J

Jack, Cadillac: KQLZ, 1990-91. Cadillac-Jack Seville worked at WOGL-Philadelphia.

JACK, Wolfman: XERB, 1966-71; XPRS, 1971-72; KDAY, 1972-73; KRTH, 1976; KRLA, 1984-87; XTRA, 1987. Wolfman Jack was born Robert Weston Smith in a gritty section of Brooklyn on January 21, 1938. His parents died when he was young, and he shuffled among relatives between stints in reform schools. Wolfman got his start below the border on radio stations with mega-million watts of power, which was an inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's American Graffiti. In the film his role took on mythical proportions and catapulted his trademark guttural shriek to national prominence. "I'm not a gimmick," he told the LA Times in 1972. "I'm doing me. I wanted to perpetuate a mystique by not appearing in public but that's been over for some time." He once said of the movie, "It took the Wolfman from a cult figure to the rank of American flag and apple pie." While working on Mexican radio stations, the Wolfman did an incredible mail order business selling Baby Jesuses that glowed in the dark and sugar pills that supposedly helped with arousal problems. Wolfman owned the business end of the Tijuana-based station. "I ran the campiest radio station around; we programmed what no one else wanted - preachers and rhythm and blues." Before XERB, Wolfman spent 1959 to 1962 at XERF-Del Rio.

Wolfman reflected on his style in a lengthy Times interview: "My regular voice sounded like a little kid's and I knew that if I was going to make it, I needed a far-out style." He traveled the small towns, selling the ads, fixing the transmitter and screaming into the mike in small towns. He was influenced by "The Hound" at WKBW-Buffalo, Alan Freed and Murray the K.

 In 1973 he went to WNEW and WNBC-New York. He had his own radio show syndicated to more than 2,000 stations throughout the United States and 53 other countries at his height of popularity. He was the announcer on NBC/TV's Midnight Special for 8 years between 1973 and 1982. Wolfman started at KRLA January 14, 1984. His shaggy hair was sculpted to look like what the well-dressed wolf was wearing. Wolfman appeared in such films as Hanging on a Star in 1976, Motel Hell in 1980 and Mortuary Academy in 1987. He appeared as himself in a two-part episode of tv's Galactica 1980. In the fall of 1984, he debuted Wolfman Rock TV, an ABC Saturday morning children's program that featured rock gossip, information and videos. During the late '80s and early '90s, he hosted an oldies tv show out of Florida called Rock 'n Roll Palace.

He was immortalized in 18 songs including Clap for the Wolfman by the Guess Who, Living on the Highway by Freddie King and Wolfman Jack by Todd Rundgren. By the spring of 1995 his authorized biography Have Mercy: The True Story of Wolfman Jack, The Original Rock 'n' Roll Animal was published. Following a 20-city tour promoting the book, he collapsed after returning to his Belvidere, North Carolina home 120 miles east of Raleigh.

He died July 1, 1995. He was a heavy smoker and overweight but had lost 40 pounds shortly before his death. At the time of his death he was syndicating a live four-hour weekly show to 70 stations from Planet Hollywood in Washington, DC. At his funeral in Belvidere, mourners heard the Wolfman blaring from a jukebox. His black, broad-brimmed hat with a silver band rested atop his gray marble headstone with the kicker, "One more time." His longtime publicist said of the funeral, "Wolfman wanted a party. He wanted a celebration. He's not gone; he'll be around as long as people are playing the music he loved." He was one of five nominees to the Museum of Broadcast Communications' 1995 Radio Hall of Fame, in the pioneer category. From his book: "I'm Wolfman Jack, the guy who used to wash cars in Brooklyn and got lucky."

Jack the Ripper: SEE Michael Davis

JACKSON, Andrea: KYSR, 1999-2000. Andrea started her broadcasting career in San Diego working for AirWatch Communications. “I went by Andrea Cochran covering airborne traffic and breaking news for KSDO, KSON and ‘KBEST 95.’ I went on to KGTV/TV doing more traffic and breaking news from the helicopter, while delivering radio reports for ‘92.5, the Flash.’” She became a weekday morning tv weathercaster at San Diego’s Channel 10. Andrea covered the Academy Awards for the San Diego outlet. She wrapped up her San Diego career at KGTV and “91X with an Emmy nomination and a SPJ award, moving to Los Angeles in early 1999 to pursue broadcasting and acting work. She started with Metro Networks on a part-time fill-in basis and was full time on KYSR and KNBC/Channel 4 by early 2000. Andrea hosts "The Daily Buzz" and is also the creator of wakeupcall.tv, a video newscast app for the iPhone and iPad under the banner of her own production company Stable 8 Inc. One of Jackson's biggest highlights as host and managing editor of "The Daily Buzz" (2002-2009) was pulling 9.2G's with the USAF Thunderbirds in the Lockheed Martin F-16! Jackson was most recently a morning reporter and weekend anchor for the NBC affiliate WESH in Orlando, covering the Casey Anthony trial. She joined the WESH team as a part-time breaking news reporter for WESH 2 News "Sunrise" in January of 2011.

Jackson, Bill: Bill is the announcer who steers motorists through the maze at Los Angeles International Airport.

(Jason Jeffries, Cadillac Jack, Marques Johnson, and Kevin "Slow Jammin'" James)

Bob was previously pd at KRAM-Las Vegas. Born in Oklahoma, Bob spent a decade in San Francisco when he left the Southland in the mid-1970s. He worked with Metromedia and Malrite. In 1989 Bob joined the Satellite Music Network in Phoenix. Later he moved to Wichita Falls, where he spent his remaining years writing songs, singing and playing the sax.  

JACKSON, Bubba: KLON, 1984-92; KPCC; KACE; KCSN, 2007; KKJZ, 2007-08 and 2015-22. Bubba was born in Harlem, New York, the third of five children to a family with Baptist roots. His mom introduced him to Gospel, blues and r&b through the music of Mahalia Jackson, Ruth Brown, Charles Brown and Ray Charles. His brothers came with the jazz but it was his cousin, Chuck that turned him on to Cuban, Puerto Rican and Calypso in his teenage years. However, this eclectic musical flair is by no means a shallow acquaintance. He is very knowledgeable and well-versed in each genre. He retired from K-JAZZ in 2022. Bubba has worked for XM Satellite Radio - Washington, DC, San Francisco, and Denver. The LA Times once published: "One of the best things about drive-time In L.A. is Bubba Jackson's Jazz on KLON." Starting in 1987 Bubba was involved in concert productions as producer, promoter, talent coordinator and master of ceremonies. This Air Force veteran has been recognized by LA Mayor Tom Bradley with a Certificate of Appreciation.

Jackson, Dion: KNAC, 1972; KLOS, 1976-77; KLSX, 1988-95; KLOS, 1999-2007. Dion worked swing at KLOS. He went on to work at KCAL/fm in the Inland Empire.

JACKSON, J.J.: KLOS, 1971-80; KDAY, 1980; KWST, 1980; KROQ, 1987; KMPC/fm/KEDG, 1987-89, pd; KLOS, 2000-02; KTWV, 2002-03. J.J. worked afternoon drive when he arrived at KLOS from WBCN-Boston. In the early 1980s, he left to pursue a tv career and became an MTV jock. In 1986, he left WQXI-Atlanta for KSON-San Diego before returning to the Southland on "the Roq." He was part of the change from KMPC/fm to KEDG, "the Edge." In 1988, he hosted a Sunday show called "A Cut Above" and eventually became pd of the Gene Autry station. In 1989 he joined Richard Blade as host of a Movietime cable tv show. In late 1994 J.J. began hosting "The Beatle Years," a syndicated series airing on 200 stations nationwide. He worked at WW1 and had come full circle back to KLOS for weekends. JJ died of an apparent heart attack on March 17, 2004. He was 62.

JACKSON, JoeAnn: KMPC, 1977-79, K-LITE, 1979. JoeAnn covered stories from City Hall and the Police Department. Robert W. Morgan referred to her as "Action Jackson." She died March 19, 1999, of ovarian cancer at the age of 54.

JACKSON, Keith: KABC. With his homespun style, the son of a Georgia dirt farmer was a warm, comfortable addition to America's living rooms, coming to you each autumn fro such fabled college football outposts as Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Happy Valley in Pennsylvania. One of his most famous phrases. 'Whoa, Nellie!' was taken from his grandfather, Jefferson Davis Robison, who used to blurt out that expression when he was angry. He and his wife, Turi Ann, met in 1951 when both were students at Wshington State. A stranger once approached her and said, 'You must be Nellie.' (obit from The Hollywood Reporter) He died January 12, 2018, at the age of 89.

JACKSON, Michael: KHJ, 1963-65; KNX, 1965; KABC, 1966-1998; KRLA, 1999; KLAC, 2001-02; KNX, 2004-05; KGIL, 2007-08. The former rock and roll dj was a midday mainstay at News/Talk KABC for over three decades. He died January 15, 2022, at the age of 87. Michael’s father owned several pubs in London and when he was 11, the family moved to South Africa, where Michael became fluent in Afrikaans. But he always imagined himself in radio, and by the time he was 16 (and finished high school) he was on the air in Johannesburg, having lied about his age. He trained with the BBC. Michael started his American radio career in Springfield, Massachusetts and moved quickly to the Bay Area where he played rock music at KYA and KEWB. In San Francisco he was known as Michael Scotland, and his program was called "Scotland's Yard."

In 1963, Michael hosted a two-hour Hootenanny show on KHJ. In 1965, when the format switched to "Boss Radio," he moved to KNX. The same year he became a U.S. citizen and married into Hollywood royalty. His wife Alana is the daughter of the late actor Alan Ladd, the man who played Shane. He won a local Emmy while hosting KCOP/Channel 13's The Big Question series. 

A 1974 LA Times profile said, "He is of small stature, as compact as a lightweight boxer. His facial expression is one of bemused, continental curiosity - a man secure in all things intellectual but having too good a time to be excessively tweedy." 

Michael has won seven Emmys and four Golden Mike awards. He has also received many other honors, including Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (M.B.E.) presented by  Queen Elizabeth, the French Legion of Merit Award, presented by president Mitterand in 1988, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984. 

In the spring of 1984, he suffered a minor heart attack at the age of 50 while riding horseback through Griffith Park. Journalist Norman Cousins advised Michael during his recuperation period and told him, "A heart attack is something to laugh at. It really is."

In 1992 he was off the air for almost two months following heart surgery. In the summer of 1997, Michael moved to weekends on KABC, eventually leaving the station in 1999. He was a regular substitute for Larry King on CNN.

Jackson, Paul "Action": KROQ, 1999-2000. Paul joined the morning team with Kevin & Bean in the summer of 1999.
Jackson, Pervis: KGFJ, 1973. Unknown.

JACKSON, Sammy: KBBQ, 1968; KLAC, 1969-72; KGIL, 1973-75; KLAC, 1976-79; KMPC, 1982-83. The one-time star of television's No Time for Sergeants was born and raised in Henderson, North Carolina. Sammy was on ABC/TV in the early 1960s. A string of unsold series pilots followed, and he was dropped by Warner Bros. Sammy had roles in several 1960s movies including Disney's Boatniks. He commented on his move to radio: "TV is a great avocation. I still do four or five guest shots a year. I'd be dishonest if I told you that if someone offered me a regular spot in a series, I wouldn't take it." He described his radio talent: "I don't do voices or one-liners. What I do is emphasize the music - the writers of a particular song or the story behind it. I'm a friendly on-air companion." While at KLAC he featured mid-morning interviews with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Sammy was voted Best Country Jock of the Year at the 6th Annual Billboard Radio Programming Forum in 1973. In 1980 he was voted the CMA Country personality of the year. An LA Times critic noted in 1981 that Sammy "has quietly and efficiently established a reputation as one of the finest radio personalities in the country." He went to Las Vegas in the late 1980s to work for KUDA. Sammy died of heart failure April 24, 1995. He was 58.

Jackson, Tommy: KPWR, 1996; KBIG, 1997. Tommy worked at Shadow Broadcast Services and production at Westwood One.
Jackson, Walt: KFI, 2003-05. Walt broadcast traffic at KFI.

JACOBS, Jake: KNX, 1963-91. Everett (Jake) Jacobs, a veteran journalist and one of the first African-Americans in the local broadcast field, died of cancer on October 29, 1992. He was 68. Jake was a reporter for all-News KNX until his retirement in 1991. When he left KNX he worked briefly at a local PBS station. He suffered a stroke while in the studio and died shortly thereafter. Born in Shreveport, Jake served in the Navy before joining KNX in 1963. In 1967, he won a CBS News fellowship to Columbia University in New York, where he spent a year studying urban problems before returning to report for the West Coast bureau of CBS News. He joined KNXT Channel 2's news department in 1969, then returned to KNX as a reporter in 1973. Jacobs was honored with the AKA Award for Distinguished Service to the Community, the Distinguished Media Men's Award from the National Assn. of Media Women, and a Citation of Honor from the Radio and Television News Assn. of Southern California.

(Jamie & Danny, Linda Jean, Jeffrey James, and Revin John)

Jacobs, Josh: KKLA, 1994-99; KFSH, 2001-04; KKLA, 2012-19. In addition to hosting a show at Christian Pirate Radio, Josh did overnights at KFSH, "the Fish." He currently produces the Frank Sontag show on KKLA.
Jacobs, Larry: KLOS, 1977-82. Since 1984, Larry has been a news correspondent with ABC Network Radio.

JACOBS, Ron: KHJ, 1965-69. Ron's biggest success was when Bill Drake hired him, then 27, to program KHJ and the "Boss" format achieved an industry pinnacle. He died March 8, 2016, in his native Hawaii, at the age of 78. Ron began his professional radio career as a correspondent for NBC's Monitor at KGU. Two years later, at age 20, he worked at KHVH, where he met Elvis Presley and began a lifelong friendship with his mentor, the late Col. Tom Parker. In 1958, Ron became Hawaii's youngest pd, and worked with Mike Joseph and Bill Gavin. "They taught me the basics of Top 40 formatics," Ron said when interviewed for Los Angeles Radio People. In 1959, Ron joined KPOI as pd and morning drive dj. He had much success in Honolulu. In 1962, his drive and eagerness to learn took him to the Mainland as the Colgreene Corporation vp of programming. Ron fine-tuned his programming concepts at KMEN-San Bernardino and KMAK-Fresno. His success came to the attention of radio consultant Bill Drake - a Fresno competitor. While at KHJ, Ron produced radio's first "documentary," the 48-hour special, The History of Rock and Roll. In 1970, Ron left KHJ for a new role, co-founder and vp of Watermark, Inc. Ron and Tom Rounds, a KPOI  alumnus, launched Casey Kasem's American Top 40. During his time with Waterwmark, Ron also produced, The Elvis Presley Story and a long-dreamed-of-project called Cruisin': a History of Rock 'n Roll Radio. Each album recreated the radio show of a dj who held regional dominance during the developing years of rock music. Ron recalled a Crusin' highlight: "I've always felt that - in its heyday - 'Color radio/Channel 98 was the most exciting Top 40 station of its era. My personal on-air style was influenced by the late B. Mitchel Reed. I was also fortunate enough to have worked with BR on the Cruisin' album in1970." (ed. note: One segment of Ron's Cruisin' series featured Robin Seymour, a giant personality in Detroit's early days of Rock radio. Ron used the W4 studios to record Robin when I was general manager of the Oldies station. At the time, Robin worked for us at W4.)

JACOBS, Vic "the Brick": KIIS, 1990-97; KXTA, 1997-2005; KLAC, 2005-23. Born in 1954 in Brooklyn, Vic is the son of Hungarian parents. He grew up in Queens and earned a communications degree from Cornell University, then went back packing through Micronesia. He started his radio career in Guam covering cockfights. He arrived in the Southland in the summer of 1988 as a sportscaster on KCOP/Channel 13. Vic had worked at a Fresno tv station, KMPH, for the two years prior to joining Channel 13. Larry Stewart of the LA Times called the sports editor of the Visalia Times-Delta at the time of Vic's hiring who said: "He's all show. He doesn't really tell you who won and lost. He'll take some obscure news item and blow it all out of proportion." The nd at the Fresno tv station said: "When you first see him, it's like jumping into cold water. It's quite a shock. I think he's terrific." His tv trademark was a fake red brick with "Vic's Brick" written on it, and he threw it at the camera as he feigned anger. He wore a tuxedo, wing-collared tuxedo shirt and a bolo or string tie with spiked hair. On KIIS' web site, Vic talked about his style: "American kids have got so sophisticated you can't just give 'em the score any more or they'll tune you out." At his side was his wife Yuko Sakamoto, who Vic the Brick married even though they had not been on a date. They had been friends, she had just learned she had breast cancer, so he quickly married her so she could have his insurance.

Jacobson, Julie: KZLA, 2000. SEE Gene & Julie 

JACQUES, Truman: KABC, 1995-97. The former host of KABC's "Religion on the Line," Truman had been a tv talk show host and producer in four contiguous decades. He was a familiar figure on CBS/TV for years and has been hosting a local series called "Area of American Influence" on KCOP/Channel 13. He died February 13, 2021. He was 85. A graduate of Pepperdine University, he earned an undergraduate degree in communications. In addition to his tv and radio work, Truman served as a director of communications for the City of Inglewood. Truman was born in Convent, Louisiana. He was raised by his mother, a woman he would later honor as the most remarkable people in the world in a 1978 LA Times article entitled "My Mother the Philopsopher, Diplomat and..." Brought up with the challenges of inequality and segregated school systems, Truman often would be heard speaking about his earliest childhood memories living in Louisiana's most rural communities. In high school, he maintained straight A's. After realizing there were so few options to advance his professional career goal, and escape generational poverty, Truman made a decision to join the Air Force in 1956. During this time, he took courses in night school and earned his AA degree from Los Angeles Community College. After returning from Europe and obtaining his military discharge during the height of the civil rights movement, Truman was selected into service in what then called "the domestic peace corps," an action arm of the war on poverty devised by the late President Lyndon Johnson. This enabled his opportunity to attend the University of California Berkeley, where only 100 students were selected to participate in a program focusing on inner-city poverty and strategies to break generational poverty and unfair distribution of resources. Truman was a Magna Cum Laude graduate from Pepperdine University with a Bachelor's Degree in Communications, and he completed his Master's Degree in the field of Public Communications maintaining a 4.0 average.

Jager, Rick: KHJ, 1975-80; KWST, 1981-82; KNWZ, 1983-84. Rick is the senior media relations executive for the Los Angeles Metropolitan County Transportation Authority.

JAHAD, Shirley: KPCC, 2003-14. Shirley worked for a time as afternoon host of All Things Considered. The Northwestern University graduate is currently an adjunct instructor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She also produced the Tavis Smily Show on PBS. Shirley Jahad came to KPCC from Chicago Public Radio, where she was a news correspondent, anchor, and local host of Weekend Edition. She also served as a television correspondent for WTTW, Chicago Public Television. In her spare time, she has been working toward her black belt, and learning to play smoky jazz and blues tunes on her saxophone.

James, Chris: KYSR, 1999-2000. Chris worked swing at "Star 98.7" Unknown.

James, Daphne: KJLH, 1994-96. Unknown.
James, Doug: KGIL, 1965-68. Before coming to KGIL, Doug worked at WKBW-Buffalo, WJR-Detroit, and WWTC-Minneapolis. After leaving the Southland Doug moved to Las Vegas to do television news and owns Dispensary, a cocktail lounge with gambling.
James, Jeffrey: KXMX, 1999, KPLS, 2000, KCAA, 2005, KLAA, 2007. Jeffrey lives in Biloxi and working afternoon drive at WRJW- Picayune, Mississippi.
James, Keith: KMAX, 1994-95. Unknown. 

JAMES, Kevin: KABC, 2003-07; KRLA, 2007-11. Attorney Kevin hosted the all-night KABC Red Eye Radio until leaving in March 2007. He joined KRLA for late nights two months later. Kevin left the Salem station in late 2011 to run for Mayor of Los Angeles. Following his loss in the mayoral race, Kevin was appointed to the Board of Public Works. In 2017, he was appointed to another 5-year term.

James, Kevin: KKBT, 1991-92 and 1994-98 and 1999-2003; KHHT, 2007-09. Kevin "Slow Jammin'" James hosted the Quiet Storm on XHRM/Magic 92.5 in San Diego until early 2012. He's now host of the Original Slow Jam on Snoop Dogg's Cadillacc Music on Dash Radio.
James, Michael: KRLA, 2008-09. Michael reported traffic and news for KRLA and owns and operates a wine shoppe in San Pedro called Off The Vine.
James, Peter: KNAC, 1978-80; KROQ, 1980-83; KWST, 1983-85. He was born Peter Spatz.

JAMES, Rollye: KPOL, 1979; KMPC, 1980; KHTZ, 1980; KGIL; KLAC; KMPC, 1990; KFI, 1990-91. There is no mistaking Rollye for a milquetoast female broadcaster. Within minutes of meeting this brash, smart and funny woman, you discover that she bleeds radio. Her passion for r&b music was the springboard for her interest in radio. "I was 10 years old and sick in bed, scanning the radio dial and heard r&b music and it was just transforming.” She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Miami. Though she qualifies for MENSA membership she quips: "Before you leap to conclusions, Miami grades on a curve." Rollye started her full time radio journey at WQAM-Miami as production director. After a stint in Nashville managing Charlie Rich, and stops at radio stations across the country where she held every position from news director to assistant chief engineer, she returned to her native Los Angeles and Radio Poland. Rollye teamed with Charlie Tuna in morning drive at KHTZ. In 1982 she joined Billboard as the writer of the Vox Jox column, becoming their radio editor a year later, and a year after she headed Billboard’s radio convention. Thoughout her nomadic professional life, she worked in 32 different markets. Rollye made the transition to talk radio and worked KOA-Denver broadcasting to 41 states and 5 provinces.

In the nineties she talked at KFMB-San Diego following Padre games, KLBJ-Austin doing afternoon drive and WWDB-Philadelphia where she was number one in the market at night with an 11 share. In 2000 she was Art Bell's designated fill-in, heard on 600 stations doing "Coast to Coast" on Monday and Friday nights. "I left before Art did…and, when I did leave, I couldn't believe the literally thousands of listeners who contacted me, so I knew it was time." 

She pursued her longtime goal  - hosting national nighttime talk radio. "Radio, local and national alike, ignores half of the broadcast day. There's a lot of untapped revenue here, and more listeners than you need to start the cash flowing. It just takes some out of the box thinking - my specialty, since no one's ever accused me of fitting in." Rollye's show was syndicated by her company, Mediatrix, originating in her home studios in Philadelphia where CBS' clear channel 1210 WPHT carried it along with a growing list of stations across North America.

Rollye is the editor of VoxJox.org. She wrote the book, What Am I Doing Here Anyway?, a motivational book peppered with delicious radio stories

James, Ryan: KFSH, 2004-11. Ryan worked the all-night shift at Christian "FISH." 

JAMES, Scott: KZLA, 1999-2001. Scott died February 6, 2005. He was 39 years old.  Born July 6, 1965, in Roseburg, Oregon, Scott started in his hometown at 15. Before arriving in the Southland, he had worked the Country format in Seattle, Minneapolis and KWNR-Las Vegas and also did work at KMPS-Seattle. In 1991, he was voted best radio announcer in Las Vegas and the Best Looking dj while working at KJJO-Twin Cities in the mid-1990s.

JAMES, Summer: KCAL, 2006-07; KYSR, 2007-08. Summer also worked at KHAY-Ventura. In early 2019, she joined WTCB-Columbia, South Carolina. When she made the announcement, she said, "Now my mom and dad can ride by the studio and wave while I work. Dear SANTA, Thank you!” Summer is a Myrtle Beach girl who ran away to Los Angeles. ‘Carolina-fornia girl’. "SummerLovin’ is my nickname because I love anything to do with the water except mosquitoes I will never get used to being bit randomly. Forest Green is my favorite color, truthfully, any green will do. Chartreuse is my buzzword. I put it in my kidsbook. Oh yeah, I write kids-books (which is why I am an insomniac) It’s quiet late at night. I just found the Old Johnny Carson show on Antenna TV, he is my guilty pleasure because he is such a pro and now I stay up later!" she said on her 'B-106' radio Carolina website.

James, Victoria: KMET, 1967. Unknown.
Jamie & Danny: KYSR, 1999-2005. Jamie White and Danny Bonaduce hosted mornings at "Star 98.7" until Danny left in the summer of 2005. Jamie stayed with STAR 98.7 until early 2007. 

JAMISON, Bob: KMPC, 1991-92. Bob was in the Angels broadcast booth in the early 90s. He replaced Ken Brett, who left the Angels' radio booth for tv book, filling the spot when Joe Torre left to become manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. Bob is now a CPA of advanced planning for the Federated Funeral Directors of America in Illinois. “In 1992, there were two memorable moments: In May one of the team’s two buses crashed on the way to Baltimore from New York. [I was on the other bus]. In October, George Brett got his 3,000th hit in a game at Anaheim Stadium. Before joining the Angels’ broadcasts, I worked 16 years in the minor leagues, 12 of those in Nashville. I have not broadcast since leaving the Angels. It was a great time being with the team and living in So Cal.”

JANISSE, James: KLON, 1992-2002/KKJZ, 2002-06; KCRW, 2009-21. James is producing and hosting an Internet program called "The Wonderful World of Jazz" at KCLAFM.com on Friday mornings. He's also on the Board of Directors of Mary-Lind Recovery Centers Inc., which is a series of residential substance abuse recovery facilities.  Born in Houston in 1951, James credits his love for jazz and blues to loving parents for instilling in him an enormous appreciation for this music. James and his parents came to the Southland when he was five. After a stint in the Army, he graduated from UCLA in 1977 with a degree in draftsman engineering. For the next seven years James worked for several aerospace companies. When aerospace industry took a bump, he got into construction in order "to stay alive." A friend complimented James that he had a "radio voice." James went to the American Radio Network training center and a year to the day later joined KLON working overnights and weekends. He also manages an alcohol treatment facility near MacArthur Park.

JANKOWSKI, Judy: KLON, 1994-2002 / KKJZ, 2002-05. Judy was the general manager at KLON/KKKZ from 1994-2005. She died December 17, 2011 and was 61. An obituary in the Long Beach Press Telegram described Judy as having “a big heart and she was known for her warm, friendly smile.” The obituary did not mention the cause of death. She started as the traffic manager at WOUB in Athens, Ohio, and held a series of top management positions that took her to Birmingham, Houston, Pittsburgh, and finally the Long Beach State radio station.   "She visited 49 of the U.S. states, only missing Wisconsin," her brother said. "She traveled to China, Japan, Cuba, Russia, Egypt, Italy, Morocco, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Mexico and Canada during her lifetime."   Jankowski was very proud of her Polish heritage.

JANSSEN, Dick: KLAC/KMET, 1968-70. The former president of Scripps-Howard Broadcasting ran KLAC and KMET in the late 1960s. He died January 19, 2019, at the age of 82. Dick was responsible for bringing the late L. David Moorhead to KMET. Born May 19, 1936, in Cleveland, Dick started his radio sales career in May 1958 at WHK. Following a three year stint at Metromedia Broadcasting sales in Detroit, he returned to WHK as gsm and was promoted to vp/gm in 1967. Dick was gm for the launch of the legendary Cleveland AOR station, “the Buzzard,” WMMS. In late 1970 he returned to Ohio as gm of WGAR and then became vp of operations for Nationwide Broadcasting. Dick stayed at Nationwide, eventually becoming the executive vp of the radio/tv division, until joining Scripps-Howard in July 1978. He ascended rapidly, becoming president in May of 1988. Dick retired to Scottsdale on December 31, 1992. “I got to improve my golf game living in Arizona.”

 Jaramillo, Fernando: KLAX/KMJR/KNJR, 2000. Fernando joined the three Spanish Broadcasting System stations as pd in late summer 2000.

JARRETT, Hugh: KBBQ, 1968-70. From 1954 until 1958, Hugh sang bass in the quartet the Jordanaires, and his distinctive vocals can be heard on many of Elvis Presley's key recordings, including Hound Dog, Don't Be Cruel and All Shook Up. Born in Nashville on October 11, 1929, Hugh died in Atlanta on May 31, 2008, of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He was 78. Jarrett grew up with a love of vocal harmony. Born in Nashville in 1929, he sang in gospel quartets and worked on local radio. He admired the Jordanaires, a group which provided vocal backings for the artists on the Grand Ole Opry radio show and toured with country music packages. When, in 1954, their bass singer, Culley Holt, left he was replaced by Jarrett.  At the time, the Jordanaires would go to Chicago each week to perform on a television show hosted by the country star Eddy Arnold. When Arnold played in Memphis, they spoke to the teenage Elvis Presley backstage, who said, "If I ever cut a record, I want you guys singing with me."

The Jordanaires were not involved in Presley's Sun Recordings but they joined him for a television appearance on The Steve Allen Show in New York in July 1956. The following day, they recorded Hound Dog, Don't Be Cruel and Any Way You Want Me together. As always, they worked out their vocal parts – the "bop bops" and "doody wahs" – within a few minutes. Elvis was so taken by the results that he asked RCA to put them on the label, even though the Jordanaires were signed to Capitol, and their name appeared on singles starting with Too Much in 1957. They also backed Ricky Nelson (Believe What You Say), Marty Robbins (A White Sport Coat) and Ferlin Husky (Gone). 

In 1960, Jarrett joined a radio station, WLAC in Nashville, working as "Big Hugh Baby" and organised many record hops. Briefly, he had some success as part of the Statues, recording Blue Velvet, and in the late 1960s formed the Hugh Jarrett Singers. 

In 1970, Jarrett moved to Atlanta and continued as a dj, also singing when time permitted. He was modest about his contributions, saying of Elvis, "We had fun, worked very hard and maybe did something that no one else had done."

JARRIN, Jaime: KTNQ/KLVE, 1979-86; KWKW, 1955-79 and 1986-2007; KHJ, 2007-20. Enshrined broadcaster Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, Jaime has been the Spanish broadcast voice of the LA Dodgers for close to a half century. He plans to retire after the 2022 season. Jarrin, among the most recognizable voices in Hispanic broadcasting, will begin his 48th season in the radio booth as "the Spanish Voice of the Dodgers." He became the club's No. 1 Spanish-language broadcaster in 1973, 14 years after he first joined the club. The native of Ecuador was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 26, 1998 in Cooperstown, NY as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award. With that honor, he became only the second Spanish-language announcer to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining Buck Canal.  Jarrin was the first recipient of the Southern California Broadcaster Association's President's Award in February 1998 and in January 2005, he was honored by the Southern California Sports Broadcasters with the foreign-language broadcaster of the year award, one year after being inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame.

During the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Jarrin was in charge of all Spanish radio coverage and production. He has called more than 30 world championship boxing title bouts throughout the world for radio and television stations in Latin America and has broadcast the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, League Championship Series and World Series on numerous occasions.

The Dodgers, with Jarrin and longtime English-language broadcaster Vin Scully, are the only Major League club to feature a pair of Hall of Fame announcers.  

JARRIN, Jorge: KABC, 1985-2011. KSKQ. The son of Jaime Jarrin, the noted Spanish language broadcaster of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jorge graduated from Pepperdine University in Malibu. He was the helicopter reporter in “Jet Copter 790” on KABC for almost two decades. He also broadcast traffic reports on Spanish KSKQ. He worked with his father in the Dodgers Spanish broadcast booth. He retired in early 2021. In 1990, Jorge was named an honorary Captain of the California Highway Patrol resulting in the title "Captain Jorge." He was on the public relations staff of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, where he became the Hispanic community relations officer for the Coliseum and South Central Los Angeles. He is the co-creator and publisher of the monthly children's coloring/life lesson book entitled, The Adventures of Captain Jorge and the Jetcopter Kids. Jorge has run in the Los Angeles Marathon as a reporter for KABC “TalkRadio.” “Jorge has been the consummate professional in my 12+ years at KABC,” said KABC pd Erik Braverman. “He has been here through many program directors, general managers, morning shows and other shows on the station and he has remained a loyal and dedicated KABC employee. In a business so full of ‘personalities,’ Jorge truly is one of the good guys!” Jorge treasures his time working with such great talents as Ken Minyard, Roger Barkley, Peter Tilden, Steve Edwards, Tommy Hawkins, Stu Nahan, Doug McIntyre, and Larry Elder. In 2003, Jorge joined the Los Angeles Dodgers Front Office staff, as Manager of Dodger Radio Broadcast Sales.

(Dion Jackson, Dick Joy, and Michael James)

JARVIS, Al: KELW/KFWB, 1932-60; KLAC, 1960-62; KHJ, 1962; KFWB, 1962; KEZY, 1962-63; KNOB, 1967. "Wanted: Man to Talk on the Radio." A record store owner in Hollywood thought if he could get someone to play "records" on the radio, it would help sell them. Al became a jock after answering that ad in 1932 and he was a pioneer and long considered the originator of the "Make Believe Ballroom" on KFWB (station was owned by the Warner brothers, hence the WB). Al was born in Winnipeg, Canada and went to Roosevelt High School in L.A. where he performed a speech from The Merchant of Venice to win a Shakespeare Contest and a stint at the Pasadena Playhouse. An article in the OC Register quoted Al on his beginning: "A few weeks after I got the job at KELW in 1932 I was hounding the owner-manager to let me air pop records instead of those electrical transcriptions. By using commercial records, I figured, I would not only have a more diversified program, but I could present some of the world's great stars. It was the first time on radio, it was the first time any records were played. That's how the 'Make Believe Ballroom' was born."

Al has been credited with the discovery of Nat "King" Cole, Jimmy Boyd, Frankie Laine and Gogi Grant. He was at KFWB for the launch of Chuck Blore's "Color Radio" on January 2, 1958, and worked nine to noon. He never totally accepted the music transition but acknowledged rock music: "Top 40 programming has apparently satisfied the needs of a majority of the music- and record-conscious audience." He once said of Elvis Presley: "If he were a Negro and performed as he does now, he would be put in jail. I know this is true, because it has happened to singers. But because Elvis has white skin, they let him get away with it."

In the spring of 1960 he left KFWB and joined KLAC in the midday slot; he also hosted a local tv show with Betty White. In 1962 he became a vp at DRA Records (he owned a record store on Hollywood Blvd in the late 1940s). Later that year he teamed with his wife, Marilyn, to do a music and interview show with Hollywood stars on KHJ for an hour at midnight. In 1967 he worked his "Make Believe Ballroom" magic during morning drive on KNOB. Al died May 6 1970 of a heart attack and at the time was a sales executive with KLAC. He was 61. 

JAXSON, Tommy: KFI, 1984-85; KOST, 1985-91; KYSR, 1992-93; KXEZ, 1993-96; KBIG, 1997; KMLT, 1999-2002; KNX, 2005-13. Tommy hosted drive time traffic at KNX until his exit at the end of 2013. A Southern California native, he came from Dallas radio to work at KFI under the name Thom O'Hare. He was soon hosting the popular "Pillow Talk" evening show, until moving to the overnight shift on sister station, KOST. He went on to work at WW1’s Mainstream Country format.

Jay, George: KHJ; KFWB. George died December 7, 2003, at the age of 85. 

JAY, Lyman: KGRB, 1983; KORG, 1993. Born Lyman Jaroch, he died in December 21, 2003 from compilations from pneumonia. He was 58. Born in 1945, Jay started as a dj in 1964. He got interested in big bands while volunteering at KCRW. Jay had a collection of 9,000 LPs, covering 1920-40s music. During his career, Lyman was general manager/program director at KCNO/KKFJ-Alturas, CA. Lyman was best known as a Big Band music personality, having served with KGRB in West Covina for more than 13 years as an on-air personality, spinning some of the best American standard music anywhere. He programmed his own shows and was known for his unmatched knowledge of American Big Band music from Ray Noble to Tommy Dorsey. Lyman also worked as a jock at KSURF.

Jay, Steve: SEE Jay Stevens
Jaye, Don: KCBH, 1966-69; KDAY, 1969-71. Don was gm at KCBH (later KJOI) and operations director at KDAY. Before leaving the Southland, Don hosted a variety show at KCOP/Channel 13. Don attended the University of Notre Dame before starting his radio career at WHOT-South Bend and then on to WSAI-Cincinnati and WJJD-Chicago. For more than a quarter century, Don raised thousands of dollars for Southern Nevada charities, but he lived his last decade, and died, near poverty and battling ill health. "Don had the biggest heart and would work hard to help anyone, even to the detriment of his own health and well-being," said longtime friend Ira David Sternberg, a journalist and fellow broadcaster. "He was always out in the community doing good work for good causes." Donald Jaye Illes, a leading lay member of the Catholic Church and a member of the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame, died July 21, 2001, of respiratory problems. He was 63. A survivor of several heart attacks and two open-heart surgeries, Don was forbidden by his doctors from working at a regular job, so he threw himself into charity work full time, friends said. Since 1993 he lived on $670 a month from Social Security, $50 a month from the Department of Veterans Affairs and $10 a month in food stamps, all the while serving on the boards of three nonprofit organizations. He rarely complained nor sought praise, friends said. Born November 25, 1937, in South Bend, Indiana, Don was an altar boy at a church at the nearby University of Notre Dame. He studied for the priesthood before serving in the Air Force and going into broadcasting.
Jean, Linda: KIKF, 1995-98; KXMX, 2000; KMXN, 2000-01. Linda worked middays at KMXN in the Inland Empire. She's now teaching. 

JED the FISH: KORG; KROQ, 1978-84 and 1985-2012; KCSN, 2012. Jed joined KCSN for weekends in early 2012. He officially left KROQ in late 2012. Born Edwin Fish Gould III on July 15, 1955, Jed the Fish grew up in the beach cities of Orange County and in Casa Grande, Arizona, where his first radio job was at KPIN-AM. He has had a long and controversial run with Heritage Modern Rock KROQ,  beginning in 1978 as md/night shift. Known as an AOR station at the time, it was under the guidance of Top 40 programmer Rick Carroll, and one of the few stations in the country where jocks could pick some of their own tunes, and still be competitive in a marketplace as New Wave hits crossed over to the mainstream. Fired for heroin use in 1984, he cleaned up a year later in San Francisco doing evenings at Modern Rock KQAK. The station was sold three months later. He then endured a brief weekend stint at AOR KRQR-San Francisco, where he was fired on Live Aid Day for playing Elvis Costello. Jed returned to KROQ in 1985. His passion for new artists makes him one of the most influential music radio personalities. He once said, "If I have a gimmick, it is simply trying to be myself on the air." Jed, known for his fiendish laugh, lives in Pasadena in an 1894 Victorian home once occupied by a California governor. In 1997 and 1999, Jed was awarded the Billboard Air Modern Rock Personality of the Year award. In 1998, he received an award for the Radio & Records Local Modern Rock Personality of the Year.

JEFFREY, Don: KIKF, 1985-90; KFRG, 1990-2008. Don, aka, Hopalong Cassidy, was the md at "K-FROG" and he worked afternoon drive.  Born January 31, 1949, in Trona, California, he spent most of his youth in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He entered the USMC in 1968, spending 12 years on active duty including 2 tours of Vietnam. After leaving the Marines, Don re-trained as a stockbroker while doing part-time dj work in night clubs. He started his radio career at KECO and KKCC-Weatherford, Oklahoma. In the mid-1980s he joined KBBQ-Ventura and then went to afternoons at KIKF. He's been on the board for the Academy of Country Music and was named Radio Personality of the Year. Don loves country music and has discovered a local singer, Gary Allan, whose career he is now managing. Don lives in Corona with Karen, his wife of 12 years. He started his own production company in 2008. His motto: "I create. Plain and simple. I am not a cookie cutter producer. I have been very successful making one-of-a-kindadvertising packages. Thinking outside the box is the norm with me."

Jeffrey, Scott: KHJ, 1980. See Lon Helton.

JEFFREYS, Dave: KHJ/fm, 1970-72; KRTH, 1972. Dave was appointed program director at KHJ/fm in 1970 after voicetracking 'Hit Parade 70.' He was there for the transition with the RKO stations, calling "K-Earth" the "Classic Rock n' Roll Radio." He was program director at K-EARTH. "He had one of the greatest voices I’ve ever heard," said Jeffrey Leonard, host of Facebook's Memories of L.A. Radio. Dave died of lung cancer.

(Robin Johnson and Steve Jay) 

JEFFRIES, Andrew: KBIG, 2009-21. Andrew was appointed program director at MY/fm (KBIG) in February 2009. He went on to oversee both MY/fm and KOST. In February of 2016, Andrew was appointed EVP/Programming for the iHEARTMEDIA National Programming Group. In early 2021, he returned to his home in New Zealand. KBIG has had an identity problem for years. It has been very difficult to describe the format. It seemed to be a little bit of this and a little bit of that. And then it would change once again.  Enter a foreigner with a keen ear and a strategic plan. Andrew grew up in a small town in New Zealand. It was so small that it had 12 houses, two on one side of the road, and 10 on the other. The next biggest “town” was 40 minutes away and there were 2,500 people in that one!  At age 12 ,Andrew moved to “the big city of Wanganui,” which now has about 40,000 people. As a kid, Jeffries had access to the one national tv channel in New Zealand and he could pick up 5 or 6 radio stations. “The love of music drove me toward radio,” said Andrew.  “Music and entertainment are the reasons I was initially attracted to this industry.” Andrew admitted that when the radio bug bites, it bites hard. “I wanted to hear that great song from Billy Joel, or the new one from Spandau Ballet or whoever at the time.  It’s the magic we create, the fun we have doing it, yes it is fast paced, has some better days than others – like every job… but I love it. We get to work with amazing people, create a fun place to work, talk about music and play songs on the radio.”

How did he get that first job in radio? “It was just one of those things that happened, I’ve always had a technical background, mixing school bands, lighting for theater groups. One day I walked past the radio station in town on the way to high school, dropped in, asked for the manager and spent about 10 minutes talking him into giving me a shot in the studio. The deal was – if I could run two hours of Casey Kasem’s American Top 40, placing in commercials, linking to live news etc., then I would have a weekend board op job. I must have killed that task it appears, because I got the gig.” That beginning quickly transpired into a weekend dj, then weeknights part time, then a full time commercial copywriting role. “I’m not good at that, as everyone discovered, so they threw me in a studio and I produced everyone’s commercials.” After stops in a number of New Zealand markets doing afternoons, reading the news and tracking a rock station, he moved to Timaru and worked morning drive for a couple of years.  Then Andrew traveled to Dunedin where he launched a new format in a very competitive New Zealand market. “I took that station to #1 in the first book.” 

In 1999, Andrew and his wife, Vicky, left New Zealand on vacation in 1999 and never returned. For the next 11 years he worked in England and Europe before moving to the United States. After years in on-air jobs, Andrew ended up working behind the scenes in London, Brighton, Glasgow, Leeds, and Birmingham, fixing stations that were under-performing.  At one point, an Adult Contemporary station, “Star 101.3,” (K101) in San Francisco invited Andrew to program them.   “San Francisco was a surprise because they wanted to bring my family into the USA to work on such a legendary station and also I was back on the air after being behind the scenes for 11 years in Europe.”  Within nine months, Greg Ashlock, market manager for the eight SoCal Clear Channel stations (including MY/fm) offered him the programming job at MY/fm.

“I heard Andrew speak at a conference in Atlanta and immediately pinpointed him as someone that I’d like to get to know better,” said Ashlock. “It wasn’t the topic or information that impressed me, but rather the unique lens that he uses when viewing opportunities or challenges. We were looking for someone that could be complementary to our strong cluster of programming talent,” Ashlock continued. “His radio background in the UK and New Zealand, early success, along with his fresh perspective in key product areas made him an attractive option.”

Ashlock was clear about the fact that Jeffries was a calculated risk-taker and activator with a strong dose of initiative, all of them critical qualities. “He also has a mean competitive streak. The results have been phenomenal.” 

On his arrival at MY/fm, Andrew found the station “confused about its identity.” He had a clear vision for the station. “There were great people, all strong, just needing to focus on a single goal. The biggest challenge was probably getting over the years of mixed messaging on the 104.3 frequency for the listener. Were we disco, 80’s, Hot AC, new, gold-based? Achieving clarity on the image was critical from day one.” With all his success, Clear Channel (owners of MY/fm and KOST) has given Jeffries additional programming control over not only the softer Adult Contemporary station, KOST, which came in #3 last month, but he is senior vp of programming for all eight Clear Channel/LA stations. How does he keep similar formats separate? “A fine balance. We have some wonderful brands and keeping them complementary to each other’s goals is a consistent balancing act. That’s why we have, in my opinion, the world’s best programming team! Great people, great brands and a great opportunity in this amazing city. Long may that continue." 

Jeffries, Jan: KFRG/KHTX, 1995. Jan was program director at KRAK-Sacramento.
Jeffries, Jason: KLSX, 1992-94; KKLA, 1994-97; KLTX, 1997-98; KIEV, 1998-2001; KRLA, 2000-11. Jason is assistant professor of Broadcasting at Los Angeles Valley College. 

JEFFRIES, Ken: KFWB, 1989-2009; KFWB, 2011-14; KABC, 2016-20. Ken was a news anchor at all-News KFWB until a format flip in September 2009. He was a producer for Money 101 at KFWB until the fall of 2014. In the spring of 2016, Ken joined KABC as a fill-in reporter. Ken joined KFWB in 1986 as an overnight anchor and worked his way up to morning news anchor in the summer of 1997. Throughout his career, Ken has won four Golden Mike Awards, most notably for L.A. Riot Coverage, the O.J. Simpson chase and the Northridge Earthquake. On the morning of January 17, 1994 at 4;32 a.m., Ken was the first voice on KFWB to announce the devastating Northridge quake. Prior to KFWB, he was the nd for KMDY, an all-Comedy station.

JENKINS, Bill: KGBS, 1967-68; KFWB, 1968-73; KFI, 1974; KGBS, 1974-76; KFI, 1976-77; KABC, 1978-91; KTLK, 2005. Bill hosted "Open Mind" for many years at KABC, a breakthrough program dealing with the paranormal. Larry discovered a posting by Bill’s daughter, where we learned Bill died August 6, 2014. Bill started as a 15-year-old dj at KHIT-Lampasas, Texas during his senior of high school. He worked his way through Texas A&M at the campus station and KORA-Bryan, Texas. On summer breaks, Bill dj’ed at KVET-Austin and KSTA-Coleman, Texas. After graduating from college in 1955, he started at KRBC-Abilene, when within the year Bill joined the McLendon organization in Dallas. Before joining KGBS, he worked at KBOX-Dallas, WIL, KMOX and KWK-St. Louis, and WYSL-Buffalo. Bill started his own production firm in 1966. He was a member of the KGBS news department. In the 1980s, he was doing news on KABC and a New Age weekend talk show called "Open Mind." The subject matter frequently centered on psychics and UFOs. When Bill left KABC, he joined the Tritel Corporation, makers of tv infomercials and production. He retired in 1996, spending time in Palm Desert and his vineyard home near Healdsburg. “When my wife of 40 years passed, my friend of 30 years married me,” said Bill when interviewed for Los Angeles Radio People.

JENKINS, Edris "EJ": KIIS, 2018. In February 2018, EJ moved into the late night slot at KIIS from KDMX-Dallas. He continues in Dallas by voicetracking his nightly show at Hot AC "102.9 Now. His fast-paced career includes stops at KHFI (967)-Austin and WFIZ (Z955)-Itacha. EJ started at WBLS-New York as an intern, then moved up to board op and production assistant. He went on to work at Premiere Radio Networks as associate producer of the The Keith Sweat Hotel.

JENNRICH, Phil: KBBQ; KNX/fm; KHJ/fm; KLAC/KZLA. On August 11, 2019, distinguished newsman Phil Jennrich died. He was 72. Phil worked at a number of LA radio stations. Bernie Alan and Phil were best friends for 55 years. Bernie provided the following: Phil was born in the Chicago area in 1946 and moved to the San Fernando Valley in 1947.  His broadcasting career technically started in 1964, with his enrollment in the LA City College broadcasting department. That’s where we met. Phil just had an incredible voice. Not sure where it came from. He was a tall, skinny 18-year-old kid. But when the sound came out of his mouth, it was amazing. After two years at LA City, Phil transferred up to San Francisco State College, (add comma) again in the broadcasting/radio/television department. While in San Francisco he worked at K-PEN (later K-101). Phil came back down to LA around 1968 to finish school, this time in the Radio/TV department at what was then called San Fernando Valley State College (what is now Cal State Northridge). Out of school, Phil mostly stayed in the LA area as a morning drive newsman at the stations, in the process winning multiple Golden Mike Awards for ‘Outstanding Newscast.’ Phil loved radio, but he hated getting up early in the morning (4 a.m.) which was his lot in life for his many years on the air.  Such is the curse of a consummate radio news professional. After leaving the business, Phil moved to Angola, Indiana to be near good friends.

Jensen, Jeff: KQLZ, 1991-92. Jeff returned to Tampa.
Jeremiah, David: KMPC, 1994. David is a voiceover actor.

JESSUP, Jessie: KLYY, 1999. Jessie worked middays at "Y107" until late 1999 when the station changed to Spanish-speaking. She was at KDGE-Dallas until a format change in late 2016. She got into radio to impress a guy. She’s a pistol! I don’t know how else to describe my close encounter with Jessie. She was part of a complete station retooling with music and personalities Where did you come from? "Well, this morning I came from Westwood," bounced Jessie. The quick one-liners punctuated the 20-minute phone conversation. Jessie (“I have a heart over the i, isn’t that what you do in L.A.?”) was born April 18 in Wyoming. What year? “It turns over to zero zero this year.” She was raised all over the world. “My mom was a Bohemian and my father threatened us so we took off for Paris, Japan, Haiti, Spain, Puerto Rico, Saipan and we spent 10 years in Guam.” She got into radio to impress a guy. “This guy I liked a lot liked a particular radio station, so I figured if I got a job there he would like me. I got the job, but didn’t get him.” Jessie ended up in Las Vegas and stayed with friends for 4 years. Jessie ended up living in Westwood. “I thought it was West Hollywood, but so what. I have Astroturf and pink flamingoes on my balcony. Did you see Dharma & Greg when they got the Astroturf? I thought it was so cool and so California. My place is not an apartment, not a house, not a condo. I’m not really sure what it is, but it’s between Santa Monica Boulevard and Wilshire.” Jessie is at the station at 6:30 in the morning preparing for her five-hour shift that begins at 10. “Some days I wish I could be on longer. I love the callers.” She hasn’t been cage dancing yet, but it hasn’t been for lack of desire. She gets up too early. “Have you been to doodie dot com?” she asked. I replied, no. “Wow, I get to tell Mr. LARADIO.COM about doodie dot com. Wait till you see Jonathan Livingston Doodie.”

 

JESSUP, Sioux-z: The Golden Pylon winner has been doing traffic reports and being a fascinating sidekick for decades at many stations around the Southland. Even after trekking Egypt, Tibet and Peru, teaching English in South Central Los Angeles, and writing features for major newspapers, Sioux-z says interpreting So Cal traffic is still the most challenging thing she has ever done. She has paid her dues reporting fender benders, car-b-que's, and high-speed police pursuits from Las Vegas to San Diego. Although her passion lies with automotive mishaps, she also enjoys being a sports, news and entertainment reporter for various Southland radio stations. For many years the UCLA grad filled at KNBC/Channel 4.   "This is so funny and I am the only person on the planet who would have noticed it,” emailed Sioux-z. “I was watching the Today Show last week, and they did an entire segment on killer commutes and they called it ‘An Inconvenient Commute.’  So, Meredith Viera introduces the segment, and there is audio of three traffic reporters rapidly doing reports. It was a quick voiceover. All I said was ‘Traffic is backed up to the 5.’  But it was me. I have no idea which station it was on – if they pulled it off NBC when I filled in – or if they pulled it from KFWB or what. Maggie McKay was over and I played it for her,  and she confirmed it was me. HA! Just a funny, bizarre story that no one else would EVER notice but me!!  Because it was me!!!” Sioux-z Jessup was born of Indian heritage (Comanche Indian) in Southern California and she grew up in Palos Verdes. She spent many years as part of the Arrow 93 morning team with Joe Benson. Sioux-z spent a week in India working with the Catholic nuns who provide help to orphans. Five years earlier, Sioux-z traveled to Northern India and fell in love with the country and the people. “I wanted to volunteer with Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity while she was alive and I never did. So, I figured this was a good time to do it.”

Jeter, Cindie: KMPC, 1982-83. Cindie works at KZIM-Cape Girardeau, Missouri, doing news and talk. 

JILLSON, Joyce: KABC, 1979-89. Joyce was a world famous astrologer. She died October 1, 2004 of kidney failure and had been suffering with diabetes. Joyce was 57. She was a regular contributor to Ken & Bob morning show and she had a weekend talk show on KABC in the late '80s where she dispensed astrological forecasts to callers. During her time at KABC she subbed for Michael Jackson. Joyce's syndicated daily horoscope column was published in over 100 papers nationally and 50 internationally. Her astrological studies began in early childhood when she was chosen to be the only protégé of well-known Boston astrologer Maude Williams. By the age of ten she was charting predictions on events ranging from the stock market to politics. Joyce was a best-selling author, having ranked on the New York Times best-seller list for 28 straight weeks. She has been featured in every major publication and many major network tv shows. Joyce starred in comedy routines with Avery Schreiber on tv. She also starred in Supergirl and tv's Peyton Place. Joyce was an astrologer with an astronomic appetite for publicity. Her prediction for fellow Capricorns on the day she died was: "You're bound to have a good time and meet interesting people."

 

JIMENEZ, Bob: KFWB, 1998-2002. Former KFWB senior correspondent, Bob is an adjunct professor in the Annenberg School of Communications at USC. In addition, he is president of Icon Imaging, a public relations firm founded with his wife, former tv political reporter, Sharon Jimenez. Bob consulted on the Hollywood and Valley Independence campaigns.    Bob came up through the ranks at KRON-TV in San Francisco. He grew up in Sacramento, graduated from UC Davis during the escalation of the War in Vietnam. Bob joined the airforce and served at an airbase in Thailand, as a radio announcer for the armed services, and as a radar operator in F4's flying missions over enemy territory. After Vietnam, Bob was stationed in Victorville. KCRA in Sacramento, offered Bob a tv reporting job when he left the Air Force.  At NBC, Bob covered Central, South America, and nine Southeastern States out of Atlanta. He was  a relief anchor on the Today show with Tom Brokaw, and Jane Pauley. In 1981, KRON came calling and asked Jimenez to come back to San Francisco. Seven years later, Jimenez was named co-anchor of the 6 & 11 oclock news with Sylvia Chase. The team took KRON to the number #1 ratings for the first time in the station's history. After five years at KCBS/tv, KCOP/tv offered Jimenez the lead anchor and managing editor role in their newsroom.

 

JOBSON, Wayne: KROQ, 1992-2003; KDLE, 2004. Wayne immersed himself in the world of reggae programming  Born December 4, 1954, also known as Native Wayne, is a Jamaican record producer of European ancestry. At KROQ, he hosted "Reggae Revolution." He splits his time between Los Angeles and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. He has re-mixed Bush and Jason Mraz and wrote songs for Sugar Ray and Jimmy Buffet.  He has produced television like “Behind the Music” for VH1, music for award-winning films like Adam Sandler’s “50 First Dates”; the Alec Baldwin/Meg Ryan “Prelude To a Kiss”; and Disney’s “Cool Runnings”. Currently, Native Wayne is an air personality and producer at Internet music powerhouse Moheak Radio in Los Angeles. His show not only features the important Reggae songs that you may expect to hear and rare unreleased tracks, but features historic performers who have successfully mixed Rock with Reggae.

 
John, Captain: SEE John Lodge

 

JOHN & JEFF, KLSX, 1998-2009. The syndicated pair worked late night at KLSX until a format flip to AMP RADIO. John & Jeff History. The Third Shift at KLSX hosted by John Boyle and Jeff Carroll was an insomniac’s delight for a decade. How did they get started? The beginning is an example of patience, tenacity, and perseverance. “I used to work at ‘Power 106,” said John, “and I was fired from that radio station in 1997 after eight years. At the time I was working with Jeff at the radio station and I told him I really wanted to do a Talk show. Our studio was a karaoke machine on my kitchen table on my house. Jeff and I started to a show on this karaoke machine. Every Sunday night he would come to my house and we would talk for four hours. It was an amazing experience because we were really trying to put together the best show and at the time, KLSX had a lot of celebrities on the radio. I didn’t know if the format was going to last so we held off sending an audition tape because there were in a transitional mode. We just kept working on the show for a year from my kitchen. We called it the ‘Karaoke Studios,” added Jeff.  “I had to borrow the machine each week from my brother and get it back before he missed it.” The pair decided to send a tape to KLSX pd Jack Silver. In 1998, John called Silver 100 times until he finally picks up the phone. John introduced himself. “Jack took me off speaker and said, ‘Guess what I’m listening to right now?’ And I said, ‘You’re listening to the next show you’re going to hire at 97.1.’ He said, ‘I don’t know about that, but I like the show.’ I was really excited but he said there was no room.”  John then revealed for the first time how he got the show on the air. He discovered there was a Tom Leykis rerun at 3 in the morning on Sunday mornings. John suggested to Jack that he take off the rerun of Leykis and put them on live. Jack agreed. “We now had a live show. We called the show ‘Buried Alive from Three to Five.”  In 2000, the duo was offered a syndication deal to take the show national while broadcasting from KLSX beginning at 11 p.m. each night.

 

JOHN & KEN: KFI, 1992-99; KABC, 1999-2000; KFI, 2001-23. John Kobylt and Ken Champiou returned to afternoon drive at KFI on April 30, 2001 and have dominated the commute home for over a decade. Their show was added to the WOR-New York line-up in early 2013. No one catches the local lightning-in-a-bottle better than John & Ken. The afternoon duo has been at KFI since 1992, save for a year doing morning drive at KABC in 1999.   Their ability to loudly create headlines from their afternoon show was acknowledged and admired frequently in our annual poll, drawing from dozens of active and working Los Angeles Radio People (managers, talent, engineering, traffic, and marketing/promotion people) who voted each year.     John & Ken capture the flavor of the day with almost meticulous precision, skewering politicians and their policies and practices.

John & Ken first teamed up in 1988 at WOND-Atlantic City. Ken, born in 1956, graduated from State University of New York at Buffalo. After graduation he worked as a C.P.A. for a health company.

John spent a year of college at Seton Hall and then worked as a sportswriter. His first radio job was at WKAD in Canton, Pennsylvania in 1983. He met Ken at WKAD, and eventually the two moved on to Elmira, New York. John did mornings at WENY, while Ken was part of a competing morning team at WELM. The pair teamed up at WKXW-Trenton before arriving at KFI. In 1995, their relentless coverage made the pair synonymous with the O.J. Simpson trial. 

John, Revin: KBIG, 2007. Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, Revin now works middays at KBFF-Portland. After leaving Southern California, he worked for a year in Dubai in the UAE.

JOHN, Saint: KBIG, 2007-09. John worked afternoons at 104.3MYfm (formerly 104.3 KBIG). When he was hired in September 2007, Saint John was holding down a shift as the longest running afternoon radio show in the Bay Area at Wild 94.9/KYLD. Nominated Air Personality of the Year by both Billboard and Radio & Records magazine, Saint John was based out of San Francisco and voicetracked the show for Los Angeles. He came down to MYfm about once a month.  When he was hired, then MYfm pd Dave “Chachi” Denes said: “Saint John’s style is like no other. In a media era of a lot of noise, Saint, coupled with his incredible caller interaction, will definitely cut through.”

Johns, George: KMLT, 2005-10. George was a consultant to the Amaturo group, which included the JILL/fm stations in Thousand Oaks and Orange County.

JOHNSON, Ally: KROQ, 2021-23. In the fall of 2021, Ally joined Kevin Klein as co-lead of the KROQ morning show for the newly minted “Klein. Ally. Show.” Johnson previously served as Klein’s co-host on “Kevin Klein Live” on then “Live 105” KITS-San Francisco from 2014-17 and was set to join him in mornings on Hot Talk/Rock “97.3 The Machine” KEGY-San Diego before the show was cancelled before ever debuting due to a backlash from promotional tweets for its use of suicidal imagery. Both remained with Audacy moving to Los Angeles with Klein joining Ted Stryker first in afternoons at KROQ before moving to mornings in March 2020. Their show is simulcast in a number of Audacity markets.

Johnson, Ben Patrick: KABC, 1992-94. Ben was the image voice at KABC, Entertainment Tonight and Judge Joe Brown.
Johnson, Bruce: KFAC, 1969-71; KLAC, 1971-72; KHJ, 1972-75. Bruce owns stations in Palm Springs and Idaho.

(Ryan James, Ron Johnson, Michael Josephson, and Josh Jacobs)

Johnson, Charlie: KMPC, 1967-69. Charlie has passed away.

JOHNSON, Chuck: KTYM, 1962; KJLH, 70s. The former general manager at KTYM died July, 27, 2004, at the age of 65. Chuck owned Soul Beat television network based in Oakland. Soul Beat television was the very first music video network in the country, and broke all of the major artists to include Digital Underground, MC Hammer, and Too Short before they went mainstream. Chuck's Soul Beat television remained totally black owned and operated and he was always proud to say that the network remained "100 percent black-owned" from its very inception in 1978. In the early 70's, Chuck was the first gm. During the mid-1970s, when Hollywood was producing more black movies, Johnson worked for Paramount Studios in distribution and marketing.

Johnson, Fred: KCSN, 2000-09. Fred was the gm at the Cal State Northridge station until the spring of 2009.
Johnson, Harry: KOST, 1977-82; KBIG, 1983-88. Harry went on to teaching broadcasting at Santa Monica City College, along with a voiceover career. He's now retired and living in Palm Springs. 

JOHNSON, JJ: KDAY, 1974-91; KMPC; KJLH, 1992; KKBT, 1993-94; KACE, 1994-2000; KMLT, 2002-05; KKBT, 2006; KRBV, 2007. JJ worked weekends and fill-in at KRBV, "V-100." Born in Cleveland, as James O. Johnson, Jr., J.J. hung out at WCUY, the local jazz station. He was 15 years old when local air personality Chuck Lansing asked, "Why don't you do this?" That was his start. In January of 1968 at the age of 17 he went on-air at WABQ-Cleveland under the name "Jimmy O'Jaye." In the summer of 1969 he moved on to KYOK-Houston (replacing Walt "Baby" Love, who'd moved on to Top 40 KILT). In early 1971 he moved to WGRT-Chicago, then, four short months later he moved to San Francisco's legendary KFRC where consultant Bill Drake and pd Paul Drew gave him the name "J.J." Johnson. It was at KFRC where Drew taught him the mechanics of radio programming. In the late summer of 1973, he took the pd position at KFRC/fm, which ran an automated oldies format. In mid-June of 1974, Jim Maddox hired him, starting a 17-year association with KDAY. He simultaneously did a year-long, once-per-week stint at the L.A. MOR giant, KMPC. He was KDAY's pd twice and won virtually every industry and community award, including two Billboard Awards and a Black Radio Exclusive award, among others. He voiced most of the Motown network specials during the 1980s beginning with "Motown 25," one of the all-time great tv music specials. His was absolutely the last voice heard on KDAY upon sign-off in 1991. In 1992 he became the JAMS editor at HITS magazine, where he remained for two years. J.J. has two main mentors; his first pd, Mike Payne, and Paul Drew. He entered radio syndication in 1982 when he co-hosted, with singer Lou Rawls, the 24-hour radio special "The Music of Black America." In the mid-1980s he hosted Westwood One's bi-weekly "Budweiser Concert Hour" and "Fresh Traxx." In the early 1990s he produced - via Too Lunar Productions, the company he started with partner Gary Jackson – “Countdown/Countdown," hosted by his former morning partner Russ Parr. He became segment narrator of Paramount's Real TV with Ahmad Rashad in mid-2000. He does free-lance production work.

 

JOHNSON, Keyshawn: KSPN, 2016-20. The Super Bowl champion and All Pro wide receiver joined the company in 2007 as an analyst the same day he announced his retirement from the National Football League. He was a member of ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown shows from 2007-15. He left ESPN in a company-wide downsizing in early summer of 2023. The top overall pick by the New York Jets in the 1996 NFL Draft, Johnson played for four teams – Jets (1996-99), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2000-03), Dallas Cowboys (2004-05) and Panthers (2006) – during his 11 NFL seasons.  One of the most productive receivers of his era, Johnson had 814 receptions for 10,571 yards and 64 touchdowns in 167 games.  The three-time Pro Bowler helped lead the Buccaneers to a win in Super Bowl XXXVII.  In his final season in 2006, he caught 70 passes for 815 yards and four touchdowns, becoming just the 16th player in league history with 800 career receptions. A Los Angeles native, Johnson grew up near the USC campus and was a two-time All-American at Southern Cal under legendary head coach John Robinson.

Johnson, Marques: KFWB, 2014-15. Marques joined morning drive at the launch of all-Sports format at KFWB, The Beast 980. Prior to that he was a basketball analyst for Fox Sports Net. He was a forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1977–89, where was a five-time All-Star. He played with the Milwaukee Bucks, LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors. Marques played for UCLA and won a national championship in 1975. He left KFWB in the fall of 2015 to join the broadcast team for the Milwaukee Bucks. 

JOHNSON, Mike: KLON, 1986-88; KMNY, 1988-91; KMPC, 1991-93; KKGO/KMZT/KGIL/KSUR/KKJZ, 1990-2023. Mike is operations director for the Saul Levine stations and program director at KKJZ. Starting out as a board op, over the years, Mike has evolved into the go-to guy for Saul. When Levine flipped his decades-long Classical format at 105.1/fm to fill a Country music void. Mike was the initial program director of Go Country 105. Born in Torrance on April 22, 1970, Mike grew up in Cerritos. He was 9 years old when the radio bug bit him. “I used to listen to Gary Owens every afternoon. I heard so much fun coming out of my radio,” remembered Mike. “It was cemented probably when I was about 12 because something happened to me. I didn’t really understand it at the time but my voice changed prematurely. In school when I would stand up and do book reports in class, everyone would laugh. They’d laugh their asses off because I was this little kid sounding like a grown man. I didn’t understand it.” One of his teachers planted another seed about going into radio with this grown-up voice. While in high school (he graduated in 1988) he looked for summer jobs at area radio stations – KEZY and KNOB. Here he was with a big voice, no experience and only 16 years old. He volunteered at KLON in Long Beach and got some on-the-job training. One of the disc jockeys, Bubba Jackson, took a real shine to me. He worked with me for two years and gave me so many pointers.” After graduation from high school, Mike figured that more school would just get in the way of his radio career. “On my last weekend at KLON, Steve Kindred put up a handwritten sign looking for a board operator at Money Radio, KMNY. The pay was six dollars an hour. They offered me a full-time position, which created a dilemma. Work or school? I turned down the offer for school, only to change my mind the next day.” Mike went to work at “Money Radio” for Buz Schwartz. “He was a rather unique character, shall we say in the annals of L.A. radio. I did everything there. I did production, I pulled overnights. I did a newscast on Christmas morning when no else showed up, that sort of thing, whatever it was, I just did it. I’ve been very lucky. I’d like to say that I’m the only person in radio history who worked with Robert W. Morgan, Wink Martindale, Gary Owens, and Scott Shannon.”   When asked his plans after his radio days are up, Mike said he wants to become ambassador to St. Kitts. "Well, I can dream, can't I?"

 

JOHNSON, Paul: Longtime Los Angeles traffic reporter Paul, who worked at NBC4 television for 22 years and was known for his signature phrase "Buckle up, be careful out there," died June 29, 2010. He was 75. The Burbank television station said Johnson had been battling a brain tumor and had not worked since surgery in January. Johnson's soothing baritone-voice delivered reports on traffic snarls and the popular reporter. He worked for Burbank's NBC4 since August 1988 as both a weather and traffic reporter. Johnson's broadcast career included positions at Los Angeles radio stations KZLA, KFAC, KXEZ, KSRF, KNX, KACE, KUTE and KIIS. Johnson joined Metro Traffic in August 1982 and before that spent more than eight years with Capital Cities, leaving a position as program director for WJR/fm in Detroit. He appeared in the 1969 film Paint Your Wagon, on stage in several opera productions and in numerous commercials.

Johnson, Richard: KKLA, 2001-02. Richard reported the news at KKLA.
Johnson, Robin: Robin worked at Shadow Traffic.
Johnson, Ron: KPPC, 1971-73; KROQ, 1973. Ron runs Dr. Sounds Audio Prescriptions, a service provided to those who need to locate songs for film tv and commercials.
Johnson, Van: KROQ, 1986-91. Van is the manager of the Mosquito Abatement Department of the LA County Department of Works.
Johnson, Wayne: KEZY, 1964-65; KBIG, 1965-66. Wayne is retired and living in in Port Angeles, Washington.

Joliffe, John: KTZN, 1997. Unknown.

JOLLEY, Frank: KNAC, 1970-71 and 1972-74; KHJ; KKDJ, 1971-72; KROQ; KYMS, 1972. Frank owns and operates an independent film company that produces movies for tv and theatrically released films. He owns and operate kkdj.net and rockhouse.mobi online radio stations 24/7 and is "the life of Riley" in Citrus Heights, California.Over the years, Frank was Mentor Chairman of the Producers Guild of America.   "Growing up in St. Louis I had a variety of wonderful radio stations from which to choose. My first radio station was built in my basement using a wireless mike radio station (purchased from the J.C. Higgins catalogue) and a turntable when I was nine. The stations that I listened to fervently were KMOX, CBS network shows at the time and then in 1954 KXOK went to the Top 30 format and I knew what I wanted to do. Now 32 radio stations later, I remember listening and being influenced by KXOK-St Louis, a Storz Top 30, KWK-St Louis Top 100 and later a rhythm ‘n beat format and the black radio daytimer KATZ. When Alan Freed reached the airwaves via vinyl syndication I wanted to be and grew up to be an Alan Freed clone. Incidentally when KATZ 1600 kc went off the air at night WLAC in Nashville would boom into St. Louis at 1510 on the AM dial and John R. (Richbourg) became my new radio role model and later in the 60's when I worked in Nashville He became my mentor and manager who produced several records with me. I grew up a Top 40 brat influenced by the blues and I still am."

Jonathan, Peter: KHJ, 1963-65. Peter left KHJ with the arrival of “Boss Radio” and he shuffled off to Buffalo.

JONES, Alex: KEIB, 2015-17. Alexander Emerick "Alex" Jones hosted a syndicated talk show (from Austin) primarily about conspiracy theories, which ran during the all-night hours at KEIB, The Patriot. Born February 11, 1974, New York magazine has described Jones as "America's leading conspiracy theorist", and the Southern Law Center describes him as "the most prolific conspiracy theorist in contemporary America." Jones began his career in Austin working on a live, call-in format public-access cable program. In 1996, Jones switched to radio, hosting a show named The Final Edition on KJFK. In 1999, Jones was tied for "Best Austin Talk Radio Host," as voted by readers of The Austin Chronicle. Later that year, he was fired from KJFK for refusing to broaden his topics. The station's operations manager said that Jones's views made it difficult for the station to sell advertising.

 

JONES, Bill A.: KLIT, 1990-93. Bill, a veteran of KLIT in the early 90s and  Westwood One's Adult Standards format heard on about 200+ stations nationally. Best known as ‘Rod Remington’ from Fox TV’s Glee, Bill is a Big Band/Cabaret singer. As a singer, Bill has opened for Tony Bennett and Steve Tyrell, toured with The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and released two CDs. He was recently named one of LA’s Best Concert/Cabaret Artists by BroadwayWorld.com.  In addition to Glee, Bill has appeared on Comedy Central’s Workaholics, The King of Queens, CSI New York, Everybody Hates Chris, Las Vegas, Criminal Minds, and appeared as millionaire “Brad Bush” on the long running daytime drama Days of Our Lives. Many still recognize Bill as the “Don't Count That” golfer from a beloved FedEx commercial. Born in Nashville, he worked at a number of stations in and around Music City U.S.A. until moving to L.A. in late 1987 to pursue an acting career. While at WAMB-Nashville, Bill was voted one of Middle Tennessee's top ten air personalities in the Nashville Tennessean's 1986 reader's poll. "When I arrived in L.A. I pounded the pavement looking for acting work. While waiting I put together an aircheck for what was then called Transtar Radio Network [later Unistar; now WW1] and worked two formats until 1990."

Jones, Bob: KHJ/fm: 1966. Unknown.
Jones, Brooke: KUTE, 1986; KACE, 1990-92; KAJZ/KBJZ, 1992-94. Brooke worked morning drive at KUTE. Unknown.

JONES, Buster: KGFJ, 1971-76; KMPC, 1976; KUTE, 1977-85. Born in Paris, Tennessee, in 1943, Buster went on to a very successful voiceover career. In the early '70s he co-hosted Soul Unlimited, a Dick Clark-produced dance party show on ABC/TV. Buster started playing the drums when he was 10 and two of his high school teachers told him that if he excelled in school they would support a scholarship to Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. He did excel, he went off to Lane and when he arrived, they had never heard of him. Ashamed and with no money Buster began to walk 75 miles home. "Whenever I was in trouble as a kid I would walk. And I knew I was in trouble." About 25 miles later he came across WJAK located over a veterinarian hospital which happened to be owned by Wink Martindale's father-in-law. "I knew a dj there and went inside. One of their jocks had just quit." He worked out a deal to work on-air while the boss paid for his tuition at Lane College. He has been plagued with a stammering speech impediment since a kid and went on to work on his master's degree in Chattanooga while working at WNOO. Due to an asthmatic condition he missed being drafted. Racism was prevalent at the NBC station in Chattanooga. "The station was in a hotel and I couldn't enter by the front door. I worked evenings and nobody was to know that I was black. I was paid by the janitor." He spent three years in St. Louis before coming to the Southland where he spent five years with Motown. Buster is saving the rest of his story for a book that he is actively writing. Jones died at home in North Hollywood, California on September 16, 2014 at age 70.

Jones, Chuck: KDAY, 1965. Unknown.
Jones, Dana: KPPC/KROQ, 1973. Dana is a professional photographer, based in Palos Verdes Pennisula. He opened his photography business in 1978.
Jones, David K: KOST, 1982-85. David has an active voiceover career.

JONES, Fred: KNAC, 1971-73. Fred, the former program director at KNAC, died on December 4, 2009, after suffering a stroke. Beginning in 1974, Fred went on to quite the career as a studio owner, engineer, producer and noted audio industry figure. At KNAC he was known as “General Bird Dog.” During his career he received two Grammy Award nominations and won countless prestigious advertising awards, including 11 CLIOs, IBAs, Beldings, Addys, BPMEs and numerous others. Among the artists Fred worked with were Loggins & Messina, Manhattan Transfer, Rita Coolidge, The Chambers Bros., James Earl Jones, Roy Rogers, Don Dorsey, Robin Williams, Joan Rivers, Stan Freberg, Steve Allen, Ray Bradbury and Gary Owens. But besides the many industry friends he leaves behind, Fred’s lasting legacy is the many classic albums he engineered/produced with The Firesign Theatre.

 

JONES, Geno: KJLH, 1990-92. Geno is working in Charleston radio. Originally from Chicago and better known as “Geno on your Radio,” Geno co-hosts the live and local portion of the Steve Harvey Morning Show on Star 99.7 FM. Before that, he was the host of The Geno Jones Show which was the #1 afternoon drive show in Charleston from 2006 to 2016. Raised by his grandparents and a single mother, he’s the only son of three children. He is also the father of two beautiful girls, which inspired the birth his book/audio book titled Game Recognize Game. “My mother and grandmother taught me compassion and how to treat women, and I want my daughters to know how they should be treated,” says Geno. He adds, “Even in my most hardcore, pimp-or-die days, I could only go so far because I would always hear the voices of the women who influenced my life.” A triple threat, Geno is an actor and comedian as well recently opening for the legendary B.B. King, Katt Williams among others in Charleston, and starred in the feature film, Hanging with the Big Boys. Geno prides himself in having maintained a #1 show in Memphis for six years prior to relocating to Charleston in 2005. He has also worked mornings in Detroit, Pittsburg and Los Angeles.

 

(Julie Jacobson and Ben Patrick Johnson)  

JONES, Helen: KWRP. The long-time gm broke the glass ceiling for women in radio sales and radio ownership in the Inland Empire. Helen passed away February 12, 2011 from complications of long-standing illnesses. She was 82. When Helen was given an award in 1964 for “The Highest Sales Ever by a Woman,” she was upset. This angered her at the time because she was out-selling most of the men at her radio station as well. And her reaction really gives you a snapshot of the feisty red-headed executive. Most of her career was in the San Bernardino-Riverside market. Starting in sales, she rapidly moved through the sales ranks to become general manager and eventually station owner. She helped pioneer the “Women in Radio” organization. At her celebration of life, services ended with My Way by Frank Sinatra. She insisted that the song be cranked up to 10. People in San Bernardino probably heard it as it echoed through the chapel. “This is my song,” Helen told her daughter. “Shoot it up, spit it out, no regrets and I did it my way.”  Don Elliot presided over the luncheon program. “If men are from Mars and women are from Venus, redheads are from Pluto,” announced Don. “Helen was amazing. The thread of consistency with all the times in our lives was that she was a sales person, creative problem solver, general manager and owner.” In 1969, Helen was general manager at KFMW-Riverside and was successfully awarded new call letters, KOLA. Elliot concluded her services with an observation on this grand lady of Los Angeles Radio: “Helen accepted the cards she was dealt and then she dealt with it.”

Jones, Johnny: KDAY, 1974. Unknown.

JONES, Kelly: KHTI, 2018-21. Kelly J works evenings at KHTI (Hot 103.9) in the Inland Empire. She had been heard on Total Traffic and as an on-air personality at KOLA and worked at KSBR. Kelly grew up in St. Louis and studied radio broadcasting at Saddleback College. She co-hosted a show at Playlist 92.7 with Slade Smiley from Housewives of Orange County. "Playlist was my first radio family and gave me a LOT of amazing experiences and opportunities." She worked as morning drive side-kick to Jeff Pope.

 

JONES, Ken: KBCA; KGFJ; KDAY, 1962; KRLA, 1965-67; KIIS, 1976; KIEV. Ken, born June 9, 1938, died in May 1993 after a short battle with bladder cancer.  Ken attended Fremont High school in Los Angeles. He was hired as a reporter for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner newspaper in 1954. He became a disc jockey at KBCA and KGFJ radio and a news director for KDAY in 1962. He worked as a production assistant for the West Coast edition of the Huntley-Brinkley Report from 1963-65 which he left to become a regular newscaster for KRLA, a position he held until 1967 when he was hired as a feature reporter at KTTV/Channel 11 and won an Emmy for a one-hour news special. He was a reporter on scene during the Watts Riots and the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Ken appeared in a number of tv and film roles including The Candidate, The Brady Bunch, and The Magical World of Disney: The Young Runaways. Ken conceived and published, along with his wife Regina Jones, SOUL, a black entertainment newsmagazine, from 1966-82.

 Jones, Phil: KLAX, 1999-2000. Phil left his pd slot at Spanish KLAX in the summer of 2000.
Jones, Sam: KPSA, 1971-72; KLAC; KJLH. Unknown. 

JONES, Steve: KDLD, 2004-09; KLOS, 2015-17. Steve, guitarist with the Sex Pistol, hosted Jonesy's Jukebox on Indie 103.1 until a format flip to Spanish in early 2009. Jonesy’s Jukebox” was Indie’s flaghship show and, by 2005, the former Sex Pistol was on air for two hours a day, five days a week, where he was joined by a wide variety of guests. Stars like Iggy Pop, Brian Wilson, Johnny Ramone, Gary Oldman, Robert Plant, Pete Townshend and Johnny Rotten all eventually turned up on his show. Jonesy's Jukebox is now heard on IamRogue.com. He spent one season as a judge on The X Factor in 2011. Steve began a Friday only midday show at KLOS in October 2015 before going daily. He has since left KLOS.

 Jones, Tony: KTYM, 1974; KAGB, 1975; KACE, 1976, KJLH, 1972-84. Tony is retired from Northwest Airlines and government service.

JORDAN, Heather: KFI, 2016-17; KNX, 2017-23. Born and raised in Iowa, Heather joined the KFI news department in late 2016. She left KFI in February 2017. She's now a news anchor at KNX. Heather was a farm girl in the morning, volleyball player by the afternoon, and dance team performer at night, according to her KFI profile. She did PA announcing as a sophomore at Northwest Missouri State University. Beginning in 2001, her radio career stops included Urban 99 Jamz and Urban AC Hot 105 in Miami, Urban Hot 103 Jamz in Kansas City, Top 40 Z-1067 and Country Y100 in San Antonio, and Urban AC Jammin 92.5 Denver. On the television side, Heather has worked as a field producer and floor director for CBS News in Dallas (KTVT), Miami (WFOR), and Chicago (WBBM). Heather switched from music format radio to become a news anchor at News 1040 WHO in Des Moines, in 2013. Before joining KFI, Heather worked news at 96.5 WBDO in Orlando.

Jordan, JJ: KHJ, 1975. In the mid-1990s JJ was hosting the syndicated show, "Lone Star Fishing."
Jordan, Steve: KTNQ, 1978. Steve is working in San Francisco radio. 

JORDAN, T. Michael: KMEN, 1967-68; KKDJ, 1973-74; KEZY, 1976-77. Tom died November 13, 2020, of lung cancer. He was 77. Born Thomas Nefeldt, Tom grew up in Chicago. His radio career took him to stations in Tucson, Orlando, San Jose, St. Louis, Minneapolis and KROY-Sacramento four times. He was one of the original jocks at KKDJ on March 10, 1973, and was on the station until 1974, working the late night and overnight shifts. In the early 1980s he returned home to Chicago and decided to get out of radio. He eventually landed in Dallas, instituting software training programs for the Tandy Corporation. In 1985 he returned to the Southland for a few years, where he was the MIS Director at the Writers Guild of America. He had been living in Illinois when he died.

 

JOSEPH, Dave: KFWB, 2008; KSPN, 2011-17. Dave broadcast hockey reports at KSPN. In early 2013, he was appointed PA voice for the LA Kings. As a sports undate anchor, Dave left KSPN in February 2015. Dave has been heard on numerous LA stations (KOST, KFI) dispensing traffic conditions. He's appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and was a Staples stadium PA announcer for the LA Kings for eight seasons. He also handled regular PA duties for the Ontario Reign (American Hockey League), LA Galaxy II (United Soccer League) and Los Angeles Temptation (Legends Football League). He also announced the 2020 AHL All-Star Game at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.

Josephson, Michael: KNX, 1997-2011. The former law professor aired a daily commentary on all-News KNX dealing with passionate and inspirational essays on ethics in everyday life until the fall of 2011.
Joy, Bob: KWIZ, 1969-72; KDAY, 1972. Bob passed the bar examination and is practicing in Susanville. 

JOY, Dick: KNX, late 40s-early 50s; KFAC, 1950s-70s. Dick was best-known as the announcer on "The Adventures of Sam Spade.”  He died October 31, 1991 at the age of 75. Joy entered radio in 1935 while a student at USC. "I got my first paycheck as house announcer for the Wilshire Bowl and Sterling Young's fine orchestra - seven nights a week, $50 a month," he wrote of the era in the Sperdvak Radiogram. In 1938 he obtained his first network announcing job when he was hired to work on Silver Theatre. The previous year he became the morning announcer at KNX when it was purchased by CBS. He left KNX in 1943 to join the Navy. His post-war credits include "The Danny Kaye Show," "Bell Telephone Hour," "Nat King Cole Show," "Spike Jones Show" and the voice of “Playhouse 90." The Sam Spade series held many happy memories for him. He recalled once how cast members used to construct large paper airplanes during the show. "They poured lighter fluid on the airplane, set it on fire, and threw it at me" as he read the commercial, he recalled. In 1946 Joy and engineer Don McBain opened KCMJ, the first radio station in Palm Springs. He worked weekdays as the station's program director and commuted to Los Angeles each weekend to work at KNX. In addition to KNX, Dick was the announcer for such network shows as Spike Jones, Danny Kaye, Nat King Cole, and The Bell Telephone Hour.   Dick made the transition to CBS Television in the late 40’s as a reporter for CBS’s You Are There, and later as announcer for December Bride, Perry Mason, and Have Gun - Will Travel. In later years, Dick became the News Director for KFAC-AM & FM, the Classical stations for Los Angeles in the 1960’s.

 

JOYNER, Tom: KMAX, 1999; KKBT, 2006. Tom brought his syndicated show to KKBT, the BEAT, on June 19, 2006 and the show was dropped December 15, 2006. His show continued in syndication until his retirement in early 2020.   Tom's show appeared in morning drive at KKBT (the BEAT), is broadcasting his last show this morning. Tom is really a giant in the broadcast industry, and his syndication deal opened the door to others in the world of Urban and r&b radio. He is in the Radio Hall of Fame and has been awarded the NAB Marconi, the NAACP Image Award and received many honorary doctorate degrees. While at KKBT in 2006, Tom was the keynote speaker at Tuskegee University. Tom is an alumnus of Tuskegee, and a four-time Billboard magazine award-winner. He is the founder of REACH Media Inc., the Tom Joyner Foundation, where he had raised over $65 million, and BlackAmericaWeb.com. Oprah called the show to congratulate him on his retirement after 25 years in radio syndication. Other calls were from President Bill Clinton, Lionel Richie, and Magic Johnson. If you never heard Joyner, you might remember his life flying between Dallas and Chicago every day, doing his morning drive program at KKDA-Dallas and an afternoon show at WGCI-Chicago. It was calculated during his time commuting he traveled eight million miles. In today’s radio world and voicetracking, his two-station commute would be silly, but it worked at the time.

 

JUGGS, Billy: KLOS, 1977; KMET, 1977-85; KLSX, 1989-91. Billy works for NBC Asia. Born Michael Brown in Los Angeles, Billy was one of the classic personalities during the Southern California's AOR period. He grew up on a farm in Fallbrook (between L.A. and San Diego) and left for the Bay Area when he finished high school. "I was living in Haight-Ashbury in 1967 during the 'summer of love' and remembering this new station playing all kinds of music. Jazz, rock, country and folk. It was KSAN in its first days." Billy's first rock experience was when he was hired by Mike Harrison. "Mike is my mentor and friend, and I often wonder what direction my career would have taken, if any, without his interest." His first shift in L.A. started auspiciously. "Before I got to KMET I was held up by a drunk with a rifle barrel against my head. He was staggering, with his finger on the trigger. When he saw I had only 8 dollars, he gave it back and asked instead for a light for his cigarette, and let me go. I was a basket case." Billy talked about KMET and his most satisfying radio experience that he would ever have: The cohesion between all these started as a part-timer at "the Mighty Met." In the mid-1990s Billy went to work for NBC Asia as the network announcer for both CNBC and NBC.

 

JULIAN, Steve: KPCC, 2000-16. In the fall of 2000, Steve started hosting the "Morning Edition" at KPCC from five years at AirWatch America. He died April 24, 2016, at the age of 57 from complications from brain cancer. Born on the Fourth of July, 1958, in Pomona, Steve worked for a half-decade at AirWatch America, broadcasting on a number of stations, including KFI, KOST, KLOS and KIIS. He is a second-generation Angeleno and graduated from Damien High School in LaVerne in 1976 and attended several local colleges and universities. "From 1986-91, I was a police officer in Baldwin Park. I retired after testifying against two other officers charged with excessively beating a man caught hiding after a burglary." During the 1980s, Steve was a staff announcer and news anchor for several Inland Empire stations. In the fall of 2000, Steve joined KPCC as their local Morning Edition host. He had a massage practice on the side and raised dogs in Pasadena. Before two knee surgeries, Steve enjoyed hiking and racquetball. He was actively involved in local theater productions, both as an actor and a playwright.

Julius, Myke: KKBT, 2006; KRVB, 2006-08. Mike joined evenings at KKBT, the BEAT, in the fall of 2006. KKBT changed calls to KRBV (V100) in late 2006. He left when Radio-One sold the station to Bonneville in the spring of 2008. Myke hosts Quiet Storm in San Diego at Urban AC XHRM (MAGIC 92.5).

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