comedies and top 20 weekly programs in syndication. Lopez voiced the character Rafael in the animated blockbuster, Rio, and he was the voice of “Grouchy Smurf” in The Smurfs. His other most recent film credits include the box-office hit Valentine’s Day, Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Balls of Fury. His comedy specials - on cable and in concert - are huge hits. In May 2004, his autobiography, Why You Crying?, entered The New York Times Bestseller list. In 2006, Lopez received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In addition, Time magazine named him one of the 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America, and the Harris Poll named him one of the Top Ten Favorite Television Personalities. Lopez has made more than 200 television comedy, talk show and hosting appearances, including co-hosting the Emmy Awards and twice hosting the Latin Grammys. The Lopez Foundation, founded by George, was established to create positive, permanent change for underprivileged children and adults confronting challenges in education and health, as well as increasing community awareness about kidney disease, organ donation, and the military. |
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LOPEZ, Manuel: KUSC, 1974. Manuel was known as "El Sabroso Oso." |
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LOPEZ,
Mario: KSKQ, 1992, pd; KHHT, 2004-05;
KBIG, 2012-23. Mario joined mornings at Hot 92 Jamz in
the late spring of 2004 and left a year later. His nightly syndicated
show is heard on KBIG (MY/fm). He's been with EXTRA since 2006, and host since 2008. He joined evenings at MY/fm in early 2012. Mario was born in 1973 in San Diego. In high school he was wrestler. Beginning in 1984, Mario appeared in a.k.a. Pablo, Kids Incorporated, and Saved by the Bell. He's also appeared in Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Nip/Tuck. In the fall of 2006, Lopez signed on as a contestant on the third season of Dancing with the Stars. He finished in 2nd place. On January 12, 2006, Lopez was announced as a celebrity guest host for the syndicated entertainment news magazine show EXTRA. His first assignment was covering the Golden Globes. In 2008, he became the permanent weekday host. In the 2013 season of The X Factor, Mario was host. Mario made his Broadway debut in 2008, in the revival of A Chorus Line. |
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LOPEZ,
Patti: KMNV, 2006-09. Patti "Long Legs" Lopez joined
Rick Dees for mornings at Movin 93.9/fm at 2006. She
left with a format flip on April 15, 2009. Patti is a Los Angeles native, best known for her tv show, Mex to the Max. Patti's experience covering shows and events for major networks in the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America both in English and Spanish has made her a household name both at home and abroad. In 2010, the 6’1″ former model moved to Nashville with the goal of becoming the first Latina personality in the Country music scene. She works at the Great American Country (GAC). |
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LOPEZ, Santiago: KLAX, 2000. Santiago worked middays at "LaLey 97.9fm." LOTELLO, Jim: KNX, 1998. Jim broadcast sports at KNX. |
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LORIN,
Bill: KAPP, 1963; KIIS; KHJ/fm;
KFWB; KNX, 1987-2005. Bill was the
news director for a tv station in Temecula, KZSW. If you grew up
listening to radio in Southern California, Bill was heard on the air for
more than four decades in the region. Lorin started his broadcasting career at a 5,000-watt radio station in Fresno. His interest in broadcasting and journalism began in high school in Torrance, where he helped establish a campus station. He would continue his broadcasting studies at the USC. His professional on-air career began at several smaller Los Angeles and Inland Empire area radio stations, including KAPP inTorrance, where in 1963 he was playing records one morning when the alarm on the United Press International teletype machine sounded. Lorin went on the air to report that President Kennedy had beenshot in Dallas. The Kennedy assassination remains his most memorable broadcasting moment. Following two years as a broadcast specialist reporting for both radio and television in France, Germany and Belgium as part ofthe American Forces Network-Europe, he joined KPRO in Riverside, owned then by thelegendary Dick Clark. “We had a terrific newsroom there,” Lorin told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "We really ate up that town.” In the Inland Empire, he did newsbroadcasts for KOLA and for Riverside’s public television affiliateKVCR, Channel 24. Management opportunities brought him to television full-time inPalm Springs, where he worked as both a news and program directorfor both the ABC and NBC stations in Palm Springs. When an opportunity came to move to KNX, the CBS flagshipstation in Los Angeles, he took it. Lorin became the station’s Orange County reporter and also worked weekends as KNX’s news anchor, broadcasting from theirstudios at Columbia Square. 50,000 watts KNX. |
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LORIMER,
Pete: KACD, 1997. Pete briefly teamed with Kiki
Melendez for mornings at “Groove” in the fall of 1997. Pete is an entrepreneur, real estate expert and co-host of the Netflix series Stay Here. Lorimer, with an eye for profits, helps struggling property owners redesign and market their short-term rentals into moneymaking showstoppers. Born and raised in the UK, Lorimer achieved tremendous success as a widely sought-after music producer working alongside the biggest names in music including Pink, Sheryl Crow, INXS, George Michael, Christina Aguilera and more. He accumulated over 30 #1 Billboard chart hits by his retirement from the music industry in 2003. On a quest for new business ventures, Lorimer began investing in the LA property market. In 2005, he joined Keller Williams Realty and went on to become the #1 Agent at his brokerage three consecutive years in a row. In 2009, he earned the prestigious distinction as the #1 top producing Keller Williams Agent for the entire LA region and LA County. Never one to rest on his laurels, in 2010 Lorimer launched PLG Estates based in the heart of Beverly Hills, aimed at serving the whose who of the creative/entertainment world, which blossomed with its anti-establishment mantra and its policy of no-vanilla. Peter and his team of now, over 200, handpicked agents dance to the beat of their own drum while catering to a discerning clientele. Now with offices in West Hollywood, Los Feliz, Playa Vista and Studio City with more planned including Pasadena and Downtown LA. |
LOTELLO, Jim: KNX, 1998. Jim broadcast sports at KNX.
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LOTZ,
Patty: KPWR, 1986-87; KKBT, 1989-90;
KIBB, 1996-97; KFWB, 1998;
KMLT, 2005-06. As "Powermouth Patty," she worked morning drive
with Jay Thomas at "Power 106." Born in Montclair, New Jersey, she was the oldest of nine children. “In high school I was a proud member of the Yoga team and the Transcendental Meditation Club.” Patty went to the University of Texas and after college took on various jobs such as baker, roofer/framer, bartender, weightlifting instructor and Gap junior assistant manager. After one of those “has my life come to this?” moments she became the staff photographer at KABC/Channel 7. Before long her acting aspirations were realized as the character Ava Rescott on the soap Loving. She became a VH-1 veejay for a while, appeared on Night Court and Moonlighting and then to tv news anchoring in San Diego. Her website: pattylotz.webs.com. |
| LOUIS,
Dave: KIIS, 1975; KTYM, 1976; KEZY, 1976-81. Born in Gary, Indiana, Dave
grew up in Lansing, Illinois listening to WLS. In 1968, at the age of
16, he moved to the Southland and went to Rio Hondo JC as an art major
and worked on the campus radio station. After attending the KIIS
workshop in 1976, his first radio job was at KKOK-Lompoc. Before the
year was out, he was back working at KTYM and later at KPSI-Palm
Springs. Since 1981 Dave has been the owner of Audio Images Media
recording studio in Irvine. He is a character voice on many projects.
Miss radio? "Not at all. My commercials are on the air at dozens of L.A.
radio and tv stations." LOVE, Jeri: KNX, 1982-83; KFWB, 1984-86, nd. Jeri was born in Detroit. She started her news career in 1975 at WAUP-Akron. Jeri moved to the Southland in 1977 and received a degree in journalism from Cal State Los Angeles. Before joining KNX she worked for the Wave newspapers, City News and was a producer of two shows at KCET/TV. In 1986 Jeri was promoted to assistant news director at WINS-New York; nd in 1987. She left WINS in 1991 to work on her master's of fine art at New York University. Jeri returned to the Southland in 1994 to head the public relations department at the Southern California Gas Company. She is the director of corporate communications for The Gas Company's parent company Pacific Enterprises. |
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LOVE,
Lorna: KIIS, 1985-87. Lorna is originally from Southern
California, but says she has always felt more at home in the South. She
has spent the last 10 years in Atlanta. Lorna was vacationing in the
Southland in the mid-1980s from her on-air gig at KKRZ-Portland. She was
dared to try out for an opening as Rick Dees’ sidekick.
She did and she did it. Up until the hire by Rick, Lorna used Lorna Dee (D was her middle initial). For the first few days, Rick just called her Lorna. "Rick came into the studio where the sidekick sits and said ‘ya know, the Dee and Dees won't work,’" recalled Lorna. "I personally thought it was kind of cute, of course I was young and clueless as to what was really going on. So he said, what do you think about the name Love? I thought for a minute and was trying to be nice but I really thought it sounded dorky [actually sounds like a hooker doesn't it?]. I said well, I really don't like it. He said it would work well because of our large Hispanic audience. Anyway, he did not care for my reply I realized very quickly! Looking back it’s really funny because no one ever said no to Rick and here I was being honest, not thinking and not meaning to insult him and his suggestion. Anyway it was basically take the name or no job, therefore, I am Lorna Love!!!!!! I still think it sounds like a hooker." She is also an avid horse lover and owner. "I went to visit a good friend in Texas who trains race horses about 7 years ago and that was it, I got the bug! up until then I had never even been around horses, but I've been making up for lost time!" She owns a 12-year-old thoroughbred and spends a lot of time at the barn. "I'm lucky to have 2 things that I feel passionate about, radio and horses! I have good friends in Tuscaloosa and have always loved this town...so the decision to move here was an easy one ... not to mention I LOVE FOOTBALL!!” She is working at KLOL ("Rock 101") in Houston. |
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LOVE, Mark: KKBT, 1994. Mark worked all-night at "the Beat." |
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LOVE,
Mother: KFI, 1990; KLSX, 1995-96;
KACE, 1996-97; KBIG, 1998. Mother Love
worked early evenings at the launch of the non-traditional Talk format
on KLSX called "Real Radio." Born Jo Anne Hart, her character came to life at a bridal fair in Cleveland. She was the relationship expert on ABC's The Home Show. At KFI she was known as the "Queen of Advice." Mother Love has appeared in Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Murphy Brown and Married...With Children. On her return to L.A. radio at KLSX, Mother Love told the LA Times: "I'm so pumped and excited. I feel like a prodigal daughter returning to her roots, her radio babies [the audience]. I'm trying to stay calm so I won't just be babbling...We are going to have so much fun. It's going to be a blast." She has written a book, Listen Up, Girlfriends! Lessons on Life From the Queen of Advice. She left KLSX in early 1996 and by summer she was co-hosting morning drive on KACE with Rico Reed. A profile in Buzz magazine describes the size 18 personality as committed to plus-size women. In early 1997 she hosted the first Regal Empress Showcase and Pageant. “Just because I am a large person does not mean I have no fashion sense. I figured I’d give these little skinny one-bone chicks a run for their money.” She left KACE in the summer of 1997 and in early 1998 joined the morning drive team at KBIG. She hosted the syndicated tv show Forgive or Forget for one season. She was the co-host of CNBC's dLife and a spokesperson for diabetes. |
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LOVE,
Walt “Baby”: KHJ, 1971-72; KKTT,
1978-80; KFI, 1980. Walt's roots are firmly planted in
Creighton, Pennsylvania, where he was raised by his great-grandparents.
His great-grandmother told Walt that he would always have to do things
10 times better than the other fellow. In November 2022, Walt will be
inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. Walt played football at Gannon University in Erie, while majoring in sociology. He left college to join the Army and served two tours of duty, seeing combat with the 82nd Airborne division in Thailand, near the Laos/Burma border. After six years and 11 months and just before making a decision to join officers candidate school, he decided to pursue a radio career. He started on KILT-Houston. "I didn't know racism. My little town of Creighton was made up of 400 families who were Polish, Hungarian, Italians and probably five who were black. Many came from interracial families, including my great-grandmother, so I thought I could go anywhere to get a job." Paul Drew hired Walt for CKLW-Detroit. "I was the first black hired in the RKO chain, which was comprised of 14 stations. I always took pride in my work. I wanted to prove a point that the consumer didn't care what color you were. All they were interested in was if I entertained them." His picture did not appear on the 'CK survey for 90 days. Once it was there, he broke down the racial barriers, blazing the way for other blacks to work for stations other than Urban. Walt began working the RKO circuit, moving to WOR/fm-New York. After KHJ, Walt returned to New York to work at WXLO and WNBC in the mid-1970s and KSD-St. Louis in 1976. For 15 years he hosted Westwood One's "The Countdown with Walt Love," which won a number of Billboard magazine network syndicator category awards as best black radio program. The show was carried on 175 stations in 30 countries. In 1980 he became editor of the Urban Contemporary division of R&R. He was honored at the second annual R&R Salute to Excellence Awards for his contributions to radio. In recent years he has been instrumental in reaching young people in detention centers and prisons with a message of, as Walt says, "being kind to other people. It's all about what is in your heart." Since the summer of 1995, Walt has been hosting a second syndicated series called "Gospel Traxx." In 2018, Walt was nominated for the National Radio Hall of Fame. |
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LOVER,
Ed: KKBT, 1999-2000. Ed started mornings at "The Beat"
on August 30, 1999 and left on July 14, 2000. He worked morning drive at
WWPR, "Power 105"-New York until November 2010. In late 2011, Ed
returned to Hot 97-New York. He went on to work at "Boom 97.5" in
Atlanta. In April of 2018, he hosted the
morning show at Classic Hip-Hop "104.3 Jams" at WBMX-Chicago. When
he lost the Chicago gig, he's
now syndicating his Classic Hip Hop show. Born as James Roberts on February 12, 1963, he is a rapper, actor, radio personality and former MTV VJ. He's best-known for his roles in the films Juice, Who's the Man?, and Undisputed. He was co-host of Yo! MTV Raps Today. While work at WWPR, The New York Post reported that Ed punched a female patron in the face at a Manhattan nightclub. The victim was described as a "gorgeous 25 year-old woman." She required 20 stitches to close a gash in her cheek. According to the Post, the blow sent the young woman flying across the room at the Duvet nightclub "like a rag doll." Lover was arrested and charged with two counts of third-degree assault, one count of attempted assault and one count of second-degree harassment. He was sentenced to seven days of community service, but will not have a criminal record. |
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LOWE,
Buddy: XERB, 1966-68. Buddy was born in Brooklyn, New
York on October 16, 1930 as Walter Christopher Lowe and he was educated
in the New York City school system. He passed away on April 3, 2012,
from a heart attack, after being a long-term resident of a care facility
in Monterey, at the age of 81. He was a deacon at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. He also worked for Jazz KRML and KNRY- Carmel. Buddy was a legendary dj across the nation in cities like New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles, where he worked with Wolfman Jack. He was well known from the hills of Seaside to the valleys of Carmel and nationwide, for his unique baritone voice and his articulate way with words. He was a trailblazer and a barrier breaker in the field of radio and television. His association with celebrities and his influence assisted many in obtaining employment. He was a renowned dj at KAZU radio in Seaside, where the dynamic duo, Nikki & Buddy Lowe, brought gospel and Christian music into the homes of believers on the Monterey Peninsula and to the world. As an MC at the annual Monterey County Blues Festival for many years, his personal friends and frequent house guests included Shirley Caesar, James Brown, Ray Charles, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, the Blind Boys of Alabama, James Cleveland, Otis Redding, Big John Turner, the Staple Singers, and Redd Foxx and Buddy was on the first album cover with Richard Pryor. |
| LOWE, Keith: KLVE, 1974-75; KLOS, 1977; KLSX, 1988-94. Keith worked morning drive at KLVE and part-time at KLSX, the Classic Rock station. |
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LOWE,
Paul: KFWB, 1989-2012. Paul joined the KFWB news
department in 1989 as an inside reporter and later promoted to news
anchor. Prior to KFWB, Paul worked at the City of Long Beach as a video
producer for the city’s library services/cable television. Over the years, Paul has won three Golden Mike Awards in recognition of his outstanding news coverage. He started his career with Buck Owens Enterprises, Bakersfield in 1978. Paul also worked in the entertainment industry briefly during the late 1980s, but the news bug and the passion for information and that desire to tell someone about it was stronger. |
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LOWE,
Scott: KLYY, 1998-2000. Scott left KLYY (“Y107”) with a
format change to Spanish. He's now with PostModern ALT 92.3 (WNYL) in
New York where he's been hosting a weekly specialty show called
"Postmodern," featuring Classic Alternative songs, mostly from the 80s
and 90s. In the fall of 2020, Scott started producing and hosting an
L.A. version of "Postmodern" for 106.7 KROQ on Sundays, 7 a.m. - 11
a.m. "While New York remains my home base, I'm doing customized versions
of Postmodern, with local content, for both markets. Recently, I have
also added a national version of Postmodern, which has been franchised
across most of the remaining Entercom Alternative stations," emailed
Scott. Scott was born in Nazareth, Pennsylvania and grew up near Philadelphia. "My mother used to buy records for me when I was about age 2. I love vinyl and still have a huge passion for 45s! My love for radio happened as an offshoot of my love of music. I did my first radio air shift in 1984, two days before my 15th birthday, on the powerful Trenton State College station, WTSR. My first paying radio job came in 1986 when WBUX, an MOR daytimer AM station, was granted a 24-7 license and I became the weekend overnight dj." Scott made three stops in Philadelphia, including Triple-A formatted WXPN and Modern Rock WPLY. "I worked exactly one year as production director for WYSP and then quit my job, packed up my car, and followed a dream of moving to Los Angeles. For a few months, I did fill-in work for KCXX-Riverside. At Y107 (KLYY), operations manager, Perry Simon, brought me on board for weekends. I eventually became Y107's production director during the John Duncan era. I was on the air with Chris Carter the night Y107 made the flip to Spanish programming. Sadly, I had to push the first button that ended Y107 and launched Viva 107. s Channel 103.1 was getting ready to leave the air and become WorldClassRock.com, I was hired as the production director for the new Internet station (which was also simulcast on KACD-AM 850 in Thousand Oaks). When the plug was pulled on that experiment, I moved to weekends at Alternative KFSD in San Diego, and sister station KMXN/fm in Anaheim. Somewhere in the middle of all of this, I dabbled in the recording studio and appeared on a couple of albums with the Alternative rock group Ween, released on Elektra." |
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LOWENKRON,
Isaac: KLAC, 2005-08. Isaac was a sports reporter at
all-Sports KLAC until late 2008. He is frequently heard as an anchor and
reporter for the Clippers and on Fox Sports Radio. He is part of the LA Clippers broadcast team, hosting the Clippers Courtside pre-game show and the halftime show on AM 570 LA Sports. Isaac hosts postgame Clipper Talk for road games, and teams with Brian Sieman for Postgame Clipper Talk after home games. He has also done radio play-by-play for the Clippers on a fill-in basis. Lowenkron, who additionally serves as an anchor for FOX Sports Radio, has broadcast NFL and college football play-by-play for Sports USA Radio. He has also done radio play-by-play for UCLA football, UCLA men’s basketball, USC men's basketball, the Los Angeles Avengers of Arena Football, and six Pac-12 men’s basketball tournaments. |
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LOZANO,
Frank: KPWR, 1989-94 and 1996-2001. "While watching the
Hollywood Christmas Parade when the 'Power 106' entry went by, as sappy
as it may sound, I actually got choked up. I made a promise to myself
that night that next year I would be on that float." Frank, who grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, worked in Fresno and San Antonio for nine years before it finally happened. "Jeff Wyatt was the one who hired me initially to work weekend overnights. I was successful by saying 'yes' to every shift offered." In the fall of 1993, Frank moved to morning drive on "Power 106" after Jay Thomas left the station. In early 1994 he moved to afternoons. In the summer of 1994, Frank became the first and only jock to quit. He moved to KYLD (“Wild 107”)-San Francisco. In January of 1996, he returned to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career and opened his own commercial production company "Graphically Speaking." Frank was also asked to re-join the "Power 106" staff for weekends. "Working at Power 106/fm was an absolute blast and looking back at it now, I never realized how HUGE it was to work there. I will for sure say that I miss those good ‘ole days and am grateful for all the people who were entertained by my show and mixes and whom I hopefully I left wonderful memories for." Today, Frank has a commercial photography studio. |
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LOZANO,
Jesse: KIIS 2004-22. Jesse, aka the “Boy Toy,” was born and raised in San Diego. After graduating high school, he attended
community college and hosted his own radio show while pursuing his
degree. He later interned for Channel 93.3 in San Diego and soon worked
his way up the broadcasting ladder. Throughout his career, Jesse has
appeared on numerous television entertainment shows like Good Morning
America, and has been featured in various publications including
USA
Today and Time Magazine. He stepped down from his
afternoon show in early 2021. Jesse will concentrate on the Star 94.1
morning show in San Diego. “There are now TWO things in my life that have shown me what awesome things can happen when you make sacrifices for something you love,” said Jesse. “The first is my beautiful daughter, who gives me wonderful things every single day. This gig at KIIS is the second. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity. Jocks all over the country dream of, and prepare for this chance, and I am so excited to be here.” |
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LUCK, Evan:
KKBT, 1993-95; KIBB/KCMG, 1998-99. Evan left "the BEAT"
in early 1995. He joined “Mega 100” in early 1998 and left in
the spring of 1999 and headed for WUBT-Chicago. He left the Windy City
in the fall of 2000. Evan now lives and works in Costa Rica. He posted an ad in one of the trade publications: “Living the life in Costa Rica. Beautiful babes, killer waves, muchas cervezas. Available via tape, digital, satellite?” |
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LUCRAFT, Howard: KLON,
1989. Howard, a British-born jazz musician, dj at KLON, and composer who
also wrote about music, died February 4, 2011, of complications from
aging at Community Hospital of Long Beach. He was 94. Lucraft was a guitarist who also wrote for such publications as Variety, DownBeat magazine, The Times and British newspapers. Howard first came to fame in England, as an orchestra leader for the BBC. In addition to regular national broadcasts with his own groups, he composed, arranged, scripted and emceed special BBC programs. Howard immigrated to the United States to compose and arrange for records and tv. His early credits include compositions and arrangements for Stan Kenton, Ray Noble, and Anita O'Day. His "Jazz International" show for American Forces Radio had over 100 million listeners. Howard lectured on music at the University of California at Riverside and in the L.A. school system. He was the American judge at music festivals from Athens to Caracas. Howard had been West Coast editor of Advertising Age and music editor for Daily Variety. He was president of the Hollywood Press Club for three separate terms. He was a charter member of the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters, and in 1999, Howard received the prestigious PBS Diamond Circle Award "for many distinguished years in radio and tv." |
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LUDLUM,
Andy: KABC/KMPC/KTZN, 1996-97, pd.; KFWB,
1998-2008; KFWB/KNX, 2009-14. Andy has
been leading the Spoken Word category for decades in Southern
California. A graduate of San Jose State with a bachelor's in journalism, he started his career as a traffic reporter at KXRX-San Jose. In 1979 Andy went to KIRO-Seattle and six years later was pd of KMBR/KMBZ-Kansas City. From 1987 to 1994 he was a vp of news and programming at KIRO AM&FM and TV and KING-Seattle. Born in Trenton, he grew up in New Jersey and Virginia. He moved to Los Angeles in 1965 and went to junior and senior high schools in Palos Verdes. Why radio rather than journalism? "Radio is less anal and better suited to my short attention span." "I’ve worked as a news anchor, reporter, editor and producer in San Jose, Seattle and Los Angeles. I’ve reported from all over the world, Egypt, Israel, Italy, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, China, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia." Andy was the program director at all-News KFWB until late 2008. He returned to the CBS cluster as program director at KFWB and KNX in January 2009. He left the stations in September 2014. “Andy Ludlum is a weird duck," wrote former LA news anchor Dave Williams. "His professional demeanor is all balled up in his humanity. It’s never either/or with Andy. He can light a fire under your ass and be sharing his potato chips with you as he does it. There is not an ounce of bullshit in him.” |
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LUEVANOS, Marcela: KLAX, 2000; KMJR, 2000. Marcela worked evenings at Spanish KMJR (93.5fm).
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LUNDGREN,
Fred: KCAA, 1997-2023. Fred is the longtime owner of KCAA in the Inland
Empire. He was born in Elgin, Texas and grew up in a farming community in eastern Travis County. As a youth, he was a leader in 4-H and FFA and president of his high school science club. After graduation, Lundgren moved to Houston and attended a radio and television academy operated by two legendary broadcasters, Robert St. John and John Cameron Swayze. After successfully completing the Academy, Lundgren continued his education with engineering courses which earned him an FCC Radio and Telephone License and qualified him to perform engineering duties at most commercial radio stations. He founded a station in 1976 that serviced Austin. During the 1970s, he also developed and managed a sizable family farm and ranch operation and a small fleet of over the road trucks. In 1992, Lundgren co-authored the book, The Nature of Wealth. Lindgren launched KCAA in the Inland Empire. In the summer of 2019, Lundgren established an independent 527 political committee named "Broadcasting For America" with the goal of expanding the voices of progressive national candidates on terrestrial news/talk radio stations that are dominated by conservative hosts. |
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LUNDY, Mike: KFI, 1968; KGBS, 1968; KDAY, 1971-74, pd; KFWB, 1977-78; KGIL, 1979-80; KFI/KOST, 1982-83; KGIL/KMGX, 1983-92, pd; KFWB, 2000-07. Mike died November 11, 2020, following a long illness. He was 79. Mike was born in Minneapolis and raised in Alhambra. He graduated from Pasadena City College and worked briefly at KDWC-West Covina. "My first real radio job was in Merced at KYOS." In 1964 the owners of KYOS bought KRIZ-Phoenix and Mike went with them. For two years in the mid-1960s he was at KAFY-Bakersfield, where he hired Bob Wilson (founder of Radio & Records). They worked together over the years. In 1966 Mike graduated from UCLA with a political science degree. He knows Southern California well. From 1974 to 1977 Mike was the general manager of Ted Randal Enterprises, one of the earliest consulting companies. In 1977, he joined KFWB as news anchor. After that, he made a brief stop at KORJ in Orange County. In the late 1970s he joined KGIL as director of programming and operations. During a hiatus from KGIL, Mike did news and traffic at KFI/KOST. During most of the 1990s, Mike ran Lundy Media Group, a company that produced radio programs for Japan and monthly English language conversation CD's for use by students in Japan. He was an anchor/writer at KFWB. He retired in early 2007. "The success of KFWB was not only the news itself, but its presentation," Lundy wrote in an essay for LARadio. "Whenever one hears, 'Give us 22 minutes and we’ll give you the world,' there is instant identification to KFWB. ” Art Schreiber smiles. As the general manager of KFWB from 1969-1977 he was instrumental in originating it. “One of the best program directors I ever worked with was Ken Draper. I hired Ken to be executive editor at KFWB. Ken changed the thirty minute news cycle to 20 minutes with A, B and C stories that ran three times each hour. Thus one of radio’s most familiar and durable tune-in slogans was born. Contrary to popular lore, all indications are that the 22-minute format had little, if anything, to do with commute time. It was the result of research by Group W. "As revenues softened, KFWB management did its best to kill the station. Dodgers’ baseball. “Larry King Live” for an hour each night as part of a CNN deal. A noon “Business Hour.” Anything and everything that could take away the station’s raison d’etre and further suppress listenership," Mike continued. |
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LUNDY,
Steve: KROQ, 1972-73; KRTH. Steve
worked at some legendary Rock stations, including KILT-Houston,
WLS-Chicago, KFRC-San Francisco and WNBC-New York. He ended his show
with, "Don't forget to smell the roses - cause we're only here for a
short visit." Born Jack Foshee on November 3, 1942, in Tyler, Texas, he graduated from Tyler Junior College and attended Baylor University and Vanderbilt University. He had been living in Houston since 1970, according to KLDE-Houston pd Dennis Winslow. “He made a living for many years as a commercial voice talent and was the voice of the Texas Ford dealers for tv and radio” said Dennis, who hired Steve to work weekends at KLDE. Steve died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack on April 23, 1999, as the age of 56. He walked with a wooden leg from an accident, and his sign-off for many years was: "Don't forget to smell the flowers - cause we're only here for a short visit." Ken Levine remembers Steve’s signature sign-on in Chicago, "YOU are in the night time on WLS." Ken called Steve one of the best night jocks ever. Jeffrey Leonard remembers that Steve almost went to KHJ in 1970, in fact, they had cut a jingle ID that was never used because Bill Drake decided instead to send Steve to KFRC. Longtime colleague Joe Ford remembered Steve: "He never could find that perfect set of headphones and he was ALWAYS searching for a better recording studio." |
| LUPO, Tony: KBRT, 1980, gm. Tony ran the "born-again Cheeradio" with on-air personalities Clark Race, Chuck Southcott, Johnny Magnus and newsman Brian Bastien. |
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LURIE,
Rod: KMPC/KTZN/KABC, 1995-99. The resident film critic
hosted a two-hour Saturday movie show on “the Zone.” In his mind, there
are only two opinions that matter: his own ... and his listeners. Rod’s
influence was so far reaching that Martin Landau and Mel Gibson
acknowledged Rod during each of their respective Academy Award
acceptance speeches. Among other publications, he wrote about movies in Buzz magazine and Los Angeles Magazine. His film-oriented show moved to KABC when KTZN adopted the “Radio Disney” format. His first-directed film, Deterrence, was released in the spring of 1999. He left KABC on July 3, 1999, to direct his script of The Contender. In 2000, the film was nominated for several Oscars. He created the tv series, Commander-in-Chief. In 2011, Rod directed the remake of the crime thriller Straw Dogs. In 2020, he directed Scott Eastwood in The Outpost. |
LUSKIN, Toni: KGIL. Toni Luskin was the pilot and on-air reporter at KGIL for many years. “Prior to the KGIL stint, I had been a singer-dancer, working as an opening act all over the world and starring in such shows as the international Lido de Paris,” emailed Toni. “I abruptly stopped because I wanted to come home to L.A. and cut the travel. I was working at Universal in the sound department as a resident voiceover, narration, special effect voice. The sound engineers knew I liked to fly and heard of the opening for a pilot and traffic announcer at KGIL. I showed up, took the keys to the plane, did a live on-air audition and got the job. The audience seemed to like the sparring between Dick Whittington and me. Because of our rush hour time slot, some tv execs heard us during their commute. The general consensus was that, if I didn't look like Godzilla in person, I might be good on-camera. Several tv offers followed and I eventually served 3 years as a reporter/co-host on the nightly syndicated You Asked For IT series, starring Rich Little. I repacked the old suitcases and traveled all over the world again.” Toni met and married her husband, Bernie Luskin. “Bernie was ceo of Philips Interactive Media, which included being president of Polygram Pictures and Records, etc. I did voice and narration work for him and anchored New Media News, a syndicated tv show. His international schedule and my work commitments were in direct conflict. Well, Don, my mama didn't raise no fool. I focused on Bernie and his [our] career, raised two gorgeous sons, returned to school and eventual earning my doctorate in media psychology. I continue to work on a project-by-project basis and have done some large-scale, televised special events recently in the UAE. “It was a privilege and an experience working with Dick Whittington,” Toni responded when asked about her time at KGIL. “I learned a lot from him.” You can reach Toni at: toniluskin@gmail.com
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LYCAN,
Gary: No one has chronicled the changing landscape of Southern
California radio better than Gary, for more than three decades, from the
same outlet. His weekly radio column in the Sunday Show section of the
Orange County Register was a "must-read" for radio people and
fans of radio. Gary was born in Santa Ana on November 18, 1944. He graduated from Santa Ana High School in 1962. Gary died April 9, 2013 of prostate cancer. He was 68. He began his journalism career in 1959 on the Santa Ana High newspaper The Generator. "My first byline appeared sometime in 1961. I also wrote for the Saturday high school page on the Los Angeles Herald-Express [later Herald-Examiner]. While in junior high, I wrote a term paper on announcing and spent a lot of time with Tom Frandsen, then a movie host, at the old Sunset and Vine NBC studios. His note to me said, 'Gary, I know you will make it.' Years later, when he was at then-KHJ/Channel 9, I had lunch with Tom and thanked him for his encouragement." Gary majored in journalism at Santa Ana College and Cal-State Fullerton, where he graduated in 1966 with a BA in communications, emphasis on telecommunications. "I won some USC writing awards and worked on ABC election night coverage while working at The Register (now Orange County Register)." Gary has worked at virtually every conceivable job from copy editor to assistant managing editor/features. "The radio column began somewhere around 1968 when I was covering a UC Irvine historical series on old time radio. The greats of the day came to speak - Jim Jordan, Edgar Bergen, etc. - and I was hooked. Since 1991, I have been involved with The Pet Place tv show on KDOC as senior producer. Working with Fred Bergendorff, our mission is to find homes for adoptable animals, working with area shelters and rescue groups." Gary was a proud of his membership in the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters and the Television Academy of Arts & Sciences. He credits his success to his mom, Mary's, love and encouragement, and credits his "soulmate" Missy Will for "preaching and teaching values which have contributed to both my professional and personal growth.'' |
| LYMAN,
Jay: KGRB, 1983; KORG, 1993. Born in 1945, Jay started as a dj in 1964.
He got interested in big bands while volunteering at KCRW. Jay has a
collection of 9,000 LPs, covering 1920-40s music.
LYNCH, Mike: KKTR, 1998-99;
KMXN, 1999-2000; KRTH, 2001. Mike started at KPCC in the late 1970s.
Born July 11, Mike has been with AirWatch as an airborne
traffic-reporter since 1990. He went on to work afternoons at
KATY-Temecula. LYNCH, Sean: KIIS, 1996-97. Sean, aka Dan Cuervo, joined KIIS in the summer of 1996 to host the Saturday night retro show. He was EMI director of national promotion. Sean was the station manager/pd at KKLZ and KFRH-Las Vegas until November 2011.
LYNESS, Richard: KCRW, 1976-77. Richard was the gm at KCRW and founder/president of the Association of California Public Radio Stations. Currently he is the founder/principal of Vocational Insights in Los Gatos, California. |
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LYNN, Tobi: KYSR, 2016-20. Tobi is curator and on-air host of Sunday School (new music) and Close To Home, a show that celebrates LA based artists/bands. The shows airs every Sunday night from 8-10p on ALT987fm. Formerly, she built/curated the college/indie channel for XM Satellite Radio called XMU from scratch. She programmed the channel for almost a decade until the satellite radio merger. Tobi dwells in KTown. "I went to a small private liberal arts university called DePauw in Greencastle, Indiana. In a bonus semester the only class that sounded interesting to me was the WGRE Radio Winter Term. So I signed up hoping to have some musical fun. But alas – it filled up too fast and I was put on a waiting list along with many others. The day before Winter Term started, I got a call from the faculty advisor that someone had dropped out of the class at the last minute, and I was first on the waiting list. Little did I know at the time that clearly there was a cosmic force at work determined to shape my future. As you can imagine, I loved every second of my Winter Term. I learned all about radio and how to be a dj and a newscaster. Because of this background, I was in a state of bliss because music has always been my passion." "My first paid radio gig was hosting a talk show called 'Tobi Talk' on a 'mom and pop' AM radio station in DeKalb, Illinois. She's now facing reoccurring breast cancer. "I've spent the past year navigating through the difficult mire of life post the big C. I’m currently in the aftermath and post-treatment chapter – so at the moment, I wish I could say I feel like a warrior princess, but I’m not quite there yet. |
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LYON,
Mary: KFWB, 1975; KNAC, 1975-76;
KLOS, 1976-77; KHJ, 1977-79;
KRTH, 1982-87, nd; KLSX, 1987. Mary grew up in
West Los Angeles and attended Marymount High School and graduated from
UC Irvine in 1975. She soon got a job as an editor's assistant at
all-News KFWB, and an impressive career in Southern California news
unfolded. The mood at the time - combined perhaps with pressure from the
FCC - was to hire women. Mary considers herself "lucky" that the time
was right. "I was available, the right age, the right sex and I happened to fit." Mary was the first female news director at KNAC and was the first woman to conduct a talk show on KLOS. Mary's enthusiasm for the news business is evident within minutes of talking with her. "I was always the new kid at these stations. All these veterans were most gracious, more than they had to be, and I was so appreciative." At KHJ, she was the first woman news director and she survived three format changes. In 1979, Mary was one of the first to be hired for the NBC Source Network and spent three years with them. She was teamed with Phil Hendrie to do morning drive on KLSX. From 1987 to 1995, she was the West Coast entertainment reporter for Associated Press Broadcast Services in Los Angeles. “I've really had a career climb and had better luck than most. I've worked steadily for almost 20 years in L.A. radio." Mary has retired from radio and is designing exquisite bead jewelry and has won several awards for her creations. She appears frequently on the Home & Garden network, KHTV. Mary Lyon is a veteran broadcaster and five-time Golden Mike Award winner who has anchored, reported, and written for the Associated Press Radio Network, NBC Radio "The Source," and many Los Angeles-area stations. |
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LYONS, Dick: KBLA, 1962; KUTE, 1965; KGBS, 1969-72; KLOS, 1972; KROQ, 1972; XPRS, 1973; KOCM, 1987-89; KACD, 1994-95, gm; KZLA/KLAC, 1995-96; KBIG, 1996; KRLA, 2000-01. Born Richard Poppers in Burbank, if Dick was not a jock on the radio, he would be selling radio. His father built an amateur radio station in their backyard guest house with a 55-foot tower and talked to people all over the world. Dick's first radio experience was buying a half-hour of KBLA time for $25 on Sunday nights and then soliciting sponsors along Ventura Boulevard. As a result of KFWB airing talk on Sunday nights, his program became very popular with young people and before long he purchased multiple hours and resold them. "At Los Angeles City College I was fortunate enough to get a good education from an articulate radio guy from Mutual, Don McCall." During Dick's schooling he helped Bob Eubanks with publicity during his launch of three Cinnamon Cinder teen night clubs. He went to Ogden's Broadcast school to get a 1st Class FCC License. The lady who administered the test at the FCC was Mrs. Lyons and that's how he picked his radio name. After securing his license, his first job was at KAFY-Bakersfield and then he went to "Tiger Radio," KFXM-San Bernardino. "What a great radio station with Al Anthony running a radio battle with KMEN.” Along the way he befriended Charlie O'Donnell, who got him into KGBS. The station was one of the first to simulcast AM and FM. "I worked on the AM from 4 to 6 p.m. which we were simulcasting with the FM. At sundown, because the AM was a daytimer, we encouraged everyone to switch to FM and I came back to work nine to midnight. In between I hung out at Nickodell's with all the 'Boss Jocks.'" He got into sales at KVFM (later KGIL), selling produced "Funny Facts" to local retailers. His success took him to retail sales manager posts with KSRF, KRTH (he won RKO's Sales Person of the Year award), KSCI, KOCM and KACD, where he was gm. |
