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The most comprehensive listing of 6,000 Los Angeles Radio People,
spanning the last 62 years, is now available just by clicking on
your favorite
personality.
The listings provide a colorful snapshot of where they came from,
where and when they worked, and what they’re doing now. Enjoy!
A\B\C\D\E\F\G\H\I\J\K\L\M\N\O\P\Q\R\S\T-Z/W
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(Jennifer York, Greg Mack, Jo Jo Wright, Rebecca and Larry Gifford, and The Real Don Steele in 1978)
Popeye Host Dies
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(March 18, 2019) Whether
you were a fan growing up in the Southland watching him on
the KTLA/Channel 5 Popeye Show or as an
entertainment reporter at KNX, you will be sad to learn that
Tom Hatten died over the weekend. He was
92. Sam Rubin broke the sad story on social media: “On a warm and beautiful day locally, perhaps it is only fitting that we learn of the passing of a warm and really beautiful man. Local media legend, and an actor with considerable credits, Tom Hatten has died.” Born in 1927 in North Dakota, Tom grew up in Idaho and joined the Navy just before the end of World War II. he attended the Pasadena Playhouse Theatre on the GI Bill and graduated cum laude in 1950. During an appearance in one of tv’s earliest shows, Space Patrol, Tom was discovered and joined KTLA as a “utility infielder” with Stan Chambers. Tom spent the next four decades on the local scene as a composer, announcer, commercial pitchman, writer and pop and jazz concert producer. From 1978 to 1991, Tom hosted the “Family Film Festival” every weekend on KTLA. He appeared in local stage productions over the decades. Tom was a member of five industry unions. Shortly after starting this website, I was strolling Hollywood Blvd and decided to capture some early memories at Musso & Frank. Lo and behold, sitting by himself at the lunch counter was Tom Hatten. I introduced myself and asked if I could join him. He was so open, effervescent and excited about everything we talked about. R.I.P. Tom. |
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| Pirate Radio (KQLZ) Debuts 30 Years Ago |
Nostalgia Sunday- 8 Years Ago Today
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Bill Handel To Undergo Open Heart Surgery
LARP On LARP. “I saw Ken Levine’s note to you about his new book, Where the Hell Am I? Trips I Have Survived, and got in touch with him for an interview,” emailed Ira David Sternberg.”In the 30-minute show, scheduled for this afternoon at 6 p.m., we talked about his career in writing, his baseball radio announcing addiction, and his takes on Las Vegas. LARadio.com, of course, made it all happen.”
Former
KFWB general manager Roger Nadel
found this photo of Early Salaries. Tom Anderson sent the KRHM pay stub that was published yesterday. He said he was getting a dollar an hour as late as 1962 for doing pretty much the same thing. “I seem to recall Les Claypool telling me he was getting $225 a week in 1963. Does that sound about right? Les was doing a five hour show every Saturday night, two hours every weeknight [taped on Mondays] plus general programming and announcing. He worked either 35 or 40 hours a week. Back in ’57, when the guys were broadcasting live from Mount Wilson, they would often sleep over at the transmitter rather than do the long drive back to the city. They received no compensation for time or gas.”
Overheard.
Book of Luke. Earlier this week in the ‘1 Year Ago Today’ feature, the story of Luke Burbank was recalled. After being let go by KIRO-Seattle and profiting from a daily podcast, how is he doing a year later? “Yes, indeed, we're plugging along,” replied Luke. “We're now at 2 million downloads per month, and have been sponsored by such luminaries as Ford, Bing, Chateau St. Michelle, Heineken, Pro Flowers and many others. We've also moved to the lower level of my house, which has been remodeled with office space to accommodate our little staff.” Luke continued: “Ironically, I've actually been hired back by the radio station [KIRO 97.3/fm] to co-host the 9 a.m. – 12 noon weekday show. So I do that in the morning and TBTL (Too Beautiful Too Live) in the afternoons. Lots of work, but anyone who has two paying gigs in radio/podcasting has no reason to complain.” |
Email Saturday, 3.16.19
| ** Sky Daniels to Exit 88.5/fm
“A tough blow for KCSN.” – Gary Scott ** 88.5 Key to Success Was the Music “THE reason the station is so great and the music programmed surpasses anything on the radio landscape. Good luck and good health, Sky!” –John Nikelsky ** KCSN Then “Always interesting to read about my alma mater KCSN at Cal State Northridge on LARadio.com, however I would like to correct what Sky Daniels stated. Ms. Kearns was not the original general manager of that station. In fact, I was the first full time gm employee starting in 1971. At that time, we were an early NPR affiliate, and the 3kw non-commercial fm was utilized as originally intended. That is, the station was an educational training ground for aspiring broadcasting students as well as serving the community. We offered an opportunity for students to get involved with engineering, writing, performing, producing, publicity, interviewing, news and sports and everything that goes into running a station. At that time, there were well more than 100 students working for the experience and college course credit. Many careers were launched from the 88.5 studios including those on air and off in L. A. radio. While seeing KCSN gain an audience, I am sad to see only minimal student participation in the name of promoting music artists. That later function could easily be filled by commercial stations. By the way, the call sign KCSN was my idea in January of 1973. From original sign-on in 1963 to that time, the call sign was KEDC/fm, always a student operation.” – Douglas Brown |
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** Wrecking Crew Docu
“Don, have you seen the documentary The Wrecking Crew? Great story of Hal Blaine, Tommy Tedesco, Carol Kaye, Glen Campbell, Plaz Johnson, Leon Russell, Earl Palmer, Don Randi, and on and on of the studio musicians who made so many pop and MOR hits in Hollywood. What can you say about Hal Blaine? So much, and he’s in the film telling his story, too. I have the DVD, and have seen it about a dozen times. I never get tired of watching it. Too bad they only have one clip of 93/KHJ in the movie, they could have done more on the records and radio. I never knew they played for Gary Lewis, The Association, The Monkees, etc. Hal Blaine was on six Grammy winners in a row for six years.” – Jim Hilliker |
| ** Talkers “I would submit that the very, very best two-person radio team ever was Bob Elliot and Ray Goulding. Furthermore, their routine ‘The Slow Talkers of America’ was adapted as the centerpiece [DMV scene] of the highest-grossing animated move to date, Zootopia, yet for some reason they never got any credit or acknowledgement for it in the end credits of the movie. I don’t believe they ever worked in person on Los Angeles radio, thus not qualifying as an LARP, although they certainly were heard in Los Angeles in the 1950’s via their weekday CBS radio show on KNX.” – Eric Norberg, Portland ** KSPN Move Photo Last Sunday “A lot can happen in 10 years. The majority of people in the picture are no longer w/ KSPN. Some are retired, some positions were eliminated, and some were laid off. Steve Mason, Mario Ruiz and Shawn Willcuts are the only pictured employees still at the station. Thanks for your work.” – Tim Ahern |
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** Pin-Up LARP
“So, is that picture of Kat Corbett available as a wall poster? Asking for a friend…” - Gregory Glaser |
| ** Bean: Thanks for the Memories
“Bean reads LARadio.com, so I am directly conveying here my appreciation for your remarkable body of for 30 years on-air in Los Angeles. Few radio hosts exhibit the extent of research and natural curiosity for a broad roster of topics that extends far beyond the conventional. I am amazed, time and again, during interview segments at how deep Gene's knowledge goes pertaining to the topic and career activities and passions of said guest. Mr. Baxter – you will be sorely missed in the City of Angels. You have left your indelible mark on millions of Angelinos’ ears. P.S. Any chance you’ll have a recurring phone-in, check-in segment with the Kevin and Company show circa 2020?” – David Alpern ** The Burner “Hey, I like to first say thank you for the YouTube piece on Humble Harve, it brought back many memories. I had the pleasure of working at both stations as public affairs director, as well as offering the Sunday morning public affairs show on KLSX 97.1. Although I started a few years after that piece, to see the board, equipment and how we ran the commercial pieces on those 8-track cartridges, was crazy and fun. Back then, Bob Moore was general manager for both stations, and more importantly all the peeps that work there shared that best of times. Again, thanks for sharing.” - Nelson (Salsa) Fernandez ** Schmitt On the Record "Friday’s edition of LARadio is truly special. We are most grateful to you for posting the terrific Al Schmitt ‘On the Record’ interview. We have now watched and listened to it twice and are going back for more. Kudos to Shadoe Stevens and Don Elliot for this gifted production with the legendary Al Schmitt … stories, film clips, artist photos and experiences all make very compelling and informative entertainment.” - Don Graham |
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** Photo Gallery
“I’ve meant to say this for a while, I like the way you rotate pictures of LARadio People at the top of each day’s column. I’m greeted today with the smile of Pat Paraquat Kelley and his faithful furry companion next to him. Mischievous as ever.” – Anita Garner |
| ** MOR Show “I remember listening to Paul Condylis hosting a Sunday morning show in 1965 where he would play comedy records. I believe this was over at KABC. And I'm pretty sure his engineer was Bill Crago.” – Ted Hering ** Celebrity Mom College Cheating Scandal “I'd say throw the book at them, but they wouldn't know what hit ’em.” – Dawna Kaufmann |
USC Broadcast Rights Marching to New Tune?
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(March 15, 2019) With the end of the USC basketball season, apparently this is also the end of the broadcast partnership with KSPN. We hear the Trojan broadcast rights will leave the local ESPN station, switching to KABC … Didja know that Molly Paige is the voice on Les Perry’s Saturday With the Beatles two-hour program at 10 a.m. on KCSN (88.5/fm)? … Our favorite San Diego resident, Chris Carmichael, loves puns. He makes an observation about the USC scandal: “A tennis coach has been charged with racketeering.” … Richard Kimball’s long-time friend Pete Senoff has put together a website commemorating the L.A. music scene featuring Richard, who died March 7 here ... Five years ago this weekend, Cherie and I were on our way to Dublin to spend a St. Paddy’s week. Gads, was it cold that week in March! While in Ireland we caught up with Valerie Geller. She was speaking at a big radio convention. Valerie’s the best and what a great spokeswoman for radio and the audio absorbers … Former KABC morning man Doug McIntyre is making an appearance at the San Luis Obispo Film Festival tonight. This is the 10th anniversary of his documentary on trumpeter Jack Sheldon, Trying to Get Good. Doug will participate in a Q&A after the screening. It will be great seeing him again … Wendy Williams (former KDAY dj) returned to her afternoon tv talker after a two-month hiatus, just in time to get into a kerfuffle with Howard Stern. In a New York Post Page 6 article, Howard went after Williams who criticized his softer tone in his new book, Howard Stern Comes Again. “Jealous bitch. … You are nobody to me,” the 65-year-old shock jock said. “You’ll never be me, Wendy. You’ll never be me. You can pretend to be me, you can pretend to be like me, but you’re not. You don’t have my wit and you don’t have my talent. … You couldn’t have that career. You’re a fly. What have I done to this woman? Nothing. I’ve been gracious to her,” Stern said. “Worry about your husband, not me. … F–k you and your dumb show and your mystery illness. She disappears for two months, nobody knows why, and now she’s questioning me? Thanks, honey. … I never fainted on my show either.” |
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| Video project by Shadoe Stevens and Don Elliot on Capitol Records great Al Schmitt |
Ask Dr. Ruth
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(March 14, 2019) Long
before Howard Stern shocked the radio
airwaves, Dr. Ruth Westheimer was liberally
uttering the words “penis” and “vagina” on a regular basis
at KFI. Dr. Ruth, now at age 90.5, has reemerged and might
have a second life due to a warm, witty and loving look at
the sex therapist via a documentary called Ask Dr. Ruth.
In 1983, the former kindergarten teacher turned sex guru, "Dr. Ruth" broke new ground on talk radio. On her show she dispensed frank and sexually explicit advice. She once borrowed from a Supremes song when she discussed premature ejaculation: "You can't huwwy love." Ruth was born in Germany in 1928, where she lost her parents and grandparents to the Nazi regime and grew up in a Swiss orphanage. She earned a B.A. degree in psychology at the Sorbonne, and had a daughter by a French lover. She migrated to Israel to become a kindergarten teacher. Dr. Ruth came to America in 1956 knowing little English, yet three years later earned a Masters degree in Sociology from New York's New School for Social Research. Interestingly, her doctorate is in the interdisciplinary study of the family, not sexuality. Nonetheless, she has written 40 books, mostly on sex. The psychosexual therapist started sex counseling in the early 1970s. Ryan White put together the documentary. “White’s film argues that early trauma may have motivated the future Dr. Ruth to share her insights on sex and love,” according to a recent issue of Variety. “She doesn’t like to delve deep into her past because it’s so painful,” said White. “German Jews don’t cry. But she remains incredibly interested in people.” Ask Dr. Ruth was generously reviewed on the front page of the LA Times. In the Times piece she describes why she allowed a film crew to follow her. “She sees it as a way of standing up to Holocaust deniers and those who have Holocaust fatigue,” according to the Times. The documentary premiered to glowing reviews at the Sundance Film Festival. It gets a general release in the spring and on Hulu. |
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| Adam Carolla reacts to Loveline caller as Dr. David Viscott |
Hear Ache
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(March 13, 2019) With
the resignation of KCSN (88.5/fm) general manager and
program director Sky Daniels, who will get
the assignment? We asked Sky for any insight on his
replacement. He is rooting for the current assistant program
director and director of digital integration Jeff
Penfield (l). The Emerson College grad from Boston
has been with KCSN for 5+ years. Picking a general manager
will apparently take a bit longer because of the university
bureaucracies that must approve the selection. As far as a profile about Penfield: “Bitten by the radio bug during a science project recorded at my high school radio station WIQH at the age of 15, broadcasting is my chosen career path. My two major passions, sports and music, translated perfectly over to radio,” said Jeff on the station website. |
| In other news: Condolences to Joel Bellman on the passing of his mother … Former KROQer Gia DeSantis is the new news music director at Nevada Public Radio (NV89) in Reno … Chris Patyk has joined TuneIn to lead curation for its Alternative and Rock stations … Karen Carson, former middayer at KOST from 2009-11, is now part of the morning team at Hot AC WNEW (New 102.7)-New York … Despite the fact that Diane Thompson has been gone from KNX since February, her name still appears as co-anchor of afternoon drive on the KNX website. An all-News station with fake news? Hmmm. We hear that Karen Adams has the inside track to take over for Diane … Gayle King has come of age as an interviewer because of how she sat still and focused during her R. Kelly interview, particularly when Kelly started his now infamous ranting and screaming … Brian Wilson’s first call for a musician, when he was ready to record Beach Boys songs, was Hal Blaine. Randy Lewis in the LA Times called Blaine “one of the most recorded musicians in pop music history.” The prolific drummer performed on hits by Elvis, Frank Sinatra and Simon & Garfunkel. R.I.P. Hal … Longtime foodie Merrill Shindler (KABC and KLSX) will now host three shows on CRN Digital Talk Radio. Feed Your Face will air on CRN 1 Monday from 10-11 a.m., Saturdays from 2-3 p.m., and Sundays from 12-1 p.m. "Merrill Shindler is the best culinary and travel expert in the country," said Michael Horn, president/ceo of CRN Digital Talk Radio. “Merrill has been a guest on many of our programs and we are delighted to produce his show for national consumption.” |
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People Magazine, 3.18.19
Triple Thanks to Sky Daniels As He Retires from 88.5/fm
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(March 12, 2019) Sky
Daniels has been
instrumental in the development of the Triple A format at
KCSN (88.5/fm). In the most recent ratings book, the station
had an auspicious debut in the PPM. On Monday, the general
manager / program director announced he is stepping down
after eight years. “I was planning to retire prior to
joining KCSN/fm in 2011. The opportunity to build a radio
station that would put artist development first in a market
as influential as Los Angeles was something, I knew was
vital. It has been an honor to serve musician’s needs for
the last eight years in developing a platform that
recognized and supported their livelihood,” stated Sky in a
press release. Music is most definitely in his DNA. Sky worked as a music critic and concert promoter in Cleveland before entering radio. From WYDD-Pittsburgh, WWWW-Detroit and WLUP-Chicago in the 1970s, he arrived in the Southland via KFOG-San Francisco. Sky joined KMET in the spring of 1985 to work afternoon drive and to be assistant pd. In the summer of 1995, he offered a very candid interview in Radio & Records, as Sky talked about his experience at KMET: "Frankly my L.A. tenure was the worst time of my life. I remember standing on the roof of KMET, looking at the Hollywood sign, and thinking, ‘How in the hell can a kid from Ohio have reached these heights, yet hate it so much?’ It was the worst-managed station I’ve ever been associated with – nothing was done right. The personalities – as storied as they were – were dinosaurs with outmoded concepts. I went through five pds in two years. It was the nadir of my life and career, and I was miserable and a wreck. At the end of KMET, I decided never to create obstacles for myself again." After KMET, he returned to KFOG where he won Billboard’s 1988 AOR Music Director of the Year Award, then to KISW-Seattle as pd. A year later, he started a series of record company assignments at Epic Records, Island Records and LPG. He left Island in the summer of 1995 and later joined Radio & Records as general manager and left in late 2001. “I want to thank Karen Kearns, KCSN’s original gm, as well as Doctors Harry Hillenbrand, Cynthia Rawitch, and Dianne Harrison for allowing me to lead this endeavor. It has been an incredible challenge, given the fact that KCSN is the lowest powered fm in the Los Angeles market, to have it grow into an internationally respected tastemaker radio station. The small, but dedicated, staff of 88.5/fm deserves great appreciation for their tireless efforts. Turning 800 watts into such a recognized entity was a remarkable feat. They have my eternal respect. In retirement, I plan to be active as a musician’s advocate, as well as pursuing ownership opportunities in broadcasting.” |
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Hear Humble Harve at KRLA in 1990
Richard Kimball Dies
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(March 11, 2019) Richard Kimball worked
the early days of AOR radio as program director at the
Mighty Met, KMET and KWST (K-West) in the mid-1970s. He died
last week, it is thought he was 82. Richard was being
treated for throat cancer and was undergoing chemo therapy
last fall. No official word on the cause of death. Word of
his passing was initially posted by fellow KMET colleague
Mary Turner Pattiz. Born in Oakland in 1936, Richard grew up in Sacramento. His mother played piano in various bands. “I was exposed to all kinds of music. Every weekend we listened to opera.” At 14 he wrangled a job at the NBC/tv station, KCRA. After some time in college, Richard joined the Army and spent much of his time in the Far East. “I loved the international travel.” Before he arrived at “the Mighty Met,” he worked in the Bay Area at KDIA, KSAN, KSJO and KMPX. “When I left KMET I managed Emerson, Lake and Palmer. In 1975, a group from Detroit arrived to turn ‘K-West’ into AOR programming and I was the only local guy hired. Within 18 months I tired of a daily show. I envisioned myself splayed over some console mumbling something about Joni Mitchell. Plus, the suits and the corporate mentality had arrived and the music was no longer free-form.” Richard became a manager and guided the careers of David Cassidy and other artists until joining Westwood One in 1980 in the rock concert division. He stayed until 1993 when he left to co-produce “Rockline” for Global Satellite. Richard owned AASK (Artist Acquisitions Service Kompany) which acquired musical artists for network programming. He also co-produced “The Road” which was syndicated in 250 markets and 29 countries. “I was sitting in Las Vegas waiting to record some artists for ‘The Road’ when a three-quarter slot machine paid a progressive jackpot of $41,000. That’s the way my life has been.” Mary Turner wrote of Kimball. “A gentleman in every sense of the word and a gentle man.” |
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Pat Sajak interviewing Dave Hull
Sunday Nostalgia - 10 Years Ago Today
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KSPN Moves into New Hood
Chris Berry, KSPN vp/gm, hosted the ribbon cutting festivities live on-the-air with Steve Mason and A. Martinez (filling in for John Ireland) during Mason & Ireland. The broadcast team was joined by media stars, sports figures, sports executives and dignitaries including: Tim Leiweke, president/ceo of AEG; Cynthia Ruiz, Commissioner and President Board of Public Works who was representing the Mayor; Jan Perry, Councilwoman 9th District; Carlos Amezcua, Anchor of Fox 11 News; and Luc Robitaille, hockey legend and president of business operations for the Los Angeles Kings.
KSPN vp/gm Chris Berry
being interviewed by Steve Mason; KSPN producer
David Singer;
Mario Ruiz at the main
control panel. Mario sits in front of main broadcast
studio; “We are excited and honored to be part of L.A. LIVE and the revitalization of Downtown Los Angeles,” said Berry. “The 710 ESPN Studios are a state-of-the-art digital broadcast facility that is unmatched by any radio station in the nation. It is apropos that ESPN built its new broadcast center within a ‘line drive’ of L.A.’s iconic sports venues including: The Staples Center, L.A. Coliseum, Galen Center and Dodger Stadium.“
A. Martinez; Steve Mason interviewing KSPN pd Larry Gifford; and KSPN national sales manager Rob Novak
SCBA President Mary
Beth Garber with KSPN traffic manager Shawn Willcuts;
Mason with hockey star The radio station debut is the second phase of a three-part ESPN West Coast Launch. The first stage was the opening of the ESPN Zone at L.A. LIVE in January, followed by the radio station “Opening Day” on March 2. The festivities culminate with the first West Coast broadcast of ESPN/TV’s daily SportsCenter live at 10 p.m. beginning April 6, 2009.
Drew
Belzer, Dave Denholm, Brian Long; Steve Mason
in-studio;
Former KFWB anchor
Carol Ramos and KNX morning anchor Dick Helton; |
Email Saturday - 2.9.2019
| ** Bean Replacement “I think Randy Wang should apply at KROQ for soon to be vacated position on the Kevin & Bean show. Randy is funny and deserves so much better than the failed ratings-challenged KABC.” – Patrick Breen ** Orange County Team “Enjoyed the message from Buddy Hatton re his time on KWIZ and KLOK as half of the Buddy and Fran morning team back in the late 60’s. He was correct, their ratings were unbelievable and, also correct, they couldn’t stand each other. I worked with them from time to time as a part-time producer and can vouch for the following. One morning while they were on the air, Bill Weaver [yes, he was a genius] called in on the hotline phone and told Buddy that he wanted Fran to immediately quit on the air. Buddy thanked him, hung up and turned to Fran as she was asking him, ‘what did Bill want?’ Buddy told her he wanted Fran to quit on air immediately. She erupted and basically told him to go to hell, then stormed out of the studio knocking over a couple of chairs on the way. Keep in mind, Fran was both talented and smart and apparently realized that, by quitting a job in such a public way, was almost certain to lose any unemployment benefits she had coming. But it didn’t matter – she was finished! So Buddy soldiered on as the KWIZ/KLOK morning man alone. Listener input, however, was overwhelmingly negative. After a couple of weeks, Weaver realized he had made a mistake. The KWIZ / KLOK audiences loved both of them, much more than just Buddy. Weaver then instructed Buddy to call Fran at home on the air and offer her job back. Which he did. The first time, Fran slammed the phone down refusing to even speak to him. All live on the air. After a week or so of his daily phone calls begging her to return, Fran agreed to return to co-host the morning show. Their ratings continued to climb and Bill Weaver learned a valuable lesson: Don’t screw with a very popular morning team. Buddy Clyde [as he was known then] was, indeed, one of the most talented and professional radio personalities I’ve ever known. He was a pleasure to work with.” – Larry “Supermouth” Huffman ** More Buddy “A couple of sidebars to the Buddy [Hatton] Clyde story. The on-air firing was a Bill Weaver-created stunt designed to do exactly what it did, increase listener involvement and ratings. As you know, I got into radio in the Bay Area in order to go to college during the day, knowing that I would start with overnight or evening shifts which worked perfectly for me. Among other stations, I had worked part-time weekends on KLOK when I was offered the evening shift. Then, when the Buddy and Fran show did not catch on in the Bay Area, I was surprised to be offered the morning show to replace them. That was when I first met Bill Weaver. During that morning time I was called by KIOI, one of the first powerful and significant fm stations in San Francisco, located in the penthouse of an apartment building across the street from the Fairmont Hotel. They wanted me to be their first news person, doing two newscasts an hour from 5:30-9:30 each morning. I had a view of the entire bay including the Golden Gate Bridge. I took the view. About a year later I got a call from Sean O’Callahan, the operations director of KLOK, who said Weaver was looking for an assistant. Sean recommended that he interview me. I paid my own way to Orange County, got hired and the rest is history. Another thing that turned out to be funny, whenever Buddy did not show up [I think Fran was gone by this time], which was somewhat regularly, I would get a call from the transmitter engineer at 5:30 and rushed to the station to do the KWIZ morning show, followed by my other work the rest of the day." – Paul Barth ** Teaming Up “Thanks for the memory lane walk through LA’s best radio teams. I grew up with Lohman & Barkley and then Hudson & Landry [‘clear the highway, peasants, the Emperor is coming!’] Then there was Bruce Chandler and Tony St. James. My friends and I talk about the voices of our high school years, and it always ends up with remembering Charlie Tuna and all his personal appearance in the San Gabriel Valley. Thanks for sharing ‘Ajax Liquor Store,’ a routine still funny all these years later. I have that CD somewhere, and I definitely have to pull it out to put on my Apple Music / iTunes list.” – Julie T. Byers ** Early Teams “If my memory is correct, one of the first two-man radio teams in the morning was Gene Rayburn and Jack Lescoulie on WNEW radio in New York in the late 1940’s. Jack Lescoulie didn’t stay very long and was replaced by Dee Finch. Rayburn and Finch was one of the most popular shows in New York in the late 1940’s and early 50’s. Rayburn left in 1952 and was replaced by Gene Klavan. Klavan and Finch stayed on the air for about 15 years before Finch retired. Metromedia owned WNEW and KLAC in the early 60’s. With the success in New York of a two-man radio team, they decided to try it in Los Angeles and wound up teaming Al Lohman with Roger Barkley.” – David Schwartz ** Skip Character “I just read Tom Hoffarth’s comments on Tim Neverett comparing him to Skip Carey. Hoffarth characterizes Carey as ‘the late, bland Skip Carey.’ Having lived in Atlanta from ‘89- ‘94, I listened to a lot of Braves games and Skip Carey’s understated, dry sense of humor was one of the main reasons I listened. Maybe Tom didn’t hear enough of Skip to appreciate him, or maybe, the humor was too subtle for Tom. Even my wife, who is not a baseball fan, enjoyed listening to Skip because he made her laugh.” – Bob Scott ** Keeping Radio Websites Current “KNX has always been painfully slow to make programming changes to its website. Re: ‘KNX still lists Diane Thompson anchoring afternoon drive news.’ They still list Bill Keene with 'Traffic and Weather together!'” - David Grudt ** Enjoy Updates “I really enjoy the daily LARadio updates, but the older I get, the fewer people I know personally in the posts. Most of those I worked with or who were still working when I left K-Earth in 1978 are retired – or worse. A lot of those who are featured weren’t even born yet. There is an old guy looking back at me in the mirror when I shave. I can’t decide whether to give up shaving – or mirrors.” – Steve Fredericks Liddick ** Crafty Kraft “Needless to say, we are all shocked about the Robert Kraft story and while no one including me believes he would be involved with human trafficking, you have to wonder why someone with so much money and such a wonderful reputation would even walk in the door. It was very hard to write this to you. My six Superbowl rings got in the way of my typing.” – Mike Butts, Boston |
Motion Picture Academy Nominee Was a LARP
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(March 8, 2019) In 1973,
three years before his death at age 37, his best acting
years were behind him. Sal Mineo earned two
supporting actor Oscar nominations – for 1955’s Rebel
Without a Cause and for 1960’s Exodus. He also
appeared in Giant, The Longest Day and he
portrayed drummer Gene Krupa in The Gene Krupa Story.
But in 1973, Sal was struggling to recapture his film career and supporting a “heavy coke and weed” habit, according to a LA narcotics deputy. It was 46 years ago when Sal tried his hand at Talk Radio at KABC, replacing Marv Gray. LA Times veteran radio reporter Don Page commented at the time of Mineo's hiring: "Sal Mineo. Sal Mineo???" LARPs come in all shapes and backgrounds. Sal didn’t last a year – just over two months. A couple of years later, he was found dead in a Holloway apartment enclosed carport. “The victim lies supine. He’s halfway down the alley. Two good Samaritans attend to him. His feet point northwest. He’s wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt with red and white flowers. He’s dark against a dark sky and ark pavement. Add a dark blue jacket and black tennis shoes. Add dark blood. He’s been shivved. There’s a bad would. The blood flow extends 10 feet plus. The wound goes deep. Blood runs east, down the alley.” The Hollywood Reporter reopened the cold case by chronicling Mineo’s unsolved death, while best-selling author James Ellroy and Glynn Martin, a retired 20-year LAPD veteran, pored over seven boxes of files at the L.A. Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau. We are excerpting sections from the THR piece. |
| Upstairs neighbors heard screams and
dialed Emergency Paramedics attempt to resuscitate the
victim. It’s a no go. He’s stone dead. Both wits were shook
up. Both wits saw a fleeing suspect. Both wits described the
man: white, young, 5’10” or 11”. Slender, long hair. Male
traffic at Mineo’s pad. “Young men in and out.” “They were gay, he was gay.” “They were a lot of, you know, young men around.” Word leaked. The press grabbed it and created big woo-woo. It made the late tv and radio news.” A studio publicist revealed: “He was a gay person. Sal was likewise gay. Sal mostly socialized with gay folks. Sal had money woes. Sal was broke a while back. He was on the upswing now. He’s scrounged theatre gigs for the past two years. He’s incurred extensive debts. He’d poke boys as young as 14 and as old as 25 ‘on occasion.’ He craves bedmates who were not ‘particularly bright. ’Sal had a weird sense of humor. He played mind games with his sex objects.” A late brainstorm tweaked us. Check Sal’s answering service. Casting directors and agents called. It felt eerie and lonely. The callers felt lonely. Sal felt lonely. We felt lonely like we were love-starved dipshits waiting for some late-night phone call. The whole case felt eerie and lonely.” Here's our three-months-in progress report: We don’t know shit.” In other news: LA Times’ Tom Hoffarth reports that Dan Patrick’s contract to simulcast his AT&T Audience Network national radio show with the NBC Sports Network has ended. “KLAC is one of some 330 radio affiliates, but we’ve come to appreciate the visuals and between-commercials side chat,” said Hoffarth … Jimmy Kimmel worked with KROQ’s Kevin & Bean as one of the show’s contributors before hitting it big with his own late-night network tv show. Jimmy was thrilled with Bean’s announcement that he was leaving the morning show and moving to England. “Dear Bean, I’m sorry you’re being deported. I loved every day of our 5 years @kroq (especially the day you got stuck in the rear window of a pickup truck). Thank you for your kindness, support & great times. Congratulations on a remarkable run. Who’s going to tell @thekevinryder?” … Mark Thompson, best known for his time as the tv weather guy on FOX 11, has joined KGO-San Francisco to host the midday show. “It’s nothing short of a thrill to be back on the air in the Bay Area and on a legendary station that was my daily companion for so long,” said Thompson. “It’s an exciting opportunity to be able to with the KGO 810 audience, which I believe is one of the smartest audiences in all of broadcasting.” |
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| KNAC 105.5 ad from a Cal State Long Beach publication, The Lantern, from May 1972 (From Dave Grudt's personal collection) |
Seismic Shift in Morning Drive
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(March 7, 2019) The
landscape of morning radio in Los Angeles is moving. Did you
feel the jolt yesterday morning? It happened when
Gene Baxter,
better known as Bean (half
of the 30-year KROQ morning team of Kevin
& Bean) announced that
he was leaving, probably by the end of the year and probably
to England. The split was not so much shocking as it was
inevitable. Unless you have done it, spending four or five hours together in a cramped studio has got to be claustrophobic, not only physically but mentally. Staying fresh daily with topical humor is tough. It seems that each generation gets to hold on to a ‘get up in the morning’ team for a while. We get to graduate from school, get married and start families together. Listeners grow with the personalities. The morning team provide “water cooler” fodder for the day. In 1986, Roger Barkley stood up from his KFI chair, took off his headphones, and walked out on a 25-year relationship with Al Lohman. Roger once referred to the split briefly at a Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters event, in the basement offices of Home Savings and Loan in Hollywood. LARadio attempted to reunite the pair, but Roger would have nothing to do it. He was done. Lohman & Barkley never talked again. In 1987, two years before Kevin & Bean launched their morning show, Mark (Thompson) and Brian (Phelps) were the delight to a new generation at KLOS and they did it for 25 years, until Mark abruptly decided to end the show and move to Charlotte in 2012. |
| And there’s the team of
Mark Wallengren
and Kim Amidon.
Both partnered with others successfully, but it was not the
same as mornings with
Mark & Kim on “the
KOST.” When the split happens, the magic is gone.
Lohman teamed with Gary Owens for a time, but there was no chemistry. Mark tried going solo at KSWD (100.3/The Sound), but that didn’t work. Will Kevin Ryder be able to regroup with a new partner at KROQ? How is Bill Handel doing after his health scare last year, as he was in and out of hospitals for a month. Ryan Seacrest seems to be a picture of health and success. He’s been doing the KIIS morning show for 15 years. MY/fm’s Valentine has been doing mornings since 2007 with a short break working evenings. Gary Bryan has been playing Oldies/Classic Hits in morning drive beginning in 2002, albeit the station brought in Hollywood Hamilton for a year and a half in early 2005 before Gary returned to mornings in the summer of 2006. Big Boy has been doing mornings since 1994 between KPWR and KRRL. It seems doubtful that we will ever see longevity in morning drive ever again. The Southland has been so lucky that so many talented men and women have been part of our mornings on the way to school or work, in the bedroom, kitchen and car. We had Robert W. Morgan at 93/KHJ but he was only there for five years. Emperor Bob Hudson did mornings in spurts and sputters on a number of stations. Sweet Dick Whittington had 14 years at KGIL and then two to three year visits at a half-dozen stations. From 1950-79, Dick Whittinghill did mornings at 710/KMPC. Charlie Tuna probably has the record for most stations where he sat in the morning chair. Rick Dees had a great run at KIIS for 23 years, then tried two other stations (Movin’ and Hot 92.3) that lasted five years total. The shelf life of personalities has an expiration sticker. A new generation of audio absorbers has arrived. They want it shorter and quicker. There doesn’t seem to be much loyalty. As listeners toggle down the dial on their car radios, they don’t stay for long. As a consequence, not much is invested by the listener to any particular personality. Will a new audio platform attract the next generation of listeners? Pandora, SiriusXM, Spotify, podcasts? Meanwhile, thanks to Bean for a fascinating and electric run in Southern California radio. And no one will forget when you gave up a kidney to save the life of Scott Mason. |
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Breaking News!
| (March 6, 2019) AllAccess.com just sent a morning drive bombshell bulletin - KROQ's Bean To Call It Quits. Bean Baxter To Bail One half of the legendary ENTERCOM Alternative KROQ/LOS ANGELES morning show, GENE "BEAN" BAXTER, of KEVIN & BEAN, has announced that he will leave the show. No set date, but BEAN says he's moving to ENGLAND and that the latest he'll stay is through the end of the year. BEAN said, "30 years is a good time to stop." |
TALKERS Publisher Reacts Fast
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(March 6, 2019) Michael
Harrison, publisher of TALKERS and former
program director at KMET, is based in New York. However, in
the heat of the winter he spends some time working from his
home in Jupiter, Florida, a small beachside town. A recent story recently erupted about a mile from his winter home of Jupiter. The story was about New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a police sting, human trafficking, and prostitution. |
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| “A local news story of national
interest rocked the community, Robert Kraft getting busted
for patronizing an allegedly illicit massage parlor
operating under the seemingly innocent name, Orchids of Asia
Day Spa, just one mile from my home here,” wrote Harrison.
“At first, the story seemed like another celebrity gossip story…a rich, powerful man gets in trouble for breaking the law regarding the victimless crime of prostitution – fodder for snickers and sports talk show speculation. But it didn’t take long before the underlying seriousness of the story began to surface – the issue of sex trafficking and the broader issue of human trafficking. It seems this so-called day spa was suspected of employing the services of female sex slaves, some possibly underage.” Harrison continued: “Whether Robert Kraft understood or cared about the connection of his activity to this nasty subject is to be determined at another time and another place.” Michael immediately turned his local drama into a national podcast with Joshua Philipp, who is a senior investigative reporter at the New York-based, multi-language, international news organization The Epoch Times that specializes in keeping tabs on the Chinese Communist Party. Listen here. In other news: Joel Bellman, former news director at KBIG and winner of six Golden Mikes, has had enough with the outcry about The Green Book winning Best Picture at the recent Oscar awards. “Can Justin Chang [film critic at LA Times] just shut up already about Green Book? The public loved it [as did the Academy, apparently], and critics almost all hated it. We get it, Justin. But knocking this while elevating the silly and juvenile Black Panther — and the frankly stupid, inept and deeply phony BlacKKKlansman?! Sore loser, shrill and boring. You’ve already written much more than you needed to. Move on” … Buddy Hatton recently posted: “The biggest ratings and money makers for KWIZ and KLOK was Buddy and Fran. Bill Weaver was a genius putting us together even knowing we couldn’t stand each other” … KNX still lists Diane Thompson anchoring afternoon drive. news |
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Entertainment Weekly has a VERY nice feature on our LARP, Randy Thomas
Former KFI Talk Show Host Reveals He Has Cancer
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(March 5, 2019) John
Batchelor’s Sunday night syndicated Talk show aired
on KFI in 2008-09. When dropped by KFI, KABC aired the show
from 2009-10. John is still in syndication, based at
WABC-New York. A few months ago, John learned he has cancer. For seven decades he didn’t smoke, drink, or otherwise partake in dangerous behavior. So when Batchelor was diagnosed in October 2018 with oropharyngeal cancer — more specifically, a malignant tumor at the base of the radio host’s tongue that threatened his ability to speak on air — it came as a shock, according to the Princeton Alumni Weekly. The John Batchelor Show, now heard nightly, markets itself as “an essential tool for understanding the new order in the 21st century.” But cancer meant surgery and radiation, fatigue, and changes to his distinctive voice — maybe even no voice at all. “It’s a roulette wheel of life,” Batchelor said. In early November, Batchelor entered Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for surgery. He opted to walk into the operating room, through the maze of identical corridors, rather than ride a gurney. He awoke to find the surgery a success. Batchelor then gave himself two weeks to learn to speak again. Next came six weeks of radiation therapy. This time, Batchelor was determined to stay on air throughout. For six weeks, every weekday began with the radio host submitting himself to a robot that delivered precise doses of radiation to his neck. By the end of the six weeks, Batchelor’s voice was ragged, an open wound on his neck leaked blood on his collar, and his well over 6-foot-tall frame had lost 15 percent of its weight. And still, Batchelor was determined to keep his show going. Batchelor is now encouraging middle-aged men to have themselves checked for the largely symptomless cancer caused by HPV, the human papillomavirus. |
| In other news: Former K-EARTH jock Christina Kelley was “stunned” while viewing the HBO Michael Jackson documentary, Leaving Neverland. “Seven hours a day on the phone with a little boy? Parents kept far away overnight? WTF! Accusers seem truthful. But, hair ‘like a Brillo pad.’ Nah. Jheri Curls are cloud soft. The rest of it is credible and horrifying.” … Tom Hoffarth of the LA Times has some sharp observations on newest Dodgers play-by-by man Tim Neverett. “Spectacularly average, with a haunting similarity of the late, bland Skip Caray from the Atlanta Braves’ TBS days.” Ouch … KLOS raised $841,630 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in their two-day Radiothon last week. |
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New News from Diane Thompson
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(March 4, 2019) Diane Thompson recently
retired from the news broadcasting game at KNX. It has only
been a week since she left the anchor chair, but we wondered
how she was doing. “It's great,” enthused Diane. “I’m
sleeping until I wake up, putting fewer miles on my car,
cooking healthy dinners, attending choir rehearsal after 12
years of learning music on the fly, and getting to know my
husband and cats again! But I do miss my work family and the
energy of the newsroom.” Diane admitted that she was flabbergasted and humbled by the flurry of comments, emails, tweets and Facebook messages from friends, colleagues, city officials and listeners about her retirement. “For me, it’s always been about the work...getting the story, writing it accurately and concisely, and delivering it in a conversational manner. It’s what I’ve wanted to do since my sophomore year in high school. I pinch myself sometimes thinking how lucky I’ve been to work in Los Angeles for 39 years! The best piece of advice I received years ago came from Danny Martinez –‘you’re only as good as your last performance.’ I hope I've lived up to that :)” Boy, did she ever. |
| In Email Saturday, Dave Baker asked
about a brick he found on his property, and whether it was
some sort of promotional item. San Diego resident Chris
Carmichael (publisher of SDRadio.net) knew exactly
what it was. “Actually, I have one of those bricks! The
76KFMB / RCP brick! Hudson and Bauer were the morning show
that ‘owned’ San Diego before B100 [Bobby Rich]
and Jeff and Jer (100.7 FM, KKLQ 106.5 and others) on fm
were the choice. RCP is a ‘rock and brick’ company based in
the county. Just another brick in the wall of station
promotions.” Thanks Chris. In other news: Condolences to Jaime Jarrin on the loss of his wife and Jorge Jarrin on the loss of his mother, Bianca Jarrin. God bless you both … Sorry to hear about Jerry Lee Lewis, one of the last Fifties rock & roll architects alive and performing. He was hospitalized over weekend after suffering a minor stroke. The doctors expect a full recovery. Like Elvis two years before him, Lewis broke through on Memphis’ Sun Records, scoring a hit with Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On in 1957. His career (Great Balls of Fire and Breathless) famously fell apart in 1958 when it was revealed that he had married an underage relative, Myra, but then had a major comeback beginning in the late Sixties in country music. He played as recently as February 16th in Greenville, South Carolina … Congrats to Frankie DiVita on celebrating her fifth year at KLOS. |
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| LARP Praising LARP |
Email Saturday, 3.2.2019
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** No KIIS Lab
“KIIS/fm never operated the so-called ‘KIIS Workshop.’ There was no connection whatsoever between the workshop and the radio station. The former ousted AM general manager, as part of a settlement, was due some airtime in the middle of the night on the powered-down KIIS-AM 1150. Obviously, this caused considerable concern and confusion amongst the public, broadcasters and some of our vendors. It was not unusual for us to receive billing from suppliers that the so called ‘workshop’ incurred and attributed to the radio station. To add further insult to injury – and to try to attain fraudulent credibility – the ‘workshop’ would attempt to hire some of our jocks for a scant $50 per session to attend some of the ‘classes’ and ‘lecture’ about the business. The students, in a rented office space across the street from the station at Sunset and Vine, would tape segments that were played back on AM 1150 in the middle of the night. It’s simply amazing what they got away with. And even more amazing that the myth extends into today. I know this because along with an accountant, I was a corporate spy hired by State Mutual and Egmont Sonderling, who held the note on the station, to be on staff as advisor, operations, and program director. The goal was to uncover certain unethical situations occurring in that regime and to document trades that were going on, especially for vehicles, that were not on the log. Given full authority, I changed the station’s format to Top 40, setting the stage for what became AM and FM, for what it is today. [The unexpected side benefit was achieving a 12.6 in our first book on the AM alone]. What a trip! KIIS Workshop? Nope. It was never ours.” – Don Elliot |
| ** KIIS Workshop “The KIIS Broadcasting Workshop was formed by Bill Anderson and Phillip Trout, who had previously operated the Columbia School of Broadcasting. In 1974 or 1975, they talked KIIS management into letting them assemble a group of 15 radio hopefuls and teach them the basics of broadcasting within the KIIS studios and conference rooms. As one might expect, having students around disrupted the operation of the station, so the two partners were told to move the bulk of their operation elsewhere. They chose to take the elevator in the Playboy building [where KIIS occupied the lower two floors] and build studios and classrooms on the ninth floor, which was occupied in part by a Playboy photo studio (!). Once that ninth-floor facility was completed, the KIIS Broadcasting Workshop students only ventured downstairs to the KIIS studios to go on the air in the wee small hours of the morning. I happened to design the Workshop’s ninth floor facility for them, which was still in operation when I left in 1976. What was the key reason I left? The two founders’ greed was turning the Workshop into a scam – and I didn't want to be associated with them in any way. While I was there, though, there was no out-of-the-building facility at Sunset and Vine. If there ever was one, it was well after I had departed.” – Gary Theroux (photo: Barbara and Lee Marshall at the KIIS Broadcasting Workshop in 1975) |
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| ** Oscar PS “First, thank you for the update on my cancer status, and for finding a good photo of me. LOL I sort of agree with you about leaving Stanley Donen out of the In-Memoriam tribute. But the Academy always states that the list includes people who passed away the previous year of 2018. But I agree, they should have mentioned his passing days before the Oscars, maybe showing short clips of his work and getting his honorary Oscar, given his importance in film history. The late Richard Burton also had seven nominations, but never won an Oscar. Peter O’Toole had eight nominations and never won. Deborah Kerr had six nominations but never won. But they later received honorary Oscars. During our annual Oscar watching parties, I remember when years ago, we would be rooting for Randy Newman to win the Oscar! But it took him until 2002, after 15 best song nominations, for him to win for If I Didn't Have You for Monsters Inc. Randy won his second Oscar for, We Belong Together from Toy Story 3 in 2011. As any Disney fan can tell you, the late Walt Disney won 26 Oscars, and out of 59 nominations, he won 22 competitive Oscars. Disney holds the record for most wins and most nominations in the history of The Academy Awards. Walter Brennan holds the record for most Oscars for Best Supporting Actor. He won three Oscars in five years for Best Supporting Actor, but he lost his fourth nomination in that category for Sgt. York in 1940.” – Jim Hilliker |
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** Week in Review
“I loved your analysis of Sunday’s Oscars. It was a good show, Randy Thomas (l) should get an Emmy for her work, and Adam Lambert with Queen and Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper made this a must-see show. However, I really enjoyed the 1989 [Alan Carr-produced) Oscars and I loved Rob Lowe and ‘Snow White.’ I have the VCR tape in one of my boxes and I have to put it on DVD for posterity. The no-host format really does lend itself to this style of awards show, but the Academy could take a page from the Independent Spirit Awards, because Audrey Plaza made that show one of the best of all time. Funny, topical and memorable for the talents that have yet to go mainstream. I loved the article on Gary Theroux. I have on a cassette tape somewhere part of the History of Rock & Roll. It was such a classic show. What a career. And the mention of John Beard and his days at NBC4 brought back many memories, but that day when the son of the station’s pharmacy expert held everyone on air hostage with a toy gun is unforgettable. I’ve never forgotten seeing the clip [when the station went back on] of how calm John Beard was and how he leaned forward to protect Kirstie Wilde [who I think was the air pregnant at the time] and snatched the gun when the guy put it down. Talk about grace under pressure.” – Julie T. Byers |
| ** New Martoni’s
“Thanks, Don Graham, for mentioning the new Martoni’s. One of my many ex-bosses told me that when Robert W. Morgan died, he took Martoni’s with him!” – Bob Gowa |
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** Another Brick in the Wall
“I worked for years in L.A. and S.D. radio and still do VO work from our home in Fallbrook. It’s a pretty big piece of land and with the cold weather I had been using firewood from an old stack in a grove. When I got to the bottom of the stack, I found this brick. A promotional brick? Possibly related to that Commodores song? I Googled it and found nothing. Anyone have any idea when this thing was made and why? Kinda weird to have worked in radio, then randomly find a piece of radio memorabilia on my property. Thanks!” – Dave Baker |
| ** Missing Wife “If it was just a job, no wonder she left :) Whoever gave you the photo should have blacked out the license plate number. The joke would stand, and no privacy would have been further impeded :) PS: I am happy that you couldn’t stay away from presenting the radio news, and that you have left it ad free. You should put a tip jar somewhere on the site.” – Janice Jacobson |
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| ** Herbert’s Editorial
“I think the editorial by Don Herbert was spot-on. That’s my two-cents.” – Mike Baird, Hanford ** Link Overseas “I don’t remember how I found your page, but I saw you shared a video from CBS here: laradio.com/2018c.htm. I tried to watch it [some of my favorite shows are broadcasted there], but it didn’t work for me since their content is blocked outside of the US, and I’m currently abroad for a few months. I searched for a solution online and found an article that explains how to watch it, and it really worked. I wanted to share the page with so you can pass on to your other readers who have the same issues I did. Here is the link: https://www.wizcase.com/blog/how-to-watch-cbs-on-demand-and-live-from-anywhere/ I hope I helped.” – Kery Dinger |
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** Building Block Radio
“Thought this might be of interest in the column, even though not strictly LARP. This proposed Lego set has been proposed by Matt Maneely, a radio guy in a small market in New York State: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/b2071181-8c03-486b-bf4c-14fcf377e7d5/comments_tab If it gets 10,000 ‘supports’ in the next 400+ days they will put it into production and offer it for sale. What radio person -- regardless of market – wouldn’t want this?” - K.M. Richards |
| ** Judging Aimee “As you know, I’m very exact and fussy when it comes to early L.A. radio history, especially if it is on a topic that I’ve researched before. I can’t believe it was way back in 2003, some 16 years ago, that I wrote a history of Aimee Semple McPherson’s radio station KFSG, when the station went dark after 79 years. I also detailed the 1926 kidnapping story at that time, in my article. [Anyone who wants to read it can Google it.] Basically, to set the record straight, Aimee Semple McPherson did not own KRKD-1150. She owned KFSG, though the station was always licensed to the Echo Park Evangelistic Association. After she died, in 1961, her church, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel bought KRKD/fm, but sold KRKD-AM in 1970. Here’s the background: On February 6, 1924, McPherson put radio station KFSG [Kall Four Square Gospel] on the air from Angelus Temple, at 1100 Glendale Boulevard. On January 17, 1927, KMIC in Inglewood went on the air [later KRKD and today’s KEIB-1150 AM]. Starting on November 11, 1928, KFSG had to split airtime with KMIC, and later KMCS, and KRKD. In January of 1932, KMCS became KRKD-1120 and shared 1120-AM with KFSG [1150 after 1941, until 1961]. Aimee Semple McPherson, as you stated, died in 1944. Her son, Rolf McPherson took over ownership of KFSG and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel from 1944 to 1988. Until 1961, KFSG had less and less airtime, mostly on Sundays and some evenings, while KRKD got most of the hours on 1150-AM. In 1961, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel bought KRKD AM and FM, and merged KFSG with KRKD. That way they had a full-time AM station on 1150 with more power and aired services from Angelus Temple on Sundays and weekday evenings. In 1970, the Foursquare Gospel Church sold KRKD-1150, and it became KIIS. The church kept KRKD/fm and changed the call letters back to KFSG. Dr. Rolf McPherson died in 2009 at the age of 96. So, I hope that makes sense. Aimee did not own KRKD during her lifetime, but she owned KFSG, which divided its air time with KRKD. But, from 1961 to 1970, her church owned by her son, Rolf McPherson owned KRKD.” – Jim Hilliker
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The History of Gary Theroux
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(March 1, 2019) After
25 years of hosting LARadio and writing three books on
Los Angeles Radio People, I always find it fun to find
a LARP that I didn’t know about who just now surfaces. This
is the case with Gary Theroux. He was born on October 2, 1951 in Newark, NJ and grew up in the East. Gary was greatly influenced by the leading New York djs. “I still maintain a massive archive of not just more than a million tracks on CDs, LPs, 45, 78s and even cylinders but more than 4,000 audio interviews with hitmakers plus files (bios, photos, clippings.) on nearly everyone who ever charted a hit from the days of Thomas Edison to the present. I have lots of classic vintage airchecks of everyone from Alan Freed to Gene Weed.” Gary’s first gig in radio started when he was 11 years of age. He attended Illinois State University as a Mass Media (Radio-TV-Film) major, graduating in 1973. After graduation, Gary moved to Los Angeles and started working overnights at KSRF. “They had a great studio overlooking Santa Monica beach and I had expected any station with those call letters to carry a Beach Boys / Jan & Dean / Ventures / Surfaris-type fun-in-he-sun surf music format. Was I ever disappointed when it turned out to broadcast beautiful music 24/7!” Gary then became operations director at KIIS in the mid-1970s, ”My move to KIIS and its CHR format was a lot more satisfying. At the time that station was also operating the KIIS Broadcasting Workshop, a kind of boot camp for budding broadcasters. I also worked for a while for KDAY, KRLA and XPRS, in the latter case alternating evenings with Wolfman Jack, who became a good friend.” In 1978, Gary worked at Drake-Chenault Enterprises as a programmer and producer of special features. As longtime radio fan and talent, Gary developed into becoming a historian about rock and roll. When he heard the original version of The History of Rock and Roll in 1969, he heard many inaccuracies and omissions. Gary took the opportunity to revise and update the rockumentary (as well as redo the recordings in stereo). The highlight of the program was during the final hour, a 45-minute montage featuring a time sweep of clips from all of the number one songs. The finished product changed Gary’s life – his effort was eventually heard on 800 stations around the world. The program won Billboard magazine's “Top Special Program of the Year” award. Gary would then write The Top Ten: 1956 – Present, a book about the ten biggest hit records of each year. |
| After returning to local radio at
KRLA, Gary also taught courses in music and entertainment
history at UCLA. One fateful day, Gary read in Billboard that Reader's
Digest was looking for music consultants and
journalists. “I was well aware of the box sets RD had
released – in fact, in 1965 I talked my mother into buying a
copy of their ten LP Great Band Era box set to I could learn
about pop music from the pre-rock’n’roll years, too,” said
Gary. “I had used a lot of Reader’s Digest recordings in
programming different syndicated formats at Drake-Chenault
and figured I could serve as one of their music consultants
/ journalists from my home in Reseda. Gary flew to New York to interview with Reader’s Digest. Instead of being offered a position as a consultant, Gary was given the responsibility of being the music editor OVER the consultants. “They then waved a lot of money at me,” said Gary. “I hated the idea of giving up teaching at UCLA and (my) on-air work in L.A. – as well as the chance to buy more hot dogs at Pink's – but finally agreed to the move.” In June of 1982, Gary moved to New York and spent 20 years as the Music & Entertainment Editor for Reader’s Digest. Still a broadcaster at heart, he simultaneously began a nine-year run as the co-host of "The Saturday Night Special," a freewheeling Oldies and comedy series heard on stations in New York. Gary owns the trademark name "History of Rock and Roll." He launched into syndication a daily 2- 1/2-minute feature version of "The History of Rock and Roll," which he wrote, hosted and produced. He later did voiceover work and acted in a number of movies and tv shows, plus produced the tv movie The Legends of Comedy. He was featured in interviews on the programs Howard Stern: Shut Up and Listen, The Joe Franklin Show, and Today. “And I just finished the rough cut of a 90-minute tv documentary entitled ‘Inside the History of Rock and Roll,’” said Gary. “Each year I also write and produce the annually updated 10-hour countdown "The 100 Greatest Christmas Hits of All Time," (hosted by Wink Martindale). In December 2018, it ran in more than 175 countries worldwide – but, oddly enough, not in L.A.!” |
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LA Times ad from David Grudt's collection on 2/21/69
Become a Partner in Hope with Frosty, Heidi & Frank
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(February 28, 2019) KLOS’ Frosty, Heidi & Frank are in the midst of a fund raiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Become a partner in hope. Listen this morning at 95.5/fm (click the artwork) and be prepared to cry as young people share their amazing stories of their experience at the Memphis facility ... Mike Thompson, former program director at KSPN, has joined NRG Media in Omaha, owners of 45 radio stations in the Midwest. Some of KSPN’s best ratings came with Mike at the helm. He has been acting in tv in commercials and shows .. KABC morning co-host Jillian Barberie has been experiencing a real roller coaster of emotions since starting chemo earlier this month. “It was a rough day today just emotionally but I’m back!! I’m in a good place and I’m grateful. I’m allowed to get down,” she wrote on Twitter … KFI’s John & Ken expressed real concern over the health care future in California. “Probably on the list of two or three biggest fears on the John & Ken show that the state that runs the DMV might actually take over the health care system in California. It would be what they call single payer” … Former tv news anchor John Beard was a guest with John Phillips and Jillian Barberie at KABC the other morning. They reminisced about a frightening time when a man entered the studio during a live broadcast with gun demanding that consumer guru David Horowitz read a statement from the guy. “I’m thinking, oh my God, it doesn’t matter if he shoots us, I‘m gonna have a heart attack at any moment,” said Beard. Turn out it was a fake gun and the incident ended peacefully … LARP Guy Zapoleon has been around and directing radio for multiple decades. In an AllAccess.com interview on the eve of his semi-retirement, Guy was asked about the people in the business. “Air talent has always been radio’s key, connecting music and spoken-word content together to form that unique bond with listeners. That air talent / listener connection is something only radio is famous for and doesn’t really exist on any other music platform.” |
Archives 1st Quarter 2019: Passing Parade: Sylvia Chase; Eva Ross Kilgore; David Horowitz; Super Dave Osborne, Bruce Williams; Larry Van Nuys jumps into the (K)Surf; KABC shuffles line-up; LARP who died in 2018; Art Laboe set for PPB honor luncheon; Jaime Jarrin honored; Marketing lesson from Fiji Water Girl; Cindy Doles out styling; Saul Levine essay on his 105.1/fm beginnings; How will a recession hurt the radio biz?; Update on KFI reporter Hanna Scott; Series to preserve radio archives; Golden Night; 1,000 homes on site of KLOS/KABC; Video in cars; Jimmy Steal to Chicago; New head of Southern California Public Radio; Celebrating Scott St. James; Laughs are on Phil Hendrie; Afternooner like no other; Art Laboe honoed by Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters; Wendy Williams show postponed indefinitely; KNX vet Diane Thompson set to retire; Delilah tells all; Motown at 60; Martoni's; Steve Harvey and Mo'nique in kerfuffle; It's news to Steve Gregory; Auspicious start for 88.5/fm; Triplets 10-year anniversary; How Pete Weber made the hockey team; We Will Rock You; Randy Keith is the piano man
Archives 4th Quarter 2018: Classic win for K-EARTH; Ellen K doubles down; Rachel Maddow profile; Imus lawsuit thrown out; Jeff Baugh's book; Gary Thompson was at right place, at the right time; Don Elliot reports from NAB/RAB Radio Show; Rocio Rivera gets more time at KFI; Johnny Gunn's new book gets dressed down; New life for KNX/fm; Passing Parade: Scott St. James; Hal Pickens, Ed Crook, John Lyle Campbell, Mike Parker, Dave Roberts; Bill Dudley plays a record; Invisible LARP; RJ Curtis hits jackpot; LA Times beats up Charley Steiner; KBIG begins with Poole; 93/KHJ gets benched; Allie MacKay's Journey; Al Wisked Away by Dallas;What did music stations talk about during World Series; Heaven is in Your Mind; Brother John source material; Gary Moore stands up for cancer; Jillian Barberie diagnosed with breast cancer; What's in your berry bag, Wolfman?; Flash! Bohemian Rhapsody is a Smash!; Mornings growing at 870/KRLA; Another Southern California Inferno; Ingraham transitions to podcasting; Nobody knows anything; Casey Kasem counts backwards to 48 Hours; Jim Hawthorne would have been 100; Best Broadcaster ever!; Wink a heavenly treasure; 2018 rearview review; Scott St. James remembered; Bob Cole to hell and back; VO artists sing for kids; KLAC raises 1/4 $; Highest paid radio people; Doug McIntyre is set to leave KABC after 22 years; Wally Clark falls; Vic the Brick feelin' you; KABC, By George Green; Art Vuolo's farewell party
