T

T, Ice: KPWR, 1997-98. Ice, one of hip-hop’s most articulate stars, shared a weekly talk show in LA with Lisa Ever. At his best, the rapper has written some of the best portraits of ghetto life and gangsters, as well as some of the best social commentary hip-hop has produced. Just as often, he can slip into sexism and gratuitous violence, and even then his rhymes are clever and biting. Although he was one of the leading figures of California hip-hop in the '80s, Ice-T was born in Newark, New Jersey on February 14, 1959. When he was a child, he moved from his native Newark to California after his parents died in an auto accident. While he was in high school, he became obsessed with rap at Crenshaw High School in South Central Los Angeles. He took his name from Iceberg Slim, a pimp who wrote novels and poetry. Ice used to memorize lines of Iceberg Slim’s poetry, reciting them for friends and classmates. After he left high school, he recorded several undistinguished 12-inch singles in the early '80s. He also appeared in the low-budget hip-hop films Rappin’, Breakin’ and Breakin’ II: Electric Boogaloo. In the early 1990s he starred in New Jack City. His Cop Killer track from his album Body Count proved to be a major turning point in Ice-T’s career. The record, where he sang from the POV of a police murderer, ignited a national controversy. The NRA and police activist groups protested it and Time-Warner Records eventually dropped him.

T, Simon: KQLZ, 1989-90. Simon is retired and living in San Diego.
Taber, Jim: KROQ, 1973-75. Jim started in radio at KOSI-Denver. From there he joined WSGN-Birmingham and WABB-Mobile. Jim returned to his hometown of Dallas and had a long stay at KLIF. Jim came to Southern California to program KROQ. In 1974 he purchased KINT AM&FM-El Paso which he retained until the early 80s. He then purchased a station in Roswell, New Mexico. Following that sale, Jim went to work for Century/TM Productions Dallas selling jingle packages. A tumor developed on his lungs which eventually resulted in a brain tumor. Jim died in March of 1993.

TAGGART, Chuck: KCRW, 1988-98; KCSN, 1998-2008. Chuck hosted Gumbo, a weekly program of roots and traditional music, with a heavy emphasis on the music of New Orleans, of the rest of Louisiana, of Ireland and the other Celtic lands.  L. A. Weekly described his program as "a lip-smacking spicy cauldron of Cajun, zydeco, Celtic and roots music."

 

TAGGART, Jill: KGBS, 1972-73; KABC, 1973-74. Jill lives in Portland, Oregon and her married name is D’Aubery. She works as an actress in a medical school portraying women with obscure symptoms to medical students who must then diagnose her “ailments.” Her husband Bennett does the same thing.  Jill was born in Hollywood in 1940 and grew up in Laurel Canyon. She went to both L.A.C.C. and Pierce Colleges. Jill was the host of "Male Call," that was the male counterpart to Bill Ballance's "Feminine Forum" on KGBS. Her program on KABC mainly covered entertainment news. Even though her time in radio was brief, she said that it was the “happiest and best time in my life.” Her father was an actor in radio dramas. “I wanted to be a veterinarian and took pre-vet courses in school, but affirmative action ended that dream.” Since the mid-1970s she has mostly been writing, but she also did about 10 years of sound effects editing for film and tv. “I received 5 Emmy nominations and one win for The Day After.”

Talbot, Bud: KOCM, 1964-65; KHJ/fm, 1966. Bud was engaged in many entrepreneurial activities in Orange County. He passed away in 2003.

(Tom Turner, Richard Turnage, and Karen Tyndall)

TALLEY, Rick: KABC, 1980-82; KGIL, 1985-86. Rick was host of KABC's "SportsTalk," a program that went through many hosts. No matter who his partner was, Rick was always the calm host. In addition to his radio work, Rick was a columnist for the Daily News. He also wrote the Jay Johnstone book, Temporary Insanity and Over the Edge. Rick was a commanding figure at 6'2" tall. He later went to work for a Las Vegas sports radio network. He died in August 8, 1995 after suffering with dementia and complications from a brain tumor. He was 60. Rick was named Illinois sportswriter of the year in 1971 and 1976 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He also received many Associated Press writing awards. A native of Pinckneyville, Ill., he graduated in 1958 from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale after having served 14 months in the Army in Korea. He worked for the Decatur Herald, the Menlo Park Recorder, United Press International and the Rockford Morning Star and Register-Republic. He was the author of several books, including a best seller, The Cubs of '69. He was aresident of Las Vegas at the time of death. "He was legendary, and a lot of glasses will be raised to his memory throughout the sports world," said Shari Wenk, his literary agent. "It was impossible not to have a good time around him. He had a giant, good heart."

Tamo: KYSR, 2018. SEE Tamo Sein
Tanaka, T.N.: KFI, 1981. Tanaka works with the family business in Port Hueneme supervising two strawberry ranches. 

TANNER, Bill: KDAY; KFXM; K/men. Bill was a broadcast consultant for Spanish and English stations. He died January 27, 2021, at the age of 76. Bill was born in Kansas City, and moved to the Los Angeles area when he was a small child. At 14 years old, he and his family moved to Hilo, Hawaii, where he graduated from high school. He joined the naval reserve and was called to active duty at the age of 18. After discharge from the Navy in 1953, Bill worked in the aeronautical industry but later returned to his first love, radio broadcasting, in the late 1950s. During the '50s and '60s Bill was a disc jockey in the Los Angeles area at stations KDAY, KFXM, and K/men. In 1965, Bill and his family moved to Ventura. Bill landed a job at radio station KACY, where he was the morning dj and later became program director of the dominant Top 40 format station that used the slogan "Boss of The Beach." The late '70s found Bill in the Monterey Peninsula radio arena, where he then retired from the broadcasting business but managed to find a new career golfing for free as a marshal at Pebble Beach. He died November 13, 2008, at the age of 76. (Thanks to Bill Earl for the photo from his KACY scrapbook)

Tanner, Mike: KMGX, 1994. Mike worked at Dial Global's Hot AC format.
Tanter, Kirk: KGFJ, 1988-92; KJLH, 1994-95; KYPA, 1995-96; KACD, 1993-94. Kirk is on Smooth Jazz at WJZW-Washington, DC. He continues to do imaging for many stations across the country. He's director of operations at Radio-One.com.

TANTER, Lawrence: KJLH, 1972-84; KUTE, 1984-87; KSRF, 1987-88; KLIT, 1988-89; KACE, 1990-92; KAJZ, 1992-93; KJAZ, 2000-02; KTWV, 2003-10, KKJZ 2010-14. For decades he has been the PA announcer for the LA Lakers, and also the booth announcer for KCAL channel 9 'LTV' Lakers pre-game show. He has been a jock and/or program director for over 40 years. He has been the PA announcer for the LA Lakers for over 30 years. Born in Chicago, in the late 1970s Lawrence was the creative force of the "Quiet Storm" format - a successful integration of vocals and instrumentals - calling it "360 Degrees of Music" at the Stevie Wonder station, KJLH. He has been the P.A. announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers since the 1981-82 season. He has been the Lakers PA announcer longer than anyone, first working at The Forum and later at Staples Center. Tanter has seen the Lakers win multiple NBA Western Conference titles and NBA Championships.

His mild demeanor and subtle genius has separated him from other public address announcers in the league. From the dissonant tone sensed in his voice when announcing a basket, to the sensual and cool declaration of ‘The Laker Girls.” Lawrence himself is a former basketball player. His skills on the hardwood earned him a college scholarship to the University of Dubuque in Iowa.

His love for jazz landed him a position on the college radio station. Between 1993 and 1998, he was involved with ownership of KQBR-Sacramento. In 1996 he hosted a series called "The Immortals" for Urban stations to air during Black History Month. When KGIL changed format and call letters to KJAZ, Lawrence took over as pd. He also worked for a time at Smooth Jazz KTWV.  Additionally, he is the announcer for LTV, the Lakers pre/post game show on KCAL/TV.

TANTUM, Greg: KFWB, 1992-98, pd. Greg programmed news and News/Talk stations for Gannett, CBS and KING Broadcasting in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, San Diego and Seattle for 20 years before arriving in the Southland to run all-News KFWB. He has been an award winning reporter, anchor and writer. Following KFWB Greg headed north and was news director of KGO for seven years. Greg was then recruited to help create and launch Washington Post Radio, a combined effort of Bonneville Broadcasting and the Washington Post. After programming WTNT and WWRC, Greg joined Westwood One to launch and executive produce The Fred Thompson Show. He also was with NBC Radio News.

Greg joined WYAY-Atlanta as program director in the fall of 2014. 

Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Greg did most of his growing up in Ohio. Like many in the industry, Greg was only 14 when he started reading newscasts on WDRK-Greenville, Ohio and was named nd at  (because no one else was opening up the press releases). His mother was happy when he attended Miami University of Ohio and majored in hearing therapy/educational psychology but he soon broke her heart when he decided to “do radio” for a couple of years to get it out of his system. “More than 30 years later, my mom is still waiting.”

Tate, Leed: KRKD, 1965. Unknown.
Tavares, Kim: KPWR, 1998-99. Kim worked with morning driver Big Boy for about seven months. The sassy Latina left "Power" in early 1999.
Tavares, Suzy: KIIS, 2004-07. Suzy joined KIIS for weekends in early summer 2004 and by the fall she was working middays. She arrived from Q100-Atlanta and Y100-Miami. At one point, Suzy was a Miami Dolphins cheerleader. She worked at WJMN-Boston.

TAVIDIAN, Nataly: KNX, 2022-23. Nataly joined all-News KNX in February 2022. From her website: "I am a storyteller, writer, and a one woman orchestra. I am a healer and the host and creator of a podcast. I believe whole heartedly that I lead with my heart, strong mind and minimal ego. I say minimal because as human's I believe we're all a work in progress and you reach real joy when you let go of your ego. Nobody is perfect. Our spiritual selves were bored so they came to Earth to live a real life and to tackle business, find our passion, and find or aim for balance everyday with work love, life, family and friends. I come from a  journalistic background. My mom gave me a journal when I was 12 and I haven't stopped writing since. I was around 12 years old when I started to 'blog,' or write in a diary. I am a journalist by passion. Former television news anchor/reporter. I fought for this career. I was an LA girl who left my comfort zone to live in a small town and pursue my passion and grow in the business. You first met me as a reporter covering The City of Pasadena at Crown City News. I wrote content, produced and edited video. It then broadcast live. Experiences have taken me to telling local stories for CBS, ABC and FOX affiliates in California, Grand Island Nebraska, and for the local Pasadena media network. My experiences include covering politics in Sacramento, and writing for radio on topics of economy and local issues. I lead with ethics. I've loved sitting in Community of Concerned Journalists discussions and bringing those learned ethics to the forefront of life and work.   I also help run the family business. After losing my dad who was a gentle soul, amazing artist, and the best dad one could ask for I went full force in the family business working with my brother to keep his legacy alive. @CTFineJewelry. To me life is all about the evolution of self. Working daily to love, evolve and find balance. Let's meditate, dance, work and grow. I hold a double major from UCR and a certificate in aerobics.

Taylor, Al, KDAY, 1966. Unknown.
Taylor, Alvin: KLAC, 1965-69. Alvin is retired and living in Phoenix.

TAYLOR, Bill: KFWB, 1966-69; KLAC, 1969-70; KGBS, 1970-74; XPRS, 1973; KFOX, 1975-78. Bill, with his cast of hundreds of voices, is doing voiceover work from his home studio for radio and tv commercials. His character voice work ranges from David letterman to the former Presidents to Homer Simpson. Bill's website is: voplanet.com/billtaylor.   While growing up in his hometown of Milwaukee, Bill, born Bill Chimka, dreamed of being a night club comedian. “When I realized the only place for a comedian in Wisconsin was in strip joints, I turned to radio for a career with more security. I’m really a genius, eh?” He started his radio career in 1959 in Milwaukee, first at WISN, followed by WOKY and WEMP. “I came to L.A. with my pregnant wife and landed a part-time news job at KFWB. I later became a disc jockey. When the station went all-News, I stayed on as a news anchor. In between newscasts, so to speak, I had a chance to perform as a comic impersonator at the Comedy Store and twice on ABC/TV’s Joey Bishop Show.” He was nominated twice for CMA Country Jock of the Year and once by Billboard magazine. Bill was offered a 3-year contract at KIKK-Houston and the station was sold 8 months after Bill started. He moved to KSAN-San Francisco and eventually mornings at the Jones Satellite Network.

Taylor, Bob: KPPC, 1970-75; KROQ, 1975; KWST, 1976-80; KGIL AM/FM, 1980-89. For five years Bob was the general operations manager for five radio stations in Roswell, New Mexico until his retirement in early 2007.
Taylor, Chris: KNX/fm/KODJ/KCBS, 1988-2005. Chris worked evenings at "Arrow 93" until a format flip in March 2005. He has an active production facility and living in Tucson.

TAYLOR, Darren "Bo": KRBV, 2007-08. Bo died August 11, 2008, of cancer at the age of 42. He was a former gang member who became a peacekeeper respected by both the gangs and law enforcement. In early 2008 he was diagnosed with a rare cancer that attacks the tissues of the mouth, according to the Los Angeles Times obit. "It spread to his neck and head, but he insisted on fighting it in his own way, resisting traditional medicine to seek treatment in Tijuana. He died en route to a clinic there."

Taylor, Doug: KEZY, 1972. Doug is raising orchids in Perris.
Taylor, Frank: KCBS, 1993. Unknown.
Taylor, Henry: KMPC; KHJ. Unknown.

TAYLOR, Mark: KIQQ, 1976-77; KFI, 1977-88; KBIG, 1988-97; KABC, 1998-2002; KMLT, 2002-05. Mark left "Lite 92.7/fm" following a format flip to JILL/fm. He was a frequent fill-in on the Salem Radio Network. He now lives on a farm in West Virginia. The native of Nacogdoches, Texas, attended Texas A&M and Stephen F. Austin State College. He worked in San Antonio and Houston. Mark arrived in Southern California from a pd'ship at KYA-San Francisco. He got involved with teaming while at KFI. Mark and traffic reporter Bruce Wayne filled in as a team when Lohman and Barkley were on vacation. When "Bruce Wayne's KF-Eye-in-the-sky" airplane crashed, Mark has vivid memories of his on-air hours following the death of the traffic pilot on June 4, 1986. Mark co-starred on an Empty Nest episode and was featured on ABC's Hudson Street. He was featured in an NBC Movie of the Week called Secrets of a Married Man. Mark left KBIG in late 1997 when Chancellor Media took over from Bonneville Broadcasting. In 1999, Mark teamed with Guy Davis for the TaylorDavis show at KABC. In late 2000, Mark joined Gloria Allred for a midday show at KABC.  He has been seen frequently on talking head shows. “I’ve appeared on FOX News Channel’s O’Reilly Factor and Hannity and Colmes along with CNN’s Talkback Live and ABC’s Politically Incorrect.”

Taylor, Michael: KPFK, 1996. Michael, a news reporter for KPFK, was shot to death execution-style in South Los Angeles, according to the LA Police Department. The 45-year-old was found in a vacant lot in April 1996. His body was found near railroad tracks, with his hands bound. He had been shot several times. Detectives said Taylor was not killed for his sometimes controversial views. In 1992, Taylor enrolled in a radio apprenticeship program at KPFK. A former skid row resident who had turned from a life of drug use to a passion for activism, Taylor was at work raising money to support the station.

(Mark Thompson [The Sound], Reba Toney, and Garth Trinidad)

Taylor, Mike: KKTR, 1998; KIKF, 1999-2000. Mike Baez used the name Sky Walker on Country KIKF. He had been doing traffic reports for AirWatch until November 30, 2007.
Taylor, Nick: KSRF, 1986. Mike worked afternoons at K-SURF by-the-sea in Santa Monica with 3,000 watts of Beautiful Music. 

TAYLOR, Renee: KHHT, 2001-15; KRTH, 2021-23. Renee started middays at "Hot 92.3" in the summer of 2001. She went on to work afternoons at re-branded HOT 92 Jamz. She left the station in early February 2015. At the time of her departure, she wrote on Facebook: "I will miss so many of you ... my Hot and iHeartRadio family. I have shared so much with so many of you over the last 13 years. It started with the old school music that always hit that sweet spot. I know about your families, your friends and the ups and downs of your day. The birth of children and the loss of people you have cared about. The boyfriends and husband you met, left and lost. And the girlfriends and wives you are trying to get back. If you could just get some Love Affair, Hot Summer Night, Disneyland, Knott’s, Universal, Six Flags or even the famous Girls Night Out tickets. Just a little break from the craziness that is your life. The joy in your voice when you finally got the tickets or the trips we gave away. We have shared births and birthdays...ahhhh the ‘birthday blast’...yep I heard about the lost job and the new jobs. We took pictures together, shared a drink and some got drunk, we laughed and even cried and prayed together. I know some of you and your family by name. And some I have never spoken with but you were always happy to hear me when you got in your car at the end of the day.  Love ya like family!”

Taylor, Rick: KSRF/KOCM, 1988-90. Unknown.
Taylor, Stacy: KABC, 1998-2000. Stacy worked morning drive at KLSD-San Diego. He now hosts a website under his name.
Taylor, Steve: KNX 1997-98. Steve anchored and reported for ABC Radio News in New York and Washington for a decade beginning in 1998. He now reports from Washington for Fox News Radio.
Taylor, Tony: KLAC, 1970. Unknown. 

TAYLOR, Zack: KIBB, 1996-97; KKGO, 2008-12. Zack worked at the Hot AC format at Dial-Global syndicators until a down sizing in April 2013. He has an active voiceoer career. A graduate of the University of Mississippi, Zack has worked in Lancaster and Bakersfield before joining KIBB (B-100). He claims to be fluent in five languages, "although I'm not particularly fluent in any of them, including English." Zack worked part-time at "B-100" and at WW1's 70’s format. Born March 30, 1964, in London, he grew up in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. In 1984, Zack earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting from the University of Mississippi. “I got into broadcasting as a good way to meet girls. I figured it was better than working at Burger King, even if the pay wasn’t as good.” After graduation he came to the Southland. “I had no idea what I was up against. There was a volume of talent.” To make ends meet while waiting for the radio job, Zack worked stand-up in nightclubs. In1989 he joined KAVS-Lancaster for five years and was pd when he left.

 

TAZ: KIKF, 1997-2000; KMXN, 2000-02. Taz, known as Mark Allen Graves, worked morning drive at the Orange County "Mix" station. KIKF changed call letters to KMXN in the fall of 2000 with a format change. He worked mornings at Orange County's COOL 94.3/fm.  He was a service technician at AT&T until his retirement in 2020.

 

TENNIS, Brie: KELT, 2001-02; KOST, 2002-09; KTWV, 2010-20. Brie works at KOOL 95.5 in the Palm Desert area. She worked weekends at KOST until a Clear Channel downsizing in the spring of 2009. After working as an entertainment reporter for Reuters News Service and CNN in Los Angeles, Brie moved to the Coachella Valley and to her career in radio. Prior to Kool 95.9, Brie worked at several LA area stations. She has a degree in Liberal Arts and counts her husband, daughter, and kitten Noodles among her menagerie. She loves skiing, tennis, and watching cooking shows. Little known facts: She hates ice cream (what? I know, right?), she has been published in Food and Wine and Sunset Magazine, she can juggle.

Teper, Melissa: KLOS. SEE Melissa Maxx

TERRELL, Leo: KMPC, 1996; KABC, 1996-2023. Leo, a preeminent civil rights attorney, was a weekend talk host and fill-in for many years at KABC. Additionally, he now hosted an hour show in late afternoon. Leo left KABC in the early summer of 2023. Born February 1, 1955, Leo represented the NAACP during the trial of the officers involved in the Rodney King beating and the O.J. Simpson case. Conservative retired L.A. Superior Court judge Burt Katz, joined Terrell in 1996 at KABC sister station, Talk 710, KMPC. Burt specialized in homicide cases, including his notable role as a lead prosecutor in the Charles Manson family murder trials. In the summer of 1996 their show moved to middays. In the fall of 1996 they joined sister Talker KABC for weekends.

 

TERRY, Frank: KHJ, 1965-68; KFI, 1969; KGIL. Frank was a very early Boss Jock who helped launch 93/KHJ. He died June 20, 2007 of colon cancer, which he had been fighting for 10 years. He was 68. "Frank Terry replaced the first swing man, Boss Jock Donn Tyler, a few weeks into the the Boss format by June of 1965," wrote KHJ pd Ron Jacobs. Frank wasn’t the type of guy to complain, his daughter Kelly told me by phone. “He trudged through all his chemo and basically worried more about his family. He was very brave. The thing I remember most about dad was his sense of humor. He made everybody feel good. He was cracking jokes with the nurses. He never lost his sense of humor. Anybody who met him was immediately drawn to him and liked him – from neighbors to people in the grocery store to the vet. Everybody loved my dad. He lived in Sonora, near Yosemite. He wanted to live in the mountains. He wanted a place where his dogs could roam and he could have deer in his yard.” Born Terrance Crilly in Rapid City, South Dakota on July 5, 1938, Frank left an indelible mark on Top 40 and Country radio. When he was about four his father, a 3M executive, was transferred from Rapid City to the Inland Empire where Frank grew up. Out of high school, Frank joined the Navy where he first started his work in radio, broadcasting on his ship.  Frank was in the movie Gimme Shelter, which chronicled the Rolling Stones’ ill-fated 1969 concert at Altamont. He worked his way up the Top 40 ladder beginning at K/men in San Bernardino to KMAK-Fresno. During his time in Fresno he met his wife-to-be and they had two daughters, Kelly and Allison. After four years at KHJ, he joined KFI in 1969.

When he left the Southland, Frank moved to the Bay Area where he worked for three decades for various stations. He was at KFRC and KNEW before moving to Country KSAN (he teamed in the morning with Charlie Wilde). He returned to middays at KNEW in 1995 and in 1998 joined KFGY (Froggy Radio) in Santa Rosa.

“Lately, my dad has been playing some of his old airchecks,” said Kelly. “Some are hilarious. He used to dedicate songs to me on the radio when I was little. He would call my mom and tell her to turn on the radio and then he played a song for me.” Frank loved music. His daughter said that he was in a little band with country guys and they played at local Sonora events. “Total drummer,” said Kelly. “If there were chopsticks on the table, he’d pick them up and drum them.” 

Frank picked the woods for his final years. Kelly said: “He loved the country. He loved the stars. He had two grandchildren he adored. We spent a lot of holidays with him. I brought them up just last week. We’ve had a lot of good visiting time with him.” 

His daughter said that Frank’s love for animals was huge, especially dogs. He was really into donating his time and money to the local animal shelter. He loved keeping in touch with his radio buddies by phone. He didn’t have a computer or email access – he just didn’t want to fuss with it. “My dad was also really into football, Notre Dame was one of his favorite teams.”  

Kevin Gershan, long-time producer for Robert W. Morgan, said: “Frank Terry had the best attitude of any human being I’ve every met.” 

"As any musician knows, the difference between a good song and a great song is the drummer. Usually in the background, often times pounding away in relative obscurity, it’s the drummer who provides the backbone to the song, as well as its vitality and spark. Frank Terry was the Ringo Starr, Hal Blaine, and Gene Krupa of Boss Radio 93/KHJ. Originally a drummer himself, Frank Terry, more than any other Bossjock [even Robert W. Morgan and The Real Don Steele] set the template for the Boss Radio format and was its most consistent performer. He was the guy who broke in the other Bossjocks. He was the guy who worked every shift, often going months at a time without a day off. The beat had to go on and he was the drummer," remembered Ken Levine. 

Ken continued: "There was no more versatile performer in radio. The two biggest rock stations in America in the mid 60s could not have sounded more different. KHJ Los Angeles was ultra streamlined, WABC New York was all bells and whistles [chimes actually] – organized chaos. Only one disc jockey ever worked both formats. Frank Terry at KHJ and later at WABC’s sister station and clone in San Francisco, KSFX. You just gave him the charts and he could play.  

Later Frank moved into country radio at KNEW and KSAN in the Bay Area. He could bang on washboards as well as snares.    

Wherever he went, two things were certain. He made every station he ever worked for sound the very best they ever did, and he dented every console, cart machine, and music stand in the studio with his drum sticks. Radio has lost a giant. Terrance Franklin Crilly. Better known as Frank Terry. For those of us who knew and loved him, he will always remain in our heart… beating and beating and beating."

Terry, Joe: KDAY, 1968; KGFJ, 1971-75; KHJ, 1980-81; KNX; KWNK, 1985-86. Joe worked the Country format at Westwood One.

TERRY, Ted: KJLH, 1975-82 and 1995-96. Ted, a four decade dj veteran, died of cancer on January 20, 2023, at the age of 75. "Ted and I go back to 1975 when he would sit in for Frankie Crocker at WBLS in New York," emailed friend and colleague, Carl Nelson. Ted was part of the Internet revolution, owning over 40 functional Websites. He was ceo of Theodore Myles Publishing and author and publisher of the American Black History Reference Manual. Ted, whose enlightened opinions, quick wit, and mellifluous voice have been a staple for more than 40 years, according to his website. Terry has worked in radio stations on both the East and West Coast, including WBLS-New York, KJLH, KYAC-Seattle and both KVOO and KRAV-Tulsa.  Terry also served as a news producer at KJRH Scripts Howard Broadcasting. Throughout his career, Terry has interviewed world-renowned celebrities and dignitaries, both in music and on talk radio broadcast format.

Tesh, John: KFSH, 2005-07. John's syndicated show started on the "Fish" in late 2005. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in late 2019.
Thacker, Tom: KEZY, 1966. Unknown. 

THAXTON, Lloyd: KABC, 1973-74. Lloyd was host of a long-running zany syndicated tv dance party show on KCOP/Channel 13 in 1960s. He died of multiple myeloma on October 5, 2008, at the age of 81. His popularity was so huge that when Tiger Beat magazine debuted in the fall of 1965, there was a photo of Lloyd on the cover, which the publishers kept there throughout the first year of the magazine, thinking the relationship between the two was a good one. He spent many years as producer of the Emmy-winning Fight Back with David Horowitz. Lloyd was the host of a long-running zany syndicated tv dance party show on KCOP/Channel 13. Lloyd was also a radio talk show host at KABC from 1973-74. But he was better known for this afternoon dance show. Ken Levine wrote a tribute to Lloyd that appeared at his blogspot, where Ken wrote in part:

Lloyd Thaxton was an extraordinary man and creative visionary.  He was a dear friend.

What made the show special was Lloyd Thaxton. Most shows like this were hosted by disc jockeys. They were content to just introduce the records and step aside while the kids did the Twist, Jerk, Fly, Popeye, Monkey, Frug, Mash Potato, Locomotion, and whatever other inane dance was the rage that minute. Lloyd was the first to realize ‘this was television,’ you had to do something visual. So he would find ways to comically present the songs, even with his paltry budget. This elf-looking redhead would lip sync, mime playing instruments, use finger puppets, don wigs, do duets with rubber masks, cut out the lips on an album cover and substitute his own – anything to make the songs fun. In many ways, Lloyd Thaxton was a local version of Ernie Kovacs, finding innovative new ways to use the new medium. For the most part he invented music videos. The only difference is music videos these days are all ambitious elaborate productions. Back then we were quite content to watch a guy sing into his hand.

He also broke the color barrier. When he had James Brown as his guest, a number of affiliates refused to air the segment. Lloyd promptly dropped them from his roster. Motown and r&b acts were guests frequently. Only then did other shows follow.

In later years Lloyd went behind the camera, producing such long running series as Fight Back With David Horowitz and segments for The Today Show.

His signature sign off was ‘My name is Lloyd Thaxton’ followed by the kids shouting ‘So what?!’ But we knew better. Lloyd Thaxton was a big part of our lives. We thank him and will fondly remember him always. That’s what.

 Thayer, Gene: KRLA, 1971-72. Gene has retired to cattle ranching near Sonoita, Arizona.

THAYER, Jack: KLAC, 1965-68. Jack was general manager at KLAC. He went on to be president of NBC Radio from 1974 to 1979, gm of Metromedia's WNEW-New York from 1980 to 1984. Jack died over New Year's weekend 1995. The stardom of Joe Pyne and Don Imus is traced back to Jack Thayer. He was the chief architect of KLAC's immensely successful two-way talk format. After leaving KLAC - the House That Pyne Built - he went on to WNEW-New York. In 1974 Jack was named president of the NBC Radio division. On June 18, 1975, he launched a new 24-hour "news and information service." The service didn't last long but was considered a forerunner of the full-service networks. Jack started as a dj in the Twin Cities and eventually became gm of WDGY-Minneapolis. From there he was gm at WHK-Cleveland, KXOA-Sacramento and WGAR-Cleveland, where he generated national attention with the meteoric rise of Don Imus. In the early 1980s, he was gm of WNEW and in the early 1990s he was COO/exec vp of Gear Broadcasting of New England. He died over New Year's weekend 1995 at the age of 72. He had survived a stroke in the mid-1980s.

THEO: KKBT, 1994-99; KCMG/KHHT, 2001-03; KDAY, 2006-07. "I love you, Theeeeo!" The callers to Theo's afternoon drive show on "the Beat" screamed this love theme every day. Born Theo Mizuhara in San Mateo, his parents pushed him hard through gifted programs at school. He told Buzz magazine: "In my culture if you're not academically successful, you're really nothing." At 16, he dropped out of high school and a Filipino friend introduced him to the world of turntables and remixing. Theo originally started overnights at "the Beat" from nights at KMEL-San Francisco. He came to the attention of KMEL while making a name for himself as a club dj. The rumbling “Barry White bass voice” told Vibe Magazine in a March 1996 profile: "I'm an Asian on a black station in the No. 1 drive slot. But the support I've gotten has been staggering." Whitney Houston's movie Waiting to Exhale featured Theo's voice as the dj on the radio. In 1996 he won Billboard's r&b dj of the year award. Theo has a recurring role on the Dangerous Minds tv series. On August 13, 1999, Theo left KKBT and was off the air for almost a year and a half until returning to afternoon drive at “Mega 92.3.” Mega flipped to “Hot 92.3fm” in the summer of 2001. Theo worked afternoons at "Hot 92.3fm" until late 2003. He joined KDAY in early fall of 2006 and was made program director in the summer of 2007. He left KDAY in late 2008. Radio Facts reports that Theo is in the tech industry in the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

THEROUX, Gary: KSRF, 1973-74; KIIS, 1975-76, KDAY, 1976; KRLA, 1979-80; XERF, 1981-82. 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. Theroux joined KIIS in the mid-1970s, when the station was also operating the KIIS Broadcasting Workshop. “I also spent time at XPRS, alternating evenings with Wolfman Jack, who became a good friend.” In addition, Gary taught music and entertainment history at UCLA. In 1978, Theroux worked at Drake-Chenault Enterprises as a programmer and producer of special features – most notably the revised, reformatted and updated 52 hour “History of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” It ran on over 800 stations worldwide and won Billboard's “Top Special Program of the Year” award.  Gary next wrote his first book, The Top Ten: 1956 – Present. In 1982 Theroux began a 20 year run as the music & entertainment editor of Reader’s Digest, compiling and annotating CD box sets with cumulative sales topping 39 million copies. Still a broadcaster at heart, he spent nine years co-hosting (with now Fox Radio News anchor Kerin McCue) the comedy and oldies series The Saturday Night Special. New York area stations Theroux broadcast over include WZFM, WRKL, WXPS, WSTC, WNLK and WKHL. Gary, who owns the trademark name "History of Rock and Roll," has launched into international syndication (via G Networks) a weekly two-hour series version of "The History of Rock and Roll" which Wink Martindale hosts.  Each themed episode spotlights a different facet of rock and pop history and is packed with not only original hits but the stories behind each song and star, often told by the hitmakers themselves.  "Every year I also write and produce the annually updated 10-hour countdown "The 100 Greatest Christmas Hits of All Time," which Wink Martindale also hosts. Each December this award-winning cavalcade of Yuletide classics airs in more than 175 countries – but, oddly enough, despite first debuting on KRTH, not in L.A.!”

Thomas, Audie: KFI, 2001. Audie was a news reporter at KFI.

THOMAS, Bill: KWIZ, 1983–88, KWIZ AM & FM; KQLZ, 1989-91. From 1992 – 2008, Bill worked at Shadow Traffic, which later morphed into Metro Networks. In 1995, and for the next 13 years he worked at  Westwood One’s Mainstream Country Format. He's been the airborne traffic reporter for KTLA/Channel 5 and KABC/Channel 7. He's heard in morning drive at KABC with Doug McIntyre. Born in Costa Mesa and raised in the O.C., Bill graduated from Cal. State Fullerton. After college, he went to flight school and became a licensed helicopter pilot, returned to flight school after a few years and became a licensed fixed wing pilot as well. "I’m not a star struck kind of guy, but always found it interesting to meet all the rock stars and movie stars that came into Pirate Radio way back when. Richie Sambora was a gem and Jon Bon Jovi was one of the most normal, unassuming guys you could ever meet. Working for Robert W. Morgan for a short spell at KMPC was a riot and he was one of the most generous guys I’ve ever met. In the early and mid 90’s, working at Shadow Traffic was a blast because you got to work on a variety of stations/formats, including Greg Tantum’s KFWB. Growing up listening to Charlie Tuna and M.G. Kelly and then doing airborne traffic on their programs was a dream."

Thomas, Daniel: KLYY, 1997; KLTX/KLTH/KIEV, 1997-2001; KROQ, 2001; KIIS/KACD, 2003-05. Daniel is a board operator at Premiere Radio Networks.
Thomas, Ellen: SEE Ellen K

THOMAS, Jay: KPWR, 1986-92. Jay, former morning man at KPWR, died of cancer on August 24, 2017, at the age of 69. In 2021, Jay was posthumously inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.  The co-star of the hit movie Mr. Holland's Opus was born in 1948. He attended the University of Tennessee. Jay spent three years at WAYS-Charlotte and eventually became pd. His wacky on-air sidekick characters started to emerge during this period: Mister Denise, the station hair dresser; Granny Glick, the oldest skin flick maker in the world; Dr. Henry the K; Rock, the inflation fighter; and Caleb Kluttz, the local redneck policeman.  His first visit to the Southland was a two-season stint as a deli owner on ABC/TV's Mork and Mindy, but the third season the producers introduced Jonathan Winters, and five character actors hit the street. Jay recalled: "Winters said, 'I'm 58. I need the work.' What, and we didn't?"  Before joining KPWR Jay did a number of tv shows, including Love Boat and Spencer for Hire as well as dinner theater. He arrived at KPWR in October 1986 from morning drive at WKTU-New York. KPWR captured NAB's first Marconi Award during the 1989 convention in New Orleans. Even though the award was new, it was being touted as the Oscar of radio. Jay commented on the station's award: "It's a great, fabulous honor. Marconi invented wireless transmissions. Unfortunately, if Marconi heard 'Power 106' he would probably die again. I don't think this is what he had in mind. But he's dead."

Jay's later tv carreer includes Cheers, Almost Grown, Murphy Brown, Family Ties, The Golden Girls, Love & War and others. He has won an Emmy. When Jay was terminated from "Power 106" in 1993, he filed a $1,000,000 breach of contract lawsuit. He was nominated for Billboard Top 40 Radio Air Personality of 1993. 

At the start of the second season of Love & War, Jay lamented about his firing from KPWR: "I'm having withdrawal symptoms. I had the rug pulled out from under me. It's very hurtful." Jay told the LA Times in September 1993, that KPWR fired him "because they became jealous of my tv show. They could not parlay my television popularity into what they wanted." His breach-of-contract lawsuit with Emmis Broadcasting was settled in late 1994. In addition to his acting career, Jay was the promotion voice of Comedy Central.

Thomas, Jeff: KIQQ, 1976-85. Jeff, a comedic writer, briefly teamed in morning drive with Joe Light. 

THOMAS, John: KHJ, 1978-79. John works for an Oldies station in Jacksonville. John Thomas was a 21 year old aspiring jock at the tail end of KHJ at a Top 40 station in 1978-79. He worked for a number of iHeart stations before moving to St. Johns, Florida.

Thomas, John: KOCM, 1987. Unknown.

THOMAS, Kayla: KIIS, 2022-23. Kayla joined KIIS as the nighttimer in February 2022. Kayle is a Maryland native who grew up with a love for music, content creation and making people laugh. After graduating from Liberty University in 2016, she received her first shot in the radio world at a local radio station in Roanoke, Virginia. Kayla went from being an intern to doing weekends, nights, then middays at WXLK-K92. "Her powerful voice and sassy personality quickly made her a recognizable voice throughout the Virginia Blue Ridge," per the iHeart press release.  In 2018, Kayla got the opportunity to move to New Jersey and become an on-air personality at Townsquare Media. Not only did she do the night show at WPST in Trenton, but she also landed her very own nationally syndicated show at just 24 years old. In just three years, Kayla helped grow 'Popcrush Nights' into a number one show with over 50 affiliates across the country. In 2020, Kayla was named one of Radio Ink Magazine's 30 Under 30 Superstars. Throughout her career, she has also interviewed some of the biggest names in music, such as Adele, BTS, Justin Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo, Miley Cyrus, Lizzo  and more. Major publications like People Magazine and Billboard have also featured her interviews. “I've been dreaming of living in Los Angeles since I was a little girl and to be able to do what I love at the legendary KIIS FM is an indescribable feeling,” said Kayla. “Words cannot express how thankful I am to John Ivey and Beata Murphy for this exciting opportunity. Being a world away from home is bittersweet, but it’s still surreal to be living my childhood dream. I'm ready to bring my east coast flavor to this LA heat!”

Thomas, Lon: KUTE, 1973-79; KIIS, 1979-81. In the 1990s he worked as WWMX-Baltimore as Mike McCarthy. 

THOMAS, Mark Austin: KNX, 1988-89; KFI, 1988-2001; KFI/KLAC, 2001-02; KPCC, 2003-07; KNX, 2007-09; KABC, 2009-11; KPCC 2012-15; KNX, 2014-22. Mark was a news anchor at KNX until his retirement from radio in late May of 2022. Mark has been a broadcast journalist for over three decades. Two-thirds of that time has been spent in Southern California. He was the co-host of “Marketplace Morning Report” heard nationally on NPR-member stations. He was also the midday news anchor at public radio station KPCC, managing editor for the Tavis Smiley Show on NPR, commentator for the Tavis Smiley Show, pd at KLAC, and apd as well as nd at KFI. In 1995 he was a per-diem news writer for KCAL/Channel 9. Mark graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in radio and television. Following graduate course work in educational psychology, he started as a reporter/anchor and later becoming news director for WIVK-Knoxville. In 1981 he went to WEEI-Boston and a year later to KSOL-San Francisco for five years as the news director. He has served as president of the AP Television and Radio Association for California and Nevada. He was the news director and morning anchor at KABC. He left the station 10.26.11 following the Cumulus take-over of Citadel/LA. He joined KPCC in early 2012.

 

THOMAS, Marshall: KNAC, 1980-82; KNX/fm, 1982-84; KEZY, 1984-85; KIKF, 1997-2000; KTDD, 2002-05; KFRG, 2005-15. Marshall was born Marshall Thomas Willetts in Dallas. He grew up in Bell Gardens and majored in radio and theatre at East Los Angeles College. Marshall has also worked at KTPI-Palmdale, KMIX-Lancaster and KOSS "("Oasis")-Palmdale. Marshall worked afternoon drive at "The Toad." Beginning in 2005, he joined KFRG-Inland Empire. Marshall left in the summer of 2020. He spent time as a vocal coach and personal instructor at the Academy of Radio & TV.

 

THOMAS, Randy: KMET, 1986-87; KMPC/fm/KEDG/KLIT, 1988-91; KTWV, 1991-93. In early 2018, the LA Times saluted Oscar announcer Randy Thomas. The veteran of KMET, KMPC/FM/KEDG/KLIT, and KTWV, Randy made history in 1993 as the first woman hired by the Motion Picture Academy to be the announcer for the Academy Award. This was her ninth time in the Oscar announce booth. Randy has gone on to be the first woman to announce the Miss America pageant, the Super Bowl, the Emmys, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Tony Awards.  Born in New York, then raised in South Florida and Detroit, Randy returned to New York at age 17 with an enormous zest for life, waiting on tables while she studied acting. She was inspired to pursue radio while listening to WNEW and the "Nightbird," Allison Steele. Randy packed her bags and headed home to Detroit where she was hired at WWWW, then WRIF.  In 1974, an ABC executive took her to WPLJ-New York. Next was KZEW-Dallas, then “Zeta-4” (WZTU), WAXY and WSHE in South Florida before arriving in Los Angeles in 1986 with no job but a great resume.

From a boat tucked away in the Marina, Randy ventured forth, knocking on radio station doors until KMET hired her. "It was a dream come true to finally add those legendary call letters to my resume." Shortly thereafter, the entire air staff was fired as KMET made way for KTWV, the first New Age radio station (that featured no DJs). Inspired by the music and spiritual aspects of the format, Randy created Crystal Vision Productions with her husband, to produce a syndicated show. Then Alternative radio knocked and Randy moved on to KMPC/fm (“The Edge”) for middays. While at KMET, Randy became the commercial spokeswoman for the reading program “Hooked on Phonics.” Randy recalled “they tell me that I have taught more people to read than almost any teacher.” In 1991 Randy was back on 94.7, becoming the morning show host for "The Wave."

In the Times article, Randy was asked if she has an Oscar voice compared to her other VO work. “I do have an ‘Oscars voice,’ and it seems to show up when I’m doing the Oscars. All of the other shows that I do, I tend to find a voice for them.”

Randy’s philosophy: “If you dream it and never give up – anything is possible.”  

THOMAS, Rick: KUTE, 1981; XTRA, 1984-85; KRTH/KTWV, 2013-14. In late spring of 2013, Rick was appointed pd at K-EARTH and the WAVE. He left on May 1, 2014 for the programming chores at WNOW/fm-New York, now AMP Radio. In early 2017, he became operations manager for the Cox cluster in Tampa/St. Petersburg. In late summer of 2019, Rick became vp of programming for rhythmic oldies KJHM “Jammin’ 101.5” and hip hop KFCO “Flo 107.1” in Denver. He left in late 2020. He spent time with SummitMedia's Top 40, Hot AC and AC formats. Rick is also pd for Top 40 WWST (Star 102.1)/Knoxville. In early 2023, Rick was named Brand Manager Of Beasley Media Group’s Tampa Bay Stations. Born in New York, he was recruited by Frankie Crocker at WBLS then to KUTE in LA in 1981. He later worked at XTRA, KUKQ-Phoenix during its Urban era, program director at WLUM-Milwaukee. In 1990, Rick signed on Z90 in San Diego. His radio journey took him to KSOL/WILD-San Francisco, KSFM-Sacramento, Univision in San Antonio and over a decade at Magic 925 in San Diego. Rick also consulted for Jerry Clifton's New World Communications and spent 4 years growing Ohana Broadcast's cluster in Honolulu before joining CBS/Los Angeles as pd of K-EARTH and the WAVE.

Thomas, Rolle: KFI, 1963. Unknown.
Thomas, Scott: KWIZ, 1975. Since 1995, Scott has been working swing at KOIT-San Francisco.
Thomas, Steve: KIKF; KHJ, 1982. Last heard, Steve was working at WMC-Memphis. He was the first pd and afternoon dj at KIKfm. "Steve had a lot of talent, but had less luck in his personal life," remembered ops manager Paul Sakrison. "One night at the original Crazy Horse Saloon, he asked his wife to stand up and then introduced her as his 'future ex-wife.' When we were building out Suite 183, he ran an audio line from Art Astor's office to his office. The line was never hooked up and Steve's end wound up inside a wall after the wall's location had to be changed."
Thomason, Mark: KABC, 1991-96; KSPN, 2003-05. Mark worked at ESPN Sports KSPN. Since 2015, he's been an audio mixer at NFL Network
Thomlinson, Larry: KKGO/KKJZ, 1986-90; KJOI, 1988. Larry is in the mortuary business.
Thompsan, Tracy: KMGX, 1994; KRLA, 1998-99. Tracy works for one of the traffic services.

THOMPSON, Bill: KGBS, 1965-68; KLAC, 1970; KBBQ, 1972. Bill went on to join the Smothers Brothers Show Featuring Glen Campbell. He was the announcer and associate producer of the Glen Campbell summer replacement. He went on to run Pacstar and its seven Hawaii stations.

Thompson, Bob: KIQQ, 1984. Unknown.

(Daniel Thomas, Mark Thompson [KFI], Lon Thomas, Alex Tostado, and Suzy Tavarez) 

THOMPSON, Delores: KGFJ, 1994-95; KJLH, 1996-2009. Delores worked all-nights at KJLH until the summer of 2009. She is currently programming KOSA Internet radio and working weekends on-air at 102.9 KBLX-San Francisco.   Born the sixth child in a family of seven, by age three Delores was dancing, singing and acting up a storm. While attending Crocker Highland Elementary Delores wrote a play called the "Singer." By 1982, she joined television station KSBT, The Bay Area's first 24 hour African American owned music video station. Delores adapted quickly to the art of on-air Host. She had an ability to make whomever she interviewed feel right at home. "I for some reason wanted to grow and I didn't feel that KSBT would take me to the level I wanted to go". Moving to Los Angeles in 1991, she landed a job with Inspired Artist Management working with comedians, Through Inspired Artist, Delores helped organize the auditions for Russell Simons "Def Comedy Jam." After she returned from her dad's funeral Delores decided she wanted out of the management business and while driving down the street one day, she saw KGFJ radio station and said to a friend "I'm getting a job there!" Delores became assistant pd and in 1996 the station made the switch to Gospel. "I couldn't believe it, everyone was fired except me." It was while Delores was listening to a song about three Hebrew boys that she wanted to know more. After buying her first Bible and studying day and night God ministered to her. "When I heard The Spirit of the Lord, I knew exactly who it was. God told me that he turned that whole station around for me and after that the station was sold." Four years later, God blessed her with a ministry at KGFJ called "The Sista Girl Network" which is 74 women strong and still growing. "I have been Blessed beyond what I ever imagined. Praise God!

 

THOMPSON, Diane: KHJ, 1980-85; KNX, 1985-2019. Diane was afternoon news anchor at KNXNewsradio. She retired in February 2019. In early 2021, Diane was honored with a Golden Mike Lifetime Achievement Award from the RTNA. The Greater Los Angeles Pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists honored  Diane at its 44th annual Distinguished Journalists Awards Banquet. Diane spent 40 years in the broadcast news business. She started, while still finishing college, at KVUE/TV in Austin as a weekend producer. She moved to Los Angeles in 1980 after working for 18 months in Phoenix as a news anchor/reporter at KJJJ and KBBC/KTAR. Thompson worked at three legendary stations in Los Angeles: KFWB, KHJ and KNX. She spent 34 years as a news reporter and anchor at KNX. She covered 26 Academy Award ceremonies, 14 Rose Parades, the 1984 Olympics, the opening of the Reagan Presidential Library, the official visits of both Pope John Paul II and South African President Nelson Mandela, the L.A. riots, San Francisco and Northridge earthquakes, the Simpson/Goldman murders and broke the story nationally of the murder of Phil Hartman. Starting in 2007, she produced the “KNX Hero of the Week” feature where, she said, the people and their stories changed her from a cynic into a believer and restored her soul.

Thompson, Eric: KYSR, 1993. Unknown.
Thompson, Erik: XTRA, 1983-88. Erik is the promo voice for the National Geographic network (and various other networks) and narrator of The Universe on the History Channel.

THOMPSON, Frank: XTRA, 1957-59; KDAY, 1967-69.Frank Thompson, veteran of Top 40 XTRA in the late fifties and KDAY in the mid-60s, died August 4, 2012, in British Columbia, Canada. He was 85. Born June 4, 1926, at Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, Frank attended the University of Alberta at Edmonton. He learned his voice work from fellow Canadian Lorne Greene, who operated a radio school in Toronto. He worked at CJVI-Victoria, British Columbia, before joining KFMB-San Diego in 1953. Frank was at KOGO and the "Mighty 690"-San Diego before arriving at KDAY. When he left, he became news director at KJR-Seattle from 1969-75. He also spent a decade at CKLG-Vancouver. Frank was an author, a history buff, and poet. Shotgun Tom Kelly remembered Frank: “In 1961, he, Ernie Myers, Rick Martell, and Art Way were hired by KOGO AM 600 radio to start a new MOR station. Ernie was the morning man and Frank Thompson was put into the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. midday show to do remotes in the KOGO mobile studio. Frank broadcast his show from a remote location almost every day from local shopping centers, banks, car dealers, food stores, even local attractions like The San Diego Zoo and The Hotel Del Coronado.”

Shotgun continued: “Frank would wave to people with a Big ‘Hello’ and ‘How are you’ to all who would be passing by his KOGO mobile studio, from kids at the 4H club who had a farm animal on display, to a man or woman who had just won a prize at the game booths, or someone who had just experienced one of the rides at the fair.  It was at one of his mobile studio remotes that a 10-year-old kid from Lemon Grove looked in the window at Frank talking on the mic and playing records. Frank called the kid into his KOGO mobile studio, interviewed him on the air and gave the kid tickets to see the LA T-Birds at Westgate Park. That kid later became Shotgun Tom Kelly.”

THOMPSON, Gary: KLIT, 1992; KYSR, 1993-98; KLAC, 1999; KSWD, 2013-15. Gary was interviewed for LARadio.com: “It's been WAY more luck and ‘right place, right time,’ than talent. In early 1990, I was an electrical engineer in the aerospace industry, working at Hughes Aircraft in El Segundo, studying for my Masters. Within a year and a half, somehow, I was doing afternoon radio in Los Angeles (K-Lite), throwing out the first pitch at an Angels game, and working just studios away from two of my radio idols, Robert W. Morgan and Jim Healy (KMPC). “In that year and a half after leaving the defense industry, there were four stations, three of which had less than perfect outcomes. The fourth location, Transtar, was a REALLY great place that would be my home several more times over the years. It’s where I met Dan McKay, who left Transtar to program K-Lite and ask me to come along for afternoons. Right place, right time. Gary detailed how he was part of a tv show talking about radio. “While at K-Lite, I was on an episode of 48 Hours about ‘contest pigs.’ It was pretty widely watched, and that opened a door at Star 98.7 with Bob Kaake, vp/programming at Viacom. Literally the day after K-Lite let me know they were moving in a different direction, [read: letting me go].” Gary’s next gig was at KYSR. “I went to 98.7. In the next six years I did imaging, mornings, middays and afternoons. “LUCKY! Although I did develop a LITTLE talent, thanks to Kaake, and pd’s Greg Dunkin, Dave Beasing, Randy Lane and Angela Perelli. He described how he arrived in Southland. “Born in Milwaukee, raised in the suburb of Menomonee Falls, undergraduate engineering degree in Dallas, then high-tailed it to California, Manhattan Beach, thanks to Hughes Aircraft. From 1984-91, I was designing and maintaining equipment and procedures that tested lasers and thermal imaging systems used in tanks and aircraft.”

Gary ended up being on-air and director of programming for Westwood One from 1999 – 2007. He went to Dallas later in 2007 to program The Bone (KDBN 93.3/fm). He returned a year later to Westwood One. In 2015, he was the founder of ImagingThing, an imaging company for radio stations and podcasts. You can check out his website at www.ImagingThing.com. 

Thompson, Mark: KFI, 2014-17. The former weatherman at Fox 11 joined Elizabeth Espinoza for middays at KFI in Feburary 2014. They left before the year was out. He contributes to the Tim Conway Show on Tuesday evenings. In March 2019, Mark joined KGO-San Francisco for middays. His time in the Bay Area ended in October 2022 when Cumulus dropped the news/talk format.
Thompson, Mark: KLOS, 1987-2012; KSWD, 2015-16. Mark was co-host of the popular Mark & Brian morning show at KLOS. On February 2, 2015, Mark began a morning show at KSWD (100.3/The Sound) and left a year and half later. Mark & Brian will be inducted into the 2020 Radio Hall of Fame. SEE Mark & Brian 

THOMPSON, Mike: KXTA, 1998-2000; KSPN, 2010-15. Mike was appointed pd at KSPN in the early fall. He exited 2010. During his stay at 710/ESPN, Mike oversaw all aspects of programming, talent development, and 710 ESPN’s play-by-play partners, the Los Angeles Lakers, USC football and men’s basketball, and AM 830 KLAA (The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim). He also worked on integrating the station’s digital site into the framework of 710 ESPN Thompson, whose sports-talk experience began 16 years ago at WCNN in Atlanta, had been gm/pd for WEAE, 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh. Previously, he laid the foundation for the format of one of the most successful stations, Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket in Dallas/Ft. Worth, and programmed ESPN’s WEPN, 1050 ESPN in New York. As senior director of Digital Media, Mike created content for ESPN branded channels on Sirius and XM Satellite Radio. In 2019, Mike was named head of programming for NRG Media’s Omaha AM Stations.  He oversees sports talkers KOZN “1620 The Zone” and KZOT “1180 Zone 2,” news/talk KOIL, and regional Mexican KMMQ-AM/K258DC “La Nueva 99.5.” He left the Omaha cluster in early 2021 and returned to Southern California to start a consultancy business.

 

THOMPSON, Mycal: KXTA, 2003-05; KLAC, 2005-09; KSPN, 2009-20. The former Lakers star joined XTRA Sports 690/10 in June 2003. XTRA Sports moved to KLAC in 2005. He's now the color man for the LA Lakers. He was a member of the Lakers championship teams in 1987 and 1988. Formerly the Minnesota Timberwolves television color analyst for two seasons, Thompson teams with play-by-play announcer John Ireland for all Lakers radio broadcasts. Thompson, a standout at the University of Minnesota, averaged 20.8 points per game throughout his four-year collegiate career and was named All-America following both the 1976-77 and 1977-78 campaigns. The leading scorer in Golden Gopher history with 1,992 points, Thompson was the first overall selection in the 1978 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers. In 12 seasons and 935 regular season games with the Trailblazers, Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, Thompson averaged 13.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

 

THOMPSON, Ron: KHJ/KRTH, 1984-86; KBLA, 1991-2004; KKJZ, 1990-2010; KUSC, 2010-19. Ron "Ugly" Thompson passed away April 9, 2019, at age 74. "This is the best job I've ever had," Ron said of his involvement with Korean-formatted KBLA. For a man who worked for RKO and every legendary California Rock station in the fifties and sixties, his comment speaks volumes. Ron was born in Ottumwa, Iowa but moved to Southern California when he was 15. After a stint in the Marine Corps, Ron started his radio journey in sales in 1958 at KAFY-Bakersfield. He quickly moved up the sales ladder to KROY-Sacramento and in 1962 became part owner of KACY-Port Huenene and then KMEN-San Bernardino. After a time at KARM-Fresno, Ron joined RKO in 1980 as gm of WHBQ-Memphis. He arrived at KHJ for the launch of "Car Radio." In 1986 he joined Kent Burkhardt as minority partner in a number of Southern radio stations. Ron started working in ethnic radio in 1988 with Dwight Case and George Fritzinger at KAZN and is currently running KBLA, which ran language programming.   Other stops in his career included: CE at KKJZ (KLON), KFI, KCBQ-San Diego, WOKY-Milwaukee, KOIL-Omaha, WIXY-Cleveland, KISN-Portland, and WDRQ-Detroit.

THOMPSON, Shur Lee. Advertising professional Shur Lee died May 18, 2008, after a 14-month battle with ovarian cancer. Shur Lee was involved in media for over 30 years. Half of her experience has been spent working for advertising agencies, both large and small. The other half of her career was spent in radio and television sales management. She was 64.

Her expertise helped her receive the “Woman of the Year” award while at Grey Advertising, Inc. Shur Lee also won a personal award from McDonald’s Corporate for “Best Media Plan.”   

Shur Lee had a reputation for being “tough but fair” with both the media and her staff. She shared her knowledge of media as a teacher at Adcenter and UCLA.   

THORNBURY, Will: KNOB, 1961-65; KCRW, 1978-82; KLON. Will has been described as the "djs' dj." One of his admirers said, "He was the most brilliant human being and one of the most gracious. Will should have been Orson Welles." Will wrote liner notes for albums by jazz greats. Even though he toiled over each one for extended periods, often his work brought him $75 an assignment. Jazz lover Kirk Silsbee wrote: "For a time in New York, Will made his living in tv commercials as the Camel Cigarettes Man and the Kent Man. It was easy work with travel and good money (a habit he began at thirteen in the backyard of his best friend, David Nelson of Ozzie and Harriet fame, would eventually take the form of the cancer that killed him." While in the army during the Korean war, Will worked with Armed Forces Radio Services. In the late 50s, Thornbury studied literature and acting at Los Angeles City College. Over the years he worked at KCRW. Will was married to vocalist Ruth Price. Will wrote Aloha, Bobby and Rose, Dusty and Sweets McGee and The Christian Licorice Store. LA Free Reader Silsbee said, "He was a great interviewer whose easy manner and vast knowledge of his subjects assuaged many an uneasy musician - he made them comfortable and let them tell their stories." Will died of cancer on April 8, 1992. He was 57.

Thornhill, Larry: KAWL, 1990-2000. Larry is gm at the Lancaster station.

THORNTON, Jim: KMGX, 1988-91; KNX, 1993-2019. Jim is an anchor at all-News KNX. He's also the announcer on the Wheel of Fortune. Jim began his broadcast career in 1983 back in his hometown of Huntington, West Virginia by working as cameraman at WOWK/TV. He studied linguistics at Marshall University. “In 1984, I moved my wagon West to California and within a year was reporting for Metro Traffic Control." After four years as “Thunder Jim Thornton” at KMGX working morning drive, and another 4 years at WW1, he started at "KNXNewsradio" full-time. After working as staff announcer at KCOP/Channel 13 ("Stalag 13") from 1995 to 1999, Jim signed up with Abrams-Rubaloff & Lawrence Agency and now does quite a bit of voiceover work. This new schedule also leaves a lot of time to spend with his wife Sue, and son Sam. “We live in ‘Tujunga Heights,’ often going back east to visit family and stay in their house on the ‘Ohio Riviera’ across from my hometown of Huntington, West Virginia.”

THRASHER: KLOS, 1987-89; KQLZ, 1989; KNAC, 1989-95. Longtime radio personality Ted Prichard, a.k.a ThrashPie/Thrasher, former morning dude at the late, legendary metal station KNAC-Long Beach, published his radio memoir -- Head Bangin' Radio: My Life at Southern California's Heavy Metal Flagship KNAC/fm. Lovingly described as a "metal memoir," Head Bangin' Radio humorously details Ted's long and winding radio road, from Charlotte to Orlando to Tampa, and finally, to sunny SoCal, where, from 1986-1990 he did mornings on KNAC, which flipped to metal in January of 1986.

 

THROWER, Scott: KBIG, 1998-99. Scott worked mornings at KURB-Little Rock for six years until late summer of 2006. "In Aug 2008, I left radio for a career in medicine and am with a large hospital in Little Rock," he wrote at 440INT. "Even on my worst days as an RN, there's not been even one time when I've thought, 'Why did I leave radio?"' He was born November 25, 1959, and grew up in Salem, Oregon. “I got into radio in 1975. I was writing record reviews for my high school paper and was approached by the teacher who oversaw the publication. He said two of the radio stations in town were looking for a reporter from my school to phone in a report or two per week about what was happening at school. I ended up hosting an all-night show on Sunday mornings.” Scott went on to do mornings in Philadelphia, San Diego, Portland, St. Louis and Memphis. He’s appeared on Miami Vice and other tv shows. “Twenty three years later, I want to know who I have to sleep with to get out of this business!!” After 33 years behind the microphone, he called it quits. "I've taken a year to decide that I don't want to get up at 3 a.m. or throw sales people out of the studio anymore."

 

THURRELL, Lindy: KHTZ, 1982-83; KWIZ, 1984-86; KNOB, 1984-86. Lindy and her husband Tom King own the Academy of Radio Broadcasting in Huntington Beach. At “K-Hits” Lindy worked evenings. “I started out doing all-nights and when they moved me to evenings they told me not to talk. Then they ended up firing me because I ‘had no personality.’” Born in San Diego, Lindy grew up in New Hampshire. She graduated from the University of the Pacific with a degree in classical music. “I played the bassoon and wanted to be a musician. But once I started hanging around the campus radio station, it was like a disease and I had it real bad.” After graduation Lindy worked in Reno, New Hampshire and KLOK-San Jose in 1978, where she did afternoon drive. In 1984 she and her husband Tom King (they met at KLOK) opened the Academy of  Radio Broadcasting in Huntington Beach. “We worked in the good part of radio and run the school from that same perspective. Casey Kasem sent both his kids to our school.” They now have schools in Phoenix, Walnut Creek and Fremont. “We owned KTHO-Lake Tahoe for a while. It was just something we had to do.”

Thurston, Carolos: KPWR, 1995. Unknown.
Thyne, Dick: KNAC, 1976. Dick hosted The Morning Krush on KRSH-Sonoma County (Santa Rosa) and voicetrack middays on KTOL ("The Tool")-Santa Rosa.

TIGER: KFWB, 1958-61. Bea Shaw, the wife of the late Bruce Hayes, was a long-time resident of Toluca Lake. Bea was born on January 17, 1925. She was an actress, known for Crossroads, and The Dick Powell Theatre, among other productions. She died on September 2, 2003 in Toluca Lake, from complications of emphysema. A heavy smoker for many years, Bea stopped smoking in 1976 and spent the next ten years conducting smoking cessation seminars. She was also politically active in passing legislation to help keep young people from becoming addicted to cigarettes. A native of Dallas, where she starred in a popular tv show called Miss Bea, Bea Shaw came to the Southland with her husband dj Bruce Hayes. Bea was the voice of "Tiger," a sexy sounding personality, on Bruce's morning show on KFWB. "Tiger" stood for "Traffic Information Girl - Exclusive Report." Bea did the reports from home on a remote mike the station patched in at the house. "I would give a report on freeway traffic conditions in a seductive voice and add a quip, a flirtatious remark, or maybe heckle the dj. In between reports, I'd go back to sleep. The groggier I was, the huskier and sexier my voice sounded. Thank goodness it was radio and the audience couldn't see me with my hair in curlers, no make-up and wearing a bathrobe and wool socks." Bea was also the voice of Connie the Computer, predicting football scores on a syndicated radio show, and a regular member of the Steve Allen and Donna Reed tv shows. In 1965 she started Bea Shaw Productions, writing and producing radio commercials and frequently used hers and Bruce's voices - as in the enormously successful "Backaruda" campaign. Bruce played the pompous Plymouth dealer who couldn't pronounce "Barracuda" and Bea as the lady who for five years tried to cajole, hypnotize, bully or seduce him into saying it right. Bea has been honored with numerous industry awards for her commercials. She was named Advertising Woman o the Year by the Los Angeles Advertising Women in 1976.

 

TILDEN, Peter: KLSX, 1991-92; KABC, 1992-94; KMPC, 1994-95; KABC 1996-98; KZLA, 2001-06; KABC, 2007-19. Peter was no stranger to KABC. He worked a variety of shifts including “American’s Earliest Morning Show with Peter Tilden.”  He spent a half decade between 2001 and 2006 working morning drive at Country KZLA, prior to a format flip. Tilden first arrived at KABC in the early 1990s where he co-hosted shows with the late Tracey Miller and later, Ken Minyard. Peter then moved to sister station 710/KMPC when the station went talk in 1994. He eventually went to host mornings at KZLA. Tilden has also enjoyed success in television as host of NBC’s Later, ABC’s The Midnight Hour and PM Magazine and has written and produced pilots for a number of networks, including ABC and FOX. Before returning to KABC he was not focused on a job, but rather his daughter. His mind, heart and soul was focused on his 23-year-old daughter, Rachel, who lived in Philadelphia. She was in need of open heart surgery. Rachel was born with a heart murmur which then became a prolapsed valve, then a regurgitating valve that doctors wanted to fix. “The doctors did an incredible job. You wrote about the LARP who went through the heart valve surgery about four months ago. It was about the same time I got the news about Rachel. It was like the story was placed there for me. I read about his surgery in your column and how well he did and how quickly he recovered. It actually made me hopeful.”  “I checked out the Philadelphia surgeon because I have a friend who does heart surgery at Cedars and he had heard of him. The waiting in the waiting room is excruciating. The hospital had a communication director who sits with you during the surgery and gives you all the news. An hour and a half after they took her down for surgery and you start doing the math wondering how she is doing. And then all of a sudden she calls down and this is something you don’t want to hear, ‘they have her on the heart/lung machine and they’ve stopped her heart and started the operation.’ I tell them thanks very much and I’m next. Twenty minutes later they told me they were able to repair the valve, they don’t have to replace it, she’s doing great and the doctor will be up in fifteen minutes. I broke down and now I’m emotional relating the story. That night they had her sitting in a chair and the next day she was walking. Within five days they sent her home.”  “She came through it really, really well,” Peter said, “but I must have aged about thirty years.”

 

TIRICO, Mike: KSPN, 2007-09. Mike syndicated ESPN midday sports show was carried locally on KSPN. Beginning in 2006, Mike was the play-by-play voice of ESPN's Monday Nigh Football, as well as anchoring the No. 2 team for NBA games among several other marquee announcing duties at the network. In late spring of 2016, Mike exited ESPN to join NBC. The versatile Tirico will most likely become the play-by-play broadcaster for NBC’s upcoming NFL Thursday Night Football package it is sharing with CBS and NFL Network. NBC does not have any NBA rights, but it does have the PGA Tour Championship and the British Open for golf as well as the Olympics, which could also be landing spots for him. At ESPN since 1991, he has also covered college football and tennis and has become a go-to guy. Currently, Al Michaels is the lead play-by-play man for NBC’s Sunday Night Football, and Bob Costas toplines the network’s Olympics coverage.

Tobin, Joe: KMGX, 1992. Unknown.
Todd, Jim: KFI, 1964-74. Unknown.

TOLKOFF, Max: KLYY, 1999; KLDE, 2007-09. Max left his pd post at Indie 103 in early 2009 following a format flip to Spanish language. In 2008, Rolling Stone magazine named Indie 103 as the Best Rock Station in America in its Best Of Rock 2008 issue. Max’s account of the demise of Indie was published in the Huffington Post. For hundreds of years, Max has walked both sides of "entertainment boulevard." In addition to his radio programming, he has worked as a record label promotion executive, and also as a chronicler of events within the industry as an editor and writer for two different trade publications - Radio & Records and The Gavin Report. Currently, Max is the head of his own independent consultancy. He also co-founded Mutant Promotions, a record promotion company serving the Alternative format. Prior to this, was 0m of Alternative powerhouse WFNX-Boston. For most of the 80’s Max was the pd of 91X in San Diego.

TOMBAZIAN, Keri: KORG, 1976-77; KGIL, 1977-81; KRTH, 1982-84; KTWV, 1988-94 and 1999-2013. Keri has a very successful voiceover career and is married to screenwriter-actor Thom Babbes. Keri was among the original radio personalities at KTWV. She returned to KTWV in late 1999 to host "The WAVE After Dark." Keri left in the fall of 2013. She is now the voice of channels 2/9 in L.A. Keri's likability factor is huge, just ask anyone who knows her or who has worked with her.  She’s a proud member of the Armenian community and ends up on the cover of Yerevan, “a magazine with an accent.” The whopping six-page story on Keri is filled with her history and her perspective on radio. Some highlights from the story: Keri Tombazian’s love of music comes from her parents. Her father, who was the soloist in the church where she grew up. When Keri was a little girl, her grandmother made sure that Keri and her sister got a good dose of culture, taking them to see great American musical theater at the Music Center. Her parents often took the girls to the Hollywood Bowl.  “I actually started in radio in my teen years. I wanted to act, and I was coming up in the ranks of Equity Waiver theater and in high school. However, a very dear family friend who was an accomplished television and film actor said, ‘You are too ethnic for television, but you have a beautiful voice. You should really think about using it.’ Coincidentally, around the same time, I heard about the KIIS Broadcasting Workshop. I jumped into a 12-week course, which set me on the path of my career. My conversation with Los Angeles listeners began when I was fresh out of high school at a small station in the Valley, KGIL. It was a musical campfire that we gathered around. I played soft rock, big bands, ballads, oldies and blues. I worked at K-EARTH in the early 80s and did a bit of news at KMPC Talk station.

The WAVE bumped world famous KMET off the air on Valentine’s Day, 1987. Rock fans were angry that we had taken away their station; jazz purists were angry that we were playing ‘bogus jazz.’ The regular listeners of KMET called it the Valentine’s Day Massacre, but times were changing.  Over the years you get to know many musicians, especially if you’ve been on the radio for so long. As the station was emerging in the 90s, all these different musicians, Dave Koz, Richard Elliot, and Basia, were completely new."

Tomei, Mel: KLYY, 1997. Chuck Dowd went to work for Greater Media's Philadelphia cluster for production and on-air.
Tomlin, Todd: KIKF, 1996-97. Unknown.
Toney, Reba: KFSH, 2001; KRLA, 2002; KFSH, 2003-11; KKLA, 2005-11. Reba left Salem in February 2011 as co-host morning drive at "The Fish" and middays at KKLA.
Tonione, Val: KCSN, 1980-86. Val hosted Offbeat Notes on Music and was the Classical music director at KCSN.
Tonya: SEE Tonya Campos.

TORME, Daisy: KLAC, 2003-05; XETRA, 2005-06. Daisy, daughter of Mel Torme, worked afternoon drive at Adult Standards, Fabulous 690 until a format flip and ownership change in early 2006. “I really fell into radio,” said Daisy, when interviewed for Los Angeles Radio People. By training, the daughter of Mel Torme is an actress. For years she has been a voiceover actress (ER, Dawson’s Creek, Girl Interrupted and Austin Powers: Goldmember. “I was not on the college radio station. I’m Shakespeare in the Park. I’m musical. I’m City of Angels. I’m Mack and Mabel. That’s what I am. But, I’m also Mel’s daughter. Pretty amazing he got me a job after he died. Let’s face it. Even if I were the most talented VO person in the world, I would never have gotten this job at KLAC if I wasn’t Mel’s daughter.” She tells of an idyllic father/daughter relationship. “He was the most incredible dad and such a tremendous musician, arranger, and orchestator.” Even if young people are unaware of Mel Torme (he wrote the classic  Christmas Song), Daisy’s mission is to tell all about him to all who will listen.  Growing up in a home filled with entertainers, when did Daisy realize who her father was? “That is a difficult question to answer because everyone in the family was in show business. Mother was a British actress and my grandparents were all in the business. It is impossible to compare that experience with someone else’s situation.”  “My father worked very, very hard,” said a thoughtful daughter. “When he was ill, I never saw anyone fight so hard. He was an incredibly strong willed man.”  Daisy and Mel were devoted to each other. “My dad would call me every single day, sometimes twice to check up on me. He was always overly protective of me, his little fragile daughter.”

 

TORRE, Joe: KMPC, 1989-91. Joe was the co-winner of the 1996 American League Manager of the Year award. He became the coach of the LA Dodgers until 2010. In early 2011 baseball commissioner Bud Selig appointed Joe the new executive vice president for baseball operations for Major League Baseball. The colorful manager of the World Champion New York Yankees in 1996 was the color man for the California Angels and filed reports for KTLA/Channel 5. He was the first Yankee manager born (July 18, 1940) and raised in Brooklyn. He grew up playing baseball under the tutelage of his older brother Frank. The former catcher with the Milwaukee Braves and Philadelphia Phillies from 1956 to 1963 was the co-winner of the 1996 American League Manager of the Year award. He’s written a book, Joe Torre’s Ground Rules for Winners, where he reveals the twelve keys to his phenomenally successful management philosophy.

 

TORRERO, Jesse: KPRZ/KIIS, 1979-81; KDAY, 1984-91; KJLH, 1993-96; KMPC, 1995-96; KCMG, 2000-02. Other stations JESSE T 'The Brown Beauty On Duty' worked at: KHJ,KMGG,KCSN,KLAC,KNJO and stations just outside of L.A. KFXM,KGGI,KMEN,Q105,KACY. He managed recording artists and negotiated contracts with Mac Daddy Records, Motown, Sunshine Records, and Arista Records. He has done many recurring roles in daytime tv in the 80's such as Santa Barbara, Days Of Our Lives and General Hospital. He's also had roles in Trapper John MD, Knight Rider, Hill Street Blues, Sanford and Son, What's Happening Now, with film roles in the Shootist with John Wayne and other films check out his IMdb site. Jesse has done thousands of voice overs in a 44 year broadcasting career that started at 14 years old at KLAC with Godfather Harry Newman. He is the ceo/broker of WINWINWIN Group,Inc.  specializing with 40 years of experience in Real Estate, Loans, and Notary Services, also a new business Importing and Wholesaling PPE masks, and owner of KTNT Radio and TV Network an on line podcast and social media radio and TV network.  Recently at KTNT Radio and TV NETWORK on The Power Of Voices Podcast/Live Social Media TV Broadcast out of Los Angeles. Doing afternoon drive full time 5-6 p.m. with The JESSE T Show (Daily Talk Show covering all topics and the ent. biz with L.A. Radio/TV Veteran Host #MEJESSET. Certified 12M Google viewers, 125K facebook viewers/shares/likes monthly, 90K viewers from various on line TV and Radio Networks, and 50K subscribers from 2015-2020. Currently revamping the show for a reboot in 2021 on several larger networks on line, cable, and possibly network TV utilizing ZOOM and YouTube as the live platforms.

Torres, Alicia: KJLH, 1985-88. Alicia, the former midday/music director at KJLH, is now with KTAR News in Phoenix.

TORRES Bernie. Bernie was an integral part of Bill Drake's close circle of social and professional friends. Bernie died on January 12, 2011, at the age of 79, following a bout with pneumonia.  "Torres served an important role for Drake," said Woody Goulart, who wrote the ultimate thesis on the Drake/Chenault Empire. "What we today would call a 'handler' for a celebrity, Torres was referred to by others as the administrative assistant and personal business manager to Drake. But, clearly, Torres was more than merely an employee. It seemed obvious to me that Torres was a trusted friend of Drake as well as someone who socialized with Drake after work as a confidant." (Photo: Annie Van Bebber and Bernie Torres at Bill Drake's 2008 memorial at the Little Brown Church in Studio City)

Bernie’s role with Drake began in Fresno at KYNO and continued through the Drake/Chenault syndication period.

A 1968 True magazine article described the role Torres played: “Drake has built a wall around himself and Bernie Torres is its biggest brick. This is to keep record-promotion men and assorted hustlers from driving Drake to distraction. Drake is a night person who only rarely rises before noon. Part of his staff, including administrative assistant Bernie Torres, a stocky, good-looking type, comes to the house daily. Torres takes the phone calls, usually telling you Drake isn’t home. When he recognizes the name as that of someone Drake will talk to, he reverses his position and calls his boss to the phone."   

TORRES, Luis: KNX, 1981-2008. Luis is a veteran writer, documentary filmmaker and broadcast journalist. Now working as a freelance writer, he retired from KNX/CBS Radio after twenty-six years as a reporter, covering everything from politics to criminal court cases to the arts. He is the recipient of the George Foster Peabody Award, the duPont Columbia Award, the Edward R. Murrow Award, nine Golden Mike Awards from the Radio and Television News Association of California and four Greater Los Angeles Press Club Awards, among many others. Luis reported stories on assignment from Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Cuba. Recently he published his first book, a biography of educational reformer Vahac Mardirosian titled Doña Julia’s Children. The title is derived from Mardirosian’s experiences growing up as an Armenian-Mexican in the border city of Tijuana in the 1920s. He was a little boy when his mother died. Poverty had the family by the throat. Young Vahac had a neighbor named Doña Julia and she took time to feed him and give him some care and comfort. “How can I repay this woman?” he says. “By devoting my life as an adult to helping other Doña Julia’s of the world.” That’s why he devoted himself to a life to compassion and caring, first as a Baptist minister and then as an educational reformer who helped poor immigrant parents work with the public schools in order to give their children better educational opportunities. He left KNX in 1988 to work as a professor of journalism at California State University, Los Angeles and as a producer at KCET, the Los Angeles public television station. He returned to KNX/CBS Radio in 1991. He took early retirement in 2008. He is currently a freelance writer and adjunct professor of journalism at Los Angeles Mission College. The Golden Mike award winning newsman is a native of Los Angeles. Luis obtained his B.A. degree in 1976 from the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he majored in political-science.

 

TOWNSEND, Howard: Howard co-owned and taught at the Don Martin School of Broadcasting in Hollywood. He died February 1, 2008, of natural causes in Palm Springs. He was 89. In 1965, Townsend and two cousins acquired the school, once considered the largest school of television and radio broadcasting from its founder. He taught radio and television to talk show host Don Imus, game show hosts Bob Eubanks, Tom Kennedy, and Jack Narz. He also taught legendary Boss Jock The Real Don Steele.  Townsend was the announcer and narrator on several programs in the golden age of radio and was a character actor on Space Patrol, a popular television show of the '50s. When Townsend retired to Palm Springs, he played piano solo at various nightclubs.

Townsend, Ken: KEZY, 1976. Ken left radio and is doing computer work.
Toy, Terrence: KKBT, 1994-95. Unknown.

TOYOTA, Tritia: KNX, 1970-72. Tritia is a veteran Southern California television journalist who has more than 30 years of experience in Los Angeles news media, much of it at KCBS/Channel 2. In November 1994,Toyota was the only journalist to be granted an interview with Lance Ito, the presiding Judge of the 0J Simpson murder trial. Her longtime interest in Southern California's ethnic diversity has resulted in numerous special series and reports. She visited South Korea to report on growth tensions between North and South Korea and its effect on Southern California's large Korean community. Tritia has anchored locally since 1975. She began her professional career at CBS. In 1970, she started at KNXNewsradio as a copy person. She was later named action reporter, serving as the listeners’ ombudswoman, as well as writer and producer of the segment. In 1972, Toyota joined KNBC/Channel 4, as general assignment reporter. She was named weekend anchor in 1975, taking over the 5 p.m. and ll p.m. weekday broadcasts in 1978. Along with anchoring, Toyota headed the station's election coverage and moderated public affairs programs. Toyota is a co-founder of the National Asian American Journalists Association. For her efforts, she has received several Emmy, Golden Mike, Associated Press and Los Angeles Press Club awards. Tritia graduated from Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science degree. There she was elected to the Dean's List and to the Theta Sigma Pi, and the National Journalism Honorary. She received a Master of Arts in Journalism from UCLA. She is now an adjunct assistant professor in anthropology, Asian-American studies and the media at the University of California at Los Angeles.

 

TRACEY, Jill: KKJZ, 2006. Jill worked weekends at the all-Jazz station, KLON. For most of the 2010s, Jill has been a member of the WHQT (HOT 105)-Miami family. A native of Detroit, Jill’s career began as a South Beach gossip columnist which led to a career in radio and tv that has taken Jill to Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta and now back to Miami.

 

TRACY, Don: KGFJ, 1969-74; Armed Forces Radio, 1973-93; KDAY, 1976-90; KGFJ, 1993-94; KMBY, 1995; KABC, 1996-97; KNX, 1997-2007. Following a stint in sales at KNX, in 1997 Don opened Malloy & Associates, a buying service and ad agency in Pasadena. Originally from Pittsburgh, he was born Don Malloy in 1941. After Schenley High School he graduated from Roger Williams Junior College in 1962. He started out at WEHW-Windsor, Connecticut and went on to WPOP-Hartford and WNHC-New Haven. He came to Los Angeles to work at KGFJ. Don started the first minority-owned-and-operated school of broadcasting. He said his goal was "cultivating a student's talent rather than merely cranking out a graduate. That may have sounded corny but that’s the way I was raised." The school's curriculum ranged from newscasting to copy writing. Since 1975, Don has also been pd/md and afternoon drive on Armed Forces Radio/TV Network. In 1991 Don became director of radio for S.I. Communications, a radio syndication company. In addition to his career in radio, he was the international editor of R&B Report, wrote many songs for Freddie Hubbard and was a music correspondent for German and Japanese publications. Following a stint in sales at KABC, Don has opened Malloy & Associates, an advertising agency in the San Fernando Valley.

TRACY, Eric: KMPC, 1981-82; KABC, 1982-96; KCTD, 1998; KFWB, 1997-2007. Eric was a sports anchor at KFWB News 980. He died September 15, 2022, after a long battle with cancer. Eric was the creator of the Charity Golf Online Guide, the Internet's only clearinghouse for charity golf tournaments in Southern California. Eric was very active in the golf community, serving as Master of Ceremonies for more than 50 tournaments a year. “I joined KFWB soon after an unceremonious sacking at KABC Talkradio. After 15 years, I wasn't even able to say good-bye when I was let go in the fall of 1996.” He did his farewell on the op-ed page of the LA Times. Born in Detroit on March 7, 1951, Eric grew up in the San Fernando Valley and worked in Montana, Colorado Springs, Wichita, Kansas, WOKY-Milwaukee, WWL and WSGO-New Orleans and KSFO-San Francisco prior to starting in L.A. At KSFO he worked afternoon drive and was involved with the broadcasts of the Oakland A's and the San Francisco 49'ers. Eric was part of the launch of RKO's "American Overnight" in 1981. The launch was based on the overnight success of Larry King. He shared the six-hour talkfest with Ed Busch, who was hosting from Dallas. The program was heard on about 80 stations. In 1982 he went to KABC to work sports for the first time. However, because of his talk radio background he soon was the station's #1 fill-in general talk host who proudly claims to have worked every weekday shift on the station, even doing fill-in work for psychologist Dr. Toni Grant. General manager George Green called him "a true radio renaissance man." Eric spent 12 seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Dodger radio broadcast team as the pre- and post-game host. He co-hosted KABC's "SportsTalk" with Steve Edwards. He had several tv and theatrical credits, and was an active "Big Brother."

Trammel, Charles: KGFJ, 1954-60. Charles died in 1983.
Tran, Tom: KNX. Tom is a traffic reporter. 

TRAVIS, Clay: KEIB, 2021-23. With a background mostly in sports media, in early summer of 2021, Premiere Network tapped Clay to join Buck Sexton as replacements for the Rush Limbaugh syndicated show. Travis appeared on the first-ever linear sports gambling show, FOX BET LIVE on FS1. He also hosted the morning program "Outkick the Coverage with Clay Travis" on FOX Sports Radio. The author, radio host, lawyer and television personality has previously worked with FOX Sports as a regular contributor on former shows Fox Sports Live and Fox College Saturday. Travis runs the popular blog Outkick the Coverage, and prior to establishing the site in July 2011, the former attorney worked as a columnist for CBSSports.com and FanHouse and as an editor at Deadspin. The controversial and often irreverent columnist has authored two bestselling books – Dixieland Delight and On Rocky Top -- in addition to Man: The Book, an international bestseller in England, and Republicans Buy Sneakers Too: How the Left is Ruining Sports with Politics. Travis was born and raised in Nashville. He earned a degree in history from George Washington University in 2001, where he also worked as a student basketball manager. Afterward, he graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2004.

 

TREFF, Adam: KSRF, 1991. Adam became operations manager for KPAN in Hereford, Texas. Adam Eskenazi-Treff spent the next 25 years in media/advertising, marketing and market research experience. Most recently, Adam served as senior account manager for Empanel Online, Inc., a major provider of online B2B and consumer sample on a global scale. He's now the founder/ceo of Survey Motive in Amarillo. Adam is an avid bird watcher and his greatest love is watching trains near his home in Hereford, Texas.

 

TREMAINE, Larry: KBLA, KTYM, KALI, KRLA (all stations during the 60s). Born Larry Steinman, Larry was a second generation Angelino, growing up in Beverly Hills. His grandfather, a renowned artist who designed catalogs for major department stores in Los Angeles, arrived in L.A. from Europe in 1912. Larry died May 31, 2014, at the age of 70. Larry attended UCLA, then started his career in the entertainment field as “Larry Tremaine,” a name given to him by Elvis Presley. Starting as a rock singer with his group Larry Tremaine & the Renegades, they later changed the group’s name to the Sunrays, which had a successful hit single, I Live for the Sun. Larry was also a concert promoter and a disc jockey at KRLA. In the late 60’s, he starred on tv as the host of a nationally syndicated rock ‘n roll dance party show called Casino Royal Fun Circus, where he discovered and promoted artists. He played a key part in the careers of The Beach Boys, Sonny & Cher, Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass, Bobby Fuller and others. He also hosted Disneyland’s Saturday night dance party. In 1969, Larry moved to Europe for two years. While in Europe, Larry, with his vast knowledge of radio and television broadcasting, became a partner in “Pirate Radio,” known around the world to this day as “Radio Caroline” and “Radio Nordsea,” which broadcast from a ship off the coast of England and Holland. Returning to America, Larry entered the family import/export business and worked with his dad, a designer who had the license for Raggedy Ann and Andy products, among thousands of other novelty items, which were made in their factories in the Orient. In the 80’s, Larry specialized in the “art” branch  of the family business and owned the Carol Lawrence Fine Art Galleries in Beverly Hills. He was soon elected president of the Beverly Hills Art Gallery Association.

Trice, Leon: KABC, 2003-06; KSBR, 2017. Leon hosts the Thursday morning drive time Morning Cup of Jazz with Leon. At KABC, Leon was a producer for the Motorman show with Leon Kaplan. Leon graduated from The Academy of Radio Broadcasting in 2002.

TRIGUEROS, Talaya: KUTE, 1984-87; KNX/fm, 1988; KOCM/KSRF, 1988; KTWV, 1988-2019. Talaya was the midday dj at "the Wave" for over 30 years and she left in April 2019. She's now with the Watercolors channel at SiriusXM. "Well, I am Talaya. My Dad gave me this name which I love, although can be a bit difficult for many to pronounce.  Just think papaya or jambalaya and you’ve got it. I have been in radio since the previous century!  Celebrating my 31st year with The Wave (go ahead and do the math) first and foremost I am grateful to you the listener, for making my job a breeze. One of the reasons I got into radio was knowing that music brings the world together and that, in itself gives me much joy. Plus singing in a band and waiting for the club owner to pay you at 3 a.m. just was no fun while radio gave me much better hours and a solid paycheck. I am from the beautiful state of New Mexico and moved to San Francisco to attend San Francisco State University to study Broadcasting after volunteering for a few years in college radio. It took me getting away from New Mexico to be able to appreciate its pure unadulterated charm. Living in the amazing city of San Francisco I was able to get my dream job at radio station KRE in Berkeley playing Jazz and Latin Jazz. Format got tweaked a bit and call letters were changed to KBLX “The Quiet Storm” and I was offered the full-time shift during the midday. Success was big and bold and I was offered the same gig, but here in The City of Angels at KUTE which was changing to “The Quiet Storm”.  Following that I worked briefly at KNX/fm, K-Ocean and eventually here at “The Wave.”  I also have a small line of handmade jewelry of which I call Talaya Designs. My husband and I have two adult children and five grandchildren (googie heads) and my family keeps me grounded, because being On the Air on a daily basis can easily put me in the clouds and not sure I need to stay there at this point of my life. Radio? I love it!"  (from the KTWV website)

Trinidad, Garth: KCRW, 1996-2022. Garth hosts the evening show at KCRW.

(John Tesh, Steve Truitt, Kevin Tripp, and Leon Trice)

Tripp, Bobby: KHJ, 1967-68. Bobby died July 19, 1968.
Tripp, Kevin: KABC, 2019-22. Kevin provides traffic and news to KABC and other stations.

TRIPP, Peter: KGFJ, 1963-64. Peter was hired at KGFJ the day John F. Kennedy was shot. He came to the Southland from KUDL and WHB-Kansas City and WMGM-New York where he was known as "The Curly Headed Kid in the Third Row." When interviewed for Los Angeles Radio People, he was asked how he got the moniker? "I was born in Port Chester, New York on June 11, 1926, and my father was a sales executive with Forbes magazine. He took a bunch of his friends to the hospital after I was born. As they looked through the window in the maternity ward, he pointed to the curly headed kid in the third row and it just stuck."

New owners arrived at KGFJ in 1964, a year after Peter arrived. "I got a letter from the owner saying they were letting me go because they have to have an all-black sound. I took the letter to my lawyer and we ended up winning a fair, but not great settlement. I invested the money into a series of topless beer bars in the Southland, one was called ‘Pussy Cat A Go-Go' and there was another in Torrance. Peter left the beer bar business and has been involved in many endeavors. His most successful venture was a home exercise device called Slim Gym that he advertised on tv. He said the Slim Gym had " a lot of sparkle and charisma."

His career gained national attention with his 1959 record breaking 201 hour wakeathon(working on the radio non-stop without sleep to benefit the March of Dimes). For much of the stunt, he sat in a glass booth in Times Square. After a few days he began to hallucinate, and for the last 66 hours the observing scientists and doctors gave him drugs to help him stay awake.

When the payola scandal exploded in the early 1960s, Peter was swept up in the frenzy and was charged with accepting $36,000 in bribes. Despite his claim that he "never took a dime from anyone," he was found guilty on a charge of commercial bribery, receiving a $500 fine and a six-month suspended sentence.

 Tripp died January 31, 2000, at the age of 73, following a stroke. He was married four times.  

TROLI, Blake: KFI, 2021-23. Blake joined the KFI news department from two years at KXL-Portland. "As a Claremont kid, I grew up listening to KFI in the backseat of my grandma's van. My journey doing what I call the 'Market Climb' brought to places like Rapid City, South Dakota, Fresno, and most recently Portlan. You can find me on most of my off days hiking, fishing or trying a new restaurant."

TROTTER, John: KABC, 1955-60. Honest John Trotter, born in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, was one of the prominent air personalities on Chicago's Country radio station WJJD.   He began his work in radio at a $13.50 weekly salary as announcer and janitor. In 1946, he took up radio again by voicing three lines on his sister's radio show. By 1950, John was doing three shows a day for three different stations in Ft. Smith: KFPW, KWHN & KFSA. He moved to Tulsa to join KRMG, and he later joined KAKC where Chris Lane was program director.   Trotter's next move was to KABC in Hollywood as program director in 1955. There he earned fame in 1958 when he initiated the first helicopter traffic reports Trotter was also the "voice" on Walt Disney Presents for two years. While working for station KILT in Houston, Trotter threw his hat in the ring as candidate for mayor. Although he didn't win, the race was so close that a recount was necessary. This was the source of the nickname "Honest John," which stuck with him for the rest of his career.. John's next stop was San Francisco station KEWB.   In 1965, friends George Dubinetz and Chris Lane urged him to sign with station WJJD, where Lane was now program director. Trotter won the Gavin Award that year, and again in 1967. In 1966 John received a letter from President Johnson commenting on a record Trotter made called I'm a Square. After several years in Chicago, Honest John moved to station KBOX in Dallas and retired to Abilene,in 1974. He passed away on May 19, 1976. John Trotter was inducted into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame in 1996.

Troupe, Curtis: KDAY, 1965; XPRS, 1971-73; KGFJ; XERB; KDAY, 1981-82. Unknown.
Trout, Dick: KTNQ, 1977. Unknown.

TROUT, Earl: KDAY, 1969-70; KWIZ, 1970; KBRT, 1970-1986; KIEV, 1999-2000; KRLA, 2001. Born in Blythe, in 1945, Earl arrived in Southern California as pd of KDAY from KDWB-Minneapolis. One of his early stations was KFIF-Tucson. He called himself "Horrible Head." Earl went on to be one of the founders of L.A.B. or the KIIS broadcast school. In early 2005, Earl exited as the Pacific Northwest cluster manager for Crawford Broadcasting. He was executive director of the Kansas City Automotive Museum and writer of fun stuff, including The Pink Panther tv shows. Read his UERT blog posts here.

Trout, Mike: KBRT. Mike left as vp of broadcasting at "Focus on the Family" in the fall of 2000.
Trowbridge, Jerry: KUSC, 1973; KLVE, 1975; KPOL/KZLA, 1976-79. Jerry and Ray Smithers own "Flying Pig Ranch," an independent video production company, based in Florida.
Truitt, Steve: KMPC, 1995-96. Steve hosts Cool Stuff on Discovery Science Channel, and The Bottom Line on healthylife.net radio.

TRUJILLO, Tammy: KFI, 1993; KEZY, 1991-94; KXEZ, 1994-95; KFWB, 1997-2009; KPCC, 2011-20; KABC, 2022. Tammy left all-News KFWB following a format flip in early fall of 2009. She joined KPCC in the summer of 2011 and left in early 2014, but continues to do fill-in. In the summer of 2022, Tammy became an anchor at KABC. Tammy was news director for Cameron Broadcasting and news director for the nationally syndicated show Animal Radio. She is also the news narrator for online content provider Wochit. Tammy continues her work as professor of Broadcasting at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut and gm of the campus radio stations, 90.1/fm Mt Rock (KSAK) and Audio8ball.com. She's now co-hosting a podcast with Tim Piper.

Tuck, Cecil: KRLA, 1963-68. Unknown.

TUCKER, Bud: KABC, 1975-76; KWIZ, 1977-81; KMPC, 1981-86. Bud was a longtime sports columnist for a number of L.A. newspapers and former talk show host at KABC, KWIZ and KMPC in the 1970s and 80s. Bud, a native of Saskatoon, Alberta, Canada, started his career in 1967 with “Press Box” on KTLA/Channel 5 with Dick Enberg, Bud Furillo and Tom Harmon. Bud died August 24, 2005, at the age of 80. During the 1972 season, Bud was the color man for Los Angeles Sharks hockey team. In 1974, he hosted “SportsTalk” on KABC. During the mid-1970s, Bud hosted the pre-game and halftime activities at USC and Raiders games. In the spring of 1981, Bud started reporting sports commentary on KMPC's morning drive show with Robert W. Morgan. While at KMPC he hosted “Rams Report” and the pre-game show for the Angels. In 1985 he purchased KIOT-Barstow and four years later put KXXZ-Barstow on the air. “It was fun running a radio station, but just too much paper work with the FCC, lawyers and the tax man,” confessed Tucker when interviewed for Los Angeles Radio People. "Honestly, I was trying to accomplish the same thing on radio as I did in print," Tucker said.

"Most of the sports shows on in L.A. back in the 1970s were just really, really dull. I thought it would liven things up to give the fans a role in the show. Guess I was right, because what I was doing back then with the most primitive technology you can imagine is exactly what Jim Rome does now. Only thing is, he's getting paid a hell of a lot more than what I was bringing home."

LA Times media writer Larry Stewart described Tucker as a lovable Buddy Hackett look-a-like. Stewart said Tucker once told a young sportswriter, who was wearing a new plaid sports jacket he was quite proud of: "Nice jacket. Where did you get the material for it, from a Holiday Inn bedspread?" 

TUCKER, Skip: KNX, 1991-94. Skip was part of Metro Traffic for all-News, KNX. Skip is working as a negotiation consultant and teaching negotiation seminars for Karrass. Since 2009, Skip has been president of Business Train Seminars, conducting business seminars, workshops and speeches including negotiation, sales, purchasing and motivational.

 

TUCKMAN, Roy: KPFK, 1977-2023. Roy, aka Roy of Hollywood, hosted KPFK’s overnight “Something’s Happening” for 50 of the station’s 64 years on the air, with a mix of spirituality, alternative health care, old time radio and political analysis and commentary, according to ChangeLinks.org. At 84, Roy passed away on April 20, 2023, in the company of his wife “Lady Di” Diane Schmidt after an illness and hospitalization. Roy produced the Alan Watts recordings that helped popularize Buddhism to Western audiences. "He had literally devoted his life and career to public radio at Pacifica, earning very little money, but great satisfaction in knowing he was providing news, information, and entertainment that could not be found anywhere else on the dial," emailed colleague Michael Benner. "Roy was a kind and loving, spiritually-oriented progressive activist, working tirelessly for peace and social justice." Roy was born in Los Angeles, and earned a master's degree in social anthropology from UCLA in 1967.

 Tummillo, Jude: KRTH 2003-05. Jude reported traffic for Total Traffic on a number of stations. 

TUNA, Charlie: KHJ, 1967-72; KROQ, 1972-73; KKDJ, 1973-75; KIIS, 1975-77; KHJ, 1977; KTNQ, 1978-80; KHTZ, 1980-85; KBZT, 1985-86; KRLA, 1986-90; KODJ/KCBS, 1990-93; KMPC/KABC, 1993-94; KIKF, 1994-98; KLAC, 1998-2000; KBIG, 2000-07; KRTH, 2008-15. Born Art Ferguson, Charlie grew up in Nebraska, where he started on the radio at age 16. He died February 19, 2016, at the age of 71. When writing my Los Angeles Radio People books, readers were asked to vote for their favorite personalities in the last 50 years. Tuna made the Top 10. Charlie started noon-to-three on KHJ and moved to mornings in 1970 when Robert W. Morgan left for Chicago. He was named rock dj of the year in 1970 by the LA Times. In 1972, Charlie went to KCBQ-San Diego, commuting from his home in Tarzana because of contract restrictions imposed after he quit KHJ. He was the first morning personality on KROQ/AM. In 1973, Charlie was very active with numerous radio specials through his Alan/Tuna Production company.  That same year, he joined KKDJ, becoming pd in 1975. When KIIS AM/FM debuted on October 1, 1975, Charlie was the first morning man and pd of both stations.  He hosted "Record Report," a syndicated series.  In 1977, Charlie replaced Charlie Van Dyke at KHJ. He was one of the hosts on KTLA/Chanel 5’s Calendar show. In 1990, Charlie was the first KHJ "Boss Jock" to receive a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He teamed briefly with Dean Goss when KODJ debuted in 1990.

On September 10, 1993, KCBS became "Arrow 93" and Charlie was gone. Within a month Charlie started on all-Sports KMPC as the morning anchor.  He was active in Voice of America and AFRTS for decades. He appeared in the Universal movie Rollercoaster and was the announcer on numerous tv shows including The Mike Douglas Show and Scrabble. In a 1993 Times interview, Charlie reminisced, "I'm much more regimented than I've ever been. It was a lot more unstructured then, and, to be honest, a lot more fun. Now there are a lot more bankers and accountants in it, but you adapt." Charlie worked as 1994 summer fill-in on KABC and KMPC. In 1994, he moved to mornings at Orange County Country KIKF, then to KLAC, where he remained until May 2000, when he moved to mornings at KBIG. He continued an active voiceover career and hosted the syndicated "Oldies Calendar" and was the morning personality on "The Music of Your Life."

Charlie was inducted into the Nebraska Radio Hall of Fame in 1999.  

TUNNO, Fran: KABC, 1994; KLAC, 1998-2000. Fran worked as senior copywriter for iHeartMedia, Los Angeles. Prior to that she worked as a copywriter for Salem Communications. She is a voice actress and Audie nominated audiobook narrator. She is also a freelance writer with stories published in the Los Angeles Times and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Fran was sidekick/news reporter and traffic reporter in morning drive on KLAC with Charlie Tuna. She was also a tv traffic reporter for Channel 4/KNBC. Prior to that she did traffic reports on KABC's "Ken & Barkley Show." Fran's career in radio began in 1986 at LA Networks, a traffic operation and she's done traffic and news for numerous stations including, KCRW, KBIG, KFWB, KLON, KLIT, KGGI, KMEN, KJLH, KAVS, etc.  Fran worked in television news prior to that, as a writer and producer for KHJ/Channel 9 and KCOP/Channel 13. She holds a Professional Designation in journalism from UCLA and a B.S. in education from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.

 

TUR, Bob: KNX, 1987-97. Bob flew over the Southland freeways reporting traffic and breaking stories for a variety of tv and radio stations. Born on June 8, 1960, Bob was one of the first to use a helicopter to cover breaking news, and the first to televise a high-speed police chase. Bob covered the 1992 LA riots, filming the brutal attack on Reginald Denny. Two years later he was one of the first to broadcast OJ Simpson's slow-speed Bronco chase. His 23-year marriage to Marika Gerrard came to an end in 2003. (He is the father of NBC's Katy Tur). A decade later, Tur publicly came out as transgender and a year later had gender reassignment surgery. Reflecting on her transition in a 2017 interview, Tur stated, "What I have is not political. It's a medical condition that was treated. I'm cured. I'm done. It's not a mental illness. There are differences in the brain." (Wikipedia)

 

TURKINGTON, Bill: KJOI, 1983-89; KNX. Bill went on to KWXY AM & FM-Palm Springs and worked from 2003-12. "After I graduated from Boston University in 1963 I joined WNAV AM and FM-Annapolis, Maryland in afternoon drive as a time, music and-talk dj. But in one of my early days there I was called into the station before my air shift and I was sent out with a little tape deck 3-inch reel to see if I could get John F Kennedy to say a few words. The station management had high hopes I could do something like that and I did. JFK was visiting the Naval Academy (NAVY had nothing to do with the call letters WNAV AM and FM except the letters themselves). I got 9 minutes alone with him and this is about 3 months before Dallas.' In 1965, Bill joined WFAX in Washington, DC as news director doing music/news. He also was at WEZR/fm doing Beautiful music and talk dj. Bill was also at WJMD/fm-DC, along with a weekly NBC TV production 'First Light.' Bill hosted that one hour and later became co-producer and host. "In 1983 I was hired by a west coast station I never interviewed with. It was the number two station in the ratings in Los Angeles at the time, KJOI. Many celebrities, Ernest Borgnine, Charlton Heston, Tim Conway, Glen Ford, and Henry Mancini came by the station to visit. In 1990, I joined Dick Clark's Music of your Life. It was live but no time checks possible." For a time he worked Universal Pictures doing voice work, the VIP TOUR and  served as an Associate Media Relations manager for the studio, and then moved on to KNX as a news anchor/news reader. Bill also did a lot of extra writing and reporting on CBS Radio.

(Bobby Tripp, Chris Taylor, Byron & Tanaka, Blake Troli, and Doug Taylor)  

TURNAGE, Richard: KMPC, 1991; KRTH, 1992-97; KFWB, 2008-09. The contagious laugh is unmistakable. Richard was a outstanding sidekick to some many outstanding LARP. Richard left Metro/Shadow Traffic in February 2007 after 22 years, but returned later in the year. Richard was born in Encino, raised in Thousand Oaks, and graduated from Royal High in Simi Valley. Richard graduated from California State University, Northridge, earning a B.A. in radio/tv in 1988. “I've always loved radio, listening to all the greats like Dick Whittinghill, Lohman & Barkley, Dave Hull and others. I listened to and admired the great Robert W. Morgan. As a kid in the '60s, I would walk all around my neighborhood with a small transistor radio glued to my ear, listening to Robert and all of the Boss Jocks on KHJ.  Little did I know that I would be working with Robert W.  25 years later.” Richard started his radio career while at CSUN, working at KGIL-AM/94.3 "Magic" FM in the San Fernando Valley. “At the same time, I got my first on-air gig at the campus station, KCSN, spinning old-time Country records on actual turntables! I was paid $5 an hour as a student announcer.” In 1988 he joined Metro Traffic and started doing fill-in at KMPC on the Robert W. Morgan Show. “I showed up on the first day and sat down in the traffic booth minutes before the show began. Robert W. breezed in, sat down, glanced at me and, even though he'd never heard of me or even knew who I was, said over the intercom, ‘I want you to feel free to join-in during the show. I'll have your microphone up at all times, and you should laugh and react and become part of the conversation.’ "I was stunned! I was fully expecting to only do some quick traffic updates and sit quietly on the sidelines. But he had me join in right away. We seemed to click, and during that two-week fill-in assignment, he treated me like I’d been on his show for years.” This was the start of a 7-year on-air relationship at KMPC followed by KRTH. “I joined the ‘Good Morgan’ team full-time as Robert’s traffic reporter/sidekick/chief gag writer and enjoyed being a part of a great show on two heritage radio stations. The experience of being at the elbow of the greatest morning personality in radio every day is something I'll always treasure.."

 

TURNBULL, Barry: KFWB, 1999-2001; KNX, 2002-06. Barry worked weekend sports at KNX and for a number of Ventura County stations. The longtime sports broadcaster and Golden Mike recipient died September 19, 2017. He was 60 years old. Barry was known in Los Angeles as a part-timer with Shadow and MetroBroadcasting, heard on all-news KFWB and KNX. He had a long run with KVEN / KHAY-Ventura as the station’s sports director and hosting weekend call-in shows, along with a time at KVTA. Barry was awarded a Golden Mike in 1992 for his KVEN sports commentary. Born in Whittier, Barry grew up in Garden Grove. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Cal State Fullerton in 1981. Barry’s first job in radio was in the early 1980s, working the news beat at KDES-Palm Springs. "At KDES I learned so much under the man I call Mr. Golden Mike Palm Springs, Mike Meenan." When he was interviewed for Los Angeles Radio People, Barry offered some thoughts about sports broadcasting. “There is no question that Vin Scully is the voice of Southern California baseball. As the sports director for a Dodger network affiliate, I feel cheated now because Vinny only does two innings a game on radio, at best. But as a broadcast team, there was none better than Dick Enberg and Don Drysdale in the 70s on KMPC. They made an Angel team that was especially bad on the field still fun to listen to regardless." Barry experienced various health issues over the years. In 2006, his time at KVEN was interrupted due to illness, though he would eventually return to the station. As recently as year before his death, Barry spent time in a convalescent home, recovering from a knee ailment. Barry also used the name Brad Wallace while dispensing traffic reports for various stations. Barry was Brian Wilson's second cousin who is credited with naming the Beach Boys album Smiley Smile, which was released on September 18, 1967, according to Cory Sabblut-Baker.

Turnbull, Bob & Yvonne: KORG; KYMS. KKLA. Bob and Yvonne are authors and speakers throughout the USA and Canada on relationships, primarily marriage and family.

TURNER, Ken: KPPC, 1971; KYMS, 1973-74; KNAC, 1974-75. Ken died June 26, 2009. He was 61. In 2009, Ken bylined a piece for LARadio.com on 'The Great KSLY Flood of 1969'. After his radio career, he moved into television as an audio mixer for many network sitcoms, including Three’s Company, One Day At A Time, and All In The Family, Dodgers telecasts, People’s Court, and hundreds of other shows. He was also an award-winning editor/producer for the “Mr. Rock ‘N Roll” segment on KTTV’s Channel 11 News, and co-produced the Fox documentary Marilyn Monroe: Something’s Got To Give.  Born and raised in Santa Barbara, Turner became a trusted resource for many in the music industry. Turner paved the way for many young audiophiles and put his knowledge of music and recording into a production career in radio and video journalism, creating such series as Backbeat and producing a weekly music news show for Fox Television in Los Angeles. He produced music videos for L.A. bands and was respected by many of the music industry decision makers. A consummate professional, Turner inspired all he worked with to be their best and brought a sense of wonder and joy to all he did. For his friends and colleagues who had the honor of working with him, there is no one who matched his wit, knowledge and commitment to his craft.

 

TURNER, Mary: KMET, 1972-82; KLSX, 1993. "Stunned to read that Mary Turner has died," wrote Charlie Van Dyke on her passing. She died May 9, 2023. "We met in San Francisco when I was at KFRC and she was at KSAN" continued Charlie. "Wonderful friendship and remarkable lady." Ace Young worked with Mary at KMET and wrote: "The news has hit me like a ton of bricks. "Mary was the best. So much can be said of her career; her success; her life with husband, and recently passed, Norm Pattiz. I am grief stricken!" "One of the most beautiful women on the radio in the 70’s was my radio hero and she just left this earthly plane," wrote Randy Thomas on Facebook. "She was one of the first women I had ever heard on the radio. She was the queeen of LA Rock radio. KMET was the station where “Turner the burner” played the best music and the biggest rock stars on the planet sat down to talk to her about their music and their love of the rock and roll lifestyle. In the past 50 years, there are half dozen formats that continue to be idolized and end up in a special place in the history of LARadio. KMET, “the Mighty Met,” was one of those stations that caught lightning in a bottle and complemented the turbulent times of unrest, free speech and free love.  The Burner, Mary Turner, arrived at KMET in June of 1972 and left on the eve of her 10th year with the “Mighty Met.” Mary reflected on her early radio days: "It was an exciting time back then, because you didn't operate under any rules. You could play anything you wanted, say anything you wanted and who cared? FM at that time was a joke, especially to Top 40 people. We were the hippies, and they were the stars." On being a successful female: "I think being a woman helped more than anything else. The time was right for it, and I happened to be in the right place at the right time."

In the early 1980s, Mary married Norm Pattiz, founder and chairman of Westwood One. In the early 1990s, she eventually came to terms with a substance abuse problem, and took steps to get clean and sober. Mary became a UCLA-certified drug and alcohol counselor and earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. 

Mary became the chairwoman of the Betty Ford Center at Eisenhower Hospital in Rancho Mirage. This was a departure for the 28-year-old facility that had been led by a member of the Ford family up until this point of Mary taking over.  

Sam Bellamy was Mary’s boss at KMET. The program director remembered:  “When I arrived at KMET in 1974, Mary was already there paving the way for women in radio. We became fast friends and partners in crime, based a lot on our shared sense of humor and intense desire to succeed.” 

Sam continued: “I learned very quickly that Mary would set the bar high for aspiring air personalities and radio executives alike, especially in the highly competitive L.A. market. Before Oprah and others started preaching it, Mary was living the purpose-driven life. Back in the early 70's, Mary had set goals for herself and she kept building on, and and reaching for, those goals - always mindful of inspiring and teaching others along the way.”

Born in Baltimore in 1947, Mary was a tv/radio major at Indiana University in Bloomington. She wanted to be a television director and left for San Francisco after graduation. She got a local phone book and started dialing tv stations. Her first industry job was in traffic at Metromedia's KNEW/TV. She listened to KSAN and was influenced by the music and lifestyle of the “underground station,” resulting in stints at ABC's KSFX and KSAN.  

Mary worked as an engineer for the legendary Tom Donahue before graduating to a weekend shift. Mary was a strong female voice for five years in the San Francisco area before coming to Los Angeles. Her real increased exposure began with the taping of "Off The Record" for Westwood One, which was heard by an estimated 25 million listeners. Her second venture was the syndicated "Rock 'n' Roll Never Forgets."  

When she left KMET, Mary did a daily program on Armed Forces Radio/TV, worked for Canada's CHUM group and "Music in the Air," a pre-recorded airline program on TWA. Her photo appeared in a 1981 edition of Oui Magazine as part of an article on "Ladies of the Airwaves."  

Turner, Michael: KMET, 1971-72. Michael passed away in the early 2000's of prostate cancer. 

TURNER, Thomas: KFOX, 1983-84; KGFJ, 1984-85; KJLH, 1986-87; KDAY, 1987-89; KACE, 1985-86 and 1989-91. Thomas is teaching broadcasting and has a voiceover career. He worked under various names - Chase Turner and Tommy Teeh - while in the Southland. He was born in Detroit and moved to New York when he was 8. “New York was an amusement park that people lived in. I have yet to have as much fun with as many people.” As a teen he moved to South Central Los Angeles. He graduated from Air University in Denver with a BA in communications/journalistic photography. He served in the US Air Force as a Still Photographic Specialist. Following two years at the Don Martin School of Communication, Thomas joined KFOX in Redondo Beach. When he left the Southland in 1991, Thomas joined KQPT-Sacramento. “I left L.A. beat up, battered and bruised. It was mostly my ego. I taught radio at Columbia College and worked for a newspaper. An offer from Greg Mack, now a station owner, took Thomas to KTTA-Fresno. “The station was just like I’d hoped. A start-up with strong major players. We cooked and we served.” KTTA folded shortly after its first record year “due to owner disputes.” Back to Sacramento where he worked KSFM 102 as a morning news guy and weekends.  He built KBMB from scratch. It was first true Urban station in that region. Thomas closed their initial deal with ABC Network and hired all its original personnel, according to colleagues.

 

TURPEL, Pete: KAAP; KNJO/KMDY, 1986-87. Pete, former program director and general manager at KNJO-Thousand Oaks (now ‘Playlist 92.7/fm’), is a member of the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission. He’s been active in local politics for a number of years, serving as president of the Rotary Club Foundation and chairman emeritus of the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce.  Pete was born in Long Beach and as a military kid he grew up in New Mexico, Hawaii, Mississippi and California. Pete started his broadcasting career at WSSO-Starkville, Mississippi. “I fell in love with radio when I was a kid listening to the Boss Jocks of 93/ KHJ and, of course, the alternative side with the Mighty Met [KMET]. Jim Ladd encouraged me to stick with radio while I was working for the college station at Mississippi State University.” Pete also worked at: KGAB, KSRF, KAAP, and KPLS.    Pete founded a production company that specializes in creating marketing solutions with professional audio for telecommunication and web applications called “Phone On Hold Marketing Systems.”

Tusher, William: KABC, 1960. Unknown. 

TWEEDEN, Leeann: KLAC, 2014-17; KABC, 2017-19. Leeann joined Bill Reiter at KLAC for a midday sports talk show in late 2014. She later co-hosted a new show with Fred Roggin. Leeann left the all-Sports station in early 2017. In February 2017, Leeann joined Doug McIntyre at KABC, as news anchor. Following a shuffle of personalities in early 2019, Leeann joined Dr. Drew for the midday show. By the time 2019 was over, the live programming was eliminated from KABC and Leeann was gone. She has been on tv shows including: Hannity, Dr. Drew, Red Eye, and Good Day L.A. Tweeden was formerly co-host of UFC Tonight on FOX SPORTS, was co-anchor of Good Day L.A. and developed a national profile as a cast member of FSN’s The Best Damn Sports Show Period. She was also host of NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship and the popular late night show, Poker After Dark.   In 2017, with the #MeToo movement just getting started, Leeann posted on the KABC website that Senator and former KTLK (1150AM) Talk show host Al Franken kissed and groped her without her consent. "Franken had written some skits for the show and brought props and costumes to go along with them,” Leeann wrote. “Like many USO shows before and since, the skits were full of sexual innuendo geared toward a young, male audience. As a tv host and sports broadcaster, as well as a model familiar to the audience from the covers of FHM, Maxim and Playboy, I was only expecting to emcee and introduce the acts, but Franken said he had written a part for me that he thought would be funny, and I agreed to play along. "When I saw the script, Franken had written a moment when his character comes at me for a ‘kiss’. I suspected what he was after, but I figured I could turn my head at the last minute, or put my hand over his mouth, to get more laughs from the crowd. Franken and I were alone backstage going over our lines one last time. He said to me, “We need to rehearse the kiss.” I laughed and ignored him. Then he said it again. I said something like, “Relax Al, this isn’t SNL…we don’t need to rehearse the kiss.” "He continued to insist, and I was beginning to get uncomfortable. He repeated that actors really need to rehearse everything and that we must practice the kiss. I said ‘OK’ so he would stop badgering me. We did the line leading up to the kiss and then he came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth.  I immediately pushed him away with both of my hands against his chest and told him if he ever did that to me again I wouldn’t be so nice about it the next time. I walked away."

TYLER, Chuck: KFI, 1985-89; KFSH, 2000-23. Chuck is program director for the Salem/LA cluster. Chuck was the host of "The Game Show" during its brief programming run on KFI. When he left the Southland he headed for Nashville to program A/C WLAC/fm. Then opportunity took him to the Northwest as program director at KXL-Portland ("Star 95.5 "). In the fall of 1995 he was laid off in a reorganization and felt "God was leading me into Christian Radio, that's where He wanted me." Chuck joined Salem Communications at Christian KPDQ-Portland. In the summer of 2000, Chuck launched Salem's new outlet, KFSH, "The Fish."

 

TYLER, Donn: KHJ, 1965. Donn was the original Boss Radio weekender who worked with Ron Jacobs at KMEN. After a few weeks at "Boss Radio," Donn returned to Hawaii and ran Commercial Recording for 35 years.

Tyler, Joy: KEZY, 1995-97. Joy did weekends at KEZY and reported traffic for KFI from Airwatch Communications. In 1997 she left radio and went to law school.
Tyler, Larry: KBLA, 1965. Unknown. 

TYLER, Nick: KKGO, 1983-98; KJAZ, 2000-02; KSRF, 2002-06; KMZT, 2002-07; KKJZ, 2007-09; KGIL, 2009; KMZT, 2011-17; KKJZ, 2018-20; KMZT 2021-23. He's currently an announcer on K-MOZART. On the Los Angeles radio scene since 1981, Nick's introduction to jazz came at Nick's first radio job, in 1969, at KOOL-AM/Phoenix, when the all-night dj turned him on to his "secret stash" of jazz albums that were for use only after midnight. That and an association with Phoenix jazz radio personality Herb Johnson("Mr. J") cinched his interest in America's true art form.  Joining KKGO/fm in 1983, Nick then worked with such radio legends Chuck Niles, Jim Gosa and Sam Fields. Says Nick, "These men introduced me to the jazz greats and I've been a fan ever since. I am truly blessed to have worked with some on the best people in radio. After 16 years in classical music, I am grateful for the opportunity to get back to jazz here at 88.1"

Tyler, Pat: KWIZ. Pat lives in the Midwest.

TYLER, Randi: KFSH, 2016-17. Randy works afternoons as part of the Jeff & Randi Show on KLove/EMF/K-Love Radio. An upstate New York radio personality for close to 30 years, Randi has shared many offbeat characters and experiences about her pathetically funny childhood growing up in Schenectady, New York. She has genuinely loved the instant connect made with listeners and friends who share the same common threads, seeing firsthand how sharing & laughing together is the best therapy in the world. “We are all so much more alike than we are different!,” she said in her bio at the "Fish." In addition to being a big Chef Ramsey wanna be - food is fellowship, right? - Randi also suffers from blocks of writing which sounds way better than writers block but only half as productive. She is currently doing what LA people do, screen-writing her first collection of humor essays about growing up in upper, lower class, middle America. There's no better place to live than fabulous, sunny SoCal and no better place to chase your dreams. “God would never put a dream on your heart too big to accomplish when it's His strength and grace that will guide you to it and through it. You may not think you can do it - but God can!”:) “To encourage, uplift, laugh and cheer lead is just part of my DNA – Basically if you can find something wrong with it, I can find something right with it...or at least something to laugh at!:)”

TYLL, Ed: KABC, 1997-98; KLSX, 1998-99. Ed joined KABC for afternoon drive from WTKS-Orlando in late 1997. He now broadcasts daily at noon on Florida Man Radio. He began as a talk host in 1982 working in Chicago, New Orleans, Atlanta and Pittsburgh. Ed grew up in New York and was influenced by talk host, Bob Grant. He is a graduate of St. John’s University in New York with a degree in journalism. A few months after joining afternoon drive at KABC, the station let him go on February 9, 1998, his 42nd birthday. He was told that his style was not compatible with the station’s image. Ed joined evenings at “Real Radio,” KLSX in the spring of 1998 and left a year later for Detroit. His show eventually dropped out of syndication. Ed is not cookie cutter talk radio. His provocative curiosity, ability to instantly connect with audiences, often with laugh out loud humor, leads to questions they have never been asked before on any and every topic! In addition to hosting his radio show, Ed performs stand up comedy, appears on network tv as a commentator and as a MC at Gala Events. He was mentored by Larry King in the 80’s. Called a “Shock Jock” by Hollywood’s Variety in the 90’s, and an “Arthur Godfrey” in the Detroit Free Press in the 2000’s. Ed was honored with an UPI Journalism Award, listing on TALKERS Magazine Heavy 100 Hosts, and Radio Hall of Fame recognition.

Tyndall, Karen: KPZE, 1989; KORG, 1993. Karen DiPiazza is a journalist for a national "aviation/business"  newspaper. She lives in Northern California.  

TYRALUCIA: KKJZ, 2021-23. Tyra Dennis, better known as “Tyralucia,” was born and raised in Los Angeles and has always been drawn to the stage by her talents: singing, composing music, playing the piano (as well as other various instruments), acting and writing. She joined KKJZ in the spring of 2021 for morning drive. Her career launched in 2003 when she was discovered by her high school band teacher. While still in high school, Tyra began performing with musical legends such as Chaka Kahn, Stevie Wonder, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Jackson Browne. In 2012, Tyra launched Music Mayhem — a full-service entertainment company. She performed at The Playboy Jazz Festival.

 

TYRELL, Steve: KKJZ, 2018-22. One of the most amazin stories in the music business. From music supervisor in the film business with his breakthrough performances in Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride II, Steve reinvented and re-popularized classic pop standards for a modern-day audience. He produced hits for Grammy-winning artists ranging from Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville, to Rod Stewart and Diana Ross. And on his own, Steve himself has sold hundreds of thousands of albums and gained a passionate following all over the world. Steve hosts afternoon drive at KKJZ (K-JAZZ). At the request of the Sinatra family, he reprised that performance at Carnegie Hall. This is one of the rare times the family has reached into the vault of original Sinatra arrangements to share them with another artist. In 2005, after the passing of the legendary Bobby Short, Steve was asked by New York City's Café Carlyle to take over their revered Holiday Season of November and December, which Mr. Short had not missed for 36 years. As an artist, all 9 of his American Standards albums have achieved top 10 status on Billboard's Jazz charts, 7 of which have achieved top 5, and his first album A New Standard was amongst the best selling jazz albums for over 5 years. His voice has been featured on television and in numerous movies.  As a music supervisor and music producer for film and tv, Tyrell has worked with such distinguished directors as Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Nancy Meyers, Steven Soderbergh, Hugh Wilson, and Charles Shyer.

U

Unknown Disc Jockey: SEE Pat Garrett
Unruh, Jess: KGIL. The former Speaker of the State Assembly in California has passed away.
Unruh, Stan: KWIZ; KYMS, 1986-93; KNX, 1993-94. Stan is working in broadcast management and public relations in Hays, Kansas. 

URIAS, Natalie: KPCC, 1996-97; KFI/KOST, 1996-2001; KLTX/KKLA, 1997-2000. KOST’s  Ted Ziegenbusch provided updates on Natalie and her husband Turk Stevens. Both Natalie and Turk worked at Premiere Radio. She has two young children and is now living near Las Vegas. After seven productive years with Premiere Radio, Natalie still keeps her hands in marketing/promotions and PR. But  being a full-time mom is Natalie’s first call. Turk was the sports update, anchor and color commentator for Premiere. He spent 25 years on various networks, including Fox Sports, Sporting News Radio, and NBC Sports. Besides his national work, Turk was even the voice of the Macon Whoopie Hockey team. As Natalie puts it, Turk was the Whoopie’s Chick Hearn, “but not nearly as famous!” Turk was also a staple on the Big Ben Maller Show on Fox for many years. To reiterate, Natalie’s biggest thrill nowadays is her family. That, and the fact that she often works out at the same gym with Britney Spears. As I recall, Natalie was Delilah’s right-hand assistant back in the 1990s. She would often accompany Delilah on publicity and business tours. Natalie was also the only Love Songs producer at KOST that would stay late (often well past midnight) and help me produce the second-half of the KOST Love Songs Show. Before the days of email, Natalie would help edit the hundreds of listener letters that we received weekly, in addition to so many other tasks that helped me tremendously. Natalie accompanied me on our many remotes, the best of which were Disneyland Main Street as well as our weekends at The Rio in Las Vegas. Doing a call-in show while the Disneyland Parade or the Mardi Gras Parade marched past the KOST microphone was a real challenge, with or without a producer. However, Natalie made the effort and the journey much more fun. I still miss her delightfully cheerful attitude and willingness to take on any assignment.

Utley, Reginald: KKTT, 1979; KGFJ, 1980; KMAX, 1995; KACE, 1996-2000. Reginald hosted a gospel music show at KACE.
Uvaas, Art: KGRB, 1995. Art worked afternoon drive at the Big Band station. He is an out-of-work school teacher.

V

V, Erin: KFI 2015-16. Erin Vermeulen worked morning drive sports at KFI with Bill Handel. She left in the spring of 2016 and she moved to Detroit because her mom was ailing. In July 2017, she joined mornings at WCSX in the Motor City. Vermeulen began her career at the former 1310 WYUR in Detroit and before that was heard in South Africa, Dubai, Cairo, Denver and Phoenix.

VACAR, Tom: KNX, 1992-93. Tom is a reporter for KTVU/Channel 2 in Oakland. He was born and raised in the small industrial town of Salem, Ohio. One of its famous citizens was Allan Freed. Growing up he worked in a steel processing mill and for a railway as a fireman. "I am a child of the television era from when it was in black and white to the cutting edges of today’s digital world," he said on the KTVU website. "I am the first in my family to earn a college degree. I graduated from law school, passed the Bar Exam and practice for a year before going into my true interest, journalism. Being the son of a single mom in the 1950s and 60s, when that was taboo,  and later a lawyer, I am keenly aware of what “being different” from others is about. I dislike discrimination in any form. Being a child from a low income family, I always dreamed of big opportunities and faraway places. I was one of the first “Nader’s Raiders” who helped craft some of the first true automobile consumer protection laws by establishing the Auto Safety Research Center at my alma mater, Case Western Reserve University in the turbulent 1960’s. "My long investigation into auto insurance prices is considered by many experts as the basis for the passage of California Proposition 103 which, for the first time, forced auto, home and business insurers to justify price increases; a law that has saved Californians billions of dollars. I was the first reporter to the intersection of L.A.’s Florence and Normandie during the Rodney King Riots where I was attacked but, fortunately, not injured. I haven’t called in sick for work since 1981, because I don’t want to miss anything."

 

VALADEZ, Anthony: KCSN; KPFK; KCRW; KROQ, 2020. Anthony joined KROQ in the spring of 2020 to bring some flavor to the weekends at the Alternative station. Valadez, who was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, has been on the air in Los Angeles for 20 years., as profiled by the Whittier Daily News. In May 2020 he brought a Latin Alternative-focused show, Alternalido, to KROQ. “I’m a perfectionist and I wanted it to be right, but I also want it to matter. Latin Alternative music is so wide and I’m trying to make everyone happy, but really, the first show was amazing,” he told the Whittier newspaper. Valadez is spinning songs in English and Spanish by a variety of Latin artists, from up-and-coming acts to award-winning bands. Valadez, who lives in Venice, grew up an avid radio listener, cranking the dial from the far left to the far right, his interest piqued by on-air personalities like Rick Dees and Jay Thomas. It was through KROQ that he discovered Morrissey, The Smiths and The Cure. Valadez’s music taste has only broadened with experience and he’s currently listening to all kinds of hip-hop collaborations and singer-songwriters."

 

VALDEZ, Emily: KNX, 2018-22. Emily is a news anchor at KNXNewsRadio. She was a longtime tv reporter and anchor at KGTV in San Diego, after previously working in Cleveland at Fox 8 (WJW/tv). Her stories have led to significant changes in the legal system. She once did a story on a paroled sex offender who went off his GPS monitoring device and had the run of the community, yet the public was never notified. Because of Emily’s report, then-California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, took action. He issued an order to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, mandating they create a public alert system with photos of the wanted predators. Emily was in the eye of the storm, covering hurricane Katrina in 2005 while living out of a car for a week. She gathered news during the day and reported live via satellite in the evening, as the city of New Orleans lay submerged under the deadly toxic water and crime in the streets ran rampant. She also finds time to report on really important stories, such as the ransom kidnapping of a Bob’s Big Boy statue. Luckily, Big Boy was returned with only minor scratches. Emily also spent ten years in Bakersfield television. She grew up in Los Angeles and Orange County, earning a B.A. from Cal State Northridge in Broadcast Journalism and an M.S. from University of Maryland in Life Sciences. Emily started her broadcast reporting career in 1999 at News 21 in Rockville, Maryland. She has been won two regional news Emmy Awards and been nominated seven times.

 

VALDEZ, Tony: KAGB, 1975; KJLH, 1975-83; KGFJ, 1983-85; KNJO/KMDY, 1985. Tony suffered a series of strokes prior to his death.  Tony began his broadcast career in Columbus, Ohio at WBNS, WOSU and WTVN.  Prior to returning home to the Columbus area, Tony was an on-air personality in California with Stevie Wonder's radio station, KJLH and also at KGFJ and KAGB, all in Los Angeles.

 

VALE, Angelica: KLLI, 2019-23. Angelica joined Meruelo Media’s “Cali 93.9 #1 for Reggaeton y mas” (KLLI) in the fall of 2019. Angelica is a Mexican Superstar. She (known as “La Vale”) brings a 40-year career in theater, film, tv and radio that includes the starring role in the wildly popular Spanish language version of Ugly Betty, which became one of the highest-rated tv series in the United States.   She has voiced many animated films, including the Oscar winning Spanish language version of Disney’s animated theatrical film Coco. Angelica is currently the leading star of Univision’s midday drama series, “Y Manana Sera Otro Dia Mejor” (Tomorrow is a New Day) and co-stars in the new Netflix anime series, Seis Manos. Angelica was born in Mexico City and is the daughter of legendary actress and “La Novia de Mexico” (Mexico’s Sweetheart) Angelica Maria. “I’m thrilled to host middays on Cali 93.9. In addition to loving this music, I can’t wait to connect with listeners. I am a working mother, wife and daughter. I understand the challenges of juggling schedules, car pools and family obligations. This is a passion project for me; I love radio, I love LA.”

 

VALENCIA, Nicole: KATY, 2001-05; KCXX, 2004-05; KCAL, 2008-10; KDAY, 2017-18; KPWR, 2018-19; KDAY, 2019-20. After a year in Oregon, Nicole returned to the Southland in 2011. She has narrated 20 audiobooks. In the summer of 2013, Nicole became apd/md and middays at Morris Desert Media's KDGL "The Eagle" 106.9 in Palm Springs. Her website is ThatVoiceWorks.com. She went on to co-host the morning show at KDAY.

Valentine, Mike: KHJ, 1973. Unknown.

VALENTINE, Scott: KFSH, 2016-20. Scott is the program director at "The Fish" and does weekends. He grew up in Lewiston, Idaho and started his radio career in Spokane. In 2000, Scott joined KCMS-Seattle and in 2005 was named Personality of the Year and PD of the Year by Radio & Records.

 

VALENTINE, Sean: KIIS, 1996-2006; KYSR, 2007; KBIG, 2007-23. Sean moved from STAR 98.7 to "104.3MYfm" in September 2007. Valentine and Lisa Foxx replaced the Jamie, Jack & Stench Show at STAR. While at STAR he hosted syndicated morning radio show “Valentine in the Morning,” heard in 15 cities including Cleveland and Cincinnati. Within the year he moved to morning drive at KBIG (MY/fm). Prior to Los Angeles, Valentine had top-rated shows in Boston and Dallas. He’s also a regular at The World Famous Laugh Factory in Hollywood, and a dedicated USO entertainer for ten years, traveling to Bosnia, Bahrain, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Turkey and the Persian Gulf to entertain US Armed Forces. He comes from a military family. In the spring of 2022, Valentine's contract with iHeart was extended. “MY/fm and Valentine are synonymous- he is a true pro who is the cornerstone of MYFM and I am thrilled that he’ll continue to host the morning show for many more years,” said John Peake, svp of VP of programming for iHeart. “Each day thousands of SoCal listeners wake up to a fun, energetic and authentic show where they learn, laugh, shed a tear and never get bored. I am thrilled to have Valentine continue to anchor the MY/fm morning show."

 

VALENTINE, Shaun: KOST, 1997-2005; KBIG, 2005. In 2011 he moved to Dubai and started the world's first FM Farsi Hit Music station. In 2014, Shaun was held captive in Dubai. He has since returned after a harrowing escape. For over two years, Shaun hosted “Angels in Waiting,” a show dealing with the spirits who have crossed over on KBIG. This unique radio program opened doors to the spirit world. “We’re all curious to know where we’ll end up after crossing over,” said Shaun. “Is there really an ‘other side’ or does our existence come to an end?” The interactive talk show attracted a large following until a conflict with management resulted in the show being cancelled.  “There is so much more to the spirit world than just talking with the dead,” Shaun told me one recent afternoon from his twin studios located in his Santa Clarita home. Every week Shaun and a guest medium field calls from interested callers from all over the United States and world wide who would like to contact family members who have died and crossed over.

Valentine, Val: KIIS, 1977-82; KRLA/KBZT, 1984-93. Val is no longer in radio. 

VALLE, Jose. KTNQ/KLVE, 2011-15. Jose was appointed general manager of KTNQ and KLVE in 1011. Most recently he served as president/gm at Telemundo’s flagship station, KVEA, as well as overseeing operations for Spanish-language independent KWHY/TV station in Los Angeles.   Prior to that he was in Dallas as vp/gm of KXTX. Before that he served as vp/gm of various radio stations, including Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation’s (HBC) Las Vegas three-station cluster; Dallas-Fort Worth’s seven-station. He began his broadcast career at KTNQ & KLVE, and was making a return. In 2012, Jose was reassigned and named president of political & advocacy sales for the company. He was no longer involved in its radio division. During his tenure at Univision Radio, Valle was a proponent of leveraging radio efforts with Univision’s other platforms. The number of nationwide radio premieres on the network increased substantially. Valle also launched Univision Radio’s very successful Uforia app, which allows streaming of all its stations from smartphones.

 

VALOT, Susan: KLON/KKJZ, 1997-2005; KPCC, 2006-11. Susan was the Orange County reporter for KPCC. Susan left KPCC to do a reporting fellowship in Europe. During Valot’s time in L.A. radio, she has won numerous awards, including being named in June 2011 as the Los Angeles Press Club’s Radio Journalist of the Year.  The judges called Valot’s work “some of the best we’ve heard.” They described her reporting as “well-rounded reports with authoritative, informed tone. Great use of sound.” Valot also has experience covering international issues. She’s participated in several international exchange programs, including the RIAS Berlin Kommission Fellowship (Germany) in 2005, the U.S.-Austria Journalism Exchange in 2010 and the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship (Germany) in 2011. Those programs resulted in several international stories for Southern California’s airwaves. In 2012, Valot was honored with the 2nd place international radio prize in the RIAS Berlin Kommission’s annual awards ceremony, honoring broadcast work that fosters understanding between the U.S. and Germany. Her story aired on KPCC and was about Los Angeles artists who traded the Southern California art scene for Berlin. Valot and a fellow public radio colleague are currently working on launching “Detour: The Radio Show with a Travel Problem,” a public radio show/podcast about the people, cultures and stories that make places special.

Van, Carolyn: KOCM, 1990-91. Carolyn is an actress and voiceover actress.

VANCE, Tommy: KHJ, 1965-66. Tommy, long-time VH-1 personality in London, died March 6, 2005. He was 63. Tommy was a British dj who rode on the coattails of the Beatles British invasion, working at Boss Radio/KHJ from 1965-66. With the British music invasion explosion in the mid-1960s, it seemed that every Contemporary station had to have an English jock. Tommy was just that at KHJ.   His gravelly delivery made him a household name in London. Born in Oxford, Vance started working in Seattle before joining KHJ and then moving to Radio Caroline and Radio One, where he worked for  years, using the catch phrase "TV on the radio" and interviewing more than 10,000 guests including Prince Charles. He also presented BBC1's Top of the Pops.  Vance suffered a fatal stroke.

VAN DE GRAAFF, Peter: KMZT, 2001-02. Peter worked overnights at Classical "K-Mozart." His show was syndicated by Wisconsin Public Radio. Peter was born on November 9, 1961. He is best known[1] as the host of the Beethoven Satellite Network (BSN) overnight Classical music service, which is carried over approximately 150 radio stations across the USA. Van de Graaff is a native of Chicago and he grew up in Glencoe, Illinois. He attended BYU, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Vocal Performance. While there, he began working as an announcer on KBYU/fm, the university's classical-music fm radio station. He was also announcer for the Utah Symphony live broadcasts. Following his graduation he remained with the station, rising to the post of Senior Producer. He has hosted other nationwide broadcast series, including the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Van Cliburn Piano Series, Opera from the European Broadcasting Union, Music of the Baroque and the Vermeer Quartet. Van de Graaff sings in the bass-baritone range, and has performed throughout the world.

Vanderhurst, Fred: KPOL, 1965-72; KFAC, 1969. Unknown.
Van De Walker, Dave: Dave produced the LA Dodger radio broadcasts from 1968 until 1994. He was the chairman and head of television and radio broadcasting for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He joined the Dodgers in 1969, working in the radio booth along with Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett. He died November 30, 1995, at age of 73, after undergoing surgery for a brain tumor.

VAN DRIEL, John: KUSC, 2016-23. John works early morning drive at the Classical radio station. He was born and raised in Edmonton Alberta, the youngest of six who immigrated from the Netherlands. "As a student I had some rather unusual summer jobs working on a pig farm, a sheep farm and a cattle ranch in the Rockies. At KUSC John is the chief content officer.

VAN DYKE, Charlie: KHJ, 1972-77, pd; KRTH, 1998-2000. Charlie was the quintessential morning man throughout the 1960s – 80s. He started his on-air career at the legendary Gordon McLendon flagship station, KLIF-Dallas, at the age of 14. Remarkably, by his 21st birthday, Charlie was appointed program director. Before arriving in Los Angeles, Charlie was on-air at CKLW-Detroit, KFRC-San Francisco and KGB-San Diego. Charlie’s first stop in Southern California was at KHJ in 1972 to work nine to noon, sandwiched between Robert W. Morgan in the morning and Mark Elliott at noon. He moved to morning drive in 1973 and was made pd in 1975. When he left the RKO outlet, Charlie Van Dyke said, “Charlie Tuna was right. It’s difficult to be a pd and on-air at the same time.” Tuna eventually replaced Van Dyke in the morning slot.

In 1977, Van Dyke returned to KLIF-Dallas, then in 1979 he went to the Northeast to work at WRKO-Boston. In 1980, he guided the transition of WRKO from Top 40 to Talk as the station’s pd. In 1982, Charlie landed in Phoenix as pd of KOY, before moving up the dial in 1984 to work at KTAR-Phoenix.

About this time, Charlie built his own recording studio in Scottsdale, becoming the voice for dozens of tv and radio stations, an assignment which he continues doing today. He personifies the voice that lends a unique identity to a radio station. In addition to his voiceover career, Charlie took over mornings at KRTH from 1998 – 2000.

VAN DYKE, Dave: KHTZ/KCBS, 1991-2001. After success at 'ARROW 93 where he was general manager,' Dave established Bridge Ratings media consumption research company for much of the 2000s. In 2007, he joined ABC Radio Network in Dallas as VP/Affiliate Relations until 2009. “Managing a radio station or two is like flying a private plane at 2,000 feet. Overseeing affiliations, program content, people and network budgets/planning for 4,400 affiliate stations is like piloting a 757 at 30,000 feet. The view is more encompassing, response time is a bit longer, but the wake [impact] is considerably larger. The fact that there is a ton more moving parts to this part of the radio business make it even more interesting to me with a very steep learning curve.”  Dave went on to be vp/broadcast affiliations for Radiate Media in Los Angeles, the company provides commuter traffic, news, weather & digital content services for audio & video clients (broadcast & Internet). He oversaw over 2000 radio & tv clients. He continues as head of Bridge Ratings.

 

VAN HOOK, Rod: KMPC, 1972-78; KFWB, 1979-2000; KSPN, 2000-06. The veteran sports broadcaster for over three decades, died November 7, 2009, from complications associated with his three-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 61. Locally, Rod worked at KFWB, KSPN, Sports USA Radio, and 710/KMPC. In 1995 he won a Golden Mike for best sportscast and an AP award. Rod was the recipient of three L.A. Press Club awards. At his most recent job, Sports USA Radio, Rod was a studio host for NFL and NCAA broadcasts. The veteran Los Angeles broadcaster covered all major sporting events including four Super Bowls, the BCS title game, the World Series, UCLA and USC football, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Rod was a graduate of UCLA with a Bachelor of Science in English and U.S. History.

 

VAN HORNE, Chuck: KUTE, 1979-80. Chuck died May 15, 2017, at the age of 69. Chuck was bitten by the radio “bug” while serving overseas with the U.S. Air Force. When he left the military, Chuck enrolled in the Don Martin School of Radio and Television Arts and Sciences in Hollywood. He started his first radio job on November 12, 1972.    In less than two years Chuck had worked at KTOT-Big Bear, KICO-Calexico, KPTL-Carson City, KTHO-So. Lake Tahoe and KONE-Reno. A network of radio friends began to pay off for Chuck with assignments at KDES-Palm Springs, KSTN-Stockton, KSOM-Ontario, KFXM and KUDO-San Bernardino/Riverside. "While attending P.C.C. I met Chuck Van Horne, a.k.a. "The Flying Dutchman" in one of my classes," emailed Jeff McNeal. "Chuck had already been a success in radio, working in San Bernardino at KMEN, among many other stations," Jeff continued. "I was in awe of having a guy in class who had actually been 'on the air' somewhere. Chuck had just come back to finish up his degree. Chuck was also teaching at Don Martin School of Communications in Hollywood."

 

VAN NUYS, Larry: KBCA, 1959; KBLA, 1960; KNOB, 1961-62; KGFJ, 1963-65; KGIL, 1964-66; KFI, 1969-70; KGIL, 1970-75; KFI, 1976-77; KABC, 1977-81; KMPC, 1981-84; KNX, 2005-09; KABC, 2011; KSUR, 2019. Larry worked morning drive at Oldies K-SURF until the summer of 2019. He was a news anchor at KNX Newsradio until downsizing in the summer of 2009. For a time in 2011, he delivered the news on the KABC Peter Tilden Show. He did mornings at KSFO-San Francisco from L.A. He left KSFO in late 2016. Larry has an active voiceover career. Born in 1941 in Providence, Larry has spent his radio and tv career in California. Larry worked in the oil fields of Long Beach where his early interest in jazz music led him to KBCA. He did the morning show at the "Jazz Knob" for "Sleepy" Stein. “I clearly remember my first day on KGFJ as the day President Kennedy was shot.” Larry has been very visible over the decades, hosting KTLA/Channel 5's Help Thy Neighbor, game shows, and the Arthritis Telethon, for which he has helped raise millions of dollars. "It's hard to separate parts of my career, since they've overlapped." Larry did weekend mornings on KABC and fill-in for "Ken & Bob" and was also the booth announcer for KTLA. He got weary of "format changes" and gave up radio in the mid-1980s, only to return. His voiceover career includes imaging for tv stations all over the country.

Van Zandt, Steve: KLSX, 2002-05; KLOS, 2005-08. Bruce Springsteen's guitarist hosts the syndicated "Little Steven's Underground Garage," which is heard Sunday nights on KLOS.
Vargas, Gustavo: XETRA, 2006. Gustavo was with XETRA.
Vasgerian, Matt: XPRS, 2003-04; KLAA, 2021-22. Matt worked San Diego Padres television play-by-play. For the 2021 baseball season, Vasgersian was added to the broadast roster.  

VASQUEZ, Damian: KREL, 1965-2009. We think of longevity in terms of hours in LA Radio as the norm. In fact, if one should be able to piece together some years, let alone a decade or two, it’d be spectacular. But what about someone who has been doing morning drive consecutively for 43 years? Would that qualify as record-setting? “I recorded about 16 songs but it was very difficult for a singer in those days to get radio play unless you recorded for one of the big record companies like RCA. There were only four Spanish-speaking stations at the time – KWKW, KALI, XPRS and an Orange County station,” said Damian by phone from his Corona home. One day Damian was listening to the radio and thought he could do better than the announcer he heard. . One day in 1965 I had the chance to work for a small 250-watt fm station in Ontario, KOYA [93.5/fm]. In 1985, Damian recorded a very successful album of mariachi music. “I didn’t want to get into the record business because I know the problems in the business, but I just wanted to do something for self-satisfaction,” Damian said proudly. He was born in the state of Michoacán, Mexico. “I came to the United States in 1955. I was a little bambino.” Damian laughs and says he was actually 15 when he came here speaking no English. His English today is very good, despite the fact he only went to school for three months.

 

VASSEGH, David: KLAC, 1998-2023. David hosts the Dodger post-game show. Sports has been in his blood since he was a kid. When he was growing up, David listened to most Dodgers and Lakers home games on the radio, then he stay tuned for the post-game shows. “It’s full circle hosting ‘Dodger Talk’ for me since I loved listening and would often call in to Ross Porter when he hosted the show for many years. I actually won a Lakers bag by answering a trivia question when Chick Hearn hosted the pre-game ‘Lakers Line’ show before Lakers home games.” “I was raised by my single mother, Bianca, and have a brother seven years older than me,” said Dave. “While my mom was at work, I would be very involved in keeping up with the local sports teams.” David joined KLAC in 2004 beginning as a field reporter and producing the Petros and Money Show until he started with his current role with the Dodger broadcasts. David was born in Santa Monica in October 1976, growing up in Woodland Hills. He attended Our Lady of the Valley until 8th grade, then graduated from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks in 1994 followed by Cal State Northridge. David attributes much of his success to his mentoring by Joe McDonnell. Joe was working at KWNK (670AM) in 1998 when it had a sports format. “That’s how I got my start in radio. Joe taught me so much that I still apply today.” David concluded: “Chick Hearn, Vin Scully, Don Drysdale, Ross Porter, and Bob Miller were the soundtrack of my childhood.” In another thirty years, perhaps David Vassegh will be remembered as being part of the soundtrack to a new generation of sports fans.

Vee, El: KJLH, 2009-2019. El Vee worked weekends at the Stevie Wonder station. 

VEGA, Julian: KNX, 2006-11; KFWB, 2011-2020. Julian was chief engineer for both all-News stations. He was nominated in the yearly Best of LARP voting and one colleague praised him: “Julian keeps two complicated stations with lots of systems sounding good and running smooth."

 

VELAQUEZ, Yvonne: KYSR, 2007-08. Yvonne worked middays at KYSR / STAR 98.7 succeeding Lisa Foxx. In the summer of 2008 she returned to Florida to be with family. She was a trailblazer at MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon for four years in the early 90’s, but her dream was always to be in radio. She began her radio journey at B97-New Orleans, where she was hired to do overnights and eventually moved to morning drive. Her next stop was mornings in Myrtle Beach, then a short stint in internet radio. She then went back to MTV to start their satellite radio station, moved on to nights on WNEW-New York, then middays on KYSR and finally to her current radio home, mornings on WEJZ- Jacksonville, where she’s been since 2010.

 

VELING, Pat: KORG/KWIZ, 1982-86. Pat is a real estate analyst and was a regular contributor to KNX in real estate-related news and features. Pat was born in Orange County and raised in Anaheim. He graduated from Fullerton College with a degree in radio and television. “I got my first radio job as a news writer at KWIZ as a 17-year old fresh out of high school.” His first full-time on-air job was at all-News KNUU-Las Vegas. Pat worked evenings at KWIZ. “I have been a real estate analyst and consultant to the real estate industry since 1990. I own Real Data Strategies, Inc., in Brea. My firm is the leading provider of real estate market share and market performance statistics to the industry.” In 1998 he began making real-estate story contributions to KNX. For much of the 1990s, Pat was a popular and controversial real estate and opinion columnist for the Orange County Register. “I miss broadcasting enough to want to be on its periphery, but prefer self-employment to a staff position.”

 

VENABLE, Josh: KYSR, 2007-12. Josh joined STAR 98.7/fm in late 2007 from 'The Edge' in Dallas. He was promoted to 98-7fm in early fall of 2009. Josh left during a Clear Channel downsizing in late 2012. He's now program director at KMYZ-Tulsa. In early 2021, he was made format captain of the Stephens Media Group.

Vent, Peter: KPZE, 1987; KFOX, 1988; KIEV, 1989. Peter hosted a sports show in Ventura.

VERA, Billy: KCRW, 1986-92. Yo! The ubiquitous Billy Vera decided early on to have many projects going on at the same time. “If you can do one thing well, then there’s no reason that you can’t apply that talent to other areas. Interests and abilities overlap.” Born in Riverside, he grew up in Westchester County in New York. His father, Bill McCord, was one of the premier game show announcers (21 and Tic Tac Dough) and was a staff announcer with NBC for 35 years. His mother sang with the Ray Charles Singers on the Perry Como Show. Billy loved music and at 16 he was performing with his own band. “A friend suggested that I change my name so it wouldn’t be confused with my father. I had a school friend named Guadeloupe Vera and took her last name. It was cool and a total accident. And besides ‘Vera’ would look big on a marquee.” During the 1970s Billy picked up gigs wherever he could and continued to write songs. His song writing successes included compositions recorded by Fats Domino, Nancy Sinatra, the Shirelles, Crystal Gayle, Robert Plant and George Benson. In 1979, Dolly Parton recorded one of his songs, I Really Got The Feeling, and based on that success, he moved to Southern California.

The 1980s were good to Billy. The Beaters were born, an opportunity for his personal love affair with r&b to flourish. Hardly unpacked in L.A. his song At This Moment appeared on the highly successful Family Ties tv show and the song shot to #1 and stayed at the top for two weeks. Billy and the Beaters was the in-house band for ABC/TV's Rick Dees Into the Night show.

Another of his songs appeared on Bonny Raitt’s 5-million selling album, Luck of the Draw. Billy produced three successful albums for Lou Rawls. His diversity was reflected on screen. Billy’s acting adventures included roles in films such as Buckaroo Bonzai, Blind Date and Oliver Stone’s The Doors.

On tv he appeared in Wiseguy, Alice and the recurring role of Duke on Beverly Hills 90210. He was the voice you hear singing the theme on the successful series, Empty Nest. In 1988 he received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For six years Billy hosted a  Saturday show on KCRW playing oldies from his 35,000 record collection (singles, albums and photographs pack two bedrooms).

In 1989, a casting agent heard his radio show and thought Billy would be perfect for commercials. “He heard a sincerity in my voice. I’m not sure what he heard, but I’m not about to change it. I’ve been doing voiceover work since then.” Billy has taught the history of American black music at UCLA and has produced over 100 compilation CDs. Every Thursday night since 1993, Billy carries a box of records from his own collection to a non-descript strip mall in Sunland and in a basement studio broadcasts  two hours of the "Rock 'n Roll Party" on CRN (Cable Radio Network). “I get calls from all over the country.” Billy regales his audience with stories of artists, record company owners and the colorful characters who make up the world of his special music.

VERCELLI, Gary: KCRW; KBCA, 1978. Gary is with public radio KXJZ-Sacramento. Gary knew at an early age that jazz was his passion. "In high school, there was a 24-hour jazz station in Los Angeles, when commercial radio and jazz were not the oxymoron they are today," says Gary. "I used to listen to that station and think, one day, I'd like to work there." Eventually, he did.  While attending college at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Gary launched his radio career. "After graduating, I worked at KCRW, an NPR affiliate in Santa Monica," he recalls. "While I was there, I coordinated 70 hours of weekly jazz programming and produced a pilot for NPR's Jazz Alive! series." Gary then accepted a job at KBCA, the commercial jazz station of his high school days. During this time, he also served as the L.A. correspondent for Down Beat magazine and wrote liner notes for leading jazz record labels. In 1980, Gary moved to Sacramento to serve as Jazz Music Director at KXPR, Capital Public Radio’s original, multi-format station.  For the next 11 years, in addition to supervising the station's jazz programming and concert activity, he produced and hosted Jazz International, a popular nightly jazz program. When CapRadio added its second station, KXJZ, with a jazz and news format in 1991, Gary easily assumed the role of music director. Before the station celebrated its fourth anniversary, Gary was named "Jazz Broadcaster of the Year" by the Gavin Report, a respected, national music industry chart. Gary was recognized by Jazz Week with the prestigious Duke Dubois Humanitarian Award, acknowledging his lifetime of achievement and service to the community.

 Vice, DJ: KAMP, 2018. In the fall of 2018, Vice joined AMP Radio as host of an afternoon mixshow.

VIDAL, Bruce: KIIS, 1982-96; KNJO, 1997; KELT, 2000-02. Bruce worked morning drive at KELT ("92.7 Lite FM")-Riverside until the spring of 2002. He died December 13, 2002. Bruce was 54. Bruce had been suffering in recent years with diabetes-related problems. Bruce arrived at KIIS in the fall of 1982 from K101-San Francisco, replacing Laurie Allen who eventually became his wife. In 1984 he was going head-to-head against his wife who was on KMGG. Their rivalry was chronicled in People magazine and an appearance on Good Morning America. The media was fascinated with the fact that the husband/wife team was on competing radio stations, at times in the same slot. In the mid-1980s, parked in the duo's San Fernando Valley driveway was two cars: a sleek, brand-new red Corvette and a not-so-sleek dented Dodge Aries. His then-wife explained, "Whoever got the highest ratings got to drive the Corvette." Bruce moved to swing at KIIS in late 1996 following an ownership change from Gannett to Jacor. In the spring of 1997 he joined KNJO.

 

VILLAGRAN, Sylvia: KLVE, 1989-91; Radio Alegria 930 AM, 1991-92; KJLH, 1992; KLVE, 1992-93; KMPC, 1993. Sylvia has been the go-to young lady in Spanish and English radio in Los Angeles for many years. During her first assignment at KLVE, she was co-host and producer of the Pepe Barretto morning drive show. When she returned a year later she was the midday personality. She worked mornings at KJLH. At KXOL, Sylvia was the first female LA morning drive host. At 710/KMPC, she was the midday news anchor and was fill- talk show host for Tavis Smiley.   Born and raised in LA, she loved the magic of radio and the art of storytelling. "I discovered voiceover while working in radio. I didn’t realize there was an entire industry that would pay you for doing something you did for free at the radio station. I took a lot of VO classes simultaneously while working at the station and worked hard to make the transition. Today voice over is my full time gig." Sylvia is a two time Voice Arts Award® winner and one of the top female voices for tv network promos, live award shows, national commercial campaigns and narration. She has broken the glass ceiling for women in promos for decades and currently lends her promo voice to NBC, CBS, TCM, the CW and the Disney Channel. Sylvia is the voice for some of the most iconic award shows, including the 95th Oscar telecastCritics Choice Awards, MTV VMAs, Teen Choice Awards, AFI tributes, Writer’s Guild Awards and the historic 2012 and 2016 Democratic National Convention. Sylvia has also narrated Emmy Award winning and critically acclaimed shows on, ABC TBS, TNT, AMC and E! Most recently narrating the historic tv bio of Prince Harry and Meghan Markel. Her national commercial campaigns include Samsung, Verizon, Colgate and Payless. Sylvia also does all this in Spanish The native Angelino grew up with the "only Spanish spoken in the home" rule. After years of therapy, she can now thank her parents for her serious bilingual skills. She has a very active voice career and the fact she can switch her voice from sophisticated to urban hip has given her a distinct advantage in the bi-lingual market. Her website is at: sylviavillagran.com.

 

VILLANI, Mike: KWIZ; KEZY, 1979-81; KNOB, 1986-87. Mike has an active voiceover career (voice of DiTec Finance) and is an actor. He is the on-camera game show host on digital tv "Sports Trivia." He lives in Costa Mesa. "Since leaving my last full time radio position as production director at KEZY AM/FM in Anaheim in 1981, I have made a very comfortable living as a ‘free lancer.’ My ten years as the spokesman for mortgage company DiTech.com were very profitable. I had many clients that I did voiceover and on-camera productions for.  "In the last couple of years things started slowing down and '08, except for one month working in China at the Olympics as the venue announcer for Indoor Volleyball, was the slowest of them all. So my wife Patti and I have tightened our belts, reigned in our dining out and weekend road trips. I'm not playing as much golf and when I do I look for courses that have more reasonable green fees. Thank God gas prices have dropped, it makes driving to my auditions less expensive. Things have slowed so much, I am going to start calling around town to radio friends in hopes of finding a couple of weekend shifts to fill the void."

 

VILLANUEVA, Alex: KFI, 2022. LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva,began a Sunday night Talk show. He promised to talk about homelessness, crime, corruption and politics. Villanueva will also feature guests who will explain the inner workings of the various bureaus in his department.   Villanueva joined the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department in 1986 and after more than three decades of law enforcement experience was sworn in as the 33rd Sheriff of Los Angeles County. "I'm happy to have this ability to connect with residents and business owners to share ideas and discuss public safety,” said Sheriff Villanueva. KFI pd Robin Bertolucci added, “Sheriff Alex Villanueva is a straight talker and KFI has always welcomed bold talk.”

Vinyl, Joe: KBIG, 2000-12. Joe was a mixer at KBIG and is worked behind the scenes at MY/fm 104.3 until a Clear Channel downsizing in December 2012. He owns Professional Lighting and Sound Entertainment.  

(DJ Vice, Nicole Vilencia, and Stuart Von) 

VIOLETTE, Todd: KKBT, 1989-90; KIIS, 1994-96. Todd was KIIS's youngest air personality. Born on Christmas day, Todd grew up in Rialto. He started as a board op at KOST. His first on-air job was KPSI-Palm Springs and then KGGI, KDES-Palm Springs and then KKBT. "Radio to me is like the air you breathe, and I can't live without it." Todd worked weekends and fill-in at KIIS while doing afternoons at KRUZ-Santa Barbara. He left KIIS in late 1996 and followed by mornings at KRUZ-Santa Barbara until early 1998 when he became part of the morning team at KHTE-Little Rock. Todd worked afternoons at KZZO-Sacramento and then a pd slot at KBBY-Oxnard in the fall of 2008. Todd left WSGX-St Louis in late March 2012 and joined iHeart's Indianapolis cluster. As part of a major downsizing, Todd left Indy in late 2020.

Virgin, Tim: KROQ, 1995. Tim was the apd/md at KEDJ-Phoenix. By 2009, he was working in Chicago radio. 

VISAGE, Michelle: KHHT, 2002-05. Michelle joined Sinbad for the "Hot 92.3fm" morning show beginning February 11 and then became part of morning show with Diana Steele and Mario Lopez. Michelle, real name Michelle Lynn Shupack, is an American singer, television host, radio DJ, author, and television personality. Her career began when she auditioned for and won a place in Seduction, an r&b dance vocal trio in 1990. In 1996 Visage became the co-host of the VH1 talk show with RuPaul. She also co-hosted RuPaul on New York's WKTU in the late 90s and early aughts. She has also hosted such television programming as VH1's red carpet coverage of the 1998 Grammys and, in 2002, Grease's 25th-anniversary re-release party. In 2005, she returned to New York City where she served as co-host of The Morning Mix on WNEW/fm.  She left MIX 102.7/fm in New York in late 2006. She went on to work mornings at WMIA-Miami and left in late 2011. She lives in Southern California.

 

VISCHER, Monika: KUSC, 2001-07. Monica conducted a report on the Arts for Classical KUSC. She is now program director at CPR Classical and cofounder of El Sistema Colorado. Monika earned a bachelor's degree, journalism and mass communications and minor in music at the  University of Northern Colorado. She has been with Colorado Public Radio for nearly three decades, starting as  a music host and news reporter in 1990 and serving as program director of CPR Classical since 2013. Prior to coming to CPR, she worked for KUNC. She is co-founder and board chair of El Sistema Colorado, a non-profit serving low-income children through ensemble music.   Monika grew up studying flute and at age 13 joined the Denver Young Artists Orchestra. As a student at the University of Northern Colorado, she played under Kenneth Singleton in the university's wind ensemble and sang in the Grammy Award-nominated vocal jazz sextet The Axidentals, headlining clinics and festivals in the U.S. and Canada.  Monika won a Silver World Medal from the New York Festivals Awards for the day-long special, "Sound of America," and the National Clarion Award for her five-part radio documentary series, "A Voice for the Silenced: Re-discovering Music Lost in the Holocaust," co-hosted by LA Opera Music Director James Conlon.

 

VISCOTT, David: KABC, 1980-93; KIEV, 1994-95; KMPC, 1995-96. David ("Let-me-tell-you-this-my-friend") Viscott started as a substitute for radio psychologist Toni Grant and eventually got his own full-time shift. He provided diagnoses and "tough love" therapy. His locally produced show became syndicated for a time. Born in Boston in 1938, son of a pharmacist, David became a psychiatrist and created a mini-empire unto himself. He wrote over 13 books, ran the David Viscott Center for Natural Therapy and created a line of greeting cards. David lived a life of privilege through his schooling. He went to medical school at Tufts University after graduating from Dartmouth in 1959. David taught at University Hospital in Boston, set up private practice in 1968 and moved to Los Angeles in 1979 where he was a professor psychiatry at UCLA. Later in the 1980s he had his own tv show. He was passionate about music all his life and regretted not devoting more of his life to that love, though that's not what he would have advised others. David died alone on October 14, 1996, at the age of 58. A cleaning crew found him in bed. A friend of David's said: "He died of a broken heart."

(El Vee, Joe Vinyl, and  Matt Vasgerian)

VISSION, Richard "Humpty": KDAY, 1989; KPWR, 1990-2018. Richard Gonzalez hosts a weekend show at "Power 106." He was born on May 24, 1969 and is a Canadian house music producer, remixer and dj. He was raised in Highland Park and graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in 1987. On the airwaves, Richard is host of the longest-running mix show in the US, Power Tools, which airs every Sunday morning from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. on KPWR (Power 106 FM), as well as other syndicated markets.

VISOTCKY, Bob: KIBB/KCMG, 1997-98; KXOL/KLAX, 2001-02; KBLA, 2004; KJLL, 2009; KABC/KLOS, 2012-13. Bob was appointed general manger at Amaturo's JILL stations in Thousand Oaks and Orange Country in late spring 2009 and left in early fall of the same year. In November 2010, he became the market manager for the Cumulus group in Ventura/Santa Barbara. He then became the DOS for KABC/KLOS and left in the summer of 2013. In October 2018, Bob was appointed market manager for West Virginia Radio's Charleston cluster.  Bob is now associate publisher at the San Diego Business Journal.

 

VLASIC, Dominic: KWIZ, 1981-82; KNOB, 1982-87. Dominic runs a video production company, VIDEOComm Productions, in Rancho Mission Viejo. Dominic, a native of Croatia, married the KNOB owner's daughter, Madelaine and they became the morning drive team at KNOB in the mid-198os. "I currently narrate audio books for Amazon.com, Audible.com and iTunes," emailed Dominic. He also produces a comedy podcast called Angry Old Man podcast on iTunes and all podcast platforms.

Vlasic, Madelaine: KNOB, 1981-85. Madelaine lives in Maui and is doing voiceover work in the Islands.
Vogel, Dick: KJOI, 1972-76. Dick died on January 7, 2001 in Des Moines from heart failure. He was 72.
Volpe, Paul: KIEV, 1996-99; KALI, 1999-2001. Paul hosts "Subterranean Music Show" at KALI.
Von, Arterberry: KRHM, 1965. Unknown.
Von, Stuart: KBMS, 1961-63; KLAC, 1965-68; KABC, 1968-70. Stuart lives in Pomona and is the voice image for a number of stations in the Midwest.
Vostaw, Jim: KIKF, 1985. Jim was vp/gm for Citadel cluster in Spokane. In 2006, he became director of sales for Univision in San Diego. 
Voxx: KLSX, 1995-96. The Rock 'n Roll Psychic has a website.

X

X, Doctor: KLSX, 1997. Unknown.
X, Eddie: KROQ, 1985. Eddie "X" Williams initially worked at KROQ as the late night jock. He eventually hosted The Local Music Show. "I was in clubs every night looking for unsigned bands and playing hem on my weekly show," Eddie emailed. "I broke some cool acts, though they wouldn't remember." Williams went on to own a recording studio business in Seattle.

(Xavier the X-Man and Xzibit)

X-Man, Xavier: KIBB/KCMG, 1998-99. The "X-Man" works afternoons and is apd at "Magic 92.5" in San Diego.
Xzibit: KDAY, 2014. the rapper-actor and former host of MTV’s Pimp My Ride, hosts and produces a weekly show called “Open Bar Radio.” The weekly show offers commentary from Xzibit and artist interviews.

Y

YAMAMOTO, Jane: KFI, 2021-23. Jane joined the KFI news department in late 2021.

Yamanaka, Kellen: KKJZ, 2006-07. Kellen worked evenings at the all-Jazz station until the spring of 2007 when there was a management change.
Yarnell, Bruce: KCBH. Bruce worked afternoons at KCBH and then moved to San Diego. He had a starring role in the 1963 film, Irma La Douce. Bruce was Deputy Marshal Chalk Breeson in the tv series The Outlaws in the early 1960s. Bruce died in a plane crash in 1973.  

YATES, Tom: KLOS, 1971-77; KLSX, 1986-89. Tom owns KOZT-Santa Rosa/Mendocino County. Tom is credited with taking KABC/fm and turning it into KLOS and a powerhouse AOR competitor, with the “Rock 'N Stereo” marketing campaign. In 1974 Tom shared some of his programming philosophy with James Brown of the LA Times: "The hard-core music freaks were listening, but we weren't taking anyone away from Top 40. Also, those people on the borderline who appreciated album cuts were put off by the ‘underground’ presentation. We also discovered that the Bill Drake-programmed KHJ/fm had a greater audience than KMET, KPPC and KLOS combined. So we sat down and decided to do something about the format." KLOS retained the album cuts, but the music dwelled on the mainstream of Rock, rather than the fringe element, and the on-air personalities retained the low-key, whispered knowledge of traditional FM rock but were allowed to expand their individual approaches. Tom was quoted in a 1975 issue of Time magazine in a story titled "Sex Rock." He left KLOS in the summer of 1978 to form Nova Broadcasting Services, which included consulting KWST and he was simultaneously editor of Goodphone Weekly, a trade publication out of Sherman Oaks, which was sold to Billboard in 1980. In late 1980 Tom left L.A. for KSAN and KKCY-San Francisco when it changed format and call letters and became "the Quake." Before he returned to the Southland, he worked in St. Louis. Tom was born in L.A and he was a psych major at the University of Nebraska. While doing graduate work at the University of California at Berklely, Tom was a doorman at the world famous Big Al’s on Broadway in San Francisco. He befriended Tom Donahue and it turned out they lived in the same area of Pacific Heights. On December 1, 1999, Tom bought KOZT in Santa Rosa, where he currently lives.

Yeager, Bill: KFWB, 1987-92. Bill was vp of news/sports/weather for MetroNetworks, based in Philadelphia until the spring of 2019. He's now a  wrangler at Yellowstone Park.

YEAGER, Steve: KMPC, 1992. The former L.A. Dodger catcher hosted a baseball show during the launch of KMPC's all-Sports format. Steve was born November 24, 1948 in Huntington, West Virginia and spent 14 of the 15 seasons of his Major League Baseball career, from 1972 through 1985, with the LA Dodgers. He is the cousin of the late test pilot Chuck Yeager. At his wedding Mayor Tom Bradley was his best man. Lou Brock called Yeager "the best-throwing catcher in the game."[ In 1976, Yeager was injured when teammate Bill Russell's bat shattered as he hit a ground ball and a large, jagged piece from the heavy end of the bat slammed into the throat of Yeager, who was in the on-deck circle. The wood hit him in the neck and pierced his esophagus. Steve owns a Jersey Mike's Subs franchise. He served as a technical advisor and also played a small role as Coach Duke Temple, in Major League, Major Leauge II, and Major League: Back to the Minors. In 1982, Yeager posed semi-nude in a Playgirl magazine centerfold, according to Wikipedia.

 

YOCAM, Joe: KVOE, 1942; KFWB, 1942-68; KLAC, 1969. Joe was one of the original "Seven Swingin' Gentlemen," working noon to three on Chuck Blore's "Color Radio" KFWB during its debut on January 2, 1958. He was given credit for dubbing the music list "Fabulous Forty." Born and raised in South Bend, Joe started out in radio at WASP-Borger, Texas. He came to the Southland to attend Santa Ana City College and worked at KVOE (later KWIZ) in Santa Ana. Joe spent a quarter of a century with KFWB. In early 1965, KFWB let Joe go and he filed a grievance with AFTRA. At one period he was president of the union. In December 1965, KFWB was forced to hire Joe back, and he stayed until March 1968, when the station went all-News. Joe was a staff announcer with PBS's KCET. He devoted much of his time as a volunteer with Rancho Los Amigoes Home for disadvantaged children. Joe retired to Balboa Island and died of cancer March 3, 1974. He was 55.

 

YORK, Jennifer: KFWB, 1988-91; KFSH, 2005-07: KNX, 2012-23. Jennifer is the morning drive traffic reporter at KNX. She worked at KTLA/Channel 5 from 1991-2004 as a morning host and traffic reporter.  Her airborne assignment for KTLA started in 1992, following traffic reporting for KFWB. Her reporting over the Malibu fires paid off in 1993, when she was awarded her first Emmy. Two more Emmy Awards, one for her coverage of the Northridge Earthquake, and the other for her "Morning News" reports, followed, as well as two Golden Mike Awards, one for Best Traffic Reporter 1998, and one for her coverage of the Jewish Center shooting in 1999. In 1987, Jennifer was a dj at KDAR-Oxnard. She graduated from UCLA with a dual degree in political science and communications. In 1983 Jennifer went to work as a talent coordinator for Pierre Cossette Productions, working on the Grammy and American Music Awards shows. From 1984 to 1987, she was a production coordinator at Good Morning America in New York and assistant to Joel Siegel. "Never forget your roots and the people who helped get you where you are." Jennifer is a professional electric and acoustic bassist with The York Quartet, an all-female jazz group.

 

YORTY, Sam: KGBS, 1974. The former mayor for 12 tumultuous years hosted a morning drive show during KGBS's brief move into an all-Talk format. Sam died June 5, 1998, at the age of 88. Mike Downey of the LA Times said the teaming of Yorty with Wally George made Rush Limbaugh seem like a "meek little mouse." His producer, Wally George, told the LA Times at the time: "People see Yorty as filling the void of conservative commentary that has been left vacant since the death of Marv Gray." The ex-saxophone player from Nebraska, "Mayor Sam" started his show each morning with his theme "Sam's Song." He was born October 1, 1909.

 

YOUNG, Ace: KMET, 1971-83 and 1985-87. Ace worked mornings with Jeff Gonzer at KZAP-Sacramento until 2020.    Born Dennis Young in St. Louis, he moved with his parents to Ojai when he was 12 and hung out after school at KUDU-Ventura, where he eventually got his first job while in high school. After two years at Ventura Community College, where he was elected president of the student body, Ace moved to Sacramento State and became gm of the college station. (Dennis called everyone "Ace" so he got stuck with it as a nickname.)  The times, they were a-changing. It was 1968 and Ace convinced the owner of KZAP to allow a group to change the station from Jazz to Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane and other music coming out of the Bay Area. There were two complete staffs at KZAP, each group working four days. One group would live in a downtown commune while the other lived on a 156-acre spread and farmed collectively. "If we were lucky, we even got paid every couple of weeks, if the water bed companies paid their bills." It was the first time news and music complemented each other.  Ace was instrumental in disseminating news to "underground" stations all over the country. In 1971 Ace became a key member of "the mighty Met," working AM drive and as news director. In 1977 in Santa Barbara he launched his own news network "Newspace." It served stations in all the major California markets. "Newspace" folded after two years, and Ace returned briefly to KMET. In 1984 he joined Turner's new CNN radio network in Atlanta and a year later went to WINZ-Miami. He rejoined KMET in late 1985 in morning drive, only to see it go off the air. "I came back to nothing. The times had disappeared and finally KMET was gone." Ace did some syndicated shows and managed a radio station near Yosemite Park, where he moved to be close to his elderly parents. Ace lives in a home heated by wood and he gets his water from a ditch system that was built in 1850. "The times have changed. I'm looking out my window and I see 200-foot redwood and pine trees."  Ace has developed a Web site that serves Yosemite National Park. It is a rich resource for visitors from around the world.

 

YOUNG, Billy: KACE. Billy is co-director of Fellowship Open. He worked for KACE for eight years during the 1980s. He is now living and working in Milwaukee.

 

YOUNG, Cindy: KLON, 1988-93; KPCC, 1998-2002. For seven years, Cindy was working to end homelessness among veterans – as the Vice President of Development and Marketing at New Directions for Veterans, where she raised $25 million. From 2003-07, Cindy was the assistant Dean of Development, School of Theatre at USC. She increased baseline annual giving five-fold from $60,000 to $300,000.   Since 2014, she runs her own company, which provides fund raising and marketing counsel to nonprofit organizations. The University of Vermont graduate has raised more than $60 million in her career.

YOUNG, Clara: KFI, 1996-97. Clara is a practicing therapist.

Young, David L.: KHOF, 1963-65; KUTE, 1965; KGLA, 1965; KPPC, 1965-66; KFMU, 1966; KGLA, 1966; KDAY, 1967; KPPC, 1967, KHOF, 1968-71; KPSA, 1971-72; KWST, 1972-75; KBCA, 1975-78; KHOF, 1978-80; KKGO, 1980-86, KJOI, 1981-84. David is a voiceover talent. 
Young, Dexter. Dexter was a sound engineer for Humble Harve, Sam Riddle and Johnny Williams. 
Young, Ed: KNOB, 60s. Ed was a jazz dj at Long Beach's Jazz KNOB.

YOUNG, Jeff: KFI, 1978-79. Jeff worked for many years at Westwood One beginning in 1994. He's now Chief Player / Publisher / Director of Random Number Research at nevadaplayersclub.com. Born in L.A. in 1957, Jeff was raised on “Boss Radio.” He never realized his dream of working at KHJ, but did make stops at KRIZ-Phoenix, and WDRQ-Detroit before returning to the Southland in 1978 to wind up at KFI. “I wasn’t there long, but it was an interesting run. I got the gig because one night I was listening to a certain dj (who shall remain nameless) do his KFI show, when I noticed he was sounding a bit ‘out of it.’ He was stumbling, rambling and missing cues. After awhile of this, he disappeared and the board op segued records until someone else could come in to cover. I’m not sure what happened, but I was at KFI early the next morning with tape in hand.” Jeff was hired by om Biggie Nevens, after an on-air audition, but when pd John Rook returned from vacation, he really turned the heat up. “Talk about micro-managing, he hassled and hot lined me for three solid months until we ended up parting company. It was good experience, though, and toughened me up for future gigs. I was just 21.”

 

YOUNG, Jonathan: KBLA, 1963-64; KHOF, 1967-69; KUSC, 1969-72. Jonathan is a clinical psychologist in Santa Barbara and a commentator for the History Channel. "My approach is Jungian, with an emphasis on the unfolding of life stories," said Jonathan at his website. Dr. Young is a psychologist and storyteller who assisted mythologist Joseph Campbell at seminars -- and went on to become the founding curator of the Joseph Campbell Archives. He also created and chaired the Mythological Studies program. More recently, he’s been lecturing in academic settings such as Oxford, Notre Dame, and the UCLA School of Medicine. His training for health professionals around California and online are offered through the Center for Story and Symbol. Jonathan also lectures for arts organizations, including the San Diego Opera, Edinburgh International Festival, expressive arts therapy conferences, and screenwriting programs. He consults on films for major studios and appears as a mythology expert on the History Channel.

Young, Neil: KSRF, 1980. The former morning man at K-Surf, now writes for Mohave Valley Daily News. Born Neil Young on September 29, 1948, he was raised in upstate New York. Neil caught the radio bug at 8 listening to Albany radio. “I preferred to worship radio from a far, working in a supermarket and a matchbook factory, but after graduating from a community college, at age 23, I started my career in Kingston, New York. In 1975 he worked at WRCQ-Hartford and then on to WAQY-Springfield and in 1978 landed at KFXM in the Inland Empire. Jeff Salgo was consultant for KFXM and Neil went to work as a research assistant at Claude Hall’s Radio Report, where Salgo was editor. After the magazine folded, Neil joined “Magic91”-San Diego and then KSRF. "I returned to Albany in late 1980 and worked for a number of upstate New York stations. "I consider working in L.A. as the apex of my career."

YOUNG, Steve: KTLK, 2005. Steve joined the Progressive talker Air America for weekends in the spring of 2005. He was the political editor of National Lampoon. Steve is an award-winning TV writer and author of Great Failures of the Extremely Successful.

 

YOUNGBLOOD, Jack: KMPC, 1987-91. Jack, the former LA Ram, was the radio announcer for the St. Louis Rams. Jack played in the 1980 Super Bowl with a broken leg and never in his 13-year pro career did he play injury-free. He lives near Orlando and is a consultant for the Arena Football League and fishes and hunts and raises his son, Robert. Sports Illustrated named Jack the 4th best pass rusher in NFL history.

Youngblood, Rob: KIQQ. Unknown.
Yurdin, Larry: KMET, 1971-73. Larry did satirical news at KMET under the name "Kapusta Kid." Larry lives in Seattle and designs computer networks.

Z

Zaillian, Jim: KNX, 1955-66 and 1967-78, nd. KABC, 1966-67. Jim died December 2, 1978 of a heart attack at the age of 51.
Zander, Mark: KLKX, 2006-08; KKZQ, 2007-08. Mark was the pd at Classic Rock KLKX and Active Rock KKZQ in Palmdale/Lancaster. In 2008, he worked exclusively at 4C Studios, programming and hosting his national radio shows - The Rockin' 80s and The Rockin' 70s. In early 2011, Mark was named pd at WERV-Chicago and within a few months he added programming duties at Nextmedia's WRXQ.

ZAPOLEON, Guy: KRTH, 1973-75 and 1976-77; KRLA, 1977-78; KRTH, 1978-81. After many years in local programming, Guy became a well-respected radio consultant. After nine years as iHeartMedia senior vp of programming/research & Strategy, in early 2019, he announced his semi-retirement. He will continue as a senior advisor. Guy founded Zapoleon Media Strategies in 1992 where he and his partners were Top 40 and AC Consultants of the Year for ten years running. He launched great radio stations like WKTU-New York and worked with stations in the U.S. and worldwide like 2DayFM Australia, NRJ Paris and 104.6 RTL Berlin.

ZARAGOZA, Victor: KHHT, 2007-11. Born in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, Victor was raised in Northern California. He has worked in the entertainment industry as a radio host, musical artist/producer and an actor. Radio has taken Victor throughout many states like Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, but for the most part of his career, he has been in California. From over half a dozen stations in San Francisco, down the central coast and on to hosting a morning show for four years in Los Angeles Victor is back home in the Bay Area where he plans to have another couple of decades added to his resume. Victor also enjoyed working as the sideline reporter for the Oakland Raiders Spanish Broadcast for five years and playing video games as a hobby.  Although the music, producing and acting all run in his DNA, his true love is radio and continues to challenge himself to do more every day.  In 2014, Victor started his new chapter in radio, talking sports on a San Francisco sports station on the weekends. Taking a liking to talk radio, in 2017 he made the move to KCBS Radio in San Francisco as a Traffic Reporter.​ Victor joined HOT 92.3/fm mornings in mid-August of 2007 and left in the spring of 2011.

 

ZARIAN, Larry: KIEV, 1985-99. Larry died October 13, 2011. He was 73. Larry succumbed to an aggressive cancer that prevents the body from making healthy blood cells. Born in Armenia, Larry was 14 when he emigrated to the United States with his mother and his sister, Rima. He graduated from Glendale Community College and earned a bachelor's degree in political science from UCLA. He also also was a heavyweight boxer, winning 13 bouts. He had been a resident of the City of Glendale for close to 50 years, and an active member of Glendale Civic Affairs for 40 years. His knowledge of politics and hands on experience is most impressive. Larry studied at UCLA, where he majored in political science. He has served as mayor of Glendale four times; served as chairman of the MTA; served as a member of the Glendale City Council;  served as chairman of the State Regional Water Quality Control Board; and has held Membership or chair positions for at least 50 other organizations or political branches.

ZARSADIAZ, Karen: KNX, 2008-09. Karen was a reporter at all-News KNX until early fall of 2009. She is now a voiceover artist. A graduate of USC in 1998 with dual degrees in Broadcast Journalism and International Relations, before KNX she worked for Scripps Network. Since late 2015, Karen has served as Chief of the Communications Section/Training & Communications Specialist for the Executive Support Division of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

ZB: KQLZ, 1991. Ben Ziegler worked weekends at the end of "Pirate Radio." Ben now lives in Fargo ND and owns an FM Country station in the region and does mornings with morning show partner Jim Babbitt on KZTK/fm The Truck.
Zeke: KROQ, 1996-97. Zeke hosts "The Daily Mix," a live New York tv program.

ZELASKO, Jeanne: KFWB, 2014-16. Jeanne joined the launch of the new sports format at KFWB, The Beast 980 on September 22, 2014. She worked morning drive with LA Times' Bill Plaschke until mid-February 2016 when KFWB was sold. She is now with Fox Sports West. She started her broadcasting career during her college days doing metro traffic reports and then hosting a talk show on KCEO-AM in San Diego. Jeanne spent the early part of her career in San Diego. She co-hosted the San Diego Padre's pre-game show for Prime Sports West. She joined Fox Sports in 1996 as part of the original broadcast team anchoring the newly formed Fox Sports Net’s NATIONAL SPORTS REPORT. Born in Cincinnati and raised in New Jersey, Zelasko graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in journalism and a minor in political science. Jeanne is married to LA tv broadcaster Curt Sandoval.

Zenon, Janine: KJLH, 1996-2009. Janine co-hosted afternoon drive at KJLH. Since 2009, she has been a national recruiter at Financial Education Services.

ZENOR, Zachary: KPPC, 1968-71; KMET, 1972-74; KROQ, 1976-77. Zack was a groupie when KPPC first went on the air in 1967. Original all-night KPPC jock Bob Shayne remembered him as "this kid with long, dark floppy hair who wanted to be a disc jockey." He also worked the all-night shift at "the Mighty Met" and was an engineer. Zack now lives in New Mexico.

Zhelutka, Mara: KCRW, 1977-2001. Mara broadcast a Sunday morning show called "Music for the Spheres." She got her start at a college radio station in Arcata.

ZIEGENBUSCH, Ted: KMGG, 1982; KOST, 1982-2000; KFSH, 2001-04; KFSH/KKLA, 2004-06; KOST, 2006-20. Born in Lima, Ohio, Ted interned at KMEN while he was going to high school in San Bernardino and later became md and utility jock in 1971 and 1972. “I decided on a career in radio after watching my ‘idols’ on KMEN. As luck would have it, the radio station was located directly behind the high school. Every day, on my way home, I would watch the masters at work, spinning their stories and playing the tunes. These were my mentors, to whom I owe so much respect and appreciation. It’s mind boggling when you realize the talent that came out of one little AM station in San Bernardino.” In the early 1980s Ted worked mostly mornings in San Diego at “91X,” “The Mighty 690,” KGB and KIFM. Prior to San Diego he was pd and morning drive at KLAV-Las Vegas. Ted started at KMGG in 1982 and stayed briefly until joining KOST. In the mid-80s, Ted recorded afternoon drive at KOLA in the Inland Empire. For several years, he did the late evening program on "the Coast" and was top rated with double digits. He has appeared in tv and motion pictures since 1984. Ted has been named to Who's Who in Entertainment and Who's Who in the West. He lives in Orange County.  He did fill-in at KOST until early 2020 when there was another major downsizing. After 51 great years, Ted officially retired.

 Ziegler, John: KFI, 2004-07; KGIL, 2009. John started middays at KGIL on 6.8.09. John left his early evening Talk show at KFI on November 13, 2007. He is now a documentarian and hosted a podcast with Leah Brandon.

(John Ziegler and Janine Zenon)

ZIEL, Ed: KLAC, 1965-71; KRLA, 1971-72; KROQ, 1973; KFI, 1973-76; KGIL, 1976-92; KMGX. Ed has been a premier newsman in Southern California for close to three decades. He was part of the morning team with “Sweet Dick” Whittington at KGIL and Lohman and Barkley at KFI. Ed was born in Indiana and received a bachelor of science degree in broadcast journalism from Indiana University. During his Army days he was a reporter for The American Forces Network while stationed in Berlin. When he left the Army he worked as a writer for the Associated Press in Milwaukee. His first job in the Southland was at KLAC when it was L.A.’s first all-Talk station. Joe Pyne did mornings while Bob Grant worked afternoons and Mort Sahl did the evenings. "It was a great station." After radio, he joined the Ventura County Correction Services Agency working with juvenile offenders. Ed is now retired, living in Yerington, Nevada, just southeast of Reno. “I'm spliting time between homes in Nevada and South Carolina. Lots of hiking, hunting, fishing and kicking over rocks searching for gold.”

 

ZIFF, Larry: KHTZ; KACE; KABC/KMPC, 1993-98. Larry has an active voiceover career. Most recently, he was the Director of IT/MIS for the composer Hans Zimmer for almost 8 years.   He was ‘Truck Rodgers’ in the early 90s on KHTZ (K-Hits) for Metro Traffic. “Thanks to Dan Avey for the name,” emailed Larry. “I was also ‘Commander Tracy’ on KACE. Thanks Lawrence Tanter for the very last minute name. My next job was disaster reporter for KABC [quakes, fires, you name it], which included getting into and covering the whole OJ trial for Bob K while at KABC/KMPC. After my KABC stint, I went back into the techie side and became the director of MIS/IT for Oscar winning composer Hans Zimmer and his music campus factory in Santa Monica and stayed there from 1998-2006." "Now, I’m back into voiceovers and ready to give Don LaFontaine a run for his limo.... :-)”

 

ZIFF, Sid: KFWB; KRKD. The veteran sports columnist and one of the most controversial and opionated sports writers in Los Angeles history, died, October 30, 1991 at 86 of acute blood infection. He was the youngest sport editor ever in Los Angeles, taking over the position at the Los Angeles Express when he was 19. He had started at the paper as a copy boy at 16.

Zino, Cousin: SEE Harvey Tow.

ZORN, Dave: KNX, 1981-2006. Dave was a news anchor/reporter at KNXNewsradio for 25 years, until his retirement in 2006. Dave died July 30, 2018, following a short, but tough battle with liver cancer. He was 73. Except for a brief stint in Detroit, since 1981 Dave has been an anchorman/reporter at "KNXNewsradio." Born November 22, 1944, in Lebanon, Missouri, Dave’s father was a First Sergeant in the Army, stationed at nearby Ft. Leonard Wood. “My parents were both born and raised in Connecticut and my mother lived in Missouri only for a short time to be near my father while waiting for me to be born. My father took two weeks of leave, timed it to begin the day I was born so he could bond with me and help change diapers.”   Hours after Dave was born, his father was shipped out to Europe. “The first five years of my life were spent in Milford, Connecticut, 1949 to '55 in Somerset Pennsylvania, just a few miles from where the United Airlines plane crashed on 9/11, suburban Cleveland [the ‘Happy Days’] and Phoenix from 1961 to 1981.”

Dave majored in broadcasting in college and began his commercial broadcasting career in 1969. “I can't remember a time in my life that I didn't want to be on the radio, but I really got the 'bug' one rainy summer afternoon in Cleveland in the late ‘50s when I 'played radio' with a neighborhood electronic genius who built a radio station in his basement. We tape recorded our pretend rock 'n roll radio show with ‘your boy D.Z. on K-R-A-P’ and played it through a miniature transmitter my engineer friend built. What a thrill, I was on the radio! Imagine our surprise when we read in the newspaper the next morning that the FCC was looking for a pirate radio station that had appeared mysteriously, knocking off the air a major Cleveland radio station. When we read that the penalties for such a federal crime were multiple years in jail and thousands of dollars in fines, we decided to find safer ways to spend our rainy summer afternoons.”

His radio news broadcasting career began in 1969 in Phoenix at KOY-AM, moving on to KPHO-AM and eventually KTAR-AM where he was director of news and programming from 1978-81.  

Dave was in Vietnam for two years, where he served as a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He married his college sweetheart, Carolynn Bauer. Dave won 7 Golden Mikes, including three consecutive Best Newscast awards. From the L.A. Press Club he received 12 first-place awards in various categories, including best newscast.

He served as a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps between 1964 and 1967 and was in Vietnam for two years.

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