Where Are They Now? LARadio.com Los Angeles Radio People, S Compiled by Don Barrett update changes at: AvilaBeachdb@gmail.com

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SAAVEDRA, Neil: KKLA, 1990-92; KFI, 1996-2023. Neil is the marketing director at KFI and is "Jesus" on KFI's Sunday morning. He also hosts "The Fork Report." Born into a large family of seven kids and raised in Southern California, Neil started his career in radio in January of 1990. Armed with a desire to defend truth and his varied studies of logic, theology, philosophy and religion Neil embarked on his first radio show. Answers with Shield of Faith, a one-hour question and answer program, teamed Neil up with partner Bobby Lownsdale on Ventura’s premiere Christian radio station, KDAR 98.3/fm. Throughout the early 90’s, Neil continued to answer people’s tough questions dealing with God and religion. In addition to bringing Answers with Shield of Faith to other Christian stations in the south land like KKLA 99.5/fm and KBRT 740 AM, Neil was a frequent guest on several other radio programs. Neil came to America’s most listened to news talk radio station, KFI AM 640, in March 1994 as an intern and has never been happier. In addition to producing the radio show, Neil occasionally lectures and teaches at various churches and schools on everything from live Q & A to logic and religious philosophy. Neil calls himself a “self taught lay apologist,” not because he hasn’t been taught anything from wonderful teachers (he has) but, because although he has warmed the seats of many a classroom he currently holds no degrees (and he hates when people try and sound more educated than they actually are). (Neil's bio is from his website)

 

SABO, Walter: KHJ, 1983; KRTH 1983-90, KLSX 1994-96. Walter is president of Sabo Media. He helped with the 2011 Merlin launch of all-News in Chicago and New York. Walt left by the end of the year. He was responsible for the programming strategy and implementation of all Sirius Satellite stations for 9 years. During that time he recruited the original KROQ air staff, hired the original MTV air staff, launched the Elvis Channel and made the first call to hire Howard Stern. He's now a talk show host at CBS' WPHT-Philadelphia and WABC-New York and continues to consult radio stations. Walt's now heard on Westwood One under the name Walter Sterling.

Sabo, Bob: KUTE/KGFJ, 1974-79. Unknown. 

SACCACIO, Jeff: KFI, 1989-96. The Notre Dame graduate hosted a financial and tax planning radio show, "Talkin' $ with Jeff Saccacio," providing on air advice and know-how to enhance people's ability to achieve their financial goals and objectives. He's now head of wealth planning and family office services for Intellectus Partners, LLC.

Sacks, Glenn: KRLA, 2003; KMPC, 2003-04; KTIE, 2004-06. Glenn is a men's and fathers' issues columnist and a nationally-syndicated radio talk show host. His radio show, His Side with Glenn Sacks, was heard on KTIE-Inland Empire. 

SAFRONCIKAS, Vytas: KKAR, 1971-73; KPOL, 1976-79; KNX, 2001-09 and 2011-13. Vytas was a news reporter at KNX. He left the all-News station in September 2009. He also owns BornAgainRadio.com, an Internet-based contemporary Christian music radio station. He returned for part-time work in the summer of 2011 and left at the end of 2013. In his early radio career, he was a music personality at KMEN-San Bernardino, KHNY-Riverside, KERN-Bakersfield and KPOL. He was program director at KSOM-Ontario and KLYD-Bakersfield. In his first full-time news job at KKAR in Pomona, he became the station's news director. As news director at KBET in Canyon Country, Vytas took on operations manager duties. Following the 1994 Northridge earthquake, he co-anchored continuing, weeks-long coverage in the heavily damaged Santa Clarita Valley, providing a local lifeline to residents who had to cope with freeway damage, contaminated drinking water and red-tagged homes and businesses. As program director of KTRO in Ventura County, he anchored the morning drive news. Before joining KNX, he anchored the morning news broadcast at KVEN in Ventura.

 

SAHL, Mort: KLAC, 1967-68; KABC, 1968. Mort has done it all. He was a political satirist, comedian and screenwriter. Mort always thought he knew what was ailing America and became the darling of the San Francisco coffeehouse liberal scene in the 1950s. He got his start in San Francisco's hungry i nightspot taking verbal shots at President Eisenhower and attacking the Establishment. (Thanks to Deadline for the artwork) He was allegedly let go from KLAC for espousing a conspiracy theory around the Kennedy assassination. Mort appeared frequently in a one-man political satirist show. Mort's pioneering style paved the way for such boundary-breaking comedians such as Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor and George Carlin. He died October 26, 2021 at his home in Mill Valley. He was 94. He hosted the first Grammy Awards in 1959, co-hosted the 1959 Academy Awards and a year later became the first comedian featured to be featured on the cover of Time magazine. He also guest-hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson multiple times during the 1960s. Born on May 11, 1927, in Montreal, Sahl’s family moved to Los Angeles when he was a child. After a stint in the Air Force, he graduated from USC in 1950.

Saint Claire, Claudine: KJOI, 1986-89; KXEZ, 1993-96. Unknown.
Saint John: KBIG, 2007-09. Saint John joined 104.3 MY/fm for evenings in early fall 2007 and left in early 2009. He went on to KMVQ (Movin' 99.7/fm) in San Francisco.

SAINTE, Dick: KRLA, 1969-71, pd; KHJ, 1971-72; KIIS, 1972. Born Dick Middleton in McMinnville, Oregon, he started out in his home state and worked at KISN-Portland and WIFE-Indianapolis and eventually teamed up with Johnnie Darin at KGB-San Diego. His next stop was KFRC-San Francisco in 1968. The Real Don Steele gave Dick his on-air name, and added "e" at the end of his name in 1970 following a suggestion by Dionne Warwick(e). Dick joined KRLA in late 1969 and became pd in 1971, replacing Darin. At the 30-year KRLA reunion, host Casey Kasem said of Dick: "He had an exciting style that can really only be equaled by Dick's long-time friend, The Real Don Steele." Before 1971 ended, Dick became a "Boss Jock" on KHJ. He worked at KEX-Portland in the early 1980s. Beginning in 1993, Dick worked doing Country on KFMS-Las Vegas.

In 2004, Dick was placed in an extended care facility in The Dalles, Oregon. A year later he called the family [his four kids] and told them he was signing waivers to not be given any more insulin, etc. because he was lonely and tired of being sick. He died December 10, 2005, at the age of 67.

“World Famous Tom Murphy worked with Dick in 1964 at KISN in Portland. “I last saw Dick at a KISN Reunion in 1997, although we did talk on the phone every now and then. He was fun to be around, a great talent and good friend. I remember in early 1970 on KRLA when Bob Dayton [noon – 3 p.m.] was told that he had to work some extra hours after his shift ended that afternoon, as the jock who normally followed him on the air, Dick Sainte [3 p.m. – 6 p.m.] would not be coming in to work to do his show, as he was home sick,” emailed Bill Earl of Dream-House, and When Radio Was BOSS. “Dayton said, ‘Looks like, I'll be filling in for Dick Sainte this afternoon. You see, Dick is flu-ish today. He doesn't look it...but he is.'"   

SAKELLARIDES, Mike: KGFJ/KUTE, 1976; KPOL, 1976-78; KZLA, 1979-82; KFI/KOST, 1982-2007; KGIL, 2009-10; KTWV, 2010-20. Mike was the original midday host at AC KOST until November 30, 2007. He now works weekends at the WAVE. Mike was born in the borough of Queens. "I was raised on the world's best pizza and great radio stations like WABC, WMCA and WNEW/fm with their legendary air talent.” In 1968 he started his college career at State University of New York at Albany where he joined the campus station and became pd. Eager to start his broadcast career, "I graduated early with honors and a B.A." He worked in Albany-Schenectady-Troy area at WDKC, WTRY, WABY and WPTR. In the fall of 1972 Mike and his wife Barbara emigrated to KQIV-Portland. "I was inspired to move after reading Ken Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion." His pd was Jim LaFawn. "Jim referred to me as 'the Crazy Greek' which caught on with listeners and we stayed friends until Jim's untimely death in Los Angeles." In 1974 he moved to KGW-Portland and flew a Cessna doing traffic reports. Mike became Mike Steele when he joined KGFJ/KUTE. "We left the wet Pacific Northwest because we felt the need to dry out, literally!" Within a year of arriving in the Southland he joined KPOL as production director and in 1977 won the prestigious Golden Mike Award for Public Affairs. At KPOL he produced the music library for the new "Rocking You Softly" format which debuted November 22, 1976. He became midday host and voicetracked the automated late night show called "The Greek's All Night Diner."

In 1978 KPOL became KZLA. "Thanks to md Rollye Bornstein, I had Murray the K as my special guest co-host one evening. How many nights had I listened to this man with my pocket radio hidden under the pillow? Not long after that show he died of cancer." Mike stayed with KZLA during its switch to Country music in the fall of 1980. On November 15, 1982, he joined middays at KOST and was their midday host for 19 years. In 1987 Billboard nominated Mike as "Best Major Market Air Talent."

 

SAKRISON, Paul: KFWB/KNX, 2002-08; KLAA, 2008-21. Paul was chief engineer at the two all-News stations until February 2008 following a major downsizing by CBS Radio. “I'd been with CBS for six years,” emailed Paul. “They hired me in early 2002 to handle getting the Dodgers going at KFWB.” He's chief engineer and program director at KLAA, the Angels station. Paul graduated from Long Beach City College with an AA in Radio/Television/Communications and went on to California State University, Long Beach with a similar major. Since 1993, Paul has been a partner in Radio Services Group, a contract radio engineer service. He retired at the end of 2021.

Sala, Bob: KPPC, 1969-73; KROQ, 1978. Bob lives in Santa Rosa.
Salamon, Ed: KGBS/KTNQ, 1978. Ed is consulting and he's authored two books on radio history: Pittsburgh's Golden Age of Radio and WHN: When New York City Went Country.
Salazar, Liz: KWST, 1978-82. Liz is a nurse in Northern California. 

SALGO, Jeff: KRHM; KBIG, 1970; KLAC, 1970; KKDJ, 1971-72; KWST/KMGG, 1982-84; KEZY, 1985-89; KROQ/KCBS/fm, 2002-15. Since 2002, he has been the Market IT Manager for Entercom (CBS) Radio Los Angeles. Born in 1951, the Los Angeles native went south to KBZT-San Diego in 1972 and returned a decade later as pd of KWST. In 1975 in between L.A. assignments he programmed “KU16” and “OK 102½” in Seattle. In the late 1970s and early '80s, Jeff worked at KFXM and KBZT-San Diego. In 1982 he changed KWST to KMGG. Jeff described his new format at "Magic 106" as "KIIS with more kick." After his experience with "Magic 106," he bought KIVR-Cave Junction, Oregon. By 1989, Jeff had become vp of Anaheim Broadcasting. In 1990, Jeff joined KUFO-Portland as vp/gm. In the summer of 1994 he left a gm spot with KHTX-Riverside to run sister station KRQC/KDON-Monterey. By the end of 1995, he became vp/gm of KCTC/KYMX-Sacramento. He also continued to be responsible for the programming at the 16-station Henry Radio chain. In late 1997 he added gm duties at sister station KZZO-Sacramento.

 

SALINAS, Josefa: KJLH, 1992; KACE, 1992-93; KPWR, 1993-98; KHHT, 2001-03; KQIE, 2019-22 . Known as “the Angelita de la Noche,” Josefa (pictured with Art Laboe) worked the major markets up and down the California coast. Josefa worked middays in the Inland Empire at KQIE (Old School 104.7). As a child, Josefa dreamed of one day making the world a better place. She was honored in a White House ceremony in 2016. Josefa died unexpectedly on November 16, 2022. Her colleague Jimmy Reyes wrote: “Today has been an emotional day, found out that our hermana Josefa Salinas passed away. There’s so much to say about her, she was an amazing person with a beautiful soul! She loved making a difference in the community, she touched so many lives with ALL she did. From her -How to be a girl camps to wanting to give EVERYONE a free Christmas Tree/presents on the radio. 22+ years of friendship and I’ll never forget it. It was an honor to call you a friend and to have worked on the radio with you all these years, we went through a lot! I know you’ll forever live in our hearts. It’s gonna be so hard for me not to say that your coming on next on the radio. I’ll never forget you. Salinas’ death comes two months after the passing of her ex-husband rap star Coolio." This breakthrough female Latina personality had become a role model for women and a powerful symbol for Latinos. After studying at the University of Michigan, she worked in juvenile probation. Wanting a forum to express herself, in the mid-1980s Josefa convinced KSOL-San Francisco management to give her an opportunity. From there she joined KKSF and hosted “Lights Out San Francisco.” She moved over to KBLX-San Francisco before joining KJLH as an air personality and promotion director. While at KACE, she orchestrated the first ever all day Hip-Hop show called “Jam for Peace” at the Irvine Amphitheatre. “Within days of the successful show, ‘Power 106’ hired me to enhance their community image.” She was the originator of their Knowledge is Power foundation, raising $750,000 on a CD project. Josefa worked with the Baka Boyz and had her own “Slo Jam” show. In 1998, she took a break from radio and managed recording artists, most notably Grammy Award winner Coolio. She wrote the best-selling book, 101 Things to Know Before You Date My Daughter, My Best Friend or Me! In 2001, she joined HOT 92 Jamz as community director. During the Iraq War, Josefa appeared on many cable news shows. The National Diversity Council named her as one of “California’s Most Influential Women,” and Hispanic Lifestyle Magazine listing her as a “Latina of Influence” for 2016. Josefa has also been honored with the Fathers and Families Coalition of America’s “National Leader of the Year Award,” the National Latina Business’ “Woman of the Year in Broadcasting” Award, the “Spirit of Peace Award” and the President’s “Volunteer Service Award,” among many others.

SALLEY, John: KKBT, 2005-06. The NBA star and co-host of the Best Damn Sports Show Period! worked morning drive at the BEAT for almost a year. John Thomas Salley was born May 16, 1964. He was the first player in NBA history to win championships with three franchises (a list that also includes Robert Horry, Danny Green and LeBron James, as well as the first player in the NBA to win a championship in three different decades. After being drafted in the first round out of Georgia Tech in the 1986 NBA draft. He is a vegan activist, chef, and wellness entrepreneur. John's now a motivational speaker and he's writing a book.

SALVATORE, Jack: KNX, 1984-2011. Jack was a news anchor at KNX for 27 years who retired in early 2011. Several who spoke at his retirement party shared stories about Salvatore’s tenacity and professionalism as a journalist. He was also presented a letter from his beloved New Orleans Saints, congratulating him on his retirement. “I love the idea that I’ll get to play a lot more [mediocre] golf and hit the links with some old friends,” said Salvatore. Jack first arrived at KNX in 1984. He didn’t wait until adulthood to start working and performing. “I was in Damn Yankees at the age of 9 for two years, until it closed on Broadway. I actually sang the show’s big hit, You Gotta Have Heart with the inimitable Jean Stapleton of All in the Family fame.” He also joined the first touring company of Bye Bye Birdie as a teenager.    Salvatore joined the U.S. Army and started as a print journalist in 1964. “All my friends were moving on to radio and tv. They convinced me, because of my early acting experience to try out for the radio and tv course, and I got in.” He started with the American Forces Korea Network.  After the army, Salvatore moved to Western Pennsylvania before finding a job doing both radio and tv news in Youngstown, Ohio, “great training where I did everything and ultimately wound up as their primary tv and radio news anchor.”  A year later, Salvatore was offered a job at New Orleans powerhouse WWL, as a radio news anchor during both morning and afternoon drive. “That’s basically what ensconced me in radio. Over the years, I did a little tv work [including KCBS/tv in L.A.], but radio was my bailiwick, and it’s been a great ride for more than a quarter century at KNX.”  Asked what’s changed over his career as a journalist for over four decades, Salvatore said “I think it’s well documented that news has taken on more of a tabloid tone in recent years. As an old news warhorse, I often bemoan the ‘get-it-on-the-air-first-ask-questions-later’ mentality only to have to backtrack later on a story.” Yet he appreciates that KNX “has tried to maintain objectivity and accuracy, with an eye toward immediacy as well … very few times have we had to do that kind of backtracking, and often it’s up to the grizzled, old news vets to take a baby-step back and say ‘whoa, slow it down a tad, are we sure about this?’”

Salvatore likes the pace of the news nowadays, and uses one word – “Wow!” – to describe the new technologies. “The machines that can do so much. I know I’ll never see a more forlorn picture in the KNX newsroom than the day the computers were installed and there, by the wall, stood dozens of typewriters, piled in a heap and ready to be tossed.  Like a massacre of old friends.”  Salvatore recalled covering the Challenger disaster, the O. J. Simpson trial, the North Hollywood police shootout, the Rodney King riots, the election of Barack Obama, “too many to recall in an instant.” But what he considers most memorable for him was “the wildfires, floods, mudslides, quakes, riots … times our phone banks would light up with frantic, anxious Angelenos seeking information on what’s happening, what’s likely to happen, what they and their families should do, where they should go for help - questions for which people turned to US for answers and, thankfully, more often than not we could provide interviews with the officials who had the solid facts.” He’d walk away from the microphone drained, yet Salvatore said he left “satisfied that I had performed a very important task in keeping the community apprised.” 

As well as being a veteran newsman, Salvatore’s presence is well established and acknowledged by those who worked with him. Andy Ludlum, director of news programming at KNX and KFWB, recalled the 2010 volcano eruption in Iceland, crippling air travel throughout Europe. It was a breaking news story, but there was one problem – no one wanted to try to pronounce “Eyjafjallajokull,” the name of the volcano. No one…except Salvatore. “Jack was the only one who was willing to name the volcano, and he did it with authority,” said Ludlum. “To me that takes courage – that’s why Jack’s a pro’s pro.”

Current midday anchor Linda Nunez said “what I’ll miss most about Jack is his guidance, his influence, and his calm demeanor. I learned from him as a young anchor. I watched and learned from the best. He belongs on the ‘Mount Rushmore’ of KNX anchors!”  Dave Zorn co-anchored the news with Salvatore during the KNX morning drive. “Jack and I hit it off immediately when he came to KNX, personally and professionally. With all due respect to the other men and women I sat beside on-the-air at KNX, Jack was the best.”  Zorn recalls the days when the two chatted during breaks. “As is often the case, what was said when the mikes were off was more entertaining and far less informative, which is why it stayed off the air.  In today’s radio world, the reverse might be more successful.” Zorn paid his tribute to his former partner: “Jack Salvatore – respected broadcast journalist, very clever fellow, great friend.”

Now that he’s departing the all-News station, Salvatore is already looking forward to resetting his daily routine. “I’ve been on the overnight shift for several years now, so my sleep habits have been royally screwed up. It’ll take a few months to reset my internal clock from ‘nap’ to ‘full-night’s sleep’ mode.” Salvatore also wants to travel more, “especially to a few football games featuring my beloved New Orleans Saints and anywhere there’s a warm beach.”  But spending time with his family is Salvatore’s top priority. “I think I’ll probably miss the adrenaline rush of some of those hectic news moments, but it’s time to slow down and smell a few roses.” (Story was written by LARadio senior correspondent Alan Oda)

Salvin, Linda: KLSX, 2005-08; KABC, 2008-09. Linda hosted a weekend psychic show, Visions & Solutions, on KABC.

SAMUEL, Brad: KYSR, 2003-05. Brad was made station manager at "Star 98.7" in late 2003 from DOS at KFI/KLAC. He went on to be vp of sales for Clear Channel/San Diego until September 2010. He is now the ceo of Epic Media Consulting in San Diego. Brad’s story begins in San Diego. His father opened a 3-store chain of unfinished furniture outlets. The family was very close. “At dinner, we talked about everything, especially the family business,” Brad told me enthusiastically. “I started hanging out at my father’s store after school and on the weekends when I was 10 years old. I would see all the media schleps trying to sell my dad their 'package du jour.’ When the sales reps would come into the store to pitch Brad’s dad, Brad noticed a big difference between the tv and radio people. “TV guys would come in with numbers and charts. Radio guys came in with passion and belief in what they sold,” remembered Brad. “They had so much game. Guys like Bruce Walton and Mike Stafford were gifted. They were the EF Huttons of radio. They talked, and people listened. The passion that radio sales people sold with was contagious.” Bruce Walton, basketball Bill Walton’s older brother, was the general sales manager at KCBQ/fm. Walton would make frequent visits to Brad’s father to sell radio time. "I fell in love with radio the day I started. My mom would drive me to Santee [San Diego suburb] in our Country Squire. Mom dropped me off and picked me up. I was a promotions intern. I was a sales intern. I was a programming intern. I was a do-anything intern. I did whatever needed to be done. I didn’t care what it was, I would do it.”

Samuels, Ron: SEE Johnny Soul
Sanchez, Elizabeth: KFI, 1990-93. Elizabeth is the host of the national PBS parenting show A Place of Our Own. 

(Ricardo Santiago, Billy Ray Smith, Bill Sommers, Matt Stevens, and Allin Slate)

Sanchez, Ernie: KIQQ, 1982-84. Unknown.  

SANCHEZ, Maria: KFI, 1997-98; KCLU, 2003-04; KKZZ; 2006-07. Maria is hosting a morning talk show at themariasanchezshow.com/. A native Californian, Maria graduated from the University of California, Davis where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in the double major of Public Relations and Human Resources. She also served as the Commencement Speaker at her graduation ceremonies. After taking some time off, she decided to continue her education at Portland State University’s Master’s program in Theatre Arts with an emphasis on Scriptwriting.  Ms. Sanchez began her professional broadcasting career as the producer for KOST’s “Mark & Kim Show,” at the time the longest running morning broadcasting team in Los Angeles radio history. She produced the weekly public affairs program. During her stint at KFI, she was a permanent weekend host and often served as the substitute host. Maria became her own talk show host at KSTE-Sacramento. Back in the Southland, she produced a sit-com pilot for NBC Television. Currently she can be seen moderating infomercials for a variety of products.

 

SANCHEZ, Ricardo 'El Mandril': KLAX, 2013-19. In June 2013, the 47-year-old Mexican immigrant became L.A.'s top-rated local morning radio host.  Earlier in 2013, Sanchez was awarded the Radio Personality of the Year from Radio Ink, one of the leading trade publications.  Sanchez came to the United States from a popular broadcasting job in Tijuana. His success came only after years working as a janitor, first in a school and then in a radio station, where he gradually eased himself into the sales staff, and — by way of commercials he taped himself to keep his budget low — onto the air. Even today, although he is considered a Spanish-language media star, he says that he is constantly reminded of his outsider status.

Sanchez, Ron: KHTZ, 1980-82 and 1984. Ron is local sales manager at KZZO-Sacramento.
Sancho, Willie: KKHR, 1983; KGFJ, 1984. Unknown.

SANDBLOOM, Gene: KROQ, 1993-2017. Gene was apd at KROQ. He left in late 2017 and did extensive traveling. In the summer of 2019, he was appointed operations head for the Portland Alpha Media stations.  When he left Alpha in early 2023, he posted on Facebook: "The focus was creating a radio alternative to Spotify, and bringing back the great tenants of radio that had become lost. We ignored charts and formats and created a sound and a brand that didn’t exist anywhere else,” he wrote, while thanking  Alpha "for the opportunity to innovate and brand build.”

 

SANDELL, Clayton: KFWB, 1995-2000. In the fall of 2000, Clayton left the all-News station for a tv career in the Washington, DC bureau of ABC News. He's now a news reporter for ABC News. Clayton was the Inland Empire reporter for KFWB. He was a political science major at the University of California, Riverside. His professional broadcast work began in 1993 at KRTM-Temecula. In late 1994, Clayton joined KCKC-San Bernardino as a news reporter. Born in Riverside on March 28, 1973, he grew up in the Inland Empire. "I am one of those lucky people that has always known that broadcasting was my calling," said Clayton. "Ultimately I would like to work in television, but while I’m in school, radio is really the only way to be on the air. Nothing beats the adrenaline rush and immediacy of live radio news."…" For a time, Sandell was a producer for "World News with Charles Gibson." In October 2007, he traveled with correspondent David Kerley to the cities of Beijing and Shenzhen, producing a special series - "Made in China" -- on toy recalls and food safety. Earlier that year he was in Greenland, covering global warming stories for ABC News' broadcasts and platforms. In April 2007, Sandell was part of the ABC News team that covered the tragic shooting massacre at Virginia Tech University. He has reported on numerous hurricanes. Prior to joining "World News," Sandell was an associate producer for the "Sam Donaldson: Live in America."

SANDER, Dean: KLAC, 1961-97. Dean lives in Northridge and is retired.   In 2005, The Radio-TV News Association honored Dean with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Mikes dinner. The LA Times called Dean's voice "coal-mine acoustics." Dean mentored a large number of people who now call the radio business their careers, Steve Kindred, Pete Demetriou, Dave Douglass, Paul Olden to name just a few.    "There was not a nicer, more genuine guy than Dean," said colleague Leo McElroy. "We had a lot of rampant egos rattling around the business [we know who we were, don't we!!!] but Dean, despite his tremendous talent, remained just a decent, unassuming nice guy." Dean Sanders who spent 3+ decades at the KLAC, beginning in 1957. "News was really my calling,” Dean shared with the group. “KLAC was the only station I worked for. My heart, thoughts, and my love have always been with KLAC.”

 

SANDERS, Arlen: KXLA/KRLA, 1956-63; KEZY, 1964-65; KIEV, 1967; KFOX, 1972-77. Arlen died of a stroke in 1994. He was 64. Arlen was one of the "11-10 Men" during the Rock heyday of KRLA. Born in Roxburg, Oregon he grew up in Texas. Arlen worked in a number of markets prior to Southern California including Klamath Falls. He joined KXLA in 1956 as an engineer and moved on-air when the station changed call letters to KRLA. During the eighties Arlen became a stage actor and consulted WWVA-Wheeling as well as stations in Oklahoma and Cincinnati.

Sanders, Brian: KCRW, 2001-06. Brian is the program director of Arizona Public Radio KNAU in Flagstaff.

SANDERS, Laurie: KOST, 1985-91; KXEZ, 1991-92. Laurie hosted an evening Love Songs-theme show at KOIT-San Francisco for two decades. She left in March 2012. She is now working in Pleasanton, CA. Laurie became a LARP in 1985, when she arrived in the Southland from Chicago radio. She replaced Liz Kiley on the very successful evening program “Love Songs on the KOST,” and achieved enormous evening ratings. She worked for KOST for six years followed by two years at KXEZ. Laurie went to KOIT-San Francisco and has stayed in the Bay Area ever since. She doing weekends at BIG103.7/fm . “After a long day I sound like Bonnie Tyler, but it felt so good be behind the mike where I am practicing and stretching my vocal cords,” said Laurie.

 

SANDERS, Stu: KFOX, 1957-60. Stu was program director and a jock at KFOX, which was located on the pier in Long Beach. He was working for Navy intelligence when he was manager at KFOX. He died in 2018, according to his friend Alijandra Mogilner. "Stu was also a ghost writer on a couple of books," Mogilner continued. "Stu solved the "Falcon and the Snowman" where two young men stole military secrets. As a kid he lived in Hermosa Beach, Stu became an orphan about age 12 and during WWII he was taken care of by the ladies in that town. He got a football scholarship to UCLA and later a theater one to Pasadena Playhouse. As a theater major he had a hard time with the jocks. He was drafted into Korea and was a paratrooper. Afterward he taught silent killing to CIA and Mossad. Retired from a rather adventurous life, it was KFOX he remembered most warmly. He loved radio and I ended up interested and following your site."

 

SANDLER, Nicole: KLSX, 1987; KNX/fm, 1988; KODJ, 1988-90; KLOS, 1990-94; KSCA, 1994-97; KACD, 1998-2000.  Born on November 4, 1959, in New York, Nicole spent her teen years in Hollywood, Florida and attended the University of South Florida in Tampa. Her radio career began there at WUSF, WMNF, and WNSI. A year after graduation she moved back to New York and spent the next three years at WMCA producing the highly controversial "Bob Grant Show" while simultaneously holding weekend airshifts at AOR WRCN-Long Island. She then moved to WPLJ to work with Jim Kerr and the Morning Crew. After two years she moved West. Her career in the Southland began in 1987 at KLSX as the morning show producer, with Phil Hendrie. She then moved on to KNX/fm as morning co-host, and joined KLOS in the summer of 1990 to produce the "Mark & Brian Show." She left exactly four years later to be part of the start of AAA KSCA as midday personality. In April 1995 Nicole was reunited with Chuck Moshontz to co-host mornings. (Chuck was newsman for Mark & Brian while Nicole was at KLOS.) In the fall of 1996 she was promoted to music director and moved back to middays. When KSCA changed ownership, Nicole took a job as music director/rock editor at The Album Network, a national trade publication. In early 1998 she started mornings at XTRA ("91X")-San Diego. In October 1998, Nicole returned to L.A. to program KACD's Channel 103.1/World Class Rock. When the station was sold in August 2000, Clear Channel moved the station to the Internet, as WorldClassRock.com where she was general manager/program director and air personality. Nicole left WINZ-Florida in late summer 2008.

She hosts a live talk show four days a week at nicolesandler.com, which is then posted as a podcast. She moved her show online on January 21, 2010 – the day that Air America went off the air. In 2017, Nicole joined the lineup at the Progressive Voices Network.

Sandmeyer, Willa: KCLU, 2012-20. Willa hosts the KCLU Morning Edition.

SANDOVAL, Tony: KHHT, 2010-15. Tony worked middays at HOT 92.3 (KHHT). He's now playing relaxing favorites in the afternoon at 98.1 the Breeze in San Francisco and mornings on 92.5 The Breeze in Sacramento. He started radio in 1996 as an intern at KFRC-San Francisco while attending CCSF. In 1999, he went to work at KISQ 98.1 San Francisco. A year later he started the Sunday Night Oldies Show that aired in 5 markets including KHYL Sacramento. "I was in the middle of a four a year Auto Mechanic Program when I wondered into the college radio station and realized that would be my calling. I quit my job at the post office and started playing Old School ever since." His midday show at HOT 92.3 was dropped following a format flip in early February 2015. From the Breeze website: "Tony is a simple yet complicated man. Very little is known of his past before radio, except for what he reveals on the air. Even then you must question the validity."

 

SANDS, Steve: KEZY, 1971 and 1974-76; KGBS, 1971; KROQ, 1972; KIIS, 1973; KGBS, 1973; KKDJ, 1973; KWIZ, 1977; XTRA, 1983. Steve was working in Chicago in 1992 when he suffered a heart attack and died at age 45. Steve was born Stephen Sandoz in Ventura in 1947 and grew up in the area. He started hanging out at KVEN-Ventura at age 10 and found himself on the air from time to time. During his high school years, he went as a missionary to Haiti, where he helped set up a Christian station. He worked at KACY-Oxnard before entering the Army in the summer of 1967. Before his release he had been made staff sergeant E-6 and received four medals, among them the Army commendation medal. While in Vietnam he served with the psychological operations unit. He was involved in Armed Forces Radio. After the military Steve went to WSB-Atlanta before joining KEZY. In 1978, he went to KEZL-San Diego and eventually transferred to the Bonneville station in Milwaukee. In the early 1980s, Steve went to Chicago, working for a number of stations until his death in 1992. Steve's wife Cathy talked about the day he died: "He called me from the station to say he wasn't feeling well and probably wouldn't mow the lawn when he got home. I came home, and he had had a massive heart attack and was on the couch dead." Cathy remembered Steve: "He was an immensely talented man who always supported his fellow broadcasters. It was his passion at an early age. I always envied him for knowing what he wanted to do since he was 10. One of his big thrills was when his father took him to see Bob Crane do his show at KNX. Steve thought it was great that he had a drum set in the studio. He also had a passion for trains and his biggest thrill was when they allowed him to drive the train all the way from Chicago into St. Charles."

 

SANNES, Cherie: KHJ; KRTH, 1979-82; KMGG, 1982-83. Cherie was a registered nurse in the Bay Area and got on KMBY-Monterey by a fluke: she became their "token woman" on-air while she was holding down her nursing job. "It was a sought-after gig, and I'm sure it may have offended some people that I got the job with very little experience in the business. I took a chance and it paid off." Born in 1946, she told Broadcasting magazine, "I wanted to be a doctor and did what every middle class girl does, and that is become a registered nurse." When there was an opening at KFMB (“B-100”)-San Diego, she auditioned on the air and became the first female jock at the station. "B-100" pd Bobby Rich remembered, "Cherie flew down from Monterey, and we drove around town for a couple of hours chatting. I really thought she had potential, so although she had no audition tape, I put her on the air for a live try-out. She did so well that the next morning on the way to the airport I offered her the job!" In 1983 she hosted a 90-second syndicated feature called "California Way of Life" on the California Radio Network and worked briefly for the L.A. Traffic Network. When she left the Southland, she relocated to the Monterey Peninsula in 1987 and combined her radio and promotions experiences in addition to her RN background to become the marketing and communications director for Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, winning numerous regional and local marketing and communications awards. Cherie has also become a respected mixed media artist with exhibits throughout Monterey County. She recently voiced liners for Bobby Rich's Internet radio station. Cherie volunteers for the Monterey County Make a Wish Foundation, serving as co-chair of the marketing committee, working with the Chair, Dina Eastwood. She lives with her husband Bob and four felines in Oak Hills, CA.

 

SANTANA, John: KFAC, 1977-89; KKGO/KMZT, 1989-2005; KMZT, 2006-07 and 2011. John was program director at K-Mozart 1260 AM for part of his stay at the Classical station. He returned to 1260AM with a format flip in April 2011. John is a composer and conductor and holds a Master of Music degree from Cal State, Fullerton. He did his first classical radio program at KNEU-El Centro in 1970. John joined KFAC in 1977 and became the morning man from 1986-89. In the spring of 1996, John became pd of KKGO and now works afternoons. He owns his own computer consulting company. John is the voice of our L.A. Chamber Orchestra Concerts. For some of his time, John juggled programming for three major markets as director of programming for the California Classical Network, which consisted of several stations covering San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Juggle is the word, too, since most of the programming was different for each market. "Outside the studio, I've produced and hosted remote broadcasts of concerts and other Classical-music related events, including the popular Hollywood Bowl Guest Conductor Competition. I have served as the primary pre-concert speaker for several organizations, and regularly appear as Master of Ceremonies at their concerts and events. Speaking of being involved in listener activities, it was a pleasure to host listener tours to Europe. Along the way, I earned a Master of Music degree in composition, and I do my share of composing, conducting, arranging, and recording. My work also includes independent voiceover sessions, some television, and a appearances in two films about the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra," John wrote on his website.

SANTIAGO, Larry: KZLA, 2002-06. Larry worked weekends at the Country station, KZLA until a format flip in 2006. He went on to be promotion manager on the West Coast for Epic Records. Larry began his career as an on-air talent at KFYE radio in Fresno. He served as pd for KJUG in Tulare from 1986 through 1996 and managed a staff of 15+ at Fresno's KNAX for the next three years. In 1998 he accepted the PD position at Premiere Radio Networks where he oversaw all programming aspects of After MidNite with Blair Garner, Club Country Live with Tony & Kris and several other syndicated programs. Santiago is a California native and a graduate of California State University with a BA in Radio-Television Communications.

Santiago, Ricardo: Ricardo is now a PIO at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Santiago, Richard: KKHJ, 1991-92; CRC 1992-1997; KLVE, 1997-2015. KLVE is now a part of Univision Radio.
Santos, Karla: KDAY, 2007-08. Karla is market manager for Magic Broadcasting.  

SANTOSUOSSO, Michelle: KKBT, 1997-98; KHHT, 2002-03. Michelle joined KHHT as pd in January 2002 and left her post in late 2003. She is  correspondent for HITS Magazine. Michelle's now a professor of practice at the Bandier Program, Newhouse School at Syracuse University.  In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, she wrote an essay for Variety: "Radio, I’ve just about had enough of you and your abandonment of your defining purpose as broadcasters. With the coronavirus pandemic now ravaging everyday life and suspending every reliable comfort from work routines to sports and entertainment or actual human contact, we’re looking for steadiness somewhere — an echo of the familiar, a kindred connection.  Anything to tether us to something recognizable. A service the radio dial used to provide — and public radio still does. Throw out the rulebook. This is a new normal. You have absolutely no reason not to figure out how to fill the void in a way that may actually create a new lane for you. INNOVATE. Instead, what is Radio doing right now? Completely ignoring their main and probably very last strength. Smh. I’ve had enough of you Radio. Maybe you will finally pay the price for your basic lack of understanding for how people have always used this medium. And maybe you deserve it."

 

SANTOYO, Oscar: KOCM/KSRF, 1991-92; KWIZ, 1987-92. Oscar left radio and served a four-year term on the board of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. In 2018, he was appointed Director of Community Engagement at the Perot Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas.  On October 24, 2021, Oscar was involved in a fatal motorcycle accident in Dallas that claimed his life. He was 57. His family wrote on Facebook: "Since we heard the news, our family has been struggling to cope and deal with the pain of this tragic loss. So many of you supported Oscar during his fight against cancer and other health battles, which he survived through strength of will, determination and courage. There is a massive hole in our hearts that will be difficult to heal, especially for our Mom and Dad and his two sons, Nico and Joey." At his website, Oscar described his journey. "I have often been described as an individual who is a trailblazer that leads with integrity, focus, dedication and heart. My scope of experience has virtually spanned ALL aspects of the non-profit industry. For the past 20 years I've held numerous positions; from working directly with gangs and at-risk children to individually raising over a million dollars to create a nationally recognized academic scholarship program for low income youth.   "It was while I was working for WEZW- in Milwaukee, that in my spare time I began working and mentoring at-risk youth in the Southside Milwaukee area. In mid-1993, I returned to my hometown of Costa Mesa in Orange County, where I served as the Executive Director for Save Our Youth and the Director of Program Services with the Boys & Girls Clubs. In 2005, I was contacted and recruited by the Orange County Council, Boy Scouts of America, in Santa Ana, California and by mid-2007, my experience and proven commitment to Scouting quickly distinguished myself and fast-tracked to become the Associate Regional Director of Hispanic Scouting for the Southern Region in Atlanta. I attended Fullerton College and Clemson University and I have received numerous achievements throughout my career; including being recognized as one of the 50 Most Influential people in Costa Mesa & Newport Beach for 10 consecutive years.

SARGENT, Kenny: KQLZ, 1991-93; KLOS, 1994-97; KLSX, 2001-03; KSPN, 2003-08; KLSX, 2008-09. Kenny hosts a syndicated car racing show, SpeedFreaks. His syndicated show was born on an all night vigil at the computer. Frustrated by what he continued to see in motorsports coverage, The Sarge decided to embark on a journey that would take a year and a half to complete. After tireless meetings, “maybes” and “let’s wait and sees,” his big ol’ dream came alive in 2000. In 1996, Kenny was recruited from KLOS for entertainment reporter at KCOP/UPN-13. He remained at KLOS until late summer of 1996, then departed to dedicate full-time to his expanding UPN-13 Pop World segment that included the youth-political beat as well as fill-in sports. Originally hailing from Dallas, he first rose to fame as an all-state football kicker, turning down then-OSU coach Jimmy Johnson to attend broadcast-oriented Sam Houston State on an NCAA soccer scholarship. Upon graduation the "Sarge" joined KTXQ-Dallas and contributed to FOX/TV's entertainment programs. He demonstrated his promotional and sports versatility performing long-distance place kicking at KQLZ sponsored half-time shows at L.A. Rams games. After "Pirate Radio" sank, Kenny starred in the Coca-Cola-sponsored AX-WAVE tv music/interview program reaching over 20 million viewers on the Nippon TV Network in Japan. He has been an active participant in the Big Brothers program for many years. Kenny lives in the San Fernando Valley with the two surviving of three fat cats he rescued from the pound.

Sartori, Maxanne: KLIT, 1994. Maxanne lives in New York and she is in the record business.
Saunders, Art: KZLA, 1983. Unknown.
Saunders, Michael: KKBT, 1998-99. Michael is program director at "Power 105.1"-New York.
Savage, Don: KACE, 1979-83; KNAC, 1984-85. Don works for Spafax Airline Network and he is producer, writer, interviewer and host for Inflight audio entertainment for 25 airlines. He also does voiceover and a lot of theatre.
Savage, Jack: KABC, 2000-07. Jack worked for one of the traffic services. 

SAVAGE, Michael: KRLA 2004-07; KLAA, 2007-08; KGIL, 2008-09. Michael's show was heard in morning drive at KGIL 1260 and 540 until the spring of 2009. He continued in national syndication until leaving the medium at the end of 2020 to focus exclusively on podcasting.  Dr. Michael Savage is a multimedia icon in the conservative movement, he was heard by 10 million listeners a week on “The Savage Nation.” In 2019, he launched The Savage Nation Podcast. He is also the author of more than 25 books, including nine New York Times best-sellers. In 2007, TALKERS Magazine presented Michael with the “Freedom of Speech Award.” In 2016 he was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. Savage was also instrumental in the populist movement that catapulted Donald Trump to the White House in  the 2016 presidential election. Dr. Savage holds a master’s degree in medical botany and a second in medical anthropology. Additionally, he earned his PhD. from the University of California at Berkeley in epidemiology and nutrition sciences. He is an ardent conservationist, is dedicated to his family and is a proud patriot of his country.

 

SAVAGE, Rick: KROQ, 2005-09. Rick worked weekends and fill-in at KROQ. Rick hosts a podcast. "We talk about Crossfit, Party Wagons in Nashville and what the rock equivalent to Drake vs. Pusha T is. I don't think you will like my example."

 

SAVAGE, Tracie: KFWB, 2001-09. Tracie worked afternoons at all-News KFWB until a format flip in early fall of 2009. She owns Tracie Savage Communications, which provides companies with media and presentation training. She's a motivational speaker. She is currently an assistant professor at Pierce College, where she teaches journalism, broadcasting and multimedia classes. Prior to being hired as a full-time instructor at Pierce, in fall 2015, Savage worked as an adjunct professor at USC-Annenberg School of Journalism, Santa Monica College and LA Valley College teaching journalism, media studies, and film production. Tracie is one of those rare talents who have excelled in numerous venues: KFWB anchor for almost a decade in the 2000s, tv anchor/reporter for KCAL/Channel 9 and KNBC/Channel 4. She started her Southland news career in 1991 from five years at WHIO/TV in Dayton, Ohio. Tracie has appeared in a spate of tv and movie projects and starred in the indie-production, The Bone Garden. Production notes describe the film: “Students, townies, and hunks are disappearing at an alarming rate. Who’s responsible? Follow us on a thrilling, sometimes horrific journey to uncover the truth!” Since KFWB laid off 85% of the staff tin 2009 to turn the all-News station into a Talk station, Tracie has been extremely busy. "I have been an adjunct professor at LA Valley College for the past three years, teaching broadcasting and film production," said Tracie. "I love it. It is so amazing." She has been anchoring a newscast for West Hollywood every other week that airs on the local cable channel in West Hollywood. "I have been on the air for Time Warner Cable for three years doing LIVE traffic, in front of a green screen.

Savage was born in Chicago and graduated from the University of Michigan with a BS in communications and public relations. Her mother became a talent agent after Tracie began her acting career. From a start in the mid-70s hit, Little House on the Prairie, she had a significant role in Friday the 13^th  III. Her eclectic tv career includes guest appearances in Love, American Style, Marcus Welby, M.D., Happy Days, and Here's Boomer. After filming Friday the 13^th, Tracie retired from acting to pursue journalism.

Savage has covered the Heidi Fleiss and O. J. Simpson civil trials. During the O. J. Simpson trial, Savage was called to the witness stand to reveal her confidential sources, and was threatened with jail time by Judge Ito. In 2005, Savage briefly returned to acting and starred in the movie Loretta. SAVAN, Mark: KFWB, 1968-80. Mark worked for a number of years with Chuck Blore Enterprises. Mark is a broadcaster, a disk jockey and commentator. In 1975 he and a friend were walking across the street in front of his house about when they were both struck by a speeding car. Savan was hit so hard that it knocked him out of his shoes. Nothing was broken but he was so badly bruised that he was hospitalized for nine days. His friend was knocked 50 ft further and was badly injured.

Saxon, Mike: KRHM, 1965-68. Mike is retired and battling MS. He lives in Northwest Florida. 

SAXTON, Richard: KFWB, 2000-06. Richard was a business reporter at all-News KFWB. After 12 years as a sportscaster, he wanted a new challenge and became a stockbroker, which became tough after the 1987 market crash. In 1988 he combined both career and joined Financial News Network as an anchor. He won four Golden Mike awards. He's appeared in a number of tv shows and movies. Saxton used to be a sportscaster for 12 years but wanted a new challenge. In the 1980s he became stockbroker but after the 1987 market crash he combined his careers and joined the Financial News Network as an anchor. Every morning drive at KFWB, he was heard on Money News with Richard.

 

SCHAFFNER, Dr. Irving, KNJO. In the 1960's, Dr. Schaffner purchased KNJO/fm-Thousand Oaks, from Sandy Koufax, the original owner.  The station featured adult contemporary music and local news and community events.  Schaffner later sold KNJO to Alan Fischler for $75,000.  Schaffner, who practiced medicine in the Conejo Valley for over 40 years, died December 14, 2014, at his home in Oakhurst.  He was 84 years old.

Scannell, Ed: KNX. Ed went on to work for the Southern California Rapid Transit District.

SCANNELL, Herb: KPCC 2019-23 Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) appointed Herb president/ceo in early 2019. Herb, who successfully led Nickelodeon, MTV Networks, and TV Land, among other businesses is the new leader of local public radio. He succeeds founding president/ceo Bill Davis, who is retiring after 18 years. SCPR operates KPCC/Pasadena and is the publisher of the digital L.A.-centric news destination LAist. "We're experiencing an audio renaissance," he said. "Podcasts are blossoming and local public radio is filling a journalistic void left by the diminishing number of local newspapers. At the same time technology is changing the game with the emergence of smart speakers and – very soon – smart cars. California and Los Angeles are the hub of both culture and innovation, and what happens here matters everywhere. Scannell takes over a newsroom with an annual budget of nearly $33 million, about 155 employees, and an audience of nearly one million. “I began my career in radio, and I couldn’t think of a better time, place or city to return to this medium I love,” Scannell said in the statement. “ Scannell plans to widen KPCC’s foray into podcasts, noting that Hollywood is in the station’s backyard. He utilized the technique while on the board of New York Public Radio. SCPR did not state Scannell’s compensation, although tax forms show that the current ceo’s compensation package is approximately $476,600.

Scarborough, Ed: KKHR, 1983-86. Ed was pd at KGLK (The Eagle)-Houston until early summer 2009. He's now account manager/sales at Salem Communications in Houston.

SCARBOROUGH, Joe: KABC, 2009-10. The host of MSNBC's Morning Joe started a two-hour syndicated show carried in L.A. by KABC. He now co-hosts Morning Joe on MSNBC. It replaced Don Imus' radio program after he was ousted for making racists remarks about the Rutgers University Women's basketball team. Joe, a former Republican congressman from Florida, is a lawyer with Beggs and Lane, the oldest firm in Florida and a former publisher and editor of The Florida Sun, a newspaper. Born in Atlanta, Joe is married to Mika Brzezinski, daughter of diplomat and political scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski, who served as a counselor to President Lyndon B. Johnson and as the National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter.

 

SCARRY, Rick: KEZY, 1968-72; KKDJ, 1972-73; KDAY, 1973-74; KGIL, 1974-79; KMET, 1979-81; KRTH, 1982-83; KHJ, 1984-85; KMET, 1986-87; KMPC/fm / KEDG, 1988; KLIT, 1989-91. Rick is one of Hollywood's most prolific actors. was a regular on Arli$$ and is seen on all the top tv shows, including Scandal, Mad Men, Desperate Housewives, The Office, Cold Case, 7th Heaven and Star Trek The Next Generation. Born in Delaware, Ohio in 1942, Rick began his radio career while still in high school as a "go-fer" for L.A. radio legend Dave Hull, "The Hullabalooer" at WTVN in Columbus, Ohio. (Years later he became Dave's boss at KHJ) Rick's first on-air job was at WDLR-Delaware, Ohio in 1963. After an overseas stint in the army with Armed Forces Radio, he moved to Southern California in the late 60's to pursue a dual career as a broadcaster and actor. While working as an air personality and pd at several top rated L.A. stations, he studied acting in his off hours and performed in local theater productions and occasionally did small roles in television productions. Commenting on his radio days Rick said, "I was so fortunate to work with and know so many great LARP including The Real Don Steele, Robert W. Morgan, Wolfman Jack, Sweet Dick Whittington, Mary Turner, Jim Ladd, The Hullabalooer, Raechel Donahue, David Hall, Mark Denis, John Yount (Big John Carter), Paraquat Kelley and so many others it would fill this entire book."

"Paraquat (Pat) and I were the last voices heard when The Mighty Met, KMET went dark on February 6, 1987. I was also the last voice heard when KHJ changed call letters. I made the official on-air announcement signing off for good.

 When I was a young radio nerd in Ohio, I read about L.A. radio in Billboard and dreamed of the day when I could be a part of it. I finally chased that dream and what do you know...it came true."

In 1991, Rick left radio behind and began to pursue a full time career as a character actor and has since appeared in over 60 tv shows, 11 movies for television and 14 feature films. His tv appearances include: Providence, Malcolm In The Middle, That 70's Show, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The Drew Carey Show, Melrose Place, JAG and Howard Stern's infamous Son Of The Beach. Some of his feature films include: Wag The Dog, Naked Gun 33 1/3, Addams Family Values and The Negotiator.

SCHARY, Jill: KLAC, 1966-69. Jill Robinson is a novelist but in the mid to late-1960s she interviewed film and political personalities on KPFK and KLAC. Her most recent novel is Past Forgotten. Born May 30, 1936, Jill's memoirs contend with the themes of addiction, recovery and growing up during the golden age of Hollywood. Her father, Dore Schary, was an Oscar and Tony Award-winning writer, producer, and head of MGM. Her 1974 memoir about drug addiction, Bed/Time/Story, was turned into a television movie called A Cry For Love. She reviewed books and wrote articles for the New York Times, Los Angles Times, Vanity Fair, Washington Post and Vogue. Her Vanity Fair story on Roman Polanski was included in George Plimpton's book, The Best American Movie Writing for 1998. I In 2009, Jill she was instrumental in saving the Motion Picture and Television Fund's retirement home.

 

SCHEELE, Dr. Adele: KABC, 1985. Dr. Scheele is director, Career Center, California State University, Northridge.  Dr. Scheele is a pioneering career strategist and coach. As career expert for NBC's Today Show, columnist for AARP's Modern Maturity as well as her position at Northridge, Dr. Scheele's counsel spans the working world from students just entering the market to seasoned executives creating meaningful next strategies. She earned her bachelor's degree from The University of Pennsylvania, a master's degree from California State University Northridge as an English Fellow, and a Ph.D. from UCLA with honors as a Change Management Fellow. She has written three books: Skills for Success; Jump Start Your Career in College; and, Career Strategies for the Working Woman. Her weekend show at KABC followed Dr. David Viscott.

SCHEFRIN, Dean: KROQ, 2005-06. Dean started as the morning sports guy with Kevin & Bean in late 2005 and left in early 2006. He's writing screenplays. Dean was born and raised in Milwaukee where he played a lot of sports.“Always been a huge Packer fan, and my folks had season seats for the Bucks since they were an expansion team [remember Lew Alcindor?]. Not much fun being a Packer fan as a kid, but Brett Favre made up for that in a huge way,” said Dean.    Dean went to college and then to law school at UCLA. Halfway through, he realized that the practice of law was not for him, but he finished, passed the bar, and never used his law degree. Dean took a marketing job out of law school and came to the epiphany that he could do anything he wanted.  “So I took an internship with The Press Box on Prime Sports [now Fox Sports],” said Dean. “After six months, I made an audition tape and landed a job as sports anchor in Monroe, Louisiana.

Schell, Russ: KFOX, 1979-81. Russ lives in Nashville where he is vp of The Interstate Radio Network and The Road Gang Coast-to-Coast Network.
Schermerhorn, Ted: KLOS; KLYY, 1999; KXMX, 1999-2001; KDLE, 2007-08. "Anthony" left "Y107" in late 1999 following a format change to Spanish. After various stints as a casting, field and story producer on Big Brother and The Bachelor, Ted has dropped "Anthony" and went by Tedd Roman at Indie 103.1/fm. 

SCHLESSINGER, Dr. Laura: KWIZ, 1976-79; KMPC, 1980-81; KABC; KWNK, 1989; KFI, 1991-2009; KFWB, 2009-10. The undisputed queen of family advice shows, Dr. Laura is heard daily on the Tribute channel at SiriusXM. In making the tv rounds promoting the paperback release of the Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands she appeared on many shows. In introducing her, Larry King said, “No matter what you think of Dr. Laura, dull she’s not." "After 9/11, everyone thought talk radio should be all politics, all the time. Everyone was yelling constantly and forgetting that everyone at home has a life – they have ethics, morals, values and principles to consider with their spouses, family, friends, relatives, work and everything else that needs attention.”  She explained that the feminists started out with the best of intentions of equal pay and equal opportunity for talent and ability. Schlessinger told King that the feminists got co-opted with being “feminine, loving, and sweet, being a mom, wife and also being home with the kids.” Prior to her appearance on Larry King, she was on with Hannity & Colmes. Alan asked Laura to respond to recent attacks. "You give tough advice, but you haven't always lived up tot he things you tell other people to do. Is that a fair criticism of you?" Dr. Laura quickly responded: "Of course not. Hypocrisy means that I'm doing stupid things today and espousing something different. Thirty years ago I did stupid things. I admit. I regret. I'm embarrassed but I was a feminist and those were the values. And today, I have something else to teach but I understand where a lot of the people are coming from because I was there."

 

SCHNABEL, Tom: KCRW, 1977-2020. "I count myself extremely fortunate to have made a living—and a life—in music. It was at times a precarious career, but I have been very very lucky. I worked at several record companies both before I joined KCRW in 1977 as well as after I left the Music Director and Morning Becomes Eclectic host position in 1990. "Being a radio dj has always been my favorite job though. The gestalt of putting on a record and sharing it with whomever was listening out there in the audience was simply wonderful. The station’s signal barely reached Robertson Blvd. when I first started in April 1977, but somebody told me at the time that if I had one person listening, that was enough. I called my first show, “View from the Bridge,” a title taken from a Sonny Rollins album. I will retire from writing a weekly column for KCRW at the end of 2020, after 43 years at the station—36 years on the air and seven years online. I also loved listening to KGFJ, an r&b station that played nothing but r&b and what were known then as “race records.” Johnny Otis had a show there as well on television, where I heard Marie Adams & The Three Tons of Joy Ester Phillips, and the Johnny Otis orchestra. I heard Little Richard's Tutti Frutti when I was eight, and it galvanized me." (from KCRW website)

 

SCHNEIDER, Michael: KCSN, 2004-08; KCRW, 2014-21. Michael hosted a weekly Hawaiian music show at KCSN until the summer of 2008. Michael is the executive editor for IndieWire, Editor-At-Large for Variety and a contributor to Los Angeles public radio station KCRW, where he hosts The Spin-Off, a podcast about the tv industry, and contributes to The Business and Press Play.  Prior to that, he was the Chief Content Officer for TV Guide Magazine, where he helped launch the website TV Insider. With more than 20 years experience covering the tv business, Schneider often appears on news and entertainment shows as a television expert and moderates panels with industry execs, showrunners and talent. He also served as judge on a Fox Reality Channel show you probably didn't see. Before TV Guide Magazine, he spent 12 years as tv editor of Variety and Daily Variety, and was the LA bureau chief for the weekly TV trade publication Electronic Media (later known as Television Week).

Schneider, Stan: KGFJ, KKTT-KUTE102 1974-79. After radio, Stan turned to his hobby and began doing portrait and glamor photography. He continues working in photography in L.A. 

SCHNEIDER, Wolfgang: KCSN, 1977-2007. Wolfgang originated The American Continental Hours, which was broadcast in German and English and heard on KCSN for 30 years. He played music from all over Europe, from polkas and operettas to contemporary German ballads. Wolfgang died May 20, at the age of 81. “Mr. Schneider was a class act and great lover of radio and sports, especially soccer," said Scalla Sheen, host of 'American Mosaic' at KCSN. “He was a great mentor to me, as I was training to be a board operator at KCSN/fm. During my undergrad years at KCSN/fm, Mr. Schneider had great patience and showed tremendous support.” A German website promoted his show that could be heard on the Internet. "A must for music lovers, it is also required listening for soccer fans because Wolfgang gives his audience the soccer scores from around the world. The American Continental Hours was a Southland tradition - and as American as apple strudel."

SCHNITT, Todd: KQLZ, 1989-91; KFWB, 2009-12. Todd was part of Pirate Radio at KQLZ. His syndicated show was heard late night on News/Talk KFWB. "After Pirate I went to WPLJ New York in 1991, then off to my first solo morning show at WOVV-West Palm Beach," wrote Todd. "In early 1994 I was hired at the Power Pig, WFLZ to do mornings where I launched the MJ & BJ Morning Show. Power Pug was dropped in 1995 and we became 93-3 FLZ. In 2001, BJ left and it became the MJ Morning Show. In October 2001, I also launched the Schnitt Show which became syndicated and still is today on about 50 stations. The MJ Morning Show ended in 2012." "I focused on The Schnitt Show until January 2015 when I went to WOR-New York to do mornings. I left WOR in October 2017 after we could not agree on terms for a new 3-year deal. The afternoon Schnitt Show continued. In October 2020, I relaunched The MJ Morning Show on WRBQ-Tampa Bay Q105 with most of my former team."

SCHOCK, Bryan: KNAC, 1990-91 and 1993-95. Bryan left his music director/afternoon drive post at KPRI-San Diego in the summer of 2014. In the spring of 2015, Bryan was appointed OM/PD of Classic Rock KSAN (THE BONE) and Triple A KFOG-San Francisco. He's now operations manager for three stations in Charleston, South Carolina.

 

SCHOEN, Michael: KFWB, 90s. Michael is a news anchor at WCBS-New York. He's a product of New York City – born and educated. After hosting music shows on college radio at Queens College, he began a professional radio career, quickly realizing news was the most exciting aspect of broadcasting — a different landscape each day. His broadcast news career included three major market all-News radio stations.  WCAU-Philadelphia; KFWB, and WCBS-New York. In between, Michael worked at two national networks. The RKO radio network and CBS News, Radio. RKO was particularly significant, because its format and style were designed for FM Music stations. It was the cutting edge of less formal “conversational” news delivery. That experience helped to provide a foundation for his network documentary narrations and corporate videos both major parts of Michael’s current repertoire. His distinctive voice is also known for its reassuring quality, heard especially in medical narrations and commercials for hospitals and pharmaceutical companies.

Schofield, Dick: KFOX, 1965. Unknown. 

SCHOFIELD, Susan Mendlin: KFWB and KRLA. Susan broadcast news and traffic for Metro Traffic Network until the fall of 2008 following a company downsizing. In the summer of 2009, the LA Times chronicled a heartbreaking story dealing with former LARP traffic reporter and her then-6-year-old daughter who has been schizophrenic since birth. The story of their daughter was reported all over the world and Oprah retold the story. Some highlights: January Schofield suffers from delusions, hallucinations and paroxysms of rage so severe that not even her parents feel safe. She's threatened to climb into an oven. She’s kicked and tried to bite her little brother. “I’m Jani, and I have a cat named Emily 54,” she says, by way of introduction. “And I’m Saturn-the-Rat’s baby sitter.” About 1% of adults have schizophrenia; most become ill in their late teens or 20s. Approximately one in 10 will commit suicide. Doctors and other mental health experts don't fully understand the disease, which has no cure. Jani's extreme early onset has left them almost helpless. The rate of onset in children 13 and under is about one in 30,000 to 50,000. In a national study of 110 children, only one was diagnosed as young as age 6. Jani lived in the UCLA psych ward for a time because she couldn’t return to her family’s apartment in Valencia. Last fall, she tried to jump out of a second-story window.   The Schofields are angry, but resigned, that so few resources exist to help a psychotic child. No residential center in California will take Jani because of her extreme behavior.  It’s really day by day,' Michael said.”

Scholl, Michael: KSRF, 1990. Michael commuted from Fresno to work weekends at KSRF. He is living in Fresno.
Schorr, Arnold: KHJ, 1961-64; KGFJ, 1964-79; KUTE, 1973-79. Arnold lives in Orlando and consults radio stations while in semi-retirement.
Schrack, Don: KNX, 1969-72; KFWB, 1974-79. Don was part of the embryonic decade of all-News KFWB and became nd in 1975. A third generation native of the Fresno County community of Selma, he majored in journalism at UCLA. Don has been in general management and/or station ownership since leaving Los Angeles. He is based in Yakima. 

SCHREIBER, Art: KFWB, 1969-77. Art lives in Albuquerque. Art is credited by many who worked with him of tightening the all-News format at KFWB. "When I was a news director I always had a good rapport with program directors with whom I worked. They had a great sense of production and good editing skills. One of the best was Ken Draper. We worked together at KYW-Cleveland and WCFL-Chicago. I hired Ken to be executive editor at KFWB." The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company's director of research, Jim Yergin, discovered the average time a person listened to all-News radio was twenty minutes. Bob Kline of a local ad agency came up with the slogan, "Give us 22 minutes and we'll give you the world." Ken changed the 30-minute news cycle to 20 minutes. "Ken and I pushed the 20-minute cycles with A, B and C stories. The A stories ran three times each hour, the B's twice and the C's just once an hour." Art is a native of Ohio and grew up on a farm near East Liverpool. He attended a one room school. "I went through eight grades in one room, not one grade for eight years!" He received a B.A. from Westminster College majoring in bible, philosophy and psychology. "The major advisor told me to get out of the speech department and get into something you can make a living at." Consequently, he took the triple major. Art worked for Westinghouse for 17 years, joining Group W at KYW in 1960. Before reaching KFWB he was assistant gm at KYW-Philadelphia and before that headed the Group W national foreign news services as Bureau Chief in Washington, DC. In 1977 he became president of "Commuter Computer," the regional ride-sharing organization in Southern California which he founded in 1972. Art left L.A. for Hubbard Broadcasting's KSTP-Minneapolis and two years later Hubbard sent him to Albuquerque to manage KOB AM&FM which he did until 1990. He lost the sight of one eye in 1969 and went blind in 1982. After 16 eye surgeries he has some sight. He credits the National Federation of the Blind with "turning my life around. I have good mobility skills with my white cane and good independent living skills." Art ran for mayor of Albuquerque in 1993. "My three friends didn't vote often enough!" He served as Director of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind for two years and is now president of Schreiber Enterprises, a consulting company.

SCHREIBER, Carson: KRLA, 1964; KBBQ, 1965-71; KLAC, 1971-76. Carson is in semi-retirement. He has been active in the Kiwanis. Carson was with RCA Records for 18 years, most recently in Denver. In 1994, he joined Mike Curb's record label, Curb AG. In the summer of 1997 he was named senior vp at Disney Hollywood Records’ Nashville Country division. Carson started in the programming department at KBLA in the mid-sixties while he was a student at Cal State Northridge with Don Langford. Both worked at KLAC and remained after the changer over to Country and KBBQ. Carson worked on the air part time and in the programming department, then became music director and did some air work at KLAC.

Schroeder, Ric: KFWB and KNX. After 15 years with KFWB and KNX as writer and editor, Ric left the radio business to pursue work on documentary films. 

SCHRUTT, Norm: KZLA, 1980-81. The former general manager at Country KZLA in the early 1980s, died August 5, 2020 at the age of 87. Norm was a 33-year veteran of ABC radio. In 2021, he was inducted posthumously into the Country Radio Hall of Fame. He had been a car salesman when he joined WKBW-Buffalo as a time salesman. He became ’KB’s gm in 1977 before joining KZLA in 1980. Then in 1981 he joined WKHX/WYAY-Atlanta as gm and stayed until the fall of 1996, when he retired at age 63. Norm was tough on talent but had a soft underbelly. In his obit in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Atlanta morning star Moby remembered Norm telling him. “Never think this is your radio station. This is my radio station.” “Norm was brilliant,” Moby said. “If you believed in him, and you let him know you believed in him, working for him was easy.” Even when Moby got in trouble with clients or listeners, he said Schrutt supported him. After retiring from radio, Norm became a talent agent for the next 23 years, working with entertainment attorney Joel Katz. “Norm was my first gm at KZLA, having flipped the station Country two weeks before I started there as a weekend talent in the Fall of 1980,” remembered former KZLA pd RJ Curtis. “Gruff, tough, and boisterous on the outside, but soft, empathetic, and supportive on the inside, Norm was large and in charge,” he wrote on Facebook. Curtis had a front row seat to Norm’s negotiating style during an AFTRA contract renewal process. “Months into my time at KZLA, I made an accidental, yet monumental error that was clearly a fireable offense. Norm gave me a pass on that, and saved my radio career. I honestly don’t know where I’d be now if he hadn’t, as I had zero career equity at that point.” “Norm Schrutt was a true force of nature,” RJ wrote. “It’s hard to imagine that amount of energy has been stilled. My thoughts are with his family and friends.”

SCHUBERT, Bill: KBIQ/KBIG, 1961-65; KPOL, 1961-65; KKAR, 1965-68; KFWB, 1968-90. Bill was part of the launch of all-News KFWB in 1968 and he stayed for 22 years. He passed away May 30, 2008, at the age of 81.  Bill covered the assassination of Robert Kennedy, the 1971 Sylmar earthquake and election year campaigns of Richard Nixon and Jesse Unruh. Bill was a native Angeleno born August 31, 1926. He grew up in Alhambra and attended Pasadena City College, then St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. In 1949, he started his radio career at WSLB-Ogdensburg, New York. Bill returned to L.A. in 1951 and worked as public relations director for the Southern California Edison Company. He returned to radio in 1958 at KDWC-West Covina. Prior to KFWB he also worked at KBIG, KPOL and KKAR. Bill took an early buy-out from Westinghouse (owners of KFWB) and retired in 1990 and lived in Covina. He secured a real estate license but became the primary caretaker for his ailing wife.

Schulman, Heidi: KFWB. Heidi lives in Washington, DC.

SCHULTZ, Ed: KTLK, 2005-08; KGIL, 2008. Back in the 2000s, Ed was thought to be the Progressive Talk show answer to King of the Talkers, Rush Limbaugh. The former syndicated host who was heard locally on KTLK (then-1150 AM) and KGIL, died July 5, 2018, of natural causes. He was 64. Ed played football at Minnesota State University/Moorhead, eventually becoming the play-by-play announcer for North Dakota State. “In college, I had an opportunity to do a little sports show in Moorhead, Minnesota on KQWB. That was my first shot,” said Ed in a 2011 interview. Schultz began his media career working as a radio and television host in the Fargo market.   Schultz started his broadcast career working in sports on tv. He served as the sports director at WDAY/TV-Fargo during the 1980s. Schultz had an uncanny similar presentation as Limbaugh, despite their opposite political views. Ed opened his show with “From the heart of America, the nation’s #1 Progressive voice where truth and common-sense rule.” From 2009 to 2015, he hosted a daytime news and opinion program on MSNBC called The Ed Show. He was a controversial presence. Ed was heard for three years on LA Radio, first at Progressive Talk KTLK from 2005-08, then on KGIL when Saul Levine briefly went all-Talk with his AM station.

Schultz, Edwin: KXLA/KRLA, 1959. Ed became general manager at the launch of KRLA as a Top 40 station. He arrived from KJAY-Topeka. 

SCHUMACHER, Captain Max: KMPC. The acknowledged grandfather of the airborne traffic reporters was Captain Max Schumacher, flying for 710/KMPC. Capt. Max was killed when his helicopter collided with an L.A. City Fire chopper over Dodger Stadium on August 30, 1966. His successor, Jim Hicklin, was slain in his stateroom aboard the cruise ship Princess Italia moments before the ship was to sail on a vacation trip to Mexico on April 2, 1973. He was killed by a crazed listener who told Jim he would kill him. Jim made the mistake of telling on the air where he was going on vacation. KMPC aired his funeral services live. KNX’s Bill Keene stated that, with Schumacher at the helm, “KMPC wrote the book on how to cover L.A. traffic.”

 

SCHUON, Andy: KROQ, 1989-92. In early 2004, Andy left his vp/programming post at Infinity. He's now head of Loop Media Studios and Revolt TV's co-founder. In 1989, Andy left the "Rock of Denver" to join KROQ. He was 25 years old when he arrived and his gm described him as a "radio fanatic, someone who'll help give the station a strong sense of on-air production." Andy is credited with teaming Kevin & Bean for morning drive. The pair had never worked together but had been friends since meeting at KZZP-Phoenix. Andy also worked at KISS-San Antonio, KAZY-Denver, KISW-Seattle and KOZZ-Reno. In 1993, he became sr vp at MTV, and in the spring of 1994 he became senior vp/music and programming for both MTV and VH-1. In late 1997 he abruptly resigned from MTV. A story in Variety suggested that Andy “took the bullet for the cabler’s lackluster ratings, which have been mostly flat for the past five years.” The Hollywood Reporter reported that “sources said Schuon quit because he was angry about having an additional layer of management installed. In the spring of 1998 Andy became exec vp/gm of Warner Bros. Records.

 

SCHWARTZ, ‘Edward “Buz”: KMNY. Buz was the founder of "Money Radio" at KMNY on April 1, 1987. On October 14, 2006, he died in his Pasadena home. The longtime host of the “Investor’s Club of the Air" was 80.  Buz’ was born in Brooklyn on May 20, 1926. He graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School and spent three years in the U.S. Coast Guard between 1942 and 1946. “I got involved in the world of investment when I sold my interest in a company called Sell Overseas America, which was a company I formed to promote American products overseas. Maureen Reagan came to work with us and things were going well until she decided to run for the Senate. We had a battle and she got someone to buy me out. I started to look around the investment world when I was inundated with advice as to what to do with the money. I started my own newsletter, took over Sid Barlow’s radio program and the more listeners we got for KIEV, the more they raised my rates. I finally raised the money and bought KMNY, ‘Money Radio.’ The first year we were on the air we syndicated the show and I was aired in San Francisco, Phoenix, New Jersey and Florida. The credit crunch of the 90s caught us in the middle of an expansion and we were stopped dead in our tracks.”

Schwartz, Rick: KMPC, 1994; KXTA, 2004. Rick joined XTRA Sports in late Spring 2004 and was gone within a month.
Schwartz, Roy: KGBS, 1970. Unknown.
Schwartz, Stella: SEE Stella Prado
Schweinsburg, Mike: KROQ, 1970-78. Mike helped put KROQ on the air. He was program director/music director from 1974-76. He has lived in New York City for many years, and has worked for the New York City Council as an aide.

SCOLES, Sibley: KRRL, 2015. Sibley joined Real Radio 92.3 in the spring of 2015. In the summer of 2019 she became co-host of Access Hollywood Weekend. She was born on December 7, 1987. Her mother and father raised her alongside her younger sister Erica in northern California. In early March 2019, Sibley posted a picture of her mother wishing her happy birthday with a short and sweet message for her.   Sibley comes from a mixed heritage of black, white and Filipino ethnicity, but being born in America, she comes from an American nationality.  The fashion industry and outdoor activities profoundly influenced her. She used to play games like basketball, hockey during her childhood and teens. Scoles began her career as a musician, performing across the country before becoming the first female host of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ music television network, Revolt. She transitioned to E! News and Live from E! before joining Access Hollywood. In addition to on-camera hosting, Scoles has been an on-air personality at iHeart Radio’s 92.3 FM and has a background in sports and fashion.

 

SCORPIO, Rob: KGGI, 2015; KKBT; KDAY. In early 2017, Rob became svp of programming for the iHeart Media cluster in San Diego and Riverside. He already served as pd at KKBT (The BEAT) and KDAY. He’s now president of Mostly Media, his own Los Angeles based radio consulting firm. In a Q&A piece in Friday Morning Quarterback, Scorpio said one of the biggest mistakes a young programmer makes when it comes to the daily programming grind. "It’s a tough transition for a young mixer, music director, night jock etc. to be put in a position of managing people. One of the biggest problems young programmers have is REACTING to situations instead of RESPONDING to them. It’s always better to handle a problem in a calm and controlled manner. Normally young programmers are overly aggressive or too passive."  As far as time management: "Most young programmers are on the air as well, so making time to monitor their station is overlooked. Most young program directors, after their daily work is done, turn the station off and go home. How can you fix problems if you don’t listen to the morning show or the night show?  Dealing with people! I used to say the best part of my job is dealing with people and the worst part of my job is dealing with people. I recommend psychology and management classes in your spare time. Everybody always wants something from you? More air-time, more spins, more hours, more commercials etc. You have to know how to handle that and you have to learn how to say no."

Scott, Al: KNOB, 1965; KGFJ, 1965-66; XERB, 1968. Unknown.

SCOTT, Bill: KROQ, 1984-85; KNAC, 1985-86. "Wild Bill" Scott died May 2, 2014. His colleague and dear friend Dusty Street made the announcement on her Facebook page: “One of my closest and dearest friends passed away from a stroke. Wild Bill Scott [Big Daddy] was the person who gave me my signature sign off ‘Fly low and avoid the radar.’ I'm crushed by this loss. He loved music and radio as much as anyone I know. We could sit for hours playing music for each other and often did. I love you my brother. RIP.” Scott grew up in Los Angeles and San Francisco and went to high school in Lake Tahoe. His early radio influences were the early days of KFWB and KRLA. His first radio gig was in Truckee, near Lake Tahoe in 1961. In 1965, he spent a year at the Don Martin School of Broadcasting. His radio journey includes stations in Bakersfield and Reno, KUDL-Kansas City, KDKB and KUPD-Phoenix and WMYQ-Miami. At KMEL-San Francisco he was the first morning jock when the station became AOR. In Detroit,  Scott worked for WABX, WWWW and WLLZ. The Chicago stations included WLUP and WMET, WKLS (“96 Rock”)-Atlanta and Houston followed. Scott worked nine to midnight at "the Roq." He left the Southland to help establish the Z-Rock Satellite in Dallas. In the 1990s, he jocked in San Francisco at KFOG, KSFO and KYA and KFRC. He also hosted the "Dynamite Shack" on KDIA-San Francisco. His wife worked in San Francisco radio. Click the artwork for a quick listen to Scott.

Scott, Bob: KNX, 1975-78 and 1984-98. Bob retired in early 1998.
Scott, Bruce: KOST, 2013-15. Bruce worked afternoon drive at the AC station until October 2015 when Ellen K joined mornings and longtime morning man Mark Wallengren shifted to afternoons forcing Scott out. In early 2016, he took over mornings at Bay FM in San Jose. He left KBAY in the spring of 2022 following a format change.

SCOTT, Dred: KCXX, 1996-97; KLSX, 1997-98; KMXN, 2002-03; KDLD, 2007-08; KSWD, 2008-10. Dred worked at 100.3 The Sound until early 2010 when the overnight live shift was eliminated. He's now with KOZT in Mendocino County.  The Mendocino County native started his career in Marin and Sonoma counties at KTIM and KVRE, respectively. He’s done two multi-year stints at KFOG-San Francisco, and worked at the former Live-105 in San Francisco, 91X in San Diego and 100.3 The Sound and KLSX in Los Angeles.   He loves hiking the Coastal Trail, discovering new music, practicing yoga and bonding with Endo the Cat. And he’s happy to be hanging out at The Coast FM. He been at the Triple A station since 2018. "When I heard The Coast had won a Marconi Award, I knew it was the place for me. It is such an honor to join iconic Bay Area radio people like Tom Yates, Kate Hayes and Joe Regelski. KOZT has an enormous music library and truly unique connection to the local community. It's what radio should be."

 

SCOTT, Gary: KCRW, 2007-18. Gary has been the director of news programming at KCRW since July 2011, when he was promoted from his role as producer for the nationally syndicated "To the Point" and award-winning Southern California public affairs show "Which Way, LA?" Both are hosted by Warren Olney. He left KCRW in the fall of 2018. He's now president of Inside Voices Media. Before joining KCRW, Gary was the Capitol bureau reporter Los Angeles Daily Journal Public Company, politics editor of the  San Gabriel Valley Newspapers, and he served as politics editor for three newspapers - the Pasadena Star-News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, and Whittier Daily News - and acted as writing coach and co-city editor for the three newsrooms. He graduated from California State University at Berkeley.

 

SCOTT, Dr. Gene: KHOF. The flamboyant tv preacher owned KHOF (99.5fm). Gene died February 21, 2005. He was 75. When the flamboyant Christian minister Dr. Gene Scott died, his legacy seemed to be attached to his unique fund raising abilities on tv. But what you may not know is that he (or his church) not only owned tv stations, but also a local radio station, 100,000 KHOF in Glendale, now KKLA. Scott's television program and church services were broadcast  24-hours-a-day on 99.5/fm throughout the '70s and '80s. KGBS veteran Bob Morgan worked for a short time on Scott's "Festival of Faith" television broadcast as a cameraman. "In my opinion he's one of the finest biblical professors in modern times, and has been blessed with the priceless gift of the ability to educate people" about the Bible, said Morgan. However, Morgan said that Scott's well-known eccentricities and rebellious attitude were "counter-productive to (Scott's) teachings." "I learned very early on watching Dr. Scott that the [Faith Center] organization was not about feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, or housing the homeless," said Morgan, adding that the Christian message should be "about love and caring for one another." And, as others have stated, "woe be unto anyone" who disagreed with Dr. Scott or Faith Center. Morgan soon exited the church when he realized that the presentation offered on tv seemed 'bigger and more important' than the real message of faith."

 

SCOTT, Hanna: KFI, 2002-03 and 2009-10. Hanna studied theatre at Santa Ana College, where she wanted to be an actress. She got a fair amount of work as an extra, but nothing suggested she could make a living from acting. “One night I saw an ad in the PennySaver for the broadcasting academy. Within a week I was enrolled and that was that. It was love at first report!” Born in Laguna Beach in 1970, Hanna thought she would be an fm jock but got bored quickly at school and instead fell in love with news. She was a weekend traffic reporter for KFI, eventually going full time covering all stations contracted with AirWatch’s news service. In 2003, Hanna left the Southland for an afternoon drive anchor job WHP 580 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She moved to Phoenix in 2005 and worked at KFYI and  KTAR. In 2009, returned to KFI as a reporter or anchor. “I covered several major stories while there including the Station Fire, murder of Chelsea King and Jaycee Duggar kidnapping. However, KFI was a bad fit and I was let go in June 2010, but on good terms [as much as than can be true] with references.” “By September 2010 I was in Seattle working as a reporter for KOMO. When Sinclair bought KOMO, I survived the first round of layoffs but not the second and was laid off in 2014.” She jumped across town to KIRO/fm, and is now a reporter / talk show contributor covering the Legislature, city hall, gun control, opioids/homelessness, the rape kit backlog and breaking news.

Scott, Ivan: KABC, 1971-72. Ivan was the tv-radio director for Washington's Environmental Protective Agency.
Scott, Jeff: KIBB, 1996-97. Jeff worked on Westwood One's Hot Country format and is an Emmy-winning producer for ABC/TV.

SCOTT, Kevin: KQLZ, 1989-95; KLSX/KRLA, 1998-2001; KFRG, 2001-04; KKBT/KSWD, 2004-2013. Kevin died February 5, 2013, at the age of 49.  Kevin, chief engineer at 100.3/The Sound and at a number of Southland stations over his career, "fought cancer bravely for a very long time" said his wife, Melinda. "He continued to come to work long after beginning treatment because he loved 100.3 and the people."  "Kevin and Melinda Scott have been a true radio love story," said The Sound's pd, Dave Beasing. "They met while working at their high school station in Indiana. Decades later, they became a couple and were married here at The Sound studios. Melinda was with Kevin 24/7 during his last months."  Kevin was born in Heppner, Oregon where his dad was stationed in the Air Force. "We moved back to Indiana where my mother and father were both born and raised," said Kevin when interviewed for Los Angeles Radio People. "I moved to Palm Springs out of school and have never really looked back."

He ran a consulting service in the Palm Springs area from 1983 until around 1987. Kevin was the director of engineering for General Broadcasting from 1987 to 1989, then to Pirate Radio. He was retained through the Viacom days and then to Heftel, KLVE KTNQ and CRC radio network around 1995. Around 1997, he spent a year in San Diego at XHRM.  

In 1998 it was back to Los Angeles at KLSX/KRLA with CBS. In 2001, he took the job at the K-FROG stations, KFRG, KXFG, KVFG, KRAK, and KEZN. In July of 2004 he joined KKBT. Bonneville bought the station in 2008, which became 100.3/The Sound.

SCOTT, Lara: KYSR, 2000-2006; KFSH, 2006-15; KRTH, 2015-23. Lara joined K-EARTH in late 2015 as weekends and fill-in from a long run at KFSH, "The FISH." In late 2016, she took over the midday show. She co-hosted the "Family Friendly Morning Show" at the "FISH," as as well as afternoons from 3-7 p.m. Lara is also the host of The World Chart Show, an internationally syndicated countdown, and her voice has been heard on programs for Bravo, VH-1, the Olympic Encore on Universal Sports,  and in-flight programming for Delta Radio and Air Force 1. Born in Southwest Florida, Lara headed west after high school. She got into radio in Bend, Oregon, after randomly calling a local station, and then continued her broadcasting career in Portland.  After graduating with a B.S. in philosophy from Portland State University, she moved to San Francisco to become the music director and nighttime air personality at KZQZ. She then spent almost 7 years as the midday host at KYSR/Star 98.7. Lara was a 2008 President’s Volunteer Service Award winner, which was presented by recording artist Michael W. Smith on behalf of President George W. Bush for her charity work.  In her free time, she can be found hanging out with her husband and sons, snowboarding, biking, hitting thrift stores and flea markets, and attending lots of concerts and movies.

 

SCOTT, Larry: KBBQ, 1967-68 and 1971; KLAC, 1971-82. Larry worked at KVOO-Tulsa. He hosted a weekly live radio show from Big Balls of Cowtown in Fort Worth, which is distributed throughout the world and spent many years in Los Angeles Country radio. He died July 9, 2016, at the age of 78. Born in Modesto in 1938, Larry spent most of his childhood in southwest Missouri. His first radio job was in Neosho, Missouri for 75 cents an hour. He became the unofficial spokesman for those fans who decried the "modern" trend in Country music. "I show the fans that I am still loyal to a sound they can relate to by the records I play." Larry's love affair with Country music started while at Southwest Missouri State College. He became a friend of Chet Atkins while working at WAGG-Franklin, Tennessee in 1958.

Before moving to Southern California, he worked at WIL-St. Louis and, beginning in 1961, spent four years at KUZZ-Bakersfield, where he befriended Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. He promoted records for a while, then became pd at KVEG-Las Vegas.

In 1966 he worked at KBOX and KRLD-Dallas/Ft. Worth. A year later, his general manager moved to Los Angeles and Larry followed on June 17, 1967. In 1968, Billboard listed Larry the 2nd most popular country dj. The ACM voted him #1 DJ of the Year four times between 1968 and 1974. In 1971, Larry returned to KBBQ after a stint as pd in St. Louis. Larry created the "Phantom 5-70 Club" for truckers only, and it boasted 8,000 members in 1975.

Larry left KLAC in 1982 to host the "Interstate Radio Show" out of Shreveport. In 1994, Larry was voted into the Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in Nashville. In 1999, the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame honored Larry.

Scott, Morton: KLAC, 1965-67. Unknown.

(Dr. Allen Selner, Sheena, Jenn Slater, and Sondoobie)

Scott, Rick: KRTH/KHJ, 1985-86. Rick is working in the computer industry in Los Angeles.

SCOTT, Robertson: KPOL, 1952-71. After KPOL, Bob moved to Santa Barbara and ran two radio stations. He passed away August 10, 2015 at age 93. Although his body just wore out, his mind stayed as sharp as ever until the very end, and his spirit will live forever, according to his obituary. In Santa Barbara, Bob operated KDB Radio. Prior to that, he was in broadcasting for 20+ years in Los Angeles and the Southeast. He is best known as the architect of the musical programming on KDB, formerly Santa Barbara’s local Classical music station. Through KDB Bob provided listening enjoyment to Santa Barbara and Ventura County residents, plus exposure for local businesses , non-profits, and the arts and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a variety of charities by means of events such as the Messiah Sing Along, Sweethearts Grand Ball, and Big Band Blockbuster Ball. A bomber pilot in WWII, Bob’s service was acknowledged generously by the community. Bob’s family enjoyed his love and support every day of his life, and he enjoyed theirs. However, he greatly missed Agnes, his wife of 49 years, who passed away in 1996. She was the epitome of kindness.

 

SCOTT, Steve: KHTZ, 1980-85; KRTH, 1985-90. Born Steve Christiaens, he grew up in Helena, Montana and in 1968 started his radio career in Deer Lodge, Montana. Steve went on to work in Great Falls, Montana, Boise and Albuquerque before moving to KOMA-Oklahoma City in 1975. He later programmed KLIF-Dallas before arriving in L.A. to do afternoons at KHTZ, where later he was pd. For five years he worked afternoon drive at KRTH. Steve and his family moved to New Mexico to start a horse ranch in 1991. He also programmed an oldies station, KBOM, and a Classic Rock outlet, KTMN-Santa Fe, before leaving radio in 1995. In 1998, he returned to KBOM. He also programmed Santa Fe stations KTRC, an adult contemporary station, and country KVSF, where he co-hosted a Saturday morning "Americana" program called "The Real Deal." Steve currently lives in the wilds outside Blue Ridge, Texas. "I entertain as a singer/guitarist at senior communities in the Dallas area. I've finally reached my ideal target demographic," emailed Steve.

SCOTT, Tony: KLOS, 2001-15; KSWD, 2016-17. In February 2018, Tony joined syndicator Westwood One. While at KLOS, he worked swing and hosted The Seventh Day. In the summer of 2016, he joined Classic Rock 100.3/The Sound (KSWD). He left the Sound when the station was sold in the fall of 2017. Tony was part of a Foreign Service family. Tony spent time in Kenya, Hong Kong and Taiwan, which is where he got his radio start on the American Forces Network Taiwan. Tony was born on May 5 in Bellefontaine, Ohio. “I have a few tv and movie credits including the NBC daytime dramas Santa Barbara and Generations.

Scott,Tori: Tori broadcasts traffic for for a number of So Cal stations.
Scroeder, Ric: KFWB, 1988-99. Ric was a newsman at all-News KFWB. 

SCRUGGS, Newy: KXTA, 1998-2000. Newy left all-Sports "XTRA" in the spring of 2000 for a tv sports anchor position in Dallas. In late 2012, he joined weekends at the NBC Sports Radio Network and in the spring of 2013 moved to middays. He is with NBC 5 tv in Dallas. He has been in broadcasting since 1992.  Along the way the stops have included gigs in Florence/Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Cleveland, Los Angeles, Austin and Austin. Newy hosts the Emmy Award-winning Dallas program, Out of Bounds. Scruggs is known as NewDawg, which came from his Omega Psi Phi Fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He was awarded the 1992 National Leadership Award winner Omega. In 1994, Scruggs graduated from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and serves on the board of trustees. In 2003, the Newy Scruggs Sports Broadcasting Scholarship was established for students who want to pursue careers in sports media. Scruggs was born in Wiesbaden, Germany to an army father and an unknown mother. He resides in DFW with his nuclear family.

Sculatti, Gene: Gene is director of special issues at Billboard working on the Spotlight section.

SCULL, Cindy: KLOS, 1993-94; KNAC, 1994-95. Cindy rocked mornings at KEGL-Dallas for better than a quarter of a century. She left in late 2021 with a message on Instagram: "It has been the privilege of my life to have you as my friends + I'll miss you beyond measure. It all boiled down to a contract dispute. I wanted to work from home, & they wanted in office. Its all good cuz I'm a WALL ST Bets Degenerate Ape & that pays an ass-load better. In the meantime, Wake Up Bitches....you gonna be late. Love you guys." Cindy was born in 1962 in Huntington, New York and grew up on Long Island. She started her radio career at the college station in Oneonta, New York. In 1982, she joined a Rock station in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Back to Long Island and WBAB and then to afternoons at KATT-Oklahoma City, where she became music director. After hitting a salary ceiling, she moved to evenings at KFOG-San Francisco and then nights at KLOS. Cindy left KLOS when the Greaseman arrived and then spent some time at KNAC with Gregg Steele and Bryan Schock. Cindy appeared in the “Radio Girls 1998” calendar. She was October. The calendar was described as a monthly look at the “sexiest female jocks.”

 

SCULL, Todd: KJLH, 1985-87; KNX 1995-2000; KABC, 2000-04. Born in Los Angeles in November of 1959, Todd attended college in upstate New York. "After I graduated in 1982, I came to LA and began working for Metro Traffic Control, which was then located on Vine next to the TAV theater," wrote Scull. "I worked for Metro Traffic from 1982 to 1987 and worked as an airborne traffic reporter for KJLH and Saturday night traffic anchor for KNX. I also filled in for Jorge Jarrin on KABC as needed."  In 2022, Todd retired from teaching English at Reseda Charter High School.

 

SCULLY, Vin: KMPC, 1958; KFI, 1959-72; KABC, 1972-97; KXTA, 1997-2003; KFWB, 2003-07; KABC, 2007-11; KLAC, 2011-17. Vin was the premiere voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He died August 2, 2022, at the age of 94. In 2016, he returned as Dodgers announcer for his final season, his 67th with the team. .Considered by most to be the best baseball announcer ever, Vin was born in the Bronx, the son of a silk salesman. His father died of pneumonia when he was 7 and his mother moved to Brooklyn where he grew up playing stickball in the streets. He spent two years in the Navy before graduating from Fordham University where he was a varsity basketball player. He began his broadcasting career at Fordham where he announced school games over the campus radio station then at WTOP-AM in Washington, DC Scully's remarkable tenure as the "Voice of the Dodgers," the longest consecutive service of any current major league broadcaster for one team, began in 1950 when he joined Red Barber as a member of the Brooklyn club's radio team one year after graduating from college. Vinny is one of the most recognizable personalities in sports broadcasting. A 1998 cover story in the Los Angeles Times Magazine said that Vin was “voted the most memorable personality in Los Angeles Dodger history.” He considers his inclusion in the broadcast wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, as the crowning accomplishment. Vin says that Barber once gave him a piece of winning advice: "There's one thing you can bring to the booth that no one else can and that is be yourself." Vinny was a very private man. His two-decade-long partner Ross Porter has never been to his home.

In 1998, Vin was named #1 in the Annual Daily News Best and Worst of L.A. Media/Play-By-Play Broadcasters. Scully is the recipient of virtually every honor that can be bestowed on him including the George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting. A four-time winner of the Outstanding Sportscaster Award from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award, the "Ronald Reagan Media Award," a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a 21-time winner of California Sportscaster of the Year, and a Baseball Hall of Famer in the broadcast wing in Cooperstown.

To baseball fans, including the original Brooklyn Dodgers diehards, Vin is beloved as much as the game of baseball itself. A master of the English language, steeped in the knowledge of the sport and with an understanding of what fans want to "see" and "hear," Vin has enriched and refined the art of sportscasting.

Sea, Craig: SEE Craig Carpenter

SEACREST, Ryan: KYSR, 1995-2003; KIIS, 2004-23. The ubiquitous young broadcaster has surprised us with his enormous accomplishments. From afternoon drive at "Star 98.7" to superstar, he has worn success well. With mentors like Dick Clark and Merv Griffin, Ryan created new plateaus replacing Rick Dees in coveted morning slot at KIIS/fm followed by taking over American Top 40 from Casey Kasem. He now has a syndicated radio show, he co-hosted Live With Kelly & Ryan and host of the enormously successful American Idol for over two decades. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in the class of 2019. In 2022, Ryan received the NAB's Distinguished Service Award, the organization's highest honor. In the summer of 2023, it was announced that Ryan would be new host of Wheel of Fortune. Born in Atlanta on December 24, 1974, he arrived in the Southland from WSTR-Atlanta. He hosted a number of tv shows including: Wild Animal Games, Click, The New Edge, and Gladiators 2000. In early 1997 Ryan left for afternoons at K101-San Francisco and returned less than a year later. His co-host at KYSR was Lisa Foxx. At KIIS, he teamed with Ellen K. "We attempted many on-air elements," he told Mike Kinosian. “Some worked and others didn’t. [But then] as in all [successful] shows, we got to be a place of what [we wanted] to be known for and that’s what we focused on." In early 2004, he launched a daily independent daily strip tv talk show, but the show was canceled within the first year. He sat in for Larry King many times. "Being on that set and having your picture taken in his chair is the most incredible experience in the world for any broadcaster. To get to host the show and do shows I want to do and that they want me to do is fantastic," he told Kinosian.  In early 2021, Ryan ended his 14-year as host of E!’s Live From the Red Carpet.

 

SEBASTIAN, Dave: KEZY, 1971-74; KHJ, 1974-77; KIIS, 1977-78; KFI, 1978; KTNQ, 1978-79; KGBS, 1978-79; KIIS, 1979-80; KPRZ, 1980; KBRT, 1980-82; KIIS, 1983; KHJ, 1984-86; TranStar Radio Network-Oldies Channel-LA, 1986-1990; KRTH, 1994-98. Dave has had quite the career as talent, actor, business owner and voice talent. He was selected to jock the very last English-Language shows on KTNQ, Ten-Q on July 31, 1979 and 93/KHJ on January 31, 1986 following formant changes. Today, even through the pandemic of ’20 & ’21, Dave Sebastian Williams continues his decades-long voiceover career.   Dave grew up in East San Jose and was a Bay Area drummer with various rock and soul bands throughout high school (’63-’67) taking half his senior year off when asked to join a USO Show for 4 months touring France, Italy and Germany. When he returned, his HS Speech-English teacher John Snyder [once the night jock at the local Top 40, KLIV] suggested that Dave make a left-turn from his drumming percussion career to try radio. Taking that direction, in the Fall of ‘67 he attended William B Ogden’s Radio Operational Engineering School in Huntington Beach, a residency vocational school, in preparation of taking the FCC First Class Radiotelephone Operators License test. Passing the test in 1967. Dave recorded his 1st mock air check at his local Top 40 station after befriending KLIV deejays John Lester and Dave Sholin.

After turning down his first on-air job offer, KKIS-Pittsburg, CA, it was just a month later he was grueling over turntables at KYOS-Merced as he began what was to be his 30-year radio career (’68-’98). From there he traveled on to KNGS-Hanford, KTOM-Salinas, KLOK-San Jose, KDON-Salinas, KNAK-Salt Lake City and KMEN-San Bernardino, before heading to KEZY in Orange County. While there and being a lifelong drummer, he performed with The Haywoods, opening for the Osmonds at Anaheim Stadium. During this same period, Dave was the light-comedy opener for Righteous Brother Bill Medley at some of his solo concerts as well. While in Orange County he was also sole owner of Sebastian Ads, an advertising agency and co-founder and partner in Studio West Productions, provider of music programming to radio stations around the world. In addition to radio, Dave appeared in The Hollywood Knights (with Humble Harv) and There Goes My Baby. He has numerous tv credits including Murphy Brown, Monk and all episodes of the short lived FOX series Hard Ball.  In the fall of 1984, the San Diego Clippers moved north and became the LA Clippers. Dave was the teams' LA Sports Arena announcer for their first home game that inaugural LA season and he stayed employed with the NBA Clippers throughout their ’90-’91 season. During these years SAG, AFTRA and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences asked him to facilitate Actors with VO workshops, seminars, lectures and tutorial work-groups providing the nuances of Voice Acting   In 1990 Dave married one of his former Agents (Terri Turco Williams) and after retiring from radio in ‘98 it was his film & tv acting, voiceovers and the business of voiceover that kept them in LA for 20 more years. He started a voiceover post production facilitity, Dave & Dave Recording Studios and also published Voice Over Resource Guide which Dave started in 1988 (.com in 2004). He and Terri spend most of the year in their Palm Springs / Coachella Valley home and Dave continues to be active daily in the Spoken Word world of Voice Over from his Home Studio.

 

SEBASTIAN, Joel: KLAC, 1964-65. The former personality with WXYZ-Detroit and WLS-Chicago died January 17, 1986, after a long bout with pneumonia and prostate cancer. He was 53. Born in Detroit, Joel helped introduced Motown to the market. He hosted a rock 'n roll tv show called "Cub 1270." At the time of his death, Casey Kasem said, "I remember hearing about that great voice he had. He as tremendously gifted." He also work in New York and eight stations in Chicago. "He hired me at WCFL in Chicago in 1969," said Paul Christy, a Detroit radio station veteran. "He was extra special, one of those guys who took you under his wing. I knew I blew my audition, but he made me relax and come back two or three times that afternoon until I got it right."

 

SEBASTIAN, John: KHJ, 1978-79; KLOS, 1981; KTWV, 1988-89; KZLA/KLAC, 1996-98. John left the JACK/fm station in Chicago for The Wolf in Dallas in March 2007. He left the Wolf in early 2008. He spent two years as vp/operations for Majestic Broadcasting in Roswell, New Mexico. He left in early 2014. He is now in Tucson programming the enormously successful 55+ "WOW" Factor. Born in 1949, John started his radio career in Portland in 1968. His claim to fame was in creating new formats and being a consultant to top stations all over the country. John has worked at just about every rock station in the history of Phoenix radio. From 1974 to 1978 John was the pd at KDWB-Minneapolis. John was one of the pioneers of call-out "passive research." In the late '70s John was brought in to KHJ to try to save the AM rock format. In an LA Times interview upon his arrival he said: "We're trying to aim toward a more FM-oriented direction. The announcers won't scream, they'll talk to you. We're playing the album version of hit songs. The approach is more mature. We aren't de-emphasizing personalities, but we do want our announcers to talk only when they have something relevant to say. No puns or corny jokes. We'd like to spotlight KHJ as a music station." John left KHJ in early 1979 for Phoenix and created the top tracks "kick ass rock and roll" format at KUPD. After "an explosive success" at WCOZ-Boston in 1980, John returned to Phoenix. In 1983 he launched EOR (“Eclectic-Oriented Rock”), which eventually evolved into the commercially successful "the Wave" in 1987. In August 1988, John became the pd of KTWV. John was a music consultant for MTV when it debuted. He claims the "fastest turnaround" for a number of stations including WCOZ-Boston, KTWV and KSLX-Phoenix. In the spring of 1996, John took the reins of Country-formatted KZLA and Nostalgia KLAC. He left KZLA in the summer of 1998. His grandfather was the sheriff killed by Bonnie & Clyde.

 

SECREST, Paul: KEZY/KXMX, 1998-2000; KIIS/KXTA, 2000; KMXN, 2000-02. Paul worked at "COOL Radio," 94.3fm" until the station was sold in late 2002. Paul was an intern at KYSR when he got the opportunity to host “Club Mix 9-5-9” until the station was sold to Clear Channel in 2000. “The radio bug first bit me when I was voted ‘Most likely to become a Love Song dj on KOST’ by my senior class.” "After I left radio I went and toured as a DJ for national touring acts like Aerosmith, Toby Keith, Ozzfest and that was amazing. I’m now in Texas still DJing for corporate events, weddings and special engagements currently. I also stream live sets with my 'Lockdown Throwdown' show. Have looked into getting back behind the mic so we shall see."

 

SEDENS, Chris: KFWB, 2007-09; KNX, 2009-23. Chris was a reporter at all-News KFWB until the fall of 2008. He's now anchoring at KNX.

SEENA: KAMP, 2011-18. Seena Akita worked late evenings at AMP Radio. In October 2015, she added new duties as CBS Social Media Manager for the LA cluster. She's now in the music industry in artist management. "My first industry job was working in radio and I ended up being an on-air personality in major markets like San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles," she told ShoutOutLA. "I’m still really proud of that, having come up in an era when Asian representation in radio, and entertainment/Hollywood in general was so minimal. Let’s just say there were a lot of struggles to get the credit I was due. While in radio, I was also the Digital Manager of a few stations like KROQ in LA and Wild 94.9 in SF. I always had a knack for social networking and tech, so it felt natural to step into that role, especially as the scope of media was evolving." Seena produced content with artists like Selena Gomez, G-Eazy, Nick Jonas, Steve Aoki, and Kanye West. "My highlight was when I introduced No Doubt before their show at the old Gibson Amphitheatre, and doing an on-stage announcement at the legendary Hollywood Bowl in front of a sold out audience! While I was in radio, I dabbled in TV hosting since being on-camera was always a passion of mine. I covered events like the The Grammys, American Music Awards, Anime Expo, San Diego Comic-Con, red carpets for the MTV Movie Awards and TV show premieres. After parting ways with radio, a friend of mine convinced me I had the personality for artist management, so I ended up working for Maverick and SAL&CO, which is XO and The Weeknd’s management team. I basically went from zero to 100mph into that job!"

SEGAL, Karen: KLSX, 1994. Karen is writer, producer, editor and director for television. She directed The Benefactor. She also hosts an evening show at KZAP-Sacramento.

SEGAL, Steven: KPPC, 1971; KMET, 1973-75; KROQ. Best known as the Obscene Steven Clean during the AOR days at KPPC, KROQ, and KMET died in his sleep on October 29, 2022. He was 76. Segal also worked as "The Seagull" at WBCN-Boston in the late 60s and returned to the station for afternoons in 1977-78. An article in the Phoenix Cambridge from 1969 described him: "...that Svengali of rockpopbop whose verbal riffs could easily have seduced your old lady out of the back seat of your Nash and compelled her to dash down to the station and rub his palms." In 2021 Steven shared some health challenges on Facebook: "I apologize for disappearing and owe you all an apology and an explanation. Many of you know I have spent the last few years off and on fighting various infections and other immune system problems. Well, it has hit me once again. Since mid-April, I have been waging either my 4th and or 5th battle with pneumonia (I may have lost count or been misdiagnosed on at least one occasion.) If you count the other infections I've been treated for, it's (to quote the Buckinghams) kind of a drag. After going back and forth between the hospital and physical rehabilitation for parts of April, and much of May and most of June, I'm finally being sprung back to my apartment on Monday, July 5th. Charles Laquidara had high praise for Segal, “Steven was the most brilliant disc jockey that ever existed – made Howard Stern pale. In June 1968, when WBCN needed more talent to complete its first lineup of djs, the station imported west coast underground radio veteran Steve Segal, who had been working for the legendary Tom Donahue at KPPC. Since every jock at WBCN had been encouraged to play their own choice of musical selections, Segal’s taste and greater experience would serve as a beacon for the others to follow. On the air, Steven Segal became ‘The Seagull,’ commenting, “I guess [the name] had something to do with me coming in from California.” Steven worked for Shadoe Stevens: "I really loved the guy. He worked for me at KROQ and at KMET … and when he was ‘ON' there was nobody funnier. Like an audio National Lampoon."

Seiden, Fred: KBIG/KBRT, 1973-80; KOST, 1981-82. Fred ended his life by jumping from a building in 1991. In the 1970s, Fred was head of programming for Bonneville Program Services.

SEIN, Tamo: KYSR, 2018-19. Tamo joined middays at the Alternative station KYSR (Alt 98-7) in the summer of 2018 and left a year later. She moved from apd/md/middays at Alternative WEND-Charlotte. She will continue to do middays on The End (Charlotte). In 2019, Tamo joined iHeartMedia’s alternative WWDC-Washington “DC101” for weekends and fill-in. By the end of the year she moved up to evenings. Tamo’s radio career originally began in Norfolk, Virginia and has taken her all across the US! From North Carolina to Minnesota to Texas, and finally to California. When she’s not on-air you can find Tamo grabbing a bite to eat at the newest restaurant in town, hiking, or cuddling her Cavalier King Charles, Emma! Tamo loves the outdoors, she has even hiked the Rockies and the Appalachian Trail. Tamo replaced Marty Whitney at Alt 98.7.

 

SELLERS, Steven O: KQLZ, 1992-93. Steven works at KONO-San Antonio. In 2019, he was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame. He began his broadcast career in 1965 at age 14 at his hometown station, KAML in Kenedy, Texas. Steven started by playing guitar on a live Country music program, but in less than a year, was made weekend announcer for the 250-watt station, a position he held throughout high school. In 1968, Steve moved to San Antonio and started classes at San Antonio College. While making his mark on the college station, KSYM, Steve landed a part-time job doing news on KITE-AM. Although the news job was not Steve's ultimate goal, the media grapevine led him to a morning show opening at KITY/fm. By 1970, using the air name Charlie Scott, Steve quickly made the transition from mornings at KITY, to his true goal, weekends and then nights at KONO. Steve grew the night ratings on KONO for three years, when he was noticed by Bob Pittman (of MTV fame) and moved to WPEZ in Pittsburgh as Striker McGuire, where he spent a decade before returning home to San Antonio in 1994 to host the morning show on KTSA. In 2000 Steve returned to the station he considers his first home, KONO, where he hosted the highly-rated afternoon drive show for 13 years.

Selner, Allen: KABC, 1984-94. Allen is a podiatrist working in the San Fernando Valley.

SELTZER, Brent: KWST, 1975-76; KMET, 1976-78; KZLA/KPOL, 1979; KNX/fm, 1980; KMPC, 1981-82. Brent passed away April 18, 2016. In late 2015, Brent underwent brain tumor surgery to remove a cancerous, golf ball-sized Glioblastoma Tumor Grade 4  from the front-left section of his brain.  This is the part of the brain that controls memory and language.  Seltzer’s colorful career dates back to the golden days of FM rock radio when he was a pioneer in the development of “rock ‘n’ roll radio style news” at such outlets as KGB-San Diego and KMET. "The death of John Kennedy changed my career path," wrote Brent when interviewed for Los Angeles Radio People. "I was a dj on WJBR-Wilmington when Kennedy was assassinated and I was so moved by my role in radio. People just wanted to touch a media person, it made them feel better. After all, for 96 hours tv babysat the nation. Born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, Brent attended Ithaca College. After college he was off to New York and worked at ABC News and was a writer/producer at Hartwest Productions working with Mad magazine and Joe Pyne. Brent worked for three years at KGB-San Diego and would feed KMET news stories. "When I arrived at KWST people would call and wonder why I had left KMET. I never knew that Ace Young was using so much of my feeds."

Brent eventually worked the news at KMET and at the same time was the entertainment correspondent for CBC in Canada, which he did for five years. "I used street-talk when doing the news. A suspect wasn't arrested, he was busted. The audience seemed to respond to familiar language."

At KMPC he worked the Talk format from nine to noon. During this time, Brent worked closely with Watermark Productions as a writer and/or producer. "When Elvis died, I worked as associate producer/program coordinator of 'The Elvis Presley Story.'" In 1985 he realized that "nobody wanted me around. News had been eliminated at most stations and there didn't seem to be a place for me." Brent joined his wife who has a public relations firm that placed clients on radio and did media coaching. His voiceover career included the huge toys from movies: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers and Star Trek. In recent years, Brent worked news at KABC and KNX and had an active voiceover career and writing and hosting "Non Profit Profiles" on several cable access stations throughout Los Angeles County. His two-minute commentaries appeared on XM Satellite Radio.

Sender, Jack: KBIG; KBRT, 1975-79. Jack is retired and lives in Roma, Italy and he spends the hot summers in Huron, Ohio where he was born.

SERAFIN, Kim: KABC, 2002-06. Kim worked swing at KABC until the summer of 2006. She became the senior editor for In Touch Weekly. Kim's career has spanned tv, radio, entertainment, pop culture, voiceover and even musical theatre. She appears on tv regularly to talk about the latest in entertainment news on various shows and networks including CNN, HLN, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Channel, TV Guide Network, E! and national morning shows. For several years she did a weekly Hollywood segment on CNN and CNNi. She has worked with MSNBC as a contributor and has also been seen on a variety of other networks such as Cheddar, ESPN, G4, CNBC and Oxygen, and on shows ranging from Hardball to The Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious discussing everything from pop culture to current events. Kim has also appeared on The Tonight Show, Politically Incorrect, American Candidate on Showtime, was the host of Sleep Like a President, a travel show for the Fine Living Network and has appeared on the live Red Carpet Countdown shows at the Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Golden Globes for TV Guide Network. Kim's acting credits include roles on sitcoms including Spin City, The Single Guy, Boy Meets World and Head Cases. Kim grew up in New York and currently lives in Los Angeles with her dog Derek - a rescued Pekingese.

 

SERAPHIN, Charlie: KNX/fm / KODJ, 1988-91. In 2010, Charlie retired to St. Augustine, Florida. He hopes to move back to San Diego where he once managed KyXy and KRMX. Charlie was general manager of KNX/fm / KODJ. He wrote an essay about his time with CBS: "If they had known JACK and let us run with 93-One, there wouldn't have been need for a KODJ or an Arrow or a JACK/fm! Music radio is not dead; it just went to sleep for awhile. When corporations figure out that there are unique and talented individuals who can put music together in a manner that appeals to a broad spectrum of listeners, music radio will be back with a bang. After all, that's the premise here, that JACK is a well programmed music machine...and if somebody can do it for me, why should I take the time to download songs to my iPOD. The problem is that JACK is a machine, a computer formula that claims to be a human, making independent decisions. It actually sounds pretty good, but it is not compelling, because there is no passion.    "Fact: there is no magic formula that works coast to coast. When local and regional tastes are ignored, you get the bland product that Tom Leykis and others are blasting. But, as pressure comes from the ad industry to present a ‘special’ product, the focus will turn from research and computers to real, live, creative programming. The product will become a function of the creative person at the controls, and it will be unique every hour, every day [within some broad parameters]. You won't be able to find the product anywhere but in your hometown on your favorite station, because they'll destroy the mold and start fresh every day.  Local radio stations in L.A. will sound uniquely L.A., and down the coast the same type station in San Diego will have a distinctively San Diego sound and feel. Stations that are successful in Kansas City will never experience the same success in L.A., any more than talent in one market is instantly recognized and appreciated in another market. How many times have we seen ‘superstars’ from other markets flop in L.A?  Radio is dynamic, not static. Radio is about right now. Like bread, you can't bake it today in one city and expect it to smell and taste the same tomorrow in another city.  People know the difference. Listeners are a lot smarter than the formula programmers give them credit for. Formats that are copied, packaged and exported [for cost efficiency] become old and common.

Serena, Nancy: KJAZ, 2000-02. From Boston, Nancy worked weekends at all-Jazz, KJAZ until a format change in the spring of 2002. She is now a casting agent.

SERGIS, Charlie: KFWB, 1971-98. Charlie retired from KFWB after a long run on April 4, 1998. "I guess a newsman's natural curiosity is responsible for my being in radio and in California." Charlie grew up in New York, graduated from Columbia University and earned a master's degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. After the Army, he worked for several newspapers including the Louisville Courier-Journal and then went to Associated Press. "When Westinghouse created all-News radio at WINS-New York in 1965, I was fascinated and began working part-time while still with AP.” In 1967 he became a full-time editor, then assistant news director. "When offered the nd's job at KFWB, curiosity bit again: I had always wanted to see California. We figured we'd be here awhile, then return East, but we liked it and stayed." In 1974 Charlie returned to reporting. In 1990 he received the Broadcast Journalist of the Year Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. "There isn't a much better chance to cover everything than as a reporter for an all-News radio station."

 

SERR, Jeff: KIIS, 1982; KMGG, 1983-85; KBIG, 1986-88; KODJ/KCBS, 1988-2005; KKGO/KGIL/KMZT, 2006-14. Serr started his radio career as a jock, notably plugging in at KIIS/fm, KCBS/fm, K-101 and KYA in San Francisco. Off-air, Serr is also involved with voiceovers, lending his voice to major ad campaigns including Nissan, Diet Pepsi, National Car Rentals, and El Pollo Loco restaurants.  Serr is also highly skilled in production and station imaging, and was instrumental in branding both Arrow 93 (KCBS/fm) and Go Country 105 (KKGO).  Jeff started his on-air career in 1970 at KBLF-Red Bluff, CA, moving to KSJO-San Jose and later to powerhouses in San Francisco. In 1982, he drifted south to Los Angeles where he first started doing weekend and fill-in shifts at KIIS/fm. In 1982, he was hired away by Magic 106 (KMGG) to do the afternoon shift, and later evenings at KBIG. “As you know, I was with CBS for 17 years at KNX/fm / KODJ / and Arrow 93." Jeff is a native Californian who has spent his entire radio career in his home state. He started at age 15 at KBLF-Red Bluff. After high school he went to San Francisco for college and worked at KPEN and KSJO-San Jose. While in San Francisco from the mid-1970s to 1982, Jeff worked at K101 and KYA. He started at KIIS doing weekend work. Less than a year later he was doing afternoons at "Magic 106." In 1985 Jeff spent a year on the Unistar satellite Oldies Channel. In 1987-88 Jeff was on KBIG doing the evening shift.

 

SERVANTEZ, Joe "the Boomer": KPWR, 1986-96; KACD, 1996; KIBB, 1996-98; KACD, 1998; KRTH, 2002; KMVN, 2007. Joe is a California realtor and he worked part-time at Movin 93.9/fm. When asked if he remembered the Kennedy assassination, Boomer said he was only two. "For some reason I remember it. I was with my mom at the hair salon and I remember all the ladies crying. It haunts me to this day."

 

SESMA, Chico: KOWL, 1949-57; KALI, 1957-67. Born Lionel Sesma in the Boyle Heights area of East Los Angeles, Chico attended Hollenbeck Junior High School and graduated from Roosevelt High School. He had studied Classical music since he was ten years old. Chico was a trombone player who played with the popular East L.A. bands in the forties. Chico died October 27, 2015, at the age of 91. He spent a year at Los Angeles City College and then dropped out to travel with some big bands including his own. Chico returned to California at the age of 23. In a 1975 Latin Quarter interview, Chico said, "I didn't feel I was going to make it. I really wanted to join the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra because, though I loved jazz and the big bands, my love was in classical music. KOWL (later KDAY) was having success with the black market. When the station turned its attention to the Mexican American market, Chico debuted the first show for a Chicano audience in February 1949. Chico exposed music by Tito Puente and Perez Prado along with artists like Billy Eckstine and Duke Ellington. Chico stayed with KOWL until 1957 when the station changed its name to KDAY and switched to Top 40. He moved to KALI until 1967. During the 1950s he produced a monthly series of musical presentations and dances called Latin Holidays at the Hollywood Palladium. In early 1969, Chico joined the State Employment Redevelopment Department as a job agent, which he did for many years. He said, "I'm working exclusively with disadvantaged youths, most of whom are from the barrio - drop-outs, some with arrest records, others with psychological hang-ups, or drug addiction, or alcoholism. It's the same old story: the perpetuation of poverty." Chico gave some advice to young Mexican Americans: "Prepare yourself for mainstream media - that is the key."

Severn, Jim: KBIG, 2004-05. Jim worked weekends at KBIG until late 2005.

SEWARD, Bill: KXLU, 1976-80; XPRS, 1980-81; KWNK, 1987-88; KGIL, 1989; KNX, 1990-1997; KFWB, 2001-14; KFI, 2017-21. The Sherman Oaks native was a play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports. He died January 14, 2022, of cancer. In addition to calling various professional and college sports in America, Seward was “on the mic” for NBC’s Olympic rugby coverage, Rugby World Cup, Rugby World Cup Sevens, Rugby Sevens World Series, Varsity Cup, Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup, FIS Nordic Skiing World Cup, European Figure Skating Championships, FINA Synchronized Swimming World Cup, Vuelta a Espana, Eneco Cycling Tour, Tour of Belgium, Tour of Norway, 4 Days of Dunkirk, Paris Marathon, IBU Biathlon World Championships, Tour de Ski and the Four Hills World Cup ski jumping event. Seward also has appeared on NBC’s Early Today along with programs on MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Universal Sports and the horse racing network, TVG. He earned several Golden Mikes as a sports anchor with CBS Radio in Los Angeles, and been honored with multiple "Best Radio Anchor Staff" awards, the top honor presented by the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association. Seward hosted “DodgerTalk” on the Dodgers Radio Network and has been voted "Top Sports Update Anchor" a record thirteen times by the Los Angeles Daily News.   Seward previously anchored for ESPN, hosting such shows as SportsCenter, ESPNEWS and 2Day at the Races. While at ESPN, Seward was a regular contributor to ABC's World News This Morning. He also was part of ESPN's Summer Olympic Games coverage and was one of the hosts for NBC’s Olympic Zone. In addition to sports anchoring, Seward has been in feature films such as Steve Jobs, Nightcrawler, Good Kill, Zodiac, Ruby and Recount, along with appearances on television shows The Dress Up Gang, I’m Dying Up Here, Scandal, Revenge, Key & Peele, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Touch, Medium, Everybody Hates Chris, The Event and several others. Seward also was the host of Sega’s popular video game, “Virtual Fighter 5.”

Seward began his television career as Sports Director at KVIQ in Eureka, California, followed by stops at KATY in Oxnard and WNHT/TV in Concord, New Hampshire, before returning home to become an award-winning sports anchor at KCBS/TV, KNBC/TV and radio news stations KNX and KFWB. A graduate of Loyola Marymount University, Seward was the nation’s youngest head football coach at Saint Bernard High School in Playa del Rey, where he was honored as "Bay Area Coach of the Year." He coached at Saint Bernard and at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks and he had the privilege of working with several future MLB, NBA and NFL players.  

SEXTON, Buck: KEIB, 2019-23. Buck was host of a nationally syndicated radio program, heard on over 100 stations across the country. Buck is a political commentator and national security analyst who appears frequently on the Fox News Channel and CNN. In early summer of 2021, Buck and Clay Travis were named the replacement for the Rush Limbaugh syndicated show. He has been a frequent guest host for Rush, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity on their nationally syndicated radio shows, and is the only talent to have hosted all three shows. Buck formerly served as a CIA officer in the Counterterrorism Center and the Office of Iraq Analysis. He completed tours of duty as an intelligence officer in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other hotspots around the globe, and led intelligence briefings for senior U.S. officials including the president. Buck also served in the New York Police Department (NYPD) Intelligence Division working on counterterrorism issues. He was born and raised in New York City, where he currently resides.

Sexton, Miles: KEZY/KORG, 1990-95. Miles is coo of Point Broadcasting, parent company of Gold Coast Broadcasting, and High Desert Broadcasting, licensee of 11 radio stations in Ventura County, Palmdale and Lancaster. 

SEYMOUR, Ruth: KPFK, 1960s-70s; KCRW, 1980s-2009. Ruth was general manager at KCRW. After 32 years as gm of Santa Monica College’s public radio station KCRW-89.9 FM and www.KCRW.com, Ruth announced that she was retiring in early 2010. “I am leaving a station that is strong in its identity, a station like no other in the country,” said Ms. Seymour. “It’s been an extraordinary privilege to serve as KCRW’s General Manager – a joy and source of great pride. That’s a pretty good note on which to say goodbye.” She arrived at the station in September 1977 as a consultant and was formally appointed manager several months later. Ruth oversaw the transformation of a station originally located in a middle school playground, with the oldest transmitter west of the Mississippi. Today KCRW’s 13 transmitters deliver its broadcast service to much of Southern California. Online, the station has one of the largest audiences of any American radio station, providing three discreet program streams 24/7 at KCRW.com. KCRW’s 26 podcasts are downloaded 1.2 million times monthly.   Seymour is also a familiar voice to KCRW’s listeners. She often hosted The Politics of Culture and has led the station’s on-air Subscription Drives. She credits KCRW’s large and loyal subscriber base for enabling the station to engage in ambitious productions and important digital ventures.

Shackelford, Lynn: KLAC. Lynn was Chick Hearn's sidekick during LA Lakers broadcasts. He was on Coach John Wooden's 1968-69 UCLA basketball team that started Lynn with Lew Alcindor, Curtis Rowe and Sidney Wicks. 

SHADE, Jeff: KMPC, 1992-94; KLIT, 1994; KACD, 1995-96; KABC/KDIS, 1998-2001. Jeff is working in voiceover and tv production from L.A. and Seattle.

Shafer, Don: KNAC, 1969-70; KYMS, 1971-73. Don is vp/regional manager of the BC Interior Group of Astral Media Radio, based in Kelowna, British Columbia.
Shalhoub, Martha: KLVE, 1976-2001; KXOL, 2001. Martha works middays at KXOL.
Shalhoub, Shelley: KLVE, 1998-2001; KXOL, 2001. Shelley joined KXOL in the spring of 2001.

SHANA: KHJ, 1976-78; KEZY, 1978-80; KROQ, 1980; KLOS, 1980-86; KLSX, 1986-95; KPCC, 1996-2000; KCBS, 2001-05. One of the early Rock Radio Princesses died July 17, 2015. She was 62. She moved back to Michigan just months before her death to be with family. "Shana had hooked-up with an old boyfriend in Detroit and was happier than she'd been in years," according to her son, Tony. She went to bed early and when her boyfriend came in the bedroom, Shana was lying on the floor and unresponsive. Cause of death will be determined after an autopsy. Shana was born Margaret Reichl of German parents on April 10, 1953, at Camp LeJeune AFB in North Carolina. She was raised just outside of Detroit and began her love affair with radio while growing up in Kalamazoo. She learned English from cartoons like Felix The Cat and Casper and started her radio career at the Kalamazoo college radio station in 1971. She then moved to KWBB-Wichita. Programmer Paul Drew became Shana's mentor and in 1974 at age 21, she started on the all-night shift at KFRC-San Francisco, becoming one of the first female Rock jocks. It was actually KFRC pd Michael Spears who gave "Margo" her new professional name. Two years later, she came to the Southland to work at KFRC's sister station and become a "Boss Jock."

During her stay at KLOS, she hosted Rock ON-TV. The over-the-air "cable" experiment was a rock series simulcast by KLOS and ON-TV. The 30-minute, magazine-style program ran twice a week. She did morning drive at KLOS, starting in the spring of 1984 when Frazer Smith left the station. In addition to hosting several nationally syndicated radio features, Shana's heart showed with her involvement in the community. She devoted considerable time to the Children's Hospital. In 1994 and 1995 the mother of three taught a course at UCLA.

The pioneering class was called "Becoming a Disc Jockey: The Inside View." Before 1994 was over, Shana had pulled the ultimate radio "hat trick" and returned for a third time to KLSX, following the arrival of new management. In early 1996 Shana joined KPCC as the assistant pd and md, as well as evening on-air talent. She left the Pasadena City College station when management abandoned music for an all-News/Talk format.

SHANE, Ed: KKDJ, 1971. Ed, the former program director of KKDJ, died on March 21, 2015. He died of colon cancer, at the age of 69. “Ed was our consultant at K-Frog as we launched the County format the day after Christmas in 1989,” emailed Richard McIntosh.“Lots of memories. Ed did a great job of focusing the music to the Inland Empire. We played more Oldies and re-currents than most Country stations.  He was instrumental in forming the sound of the station. He and Kerby Confer maximized the FROG imagery and we went from worst to first in the market in six months. What more is there to say than rest in peace, Ed.” In 1971, Ed was brought in from Atlanta to program the new Los Angeles fm station, KKDJ (102.7/fm). He  left KKDJ to be pd at WGLD-Chicago and then station manager at KRBE-Houston.

In 1977, Ed founded Shane Media Services to provide management, research and programming consultation to the radio industry. Ed authored Programming Dynamics, a compilation of the articles he had written for the old Broadcast Communications magazine. He’s also written Cutting Through and Selling Electronic Media.

Born in Atlanta on June 26, 1945, Ed got caught up in radio listening to WAKE-Atlanta. “The late Bob McKee took me under his wing when he was the morning man at WAKE in the Bill Drake days. Later, WAKE’s nighttime jock, Paul Drew, let me work in the production room while he was on the air.” When WAKE told him he was too young to work at the station, Ed built a transmitter and broadcast to the Peachtree Hills neighborhood. “My mother was a cume of one.”

Ed pursued a journalism degree at Georgia State University, married and they had a daughter. His big radio break came at WQXI where he was the morning news anchor for Dr. Don Rose. “I left WQXI to take the programming job at WPLO, where they were trying to launch a new format. Originally it was to have been Top 40 to go against WQXI, but I suggested after some rudimentary research that they should do Album Rock instead. That’s what they did, and now books like Voices in the Purple Haze call me a ‘pioneer.’”

Ed moved to KKDJ when George Burns and Kent Burkhart were running parent company Pacific & Southern. “KKDJ was originally designed to be what we would call a ‘Hot AC’ today. Our mission was ‘to avoid bubblegum and to play hits for adults.”

SHANNON, Bob: KWIZ, 1975-76; KFI, 1976-79; KWIZ, 1979; KHJ, 1979-82; KLAC, 1982; KRTH, 2000-2002. Bob died of an apparent massive heart attack January 26, 2015. At the time of his death, Bob was working on a film project in Pennsylvania. He was 67. Bob was the last dj on KHJ before the station switched to Country music. He was born in St. Catherine's, Ontario and grew up in Western New York near Buffalo. He started his radio career in Arizona working in Yuma and KRUX. From KUTY-Palmdale in 1965, Bob joined KDWB-Minneapolis for the first time. He went on to work mornings at WKYC-Cleveland, KXOK-St. Louis and KING-Seattle. In the early 1970s Bob was at KJR-Seattle, WIXY-Cleveland, KDKA-Pittsburgh and back at KDWB to be pd and work mornings. Bob worked morning drive as “BS in the Morning” with Ed Nix at KWIZ. At KFI he was hired to work the swing shift and ended up doing afternoon drive for two years. He left KFI for middays at KCBQ-San Diego and he returned to the Southland for KHJ. During the 1980s Bob started "The Actor's Workshop" in Orange County. Using his birth name of R.J. Adams he turned to acting. Bob appeared in close to 60 episodic tv shows including a regular role on Riptide. He was seen frequently on Hill St. Blues, Murder She Wrote and Hotel. He appeared in 8 major films including Rocky IV. Bob lived in Mission Viejo and continued to act, coach at his workshop and produce documentaries.

Shannon, Bob "Shamrock": KCSN, 1983-85. Bob was a longtime radio and tv announcer working as a CBS network announcer in the late 1940s. His voice was heard on such shows as Lionel Barrymore's "Mayor of the Town" and "The Jimmy Durante-Garry Moore Show." From 1949-54, Bob had a radio quiz show, "The Man Says Yes," which he attempted to revive on KCSN in the mid-1980s. He died August 15, 2000 at the age of 79.

 

SHANNON, Greg: KRLA, 1971-74; KROQ, 1974-75; KNX, 1990-92. Greg started his radio career at KKOK-Lompoc in 1969. A year later he joined KDES-Palm Springs. "After my stint in LA radio, I visited the Islands and decided to move there. I made Hawaii my home for a couple of years, and then returned to the mainland and entered law school. For the past 20 years I have been in Tucson, running a non-profit organization, which has been helping folks with their legal issues....criminal law, family law...medical malpractice," emailed Greg. "The full spectrum! Life is good. I occasionally get back on the air with some local stations, but, to be honest, I miss Southern California. I miss guys like Robert W., The Real Don, Wolfman Jack and Sam Riddle. Shit, those were the days!" concluded Greg. (Thanks to Bill Earl for the artwork)

 

SHANNON, Jim: KTBT, 1967-68; KREL, 1968; KEZY, 1969-70. Jim (Slota) Shannon was born March 15, 1949 in Long Beach and grew up in Anaheim. He graduated from Anaheim High School in 1967. Jim went to to So. Texas College (Houston) and studied Social Studies and St. Louis' Webster University in Communications. He began his broadcasting career on August 10, 1967 at KTBT in Garden Grove while attending the Don Martin School in Hollywood. After obtaining a 'First Phone,' he got a job at KREL-AM in Corona, which was managed by Paul Crouch of the Trinity Network. During that time he also worked part-time as an engineer at KWIZ AM/FM in Santa Ana. In March of 1969 he started at KEZY doing weekend/fill-in work. "As a 20-year-old kid, working at a very popular Top 40 radio station, in my hometown, put me on top of the world," said Jim. "If I could re-live a portion of my life, this would be it!" In July 1970, he joined KULF-Houston and in late 1973 he moved to WIL-St. Louis and stayed for 12 years, the last eight as morning host on WIL/fm. "After marrying, I left radio and became an insurance broker."

 

SHANNON, Scott: KQLZ, 1989-91; XESURF, 2004-05; KRTH, 2015-16. Scott was the architect for "Pirate Radio" (KQLZ) in the late 80s. For 22 years he was the morning host on the enormously successful WPLJ-New York. He left in early 2014 and joined WCBS/fm-New York and stayed until his retirement in the fall of 2022. In 2022, the NAB presented Scott with an Impact Award. Michael Scott Shannon's name is derived from two early influences: WABC's Scott Muni and CKLW's Tom Shannon. Scott is a radio history buff and told the LA Times that he has over 2,000 hours of KHJ "Boss Radio" and 500 hours of KFWB "Color Radio" airchecks from the late 1950s and early 1960s. Scott dropped out of high school in Indianapolis at age 17. “I wanted to get away from it all. I thought I was James Dean," he told a trade publication. In the 1970’s Scott was a jock and pd at several southern stations, he later joined Casablanca Records, was national pd for Mooney Broadcasting and was a record executive with Ariola Records. In 1979 he returned to radio as pd at WPGC-Washington, DC and later WRBQ-Tampa/St. Petersburg. In a Billboard interview Larry Berger of WPLJ-New York said of Scott: "I always thought of Shannon as a PT Barnum character. He was better than just about anybody at creating sizzle on a radio station, and quite a talented on-air personality."

In January 1989, Scott left WHTZ (“Z-100”)-New York, where he was 1987's Billboard magazine Program Director of the Year in the Top 40 category, to launch "Pirate Radio" for Westwood One. In the beginning at "Pirate Radio" KQLZ, Scott was on the air as “Bubba, the Love Sponge.” To launch the new format in LA, the station sold only one spot per hour at $1,000 each, which was $300 to $400 more than KPWR. The immediate media attention to Scott and "Pirate Radio" was enormous. Even USA Today chronicled AC KIQQ becoming KQLZ. The produced spots between music boldly declared, "Don't Be a Dickhead" and "When you're on the air in Southern California, you've got to be loud to cut through the crap."

A year later the station stalled and Westwood One let Scott go. In 1993, Shannon was cited by Radio and Records for excellence in programming during the past 20 years. Scott recalled his highlight during this period as being when he took WHTZ-New York from "worst-to-first" in 74 days, calling it "a thrill I'll never forget."

Scott was one of the first vj’s on VH-1. He hosted the nationally syndicated "Smash Hits Video Countdown " for three years and was the subject of a feature story on CBS's 48 Hours. Shannon's influence and innovation in contemporary radio can be heard on radio stations across the country. His impact on the radio business has been so far-reaching that his peers in the radio business named him the "Most Influential Programmer of the Past 20 Years," according to a special survey conducted by R&R.

The son of a career army soldier, he spent his youth moving from one town to another, soaking up the local radio scenes. His first job, at age 17, was in Mobile. Then it was on to Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, Washington, DC and Tampa -- where he created the successful format known as the "Morning Zoo" -- a daily 4-hour party-on-the-radio.

Shannon, Steve: KMPC, 1978-80. Steve lives in St. Louis.

SHAPIRO, Ben: KRLA, 2012-17; KABC, 2018-23. Ben joined "The Answer" in morning drive with Brian Whitman and Elisha Krauss. In 2014, he moonlighted in afternoon drive at KTTH-Seatte, which he left in August 2015 to tend to a family matter. His syndicated show is heard in afternoon drive at KABC. Ben was born in Burbank and brought up in the home of two Reagan Republicans, where intelligent conversation about politics and philosophy was encouraged. Ben quickly developed into a reasoned political thinker and a powerful writer. He left KRLA in early 2017. Ben entered UCLA at the age of 16 and was never afraid to challenge the liberal professors and faculty. At 17, he became the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the US with his columns printed in major newspapers and on websites. He is also is an editor-at-large of Breitbart.com and a national best-selling author.

SHAPIRO, Ron: KIIS, 1989-96; KLIT, 1997; KCMG/KHHT, 1998-2014. Ron was assistant program director and creative services director at "Hot 92.3" until late 2014. Ron caught the radio bug when he was just 7 years old. After his father helped him build a radio station in his bedroom, Ron honed his skills playing radio at home, as well as on his high school and college radio stations.  All that practice helped him land his first “real” radio job with Casey Kasem’s American Top 40. From there, Shapiro worked his way up, becoming a director at ABC/Watermark, the owners of AT 40. Eventually Ron ended up at KIIS/fm as the production director, winning numerous awards. Shapiro later became the pd of Southern California’s first Trimulcast radio station, Lite 92.7. Since 2016 he serves as Head Of Production for Spotify’s Podcast Network. Over the years Ron has produced radio programs for The Fox Broadcasting Company, United Stations Radio Networks and is also co-owner of the internationally syndicated radio programs Top Ten Now And Then and The Stories Of Classic Rock.  Shapiro consulted Inter-FM in Tokyo, Japan, Costa Rica’s Beatz 106 and Cabo San Lucas’ Xpat Radio.  Ron definitely realizes how fortunate he is to incorporate his hobby into a life long passion.

 

SHAPPEE, Michael: KMNY, 1988; KFWB, 1990-2014; KFI, 2015-20. Michael was a news anchor at News Talk KFWB until a format flip to all-Sports. He worked weekends at KFI until the summer of 2020. Michael was one of the anchors at all-News KFWB. "The site and sound of an AP teletype machine punching out world headlines with factory precision was all it took. The news bug bit me at age 17 at a half-day high school program at a vocational fm in Tacoma, Washington, circa 1977.    While attending college, I played elevator music for a Seattle area station. (my first paid gig). Next up, KBBY in Ventura, as the one-man-band 'News Director.' There were stints with L.A. based Money Radio, Financial Broadcasting Network and Metro Traffic before landing as a casual reporter at KFWB in May of 1990. "Growing up in Tacoma, I never really dreamed I'd one day cover floods, fires, earthquakes, riots and even the entertainment industry in Southern California. Nice! In retirement, I spend a lot of my time on the back of a Harley. It's great fun."

 

SHARELL, Jerry: KGIL/KMZT, 2006-13; KKJZ, 2014-22. Jerry hosts a Sunday morning "Sinatra and Sharell" show at K-JAZZ.In the summer of 2021, he became host of Saul Levine's Frank Sinatra channel, UnforgettableFM.com He started his radio career in the 60’s at WPIC-Sharon, PA and WBVP in Beaver Falls, PA for $77 weekly. For 13 years Sharell has hosted and produced “Weekends with Sinatra & Sharell.” From 2002-10, Jerry served as president/ceo for the non-profit charity, Society of Singers, that had a 33 year history of helping singers in need. There, he co-produced numerous fund-raising events which garnered nationwide attention. He spent many years as an A&R exec with a number of radio companies and artiests. In 1995 Sharell joined WEA Corp. in Burbank as Director, Media Relations and Corporate Events, he conceived and edited a documented history of WEA Corp. During this time, he also served as Media Relations Director for Warner/Chappell Music Publishing. In 1994 Sharell was Executive Director for the MusiCares Foundation, the charity begun by the Grammy/NARAS organization, where he co-produced the tribute to Tony Bennett as MusiCares Person of the Year. For five years from '87 to '92 Sharell was svp, Talent Marketing at Westwood One, specializing in syndicated radio shows and events. He contracted and supervised more than 300 radio concerts that featured superstars. Sharell also served as Executive Producer for the televised Billboard Award Show (Fox-TV) of '92. From '83 to '87 Sharell headed the MCA Video Distribution system and became Sr. Vice President of MCA Home Video. He was responsible for the marketing of many of Universal Pictures' video hits including Scarface, Back to the Future and Out of Africa. In '73, he was hired by David Geffen to manage the Asylum Record label which then merged with Elektra Records. Sharell is past president of City of Hope, Entertainment Division and a voting member of The Recording Academy for 46 years and a member of AFM/Los Angeles.

Shark: KROQ, 1994. Shark is working in Chicago.

SHARON, Bob: KFWB, 1960-67; KPOL, 1967-70; KIIS, 1970-71. Bob is an AE for the three-station American General Media company in Santa Maria/Lompoc market. Bob spent most of the 1960s during the heady days of Top 40 KFWB as general sales manager. He then moved to KPOL before his stint as general manager at KIIS. He worked at KFWB during its glorious run as a Top 40 station with Bob Purcell and Chuck Blore. Yet Bob also faced the personal challenges of recovering from parotid glandular cancer and losing his Sherman Oaks home in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Growing up in the Midwest, he calls Joplin, Missouri home. “I always had an appetite for radio. All I wanted to be was a sportscaster. I loved sports!” Bob went to University of Denver because he considered it “the best radio school in the country. Between my freshman and sophomore years, I joined the Navy where I was injured, which eliminated any hopes of participating in sports.”  After graduation, he started his radio career in Craig, Colorado for $75 a week. Bob was later a jock at KXEO-Mexico, Missouri. After three months, he went into sales because he discovered that salesmen made more money than jocks. Bob was in sales at WHB-Kansas City during the legendary Top 40 years. He went on to station ownership Peoria, Albuquerque, San Diego and Wichita.  He moved to the West Coast working at KDEO-San Diego, and then eventually consulted KFMB and KERO/TV-Bakersfield. Bob was the first station manager at KIIS. When he left in 1971, he then joined Ted Randal in San Francisco for a consulting role. "Today, in the smaller markets, you will starve to death if you are in newspaper sales. People are just too busy to read a newspaper and they get the news elsewhere.” ob said that the whole approach to new advertisers is different than it was just a few years ago. “You can’t sit down and talk to them about how tall the tower is, or how many watts the stations is, they just want customers to come in the door.”

Sharp, Bill: KACE, 1997-2000; KJLH. 2000-2001. Bill works swing at KJLH.
Sharp, Colin J.: KDAY, 1966; KFWB. Colin worked at WIND-Chicago before coming to the Southland to work at KDAY and KFWB. He moved to Hawaii and worked for many years at KUMU-Honolulu. Colin retired in 1989 and moved to Kauai. He died August 19, 1998, at the age of 65.

SHARP, Karen: KWIZ, 1987; KOST, 1988-2023. Karen hosts "Love Songs on the KOST." Before embarking upon a career in radio, Southern California native, Karen, spent ten years working as a VIP Guest Hostess at Disneyland; coordinating the ultimate Disney experience for tourists, dignitaries, and some of the biggest celebrities in music and entertainment. Also while working at Disney, she earned her degree in music, and after completing her undergraduate studies, attended broadcast school to continue developing her passions for speech, drama, and storytelling. After transitioning into radio, Karen began hosting Lovesongs on KOST 103.5, and has been gracing the airwaves and making musical love connections for listeners for more than 2 decades. Throughout her career, she has been featured in numerous publications (R&R, Glamour Magazine, Huffington Post), and has also received various industry honors including being named Favorite L.A. Nighttime Personality, winning the Genii Award for “Excellence in Radio,” and receiving nominations for “Excellence in Broadcasting” and “AC Personality of the Year.” Outside of radio, Karen is actively involved with charitable organizations including the ASPCA and CCI (Canine Companions for Independence) - a group that raises and places companion dogs with people with disabilities. She got her start in Ventura radio and applied for a job with KQLH-San Bernardino. Her eventual husband Alex Tostado was the pd and remembered: "She really didn't have much experience but I knew I wanted to hire her. I told her that in six months she MUST send a tape to KOST because she would be perfect for the 'Love Songs' program.” Karen moved on to KWIZ and Alex moved on. When Karen got a part-time job at KOST Alex called to congratulate his former employee. Another year went by and Karen saw Alex acting on television and she called with congratulations. Both were available and they started dating. Four years later they were married. "I didn't know that when I hired Karen in San Bernardino that I was hiring my wife."

Sharp, Tawala: KKBT, 2000-06. From behind the scenes at "the BEAT," Tawala hosted the overnight show.
Sharpe, Jim: KYSR, 1993-95. Jim works mornings at all-Talk KTAR-Phoenix.

SHARPE, Melissa: KYSR, 1993-95. Melissa worked mornings at KIFM-San Diego until the summer of 2006. She went to work doing mornings at KYOT-Phoenix until early 2020 when there was a major iHeart downsizing. In the summer of 2022, Melissa joined the 9th largest RE/MAX franchise in the world as Prescott, Arizona area vp.  She graduated high school in Lodi, attended college in Stockton and then took odd jobs in San Francisco. She moved to Tucson to return to school, majoring in journalism and working as a club dj. Local gm, Rich "Brother" Robbin, heard her tape and, according to Rich, said to his pd "Get her on the air tonight!!!" She worked the AM and Jim Sharpe the FM. They soon fell in love and married on October 16, 1987, during a simulcast in morning drive that was carried on all local tv stations. Two years later while competing on different stations in Phoenix, they decided to team up and went to KXKT-Omaha. Less than a year later they were doing mornings at KRSR-Dallas. When Westinghouse sold the station two years later, Jim went into programming management and the Sharpes took their morning show to WMXZ-New Orleans. They arrived in the Southland from "The Big Easy," working mornings at "Star 98.7." After five years of marriage Jim was anxious to have another child. While on the air in the summer of 1994, Melissa gave Jim copy  to read which contained the positive results of a home pregnancy test. He was left speechless by the news. They've made tv appearances together on The Marilu Show, Baywatch and CBS This Morning. In a 1995 LA Times interview, the Sharpes talked about a rocky period in their marriage when they first moved to Los Angeles. Sometimes working together doesn't work. Melissa reflected, "We would drive together to work, we would do the show, we would get off the air, we would go to breakfast or lunch, we'd go to the health club together - it was like, argghhhhhh!" A separation made things worse. "It's just because I'm so damned irresistible," said Jim. “She couldn’t stand not living with me.” Melissa concluded, "We belong together. We're desperately in love." The couple left "Star 98.7" in 1995 and in 1996 they moved back to Phoenix.

 

SHAUGHNESSY, Pat: KIQQ, 1973-79. Pat is president/ceo at AVI Communications, Inc. in Dallas. Pat was present at the launch of the Drake/Chenault era at KIQQ. He told the LA Times: "This will be the first time where FM, from a big personality standpoint, will have a chance to prove its viability and strength." Pat was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa on January 22, 1945, and was not yet 30 when he arrived in the Southland. He went to the University of Nebraska at Omaha and got started in sales at KOIL-Omaha in 1966. Pat was also the executive vp/gm of Drake/Chenault Enterprises. In 1980 he became president and ceo of TM Communications, which at that time, was the largest producer of jingles and production libraries. He took the company public in 1985 and in 1987 sold his interest and bought four radio stations. In 1991 he formed AVI Communications, a broadcast services company specializing in new business development for tv and radio. He has won numerous awards including a Clio, a Gold Medal for film production from the New York Film Festival. Pat also served as Executive Producer of one of the largest corporate shows ever, The Coca-Cola Centennial Celebration with an audience of 14,000 bottlers from 140 countries. Pat began his 40-year media career in Omaha in radio advertising sales, which led to management and later to his becoming VP & General Manager of a KIQQ. After seven years in LA, he was recruited by Roy Disney to head up TM Communications in Dallas. corporate shows, and owned radio stations, too.

Shaun, Jackye: KNX, 1976-2000. Jackye is part of KNXNewsradio. In 1999 she won a Golden Mike Award for Best News Writing.

SHAUNA: KLOS, 1973-74; KMET, 1975-76. Shauna Zurbrugg was only with two stations, KMET and KLOS, for a brief time (not to be confused with Shana LiVigni). Born March 15, 1951 in Alliance, Ohio, she attended Culver Military Academy, now-defunct women's college in Pennsylvania, "Penn Hall College For Women," and then spent one semester at Kent State University. “I left to focus on radio at a radio school in Cleveland. Through this connection, I was able to have access to the on-air staff at WNCR where I had my first job as a morning drive dj w/ my friend, Jeff Gelb. She was eventually given her own show. At WMMS-Cleveland, she made a name for herself in mornings when she named herself "The Screaming Queen Bitch." “My interest in radio came directly from loving the music of the time,” said Shauna. “I had intended to become an actress, and when I realized that I would not like touring in ‘summer stock’ theatres, it became clear that following my love of music and the incredible programming of several progressive Rock stations, that going on the air would be a wonderful outlet for both music and entertaining others.” At KLOS she was not happy with the rigid playlist and moved to weekends at KMET. "Due to Raechel Donahue having a series of health problems at the time, I was often in her weekday slot and had begun to have fun again w/ the ability to choose my own music and be a ‘personality.’” She currently provides professional writing services at her blogspot, Between the Lines.

Shaw, Bea: KFWB, 1958-61, SEE Tiger  

SHAW, Bob: KKLA, 1998-2000; KFSH, 2000-16; KWVE, 2016-18. Bob has been involved with Christian radio for his time in LARadio. He co-hosted the Family Friendly Morning Show at "The Fish" until early fall of 2016. He joined afternoons at "K-WAVE" in late 2016. He's now a voice actor. Bobby talked about his radio journey: “It was a slow process. Not everyone can do family-friendly radio. It is so easy to go the dirty route, which we never do. Our chemistry worked so well. Shaw’s predecessors at KFSH were Ted Ziegenbusch and Billy Burke. He started as the morning show producer. “I thought I could never do the morning show, but with Billy’s expertise, it kind of rubbed off on me, and by the time Billy left, I was ready to do it,” he said. In the late nineties, Bob graduated from the Academy of Radio & Television Broadcasting.

Shaw, Dave: KFI, 1964. Unknown.

SHAW, Desmond: KNX, 2008-21. Desmond was a traffic reporter for all-News KNX. He's now with KCBS/Channel 2.CBS Los Angeles’ full time TV news Helicopter Reporter!! In a January 2021 tweet, Desmond wrote: "After 12 wonderful years, I just finished my final shift at @KNX1070. It’s been a fantastic run...I’m SO grateful to have worked with such a talented and fun team! What started as weekend overnights in 2008 blossomed into a career of aerial breaking news and traffic coverage."

Shaw, Don: KMPC, 1992. Don was fired from his weekend shift at all-Sports KMPC for a comedy sketch that was deemed offensive to Asian-Americans. It was a mock interview with a Japanese basketball player. "It was not intended as an ethnic slur on anyone," said Shaw in an interview with the LA Times. "I'm not a racist. The whole thing was blatantly preposterous."

SHAW, Rick: KEZY, 1984; KNX/fm, 1986: KIKF, 1998-99. Rick was pd/om for the Amaturo group of four at 92.7/fm until a station sale at the end of 2012. He's living in Anaheim, programming in Temecula and San Bernardino and playing golf in Laughlin His journey has been unique, filled with a career change, late start in radio, announcing, programming, and a bout with cancer, all before he hit 50 years of age.   Rick was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey. His father was a salesman and he had a brother who lived in Orange County. During family visits, Rick’s dad decided to uproot the family and start a new life in Southern California. They moved in with his uncle until they purchased a house in Anaheim.  Rick majored in accounting at Cypress College and he eventually became a senior planner at a manufacturing company. His brother was an engineer at KEZY and Rick would volunteer to answer phones in the evening. He met the pd Dave Forman and Jack Snyder. “I put a tape together, which was the most unprofessional tape you could ever imagine, but Dave in his infinite wisdom heard something and he gave me my first job in radio. I was 26 years old.”  While at KEZY, Rick worked with Mark Denis. “I never met a human being like Mark Denis. I was in Dallas when I heard he died. I cried for days. He was an amazing man. And Dave Forman was aces in my eyes.”  Rick’s radio journey began in the summer of 1980. Two years later KEZY went all-News. “I thought I would take a run at L.A.” He received two offers for part-time work – one with Tommy Hadges at KLOS, the other with Michael Sheehy at KNX/fm. “The station was coming out of the automated Mellow Rock Today format and I was part of the first live group. Six months later it blew up and became Hit Radio/KKHR,” remembered Rick.

Approaching his 50th birthday, he went in for a full physical. Rick was concerned about cholesterol and glucose levels. Everything was okay, but his doctor was concerned about the level of his PSA. More tests. Two weeks later Rick went in for the results of the additional tests. He was told that he had prostate cancer. “All of a sudden your whole world changes. Ohmigod. How was this possible?” The doctor told Rick that if he did nothing for six months other than educate himself that things will not change at all. “I started reading everything I could about it. I almost resigned myself to make an appointment to have the full prostatectomy. I told my boss that I might need a couple of months off. He wondered if I had considered Proton Beam, a form of radiation that is only done in two places in the country – Loma Linda in the Inland Empire and another near Boston.”  Rick opted for the treatment. “I worked from 8 to 5 each day, drove to Loma Linda (about an hour drive) every week day for 40 days, did the two-minute treatment, and then drove home. It was almost like a magic wand. There were no side effects.” At the end of treatment, Rick had to wait six months for another PSA test. The doctor was hopeful that his before-treatment of a 6 PSA count would be in the twos. “It was a zero point 8. We blew that out of the water.” Rick is now a spokesperson for the procedure. “I just can’t say enough about it.”  Since the diagnosis, Rick has lost 30 pounds. “I’m eating better with hardly any sugar and no coffee or carbonated beverages. I have more energy than ever before. The problem I had I no longer have. It has given me peace of mind. I’m ecstatic! It doesn’t get any better than that,” enthused Rick.

SHAYNE, Bob: KPFK, 1959; KVFM, 1959-60; KNOB, 1961-63; KPPC, 1967. Bob teaches screenwriting, tv writing, production and tv history as an adjunct professor at Chapman University in Orange, CA. Bob followed Tom Donahue on the all-night shift at KPPC. He was just coming out of jazz and getting used to “underground rock” when Tom fired him for playing a cut by Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Bob left radio after his brief stint at KPPC to become a tv/movie writer-producer. He wrote about "every fourth episode of Simon & Simon." Bob wrote the feature length Return of Sherlock Holmes. Born in New Jersey, Bob was 7 when his father, who had a heart condition, moved the family to Southern California. Bob grew up in the San Fernando Valley.

 

SHEARER, William: KGFJ, 1973-74; KLOS, 1974-77; KACE, 1977-84, vp/gm; KGFJ/KUTE, 1984-85, vp/gm; KGFJ, 1986-96, vp/gm. Born in Columbus, Ohio, William was a human relations and organization behavior major at the University of San Francisco. He was part of the M.B.A. program in business management at Pepperdine University. He beccame a radio pioneer and industry great. He died November 1, 2016, after a lengthy illness. He was a Korean War veteran who served for over 20 years in the United States Army. Bill started in radio sales and in 1977 he became vp/gm at KACE. He had been chairman and on the board of directors of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters. He was also the past chairman of the Southern California Broadcasters Association. Bill left KGFJ in February 1996 when the station was sold. In the spring of 1996, the Black Media Network bestowed on Bill a Lifetime Achievement Award. In the fall of 1997, Bill joined American Urban Radio Networks as vp of west coast operations. Bill was active in the community working with organizations advancing media, business and civil rights opportunities for African Americans. He was active with the Los Angeles Urban League and NAACP.  Shearer was also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and a member of the First AME Church, Los Angeles.

SHEARER, Harry: KRLA, 1965-70; KPPC, 1970-71; KMET, 1975; KCRW, 1987-2013; KCSN, 2013-19. Harry is an actor, comic, writer, Watergate junkie and Nixon impersonator, as well as the voice of several characters on Fox’s The Simpsons. Harry's radio career reached an early apex during the heady days of KRLA and the daily "Credibility Gap," an irreverent look at the news in the late 1960s. His diversity of accomplishments is staggering. He started out as a child actor in Abbott and Costello Go to Mars. He played the bass player Derek Smalls in This Is Spinal Tap. Harry has always been on the cutting edge of parody. He played the role of Eddie Haskell in the pilot episode of Leave It to Beaver. He quit the cast of Saturday Night Live twice and had a role in The Right Stuff. Harry was fired twice from KMET during the 1970s. He used to listen a lot to Jean Shepherd and Bob and Ray, whose influences are apparent in his free-form monologues and shrewdly paced comedy skits. His multi-faceted career has him doing a weekly radio program "Le Show" on which readings from obscure trade journals alternate with slickly produced episodes of "Clintonsomething." He also does the voice of Mr. Burns (and 19 other characters) on The Simpsons. He's working on the first musical comedy about J. Edgar Hoover's relationship with his longtime assistant, Clyde Tolson. In the October 1996 issue of Buzz magazine, Harry was listed on the "Buzz 100 Coolest."

 

SHEARER, Licia: KGFJ, 1989-96; KACE, 1996. Licia runs Shearer Energy Productions, a communications/entertainment company. Licia worked morning drive with Tony Hart at Gospel/Urban KGFJ. She is a versatile entertainer, talented actress, singer and dancer. Licia portrays mad Sarah in the popular, nationally syndicated radio soap opera, "It's Your World" that airs on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. She received a best actress nomination by the NAACP Theatre Awards in the musical A Little Meditation and starred in Jayne Kennedy's long-running musical The African-American and For Colored Girls. Licia was featured in Bill Bellamy's movie How To Be a Player. She created Shearer Energy Productions, a communications/entertainment company that produced The Holy Hook-Up national gospel newsletter. From Ohio, Licia earned a master's degree in broadcast journalism and radio/television communications.

 

SHEEHY, Michael: KNX/fm, 1976-83; KKHR, 1983; KTWV, 1990-2000. Michael left his production job at "the Wave" to operate his own production facility. The quintessential production master, Michael developed a passion for music at a very young age. "When I was 13, my folks gave me a little Sony tape recorder. It fired my imagination and opened up a whole new world." His early radio work was between Houston and Honolulu, and he arrived in the Southland from KGB-San Diego. He eventually became pd of KNX/fm. Michael remembered that the station "realized the highest ratings and revenues in its history, ranking as the 6th-most-listened-to radio station in the United States." While there, he was awarded 26 gold and platinum records for his early and enthusiastic support of developing new artists. In 1985, he was asked to create and develop a broadcast division for HLC/Killer Music, a respected music production company best known for its work with Levi's, Gatorade and Wheaties. His company earned a reputation as the country's premier broadcast jingle outlet. In 1990, Michael joined KTWV heading up their creative/production department. His work earned international awards, where his entry beat 13,800 other entries from more than 29 nations. He was the director of programming for the Discovery Music Network on cable television. In 1992, Michael was doing mornings on "the Wave," and he moved to evenings in 1993 when the New Age station adopted a female morning drive team. Michael talked about production: "I don't care what the medium is...producing is a state of mind. It's not necessarily what tools you're using...it's what's in your head!"

 Sheen, Lily: KCBS, 1998-2005; KNX, 2005-08. Lily, a British native, worked weekends at "Arrow 93." She worked in the programming department at KNX until February 2008 following a major downsizing at CBS Radio.
Sheen, Scalla: KCSN, 1997-2007. Scalla hosted "American Mosaic" on the Cal State Northridge radio station. 

SHEFF, Stanley: KROQ, 1977-82. Stanley produces theatrical and film projects. Sheff was the "and Stanley" in the spoof-driven Sunday night show, "Young Marques and Stanley" on KROQ. Born and raised in Hollywood, Stanley graduated from Fairfax High School and pursued the movie business. He employed KROQ'er Doc Nemo, who was the "Young Marques," for one of his movies. They developed a friendship. "We had Adam West and Linda Blair come out to Pasadena to spoof their projects. The shows were half-scripted and half-improvised." Stanley went on to direct Lobster Man from Mars (a title inspired by a working relationship with Orson Welles). Sheff's work in television as director and editor includes the NBC special, TV - The Fabulous Fifties with featured hosts Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Dinah Shore, Mary Martin, and David Janssen.

 

SHELBY, LaRita: KGFJ, 1985-90. LaRita was part of the morning show while at KGFJ. During much of the 1990s, LaRita was on AFRTS. "I was on the air during the Gulf War," she said. "I was even featured in a story on CNN. As helpless as I felt, at least I felt like I could do something. What I learned on my good will missions is that radio and tv broadcasters do play a vital part in the morale of our troops." She went on to work a music, media, and marketing company in association with Charles Wright Productions. Currently, LaRita "Jazzy Rita" Shelby is Director of Digital Media Strategy & Sales at Lee Bailey's Electronic Urban Report at EURweb.com. She also works independently as a consultant, writer, producer and entertainer for her own company SB Music, Media and Marketing. www.LaRitaShelby.com or www.JazzyRita.com.  In 2015, she received an Unsung Heroes of L. A. award from Hands For Hope, a non-profit in Los Angeles. LaRita is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.

Shelden, Thom: KJOI, 1987-89. Thom is a fourth-grade teacher at Charles White Elementary in Westlake. He is one of about 160 school district employees "housed" by L.A. Unified. Shelden was accused of sexually harassing a fellow teacher, according to the LA Times. A district inquiry did not substantiate that, but LAUSD assigned Shelden first to a district office and later to home, saying he repeatedly had contacted the woman against district orders. Shelden, who continues to collect his $73,500 salary, says he has done nothing wrong. 
Sheldon, Harvey: KFOX, 1985. Harvey hosted a hard rock video show on local access cable tv in Orange County.

SHELDON, Mark: KUSC, 1999-2003. Mark died December 8, 2003 of cancer. He was 43. He was an announcer for the Classical Public Radio Network Mark graduated from Brigham Young University with degrees in music education and choral conducting. After college, he worked as an announcer in Utah and as a station manager in Indiana. Sheldon joined Minnesota Public Radio in 1992 as a syndicated Classical music host. He also produced national radio broadcasts for the Minnesota Classic Orchestra, the Utah Symphony and the Grand Teton Musical Festival. In 1999, Sheldon was hired by the Classical Public Radio Network, which is co-owned by KUSC and Colorado Public Radio, where he hosted afternoons. He discussed his 15-year battle with a rare form of ocular melanoma on the air. When his insurance company dropped him just before a cancer treatment, friends held a benefit concert in his honor.

Shelton, Iris: KRLA, 1981; KFWB, 1988. Unknown.
Sherlock, Lamar: KEZY, 1959. Lamar worked weekends from Indio, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Ontario.
Sherman, Gene: KABC, 1969. Unknown.

SHERWIN, Wally: KABC, 1970-89. “Adee Do!” Wally Sherwin’s tv commercial for a plumbing service called Adee Plumbing gave him as much notoriety as his decades-long role as pd of KABC. In the tv spot he appeared as a white-haired plumber who advertises the services of Adee Plumbing and Heating. At the end of the commercial he widens his eyes and proclaims, “Adee Do!”

Wally died peacefully August 6, 2008. He was 89 years old. During the 1960s Wally was program director and general manager at KHJ/Channel 9. While at KHJ, Wally pioneered daytime live tv by introducing the Tempo Show and later won an Emmy for producing a live concert at the Hollywood Bowl. In the 1970s and ‘80s, Wally was program director at KABC. “So sorry to hear of the death of Wally Sherwin,” emailed Ken Minyard, mornings at KABC for decades. “During my many years at KABC Wally was the longest serving program director and certainly the most memorable. This was a different radio era that featured much less confrontation or manufactured controversy and a lot more fun. Wally was a showman who always emphasized that broadcasting was an entertainment medium and that if we managed to have a good time on the air it was likely that the audience would enjoy it as well. During Wally's tenure, our show traveled all over the world. Wally produced the shows, lined up the guests and generally was the one who had to deal with the many technical problems that regularly occurred.  When we first started doing the shows in the early 80's our most high tech pieces of equipment were an ISDN and a fax machine so you can imagine."

Sherwood, Lee: KIIS, 1970-71; KHJ, 1980-82. Lee hosts a widely syndicated Country show and last heard on KDJR-DeSoto, Missouri.
Sherwood, Tom: KRLA, 1989-98. Tom produces the syndicated "Art Laboe Killer Oldies Show."
Shuman, Phil: KABC, 2001-02. The KNBC/Channel 4 reporter/anchor hosted a weekend talk show at KABC.
Shields, Cal: KAGB, 1974-78; KACE, 1978-83. Cal has been working for a local cable company and is an active participant in Too Lunar Productions.
Shields, Del: KAGB, 1974-78. Del is a minister in New York.
Shindler, Merrill: KABC/KMPC/KTZN; KLSX, 1998-2008; KABC, 2010-12. Merrill hosted the weekend "Dining Out" show at KABC.

(Miles Sexton, Bruce Scott, Stein & Illes, and Bryan Styble)

Shirk, Larry: KPCC, 1988. Larry was program director at the Pasadena City College radio station and became a professor. He was assistant general manager from 1974-99. He's now retired and living in San Gabriel. Larry studied business administration and management at the University of Redlands.
Shore, Dave: KSPN, 2010. Dave started as operations manager at KSPN on 12.15.10

SHORE, Sandy: KMEN, 1984-86; KWIZ, 1987-89; KTWV, 1988-2000. Sandy is president/founder of the first jazz radio station on-line, and the World's Smooth Jazz station, SmoothJazz.com. She lives in Monterey, California. Sandy had a harrowing experience before arriving in the Southlandn. She was working at a Monterey radio station when a listener came into the station and shot up all the equipment. Since 1990 she has been producing and hosting a series of smooth jazz concerts and music events in Monterey Bay. Recently she was named promoter of the year by the local Monterey newspaper.

Shurian, Scott: XTRA, 1961-63; KMPC, 1963-68 and 1975-79. Scott lives in Salt Lake City, and is a semi-retired voiceover guy and is a travel related writer/producer.
Shust, Billy: KIKF, 1998-2000. Billy the Kid was a Country dj at Orange County's KIKF.

SICILIANO, Andrew: KSPN, 2009-10. Andrew joined Mychal Thompson for a midday show at KSPN in the summer of 2009 and he left the all-Sports station in late 2010. Since 2005, he has been the host of DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket Red Zone. Andrew also serves as a host for NFL Total Access on the NFL Network. In 2010, Andrew experienced a massive earthquake (8.8) while vacationing in Chile. "I was in my room sleeping at 3:30 in the morning in a room with ceiling-to-floor windows, on a cliff in essence looking over the ocean. The fact that the building didn’t go down into the ocean is a minor miracle.” Siciliano described to LARadio senior writer Alan Oda what it was like during the shaking. “Imagine the train coming toward you but instead of rumbling by, it kept shaking for a minute-and-a-half … instead of a five-car train going by when it gets to its worst point, it’s a 500-car train that just kept going and going.” He contrasted it with his experience with earthquakes in California.  “Here, we’re used to getting to the worst point – bam it’s over – [but] there, the worst point was just the beginning, because then it’s got another 45 seconds of its greatest impact that was still going. You’re standing there thinking ‘When is it going to stop?’ but it doesn’t. At first I thought it was a torrential downpour, not an earthquake, so I headed toward the window – which we all know is the wrong place to be – then I felt the plaster coming down on me like dust and I wondered how the rain had gotten into my room, then I realized that was not rain, it was the ceiling.”

Sidders, Carolyn KOCM, 1986-87. Carolyn worked afternoon drive at KOCM.
Siegal, Jack: KJOI, 1970-73; KPSA, 1973; KLVE, 1973. Jack was president of Chagal Companies, a multi-media investment/consulting firm dealing in broadcast ownership. The company owned KJOI and KFOX. He died July 16, 2004, at the age of 75. Siegal was a West Virginia native who grew up in Philadelphia, After starting the radio station at the University of Pennsylvania and graduation, he joined the Navy and became a radio combat correspondent in the Korean War. He also arranged radio and television coverage of the Korean War truce negotiations at Kaesong and Panmunjom.

SIEGEL, Joel: KPPC, 1970-71; KMET, 1971. Joel was best known for his entertaining movie reviews on ABC’s Good Morning America for a quarter of a century. His cheerful personality and trademark wit allowed him to be candid and honest without being hurtful. Joel was also a LARP, working at KPPC and KMET in the early 1970s. He died June 29, 2007 of colon cancer. He was 63. This was not the first time that cancer was in Joel’s life. In 1982, Joel’s wife Jane died from brain cancer when she was 31. Joel broadcast news on KPPC and had a weekly program, “Uncle Noel’s Mystery Theatre” during its “underground” radio period. A native of East Los Angeles, he graduated cum laude from UCLA. He had an eclectic early life. On a 20/20 segment on the evening of his passing, they devoted its final segment to Joel’s life. “I’m really proud that I knew Martin Luther King and even more he knew me,” said Joel from an earlier interview. His friendship with King and his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s was an example of “standing up for what’s right.”  Jeff Gonzer remembered that Joel had this enormous collection of old radio dramas, comedies and serials. “He started me using ‘Chandu the Magician,’ that I ran every morning on my show at KPPC [1970-71]. Then he began his Uncle Joel's Comedy Hour, a weekend show that featured old radio comedy shows from the 40s and 50s. Also on the weekends he would host Uncle Noel's Mystery Hour and run spookie and mystery shows from the same era. After we all were fired from KPPC I moved to KMET and Joel did too, as the newsman.

On August 1, 1972, Joel joined WCBS/TV-New York and four years later became the entertainment critic at WABC/TV-New York. In 1996, Joel found someone else he hoped to grow old with. She got pregnant, he got cancer. In 2004 he wrote a book to his five year-old son called Lessons for Dylan, a "just in case" autobiography and tutorial for his son. At his book publication party he told his friends, “I’m glad to be there and to quote George Burns, I’m glad to be anywhere.” He continued working almost until the end of his life without losing his cheerful personality and trademark wit, wrote a colleague on the network's Web site.

The 20/20 tribute piece concluded with: “Joel never complained. He always had a warm smile. He will be an inspiration.”

Siegel, Mike: KABC, 2000. Mike's "Coast to Coast AM" was on KABC from the spring of 2000 until November.
Sietsema, Rick: KNX, 2004-10. Rick is in technical operations at KNX.
Sifuentes, Karla: KRLA, 1996-98. Unknown.

SIGMON, Loyd: KMPC. Loyd devised a system to make it easy for the police to alert radio stations. The system gave each radio station a special receiver tuned to a specific frequency and attached to a tape recorder. A dispatcher at LAPD headquarters could press one button to activate all the machines and announce the nature of the problem. "What I had in mind was to get more listeners for KMPC, to be honest with you," said Sigmon. When the LAPD broadcast the first SigAlert on Sept. 5, 1955, the announcement caused even more trouble than the accident that had precipitated it. A train en route from Union Station to Long Beach had derailed downtown, rolling onto its side. When the LAPD sent out a plea for doctors and nurses in the area through the new system, so many responded that they created a traffic jam themselves. Born in Stigler, Oklahoma in 1910, Loyd was the son of a cattle rancher, educated at Wentworth Military Academy and got a ham radio license at age 14. He started his radio career at WEEI-Boston and KCMO-Kansas City. Loyd spent three years in Europe during World War II where he was officer in charge of radio communications for the European Theater where Colonel Sigmon directed building of the world's largest mobile transmitter, 60,000 watts. Prior to selling his interest in Golden West, Loyd was it’s corporation's executive vp, with Gene Autry ran a number of radio stations and KTLA/Channel 5, was vp of operations at KMPC and was part of the acquisitions of the California Angels. The California Highway Patrol took over responsibility for the freeways in 1969, and with that the SigAlert system as well. And though most radio stations now get information about SigAlerts from the CHP Web site, the name has remained - striking terror and dread in the hearts of L.A. drivers. Loyd died June 2, 2004, at the age of 95.

Signal, Tori. Tori has been the traffic reporter on KFWB, KMPC and KYSR. She's currently directing traffic during morning drive at the WAVE.

SILVER, Jack: KLSX, 1997-2009; KFWB/KRTH, 2010; KABC, 2010-11; KABC/KLOS, 2011-12. Jack left his past as an AE with KTWV and K-EARTH on July 10, 2010, to become program director at KABC. In the fall of 2011, Jack added programming chores at KLOS. New owners, Cumulus, let Jack go in June 2012. In July 2012, Jack was appointed pd at NBC Sports Radio Network for Westwood One. Jack lost his job during the coronavirus pandemic. In 1995, KLSX got off to a rocky Talk start with a Brady Bunch star (photo of Susan Brady Olsen), a psychic, and OJ Simpson’s housemate. In August of 1997, Jack arrived to transform the station into what would become known as ‘The FM Talk Station.’ Silver brought Tom Leykis (after KFI and KMPC) back to work in the market and plopped him into afternoon drive. “KLSX had a consultant who recommended contest-less programming with very short phone calls, but he’s no longer with the station,” said Leykis.  Then there was the controversy with a hallway brawl between Doug Steckler and Riki Rachtman. Silver brought in Chuck Nasty, a former KIIS jock, to replace Rachtman.

 

SILVER, Jordin: KYSR, 2013-15. Jordin joined weekends at Alternative 98-7 from KNDD-Seattle in early summer of 2013. She was with the Buzz in Kansas City until the coronavirus pandemic eliminted her job. In sthe spring of 2022, Silver rejoined Alt 96.5-Kanas City (KRBZ).  Jordin has also been with ALT 105.7, Power 96.1 and Project 96.1 in Atlanta. In Kansas City she hosted a daily comedic “on this day in history” podcast called, “Bitchin’ Thru Time,” 12,000 downloads in 30 episodes, according to LinkED. "108% average consumption of each episode!"

 

SILVERMAN, Alex: KNX, 2022-23. In September 2022, Alex is slated to taking over programming at all-News, KNX. He held a similar position at KWY-Philadelphia. Prior to 2018, he was assistant pd at WCBS-New York. After joining WCBS in 2011 he helped lead coverage of major news events in New York and around the country, including Hurricane Sandy, the Boston Marathon bombings, and the Orlando nightclub shooting. In 2018, Silverman received a national Edward R. Murrow Award for his coverage of the transportation crisis in New York. From 2010-11 he was a reporter and anchor at KIRO/fm in Seattle, and from 2008-20 he was a reporter and morning news anchor at WSYR-Syracuse, where he graduated from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Silverman has also served as an adjunct instructor at Fordham University, where he designed a course titled “Social Media for Journalists.”

Silvius, Jon: KRLA, 1966 and 1969-74. John was killed in a plane crash January 6, 2003. He was 55.

SIMERS, T.J.: KLAC, 2006-07. T.J., page 2 columnist with the LA Times for 23 years, launched a new morning show with his daughter Tracy and Fred Roggin on October 30, 2006. The show ended September 27, 2007. In  2013, T.J. started writing for the the Orange County Register until a voluntary buyout. He attended Northern Illinois Universty. Simers sued the LA Times for age and health discrimination, claiming he was pushed out from his $234,000-a-year job after he suffered a minor stroke. In November 2015, a jury awarded him $7.1 million; however a judge cut $2.1 million for lost earnings, then also struck the remaining $5 million in damages for emotional distress, ruling Simers had quit his $234,000-a-year job of his own accord.

Simers, Tracy: KLAC, 2006-07. Tracy co-hosted a morning show (Roggin & Simers Squared) on all-Sports KLAC until September 27, 2007. Since 2017 she has been assistant corporate controller for Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
Simmons, Brian: KFWB, 1963-64. Unknown.

SIMMONS, Bryan: KOST, 1982-2001; KBIG, 2002-04; KOST, 2004-11; KTWV, 2011-16. The  California native was born James Simmons in Castro Valley and grew up in Sacramento. As a teen, Bryan's main interest was in the martial arts and he competed in state tournaments. His life was forever changed when, at 16, his high school started a low power radio station. "It was a chance to get involved in something I had always fantasized about." As a college freshman he started in the research department at KROI-Sacramento and then went on-air with stops at KROY, KZAP and KXOA, all Sacramento stations. In November 1982, Bryan was chosen by pd Jhani Kaye to kick off the new KOST format and did afternoon drive. He was the number one afternoon AC talent in L.A. for more than a dozen years. He has been rated number one in his time slot for more than three years straight in the early '90s, according to Bryan. R&R had named him consistently to their national list of Top 25 P.M. Drive Time Dominators. His personal on-air highlights include broadcasts from Tokyo and Rome and satellite broadcasts from DisneyWorld in Florida. Bryan also appears in the Hollywood Christmas Parade every year. He assessed KOST for this publication: "I loved working at the Radio Station of the Year." In late 2016, he went to Albuquerque to be pd and do afternoons at 99.5 Magic FM. He's now operation manager and on-air talent at Global One Media in Elko, Nevada.

 

SIMMS, Greg: KYSR, 1999-2000; KRTH, 2014-23. Greg began working weekends at K-EARTH in September 2014. Prior to that he was at "the Walrus" in San Diego. He's now music director and afternoon drive at K-EARTH. He took over the afternoon slot in August 2015."I’m working on getting a television show produced, and I’m an air personality on a national radio network called Air1." Greg has been a radio host since 1989 working in San Diego, L.A., and Phoenix. When he's not on the radio he's usually in his home studio working as a voice actor, voicing all kinds of commercials and projects for radio, tv, the Internet.  "While most of his work is non-broadcast, it pays the bills and I have a lot of fun," Greg wrote on the KRTH website.  He is also a graduate of Le Cordon Blue Culinary Academy and spent time cooking in Italy in the Summer of 2010.

 

SIMMS, Lee "Baby": KRLA, 1971-73; KROQ, 1973; KMET, 1973; KRLA, 1975. Only 16 in 1961, LaMar Simms quit high school and started his 40-year radio career as Hot Toddio On The Radio at WTMA in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. His best recollection is that he worked at 35 stations in 22 markets. He was known as Lee Simms or Lee Baby, a nickname given to him by pd Woody Roberts at KONO in San Antonio. He had 41 jobs, working at some stations twice, and was fired 25 times. Lee says, "I guess I really wanted to be a dj, but I never accepted an insult from anyone."   He committed suicide on January 27, 2015, at the age of 72. He had been suffering with cancer.

Top 40 programmer George Wilson became an early mentor when Lee joined WMBR/1460 in Jacksonville, Florida in 1963. He worked atWLOF-Orlando and WSHO-New Orleans (the only time he was a pd) and WIST-Charlotte before Wilson set him up at KRIZ-Phoenix in 1964. He was there for 18 months before he started moving back and forth between KONO-San Antonio and WPOP- Hartford  in 1966 and 1967. He joined WKYC-Cleveland in 1968. His annual salary was $18,000 and it was the first time he had worked with a board operator. Regarding that experience, Lee said, "It's impossible for an engineer to hear what's in your head." Six months into the Cleveland gig, everyone was fired, and Lee went home to Charleston.   A few weeks later, Wilson called again, and Simms was off to San Diego and KCBQ, working with programmers Mike Scott and Buzz Bennett. When Scott left for WJBK-Detroit, Lee moved again.   With the exception of WMYQ-Miami and WGCL-Cleveland, Lee Baby worked most of the seventies in Los Angeles, twice at KRLA. He was 27 in 1971 and making about $30K annually. He moved to KROQ until his paychecks started bouncing, then he moved to Miami. Lee returned to KRLA as veterinarian "Doctor Matthew Frail" in 1975, and did a two-hour "audition" on KMET. Following six-months of a morning show in Cleveland, circa 1976, he did two nights on KTNQ, and then went to Honolulu as the guest of Wally Amos. He stayed five years, working at KKUA, KORL, KDUK and KPOI. Lee said, "I sometimes think that some guys hired me just so they could add their name to the long and ignoble list of others who had fired me."   In 1982, Lee returned to the San Francisco Bay area and KFOG until 1985 when he got a "nice 3-month contract" at WLVE in Miami. He moved back to Northern California and stayed at KKIS-Concord, KRPQ-Rohnert Park and, by 1992, KYA-San Francisco. He was off to KOOL in Phoenix for big bucks — and 90 days to #1 — in 1994. And then, in 1997, Steve Rivers connected him with KISQ in San Francisco, where he played r&b Oldies for 4.5 years — the longest gig of his career.

Simon, Cat: KHJ, 1972-73. Cat is self-employed in Internet sales in Phoenix.

 

SIMON, Chris: KFWB, 1986-87; KNX, 1987-92. Chris died January 20, 2020. He was 55. His death was announced in the Williston Herald of North Dakota. Chris was born March 27, 1964. The two things Chris loved most were being a father and covering the news. Chris’ father, James, was a broadcaster and worked as the vice president for CBS News. In 1984, when Chris was 16, he took his first broadcasting job at the family-owned radio station KGOE in Thousand Oaks. His radio journey took him around the country and around the world, including WCCO-Minneapolis, where he won the Edward R. Murrow Award. In the 1990s, Chris was the ABC News bureau chief in Sarajevo, where he covered the Balkan War. While working in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he met Lejla. That union bore two sons, Haris and Erol, both of whom still live in Bosnia and Herzegovina, although they were with their father during his last 10 days of life. “Chris was a premiere breaking news reporter for KFWB and KNX in the ‘80s and ‘90s,” emailed colleague Ethan Harp. “At KNX, he was remarkable on big stories, like the runway collision between two jets at LAX."

Simon, Don: KBIG, 1985-96. Last heard, he was working for a  station in Indianapolis.

 

SIMON, Jan: KKGO, 1987-89; KFAC, 1989; KKGO/KJQI/KMZT, 1989-2002. Jan left the Saul Levine operation in the Fall of 2002 and now works at the Purdue University station, Classical WBAA-Lafayette, Indiana. Jan arrived in the Southland from KING-Seattle. She got her first job in radio at a 250-watt station while still in high school. For over a quarter of a century she’s hosted Classical, Jazz and popular music shows. “My job is to cut through the mystique and draw out the purely human element of people who just happened to be musical geniuses. Haydn was hen-pecked husband. Schubert was shy and couldn’t get dates. Rossini gave up composing to become a gourmet cook.” Jan is married to former KBIG personality Don Simon.

Simon, Jim: KABC, 1970-76; KFI, 1976; KGIL, 1985-88; KKGO, 1991; XEKAM, 1992. Jim was considered by many "the father of talk radio." Simon originated pioneering news and talk radio at KABC in the 1970s and was co-anchor of the station's "Newstalk." Simon, who served many years as president of Mutual Broadcasting System, also held on-air and executive positions at WBBM in Chicago, KCBS-San Francisco and KGIL. Simon also fathered three offspring who have made their own names in broadcasting - Jim Avila, Chris Simon of ABC News radio and Jaie Avila Simon of ABC News in Phoenix. He died June 6, 1995, of complications from diabetes, an aneurysm and a stroke. He was 61.

SIMON, Lou: KKHR, 1983-86; KNX/fm, 1986; KLAC, 2004-06. Lou was apd/evenings at Pop Standards Fabulous 690 until an ownership change and format flip to Spanish in early 2006. He's now with Sirius/XM Satellite Radio. Lou Simon arrived at Pop Standards KLAC from the ABC Radio Network in New York. “I scheduled the music, expanded the library, produced Daisy Torme’s show and whatever else that was needed to be done.”  “Brad’s a great marketing head,” said Lou, “ and he was spending too much time with the nuts and bolts. He didn’t need to be scheduling daily music. To do it right, it takes time.” This wasn’t the first time in the market for Lou. During his radio journey, he was the only morning man during the time KKHR was playing Top 40 – August 1983 to May of 1986. When the format at 93.1/fm changed back to KNX/fm, Lou stayed on doing afternoons and he was music director.  Lou claims he is a gold-based aficionado.

 

SIMON, Perry Michael: KLSX, 1995-96; KLYY/KSYY/KVYY, 1998-99. Perry has been a consultant with AllAcess.com or two and a half decades.In the fall of 2021, Perry was svp/editor-in-chief, news/talk/sports/podcasting editor. He was host of The Evening Bulletin with Perry Michael Simon, formerly at Nerdist/Nerdist Podcast Network. He's now living in Florida. "Born and raised in New Jersey; I don’t really think of one place as my hometown, but my years living near Philadelphia were at about the right time for it to earn that title (I still root for Philly sports teams, have many friends in the area, and retain a craving for cheesesteaks and Wawa as well as a hint of The Accent, so I guess that counts)," Perry told Alan Oda. "I don’t know that there’s anything interesting about my education – I graduated Haverford College, where Judd Nelson was in my class briefly and which got a shout out in Mare of Easttown, and Villanova Law School, where nothing at all interesting happened but means I can take personal pride in three NCAA men’s basketball championships, with which I had nothing to do." Simon concluded: "My career, abbreviated: program director at New Jersey 101.5 [Walter Sabo’s invention, which I helped launch] and KLSX in Los Angeles and operations manager and weekend public affairs host at Y-107. Also spent 6 years at Nerdist Industries, and a year as a producer at the very odd Comedy World Radio Network. I joined All Access in 1997 and was named Editor/News-Talk-Sports in 1999 and a vp in 2011. I don’t remember when I started my column, but it’s been going for a long time now. I did other stuff, mostly in the media, but I’ve forgotten most of it."

 

SIMPSON, Mike: KNX, 2015-2023. Mike joined KNX in September 2015 as a news anchor. He co-anchored afternoon drive for a number of years until moving to morning drive in the fall of 2022. Prior to joining KNX, Mike worked as a reporter at KGO-San Francisco. He got his start at KFBK in Sacramento.    Mike spent years covering the State Capitol and Governor Brown, but he’s also chased wildfires, taken part in breaking news coverage that won Edward R. Murrow and APTRA Awards and has passed out in the back of fighter jets - twice.  He was born and raised in Sacramento and has psychology and communication degrees from UC Davis. Mike spends free time training for marathons, scrolling through Twitter and finding new restaurants. He can’t cook. But he can eat.

Sims, Robert: KABC, 1967-68; KNX, 1968-2002. Bob retired from KNX in April 2002, after 33 years with the all-News station.

SINBAD: KHHT, 2002. Sinbad, the comedian/actor, started in morning drive at "Hot 92.3fm" on February 11, 2002 and left in late summer 2002. He appeared on some productions for a reality tv series. He spent much of 2020-21 recovering from an ischemic stroke., relearning to walk again. Born David Adkins on November 10, 1956, became known in the 1990s from being featured on his own HBO specials, appearing on several television series, and starring in the films Necessary Roughness, Houseguest, First Kid, Jingle All the Way and Good Burger. His stage name came out of admiration for Sinbad the Sailor. He began his stand up comic career appearing on Star Search. Sinbad won his round against fellow comedian Dennis Miller and made it all the way to the finals. He appeared on The Redd Foxx Show,  and A Different World. In 1997, Sinbad released Sinbad's Guide to Life: Because I Know Everything, a book of comedic short essays. He became a single father to his two children. "Black men are already responsible, already taking care of our duties, but nobody emphasizes that. I hear all this bad talk against men and their children. I just got so tired of it. More than anything else, I'm showing that life has changed, the world has changed. And now the key is not going to just be parenting, it's going to be mentoring, where people who are not even in your family are going to have to go in and help. And we are going to accept that responsibility, which we used to do in our culture."

 

SINCLAIR, Dick: KIEV, 1950-54; KFI, 1954-68; KIEV, 1968-2000; KRLA, 2001-02. Dick, longtime host of Polka Party, died in October 2016, at the age of 91. The Polka Party debuted during World War II on Guadalcanal Island. Private Sinclair, who was a pioneer in the creation of the Armed Forces Radio Service, first aired the show to an all G.I. audience over the island’s military station. While at Guadalcanal he met George Putnam. Dick was born in Salt Lake City. After the war, he enrolled and graduated from the University of Utah. He started at KGIR in Butte, Montana before coming to the Southland. A tv version of Polka Party was syndicated in 65 markets and aired locally for two decades. While at KFI he served as staff announcer and financial editor. For decades, Dick was the pd of KIEV, which is now KRLA (870AM).

Siracusa, Tony: KCSN, 1985-87; KNX, 1987. Tony is with the Los Angeles Times Media Group.
Sirkin, Bob: KNX, 2000-07. Bob is a freelance radio/tv reporter. He is based the New London/Norwich, Connecticut area. 

SIRMONS, Tom: KNX, 1987-94. Tom died December 31, 2014, at the age of 60. He spent nearly two decades as a highly successful broadcast journalist. Tom received seven “Golden Mikes” awards from the Southern California Radio and Television News Association, plus honors from United Press International for producing “Best Radio Documentary in the Nation.” In addition to KNX, Tom spent many years in Florida and other areas in the country as a news anchor and reporter. When he left KNX, Tom returned to his family home in St. Petersburg, Florida. He continued as a writer offering “Sirmons’ Sermons” via his blog. “Tom had dazzling talent, with dramatic ups and downs,” recalled Robert Sims, former KNX news director. “Tom was a superb news anchor who could cover foul-ups behind the scenes with effortless ad-libs and flawless segues.” Sims said Tom was “fearless and fast, always reliable and accurate” as a reporter, but it was Sirmons the writer than stood out. “He wrote with a grace and clarity that put him beyond the reach of meddling editors. What gifts!”

“Tom was an imperfect genius. I'm very sorry he’s gone,” said Sims.

"I viewed Tom as a network-quality broadcaster with the talent and intelligence to write his own ticket, radio or television," emailed Ed Pyle, former KNX program director. "Whatever he was ultimately driven to pursue I hope he was light of heart … fulfilled."

No cause of death has been disclosed. 

SISANIE: KIIS, 2007-23. Sisanie Villaclara worked middays at KIIS/fm until joining Ryan Seacrest in morning drive in December 2015. In July 2022, she became music director at KIIS. Sisanie started her career in radio by working at KHTS in San Diego. She was born on March 31, 1984 in Orange Country. Sisanie the bilingual, Mexican/Peruvian beauty discovered her passion for broadcasting in high school. She was only 19 years old when she started interning for iHeartMedia. She has twins, Aiza Delmar and Maxon Jae Villaclar. Sisanie also hosts her podcast, Twinning with Sisanie.

 

SIVAN, Lauren: KABC, 2018. Lauren worked middays at KABC with Dr. Drew Pinsky. She was an on-air reporter for Fox’s KTTV/11 and was sidelined her after she came forward to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct. Sivan told TheWrap.com in an exclusive interview that she was stunned by her treatment at the station after her bombshell account that Weinstein masturbated into a plant in front of her at a restaurant in New York City in 2007. “I just felt like the station that I put my heart and soul into for seven years just used it as an excuse to get rid of me,” she said.

Sixx, Nikki: KYSR, 2010-17. Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx joined 98-7fm for a weekend show in July 2010. 

SKAFF, Ned: KDAY, 1968-70; KFI, 1970-79; KGIL, 1979-92. For many years, when you drove near the Los Angeles Airport, you got Ned Skaff 24 hours a day giving traffic and parking conditions. He died March 27, 2023, at the age of 96. The Charleston, West Virginia native spent a half century in radio. After high school in Charleston, Ned went to USC and the Don Martin School of Broadcasting in the mid-1940s. He started his radio career at WTIP-Charleston followed by WATG-Ashland, Ohio and WKOY-Bluefield, West Virginia. In 1950 Ned began a 17-year career with WCHS-Charleston doing dj work on radio and being a news anchor on tv. He was JFK's announcer in the 1960 elections. In 1968 he followed his WCHS gm to KDAY as pd. "One day as I was leaving KDAY, a van full of scruffy kids pulled up to the station and begged me to play their record. Turned out it was Charles Manson and his group. Manson was from Charleston and lived a block away from my wife and across the street from my elementary school. Kinda scary." Ned spent a decade with KFI, first as a newsman then pd. He was fascinated by motorcycles, sailboats and airplanes. When he joined KGIL he opened a wholesale motorcycle accessory business which he ran for over a decade. Ned lived in Simi Valley.

 

(Martha Shalhoub, Kurt St. Thomas, and Nikki Sixx)

Sketch: KACD, 1996-98; KPWR, 1998-2003; KDLE, 2003. Sketch imaged for Big Boy.
Sky, Bob: KWIZ, 1975-77; KIQQ, 1986; KLIT, 1990. Unknown. 

SKYLER, Dave: KTNQ; KHTZ; KIIS, 1988-90 and 1991-92; KKBT, 1990-91; KJLH, 1992-93; KRLA, 1993-96; KACE, 1996; KMLT, 1998-99; KRTH, 2008-18. Dave, also known as Sky Walker, left mornings at KNST-Tucson in early 2006. He hosts a You Tube channel interviewing radio personalities. Sky was born and raised in Encino. It was evident from an early age that he would pursue radio. He started the first campus radio station at Mulholland Junior High in Van Nuys. Sky started his career at the age of 16 doing an overnight weekend shift at KTNQ. By the age of 18 he was doing overnights full-time at KHTZ while attending Cal State Northridge. After college Sky programmed KLAV-Las Vegas, XTRA and worked afternoons at KGGI-Riverside. Beginning in 1985, he was doing mornings at KPOP-Sacramento and later cross-town at KWOD. While in Northern California he anchored local television news and hosted a game show. At "the Beat" he worked nights and became their promo voice and production director. At KRLA Sky worked afternoon drive as Bobby Romero. In the mid-1990s, as Sky Walker he worked at the WW1 Oldies Channel, KACE and KOLA-Riverside. He went on to work in Madison and Milwaukee. In the summer of 1998, Sky returned to the Southland to program the “K-Lite” trimulcast that includes KMLT. In the fall of 2001, he joined mornings at KRUZ-Santa Barbara.

SKYLORD: KLOS, 1990-2011; KABC/KLOS, 2012-14. Skylord, Scott Reiff, reported on traffic from the sky. When Cumulus purchased KLOS and KABC from Citadel, Scott reported for both stations. Scott is now the morning Air 7 HD helicopter pilot and reporter. Scott was born and raised in Escondido. He graduated from San Diego State University with a business/finance degree. Prior to graduation, he started his first helicopter business in 1981, giving rides under the Coronado Bridge in a Bell 47 Helicopter. In 1984, Scott moved to Los Angeles to take a position as a pilot for KABC AM Radio. In 1987, Scott accepted a position with California Federal Savings and Loan as a corporate pilot, flying both helicopters and a corporate jet. He then worked as the pilot and reporter for KLOS with the Mark & Brian Show, where he was dubbed the "SkyLord." His 20 years of flying experience in Los Angeles has allowed Scott extensive knowledge not only of Los Angeles, but also the surrounding area.

 

SLADE, Karen: KJLH, 1990-2023. Karen is the general manager at KJLH. She was born on October 18, 1955 in Cleveland. In 1977, Slade earned her B.S. degree in telecommunications from Kent State University, where she was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She went on to obtain her M.B.A. degree from Pepperdine University in 1991. Upon graduation from Kent State University, Slade was hired as an account executive at Xerox Corporation in Cleveland. For the next decade, she worked in various positions for Xerox, including as a marketing consultant, project manager and dealer sales manager. In 1988, Slade was promoted to a regional sales manager in Atlanta. Then, in 1989, she returned to Los Angeles to work as vice president and general manager of KJLH, the radio station owned by R&B artist Stevie Wonder. As general manager, Slade led programming and sales as well as the station’s efforts to address local and national issues in the African American community. Under her leadership, KJLH Radio received the distinguished George Foster Peabody Award and the NAACP Image Award. Slade has been honored by the California Legislative Black Caucus Foundation and the Black Business Association, and received the Phenomenal Woman Award from California State University, Northridge. Radio Inc. magazine named Slade one of the 25 most influential African Americans in radio. (from HistoryMakers website)

 

SLATE, Allin: KIEV, 1950-62; KABC, 1963-69; KNX, 1969-78. Allin died, July 21, 2000, at the age of 79. He suffered a stroke in 1990 that slowed him down, "but did not stop him," according to his daughter Lynne Darnell. Allin also had Parkinson's Disease, and it was that to which he finally succumbed. He arrived at KIEV from Honolulu (worked at KULA).In 1964 Allin was sports director of KABC. He joined KABC with the idea of doing an all-night sports show. Instead he captained KABC’s maiden voyage in early evenings. He was told to "talk sports and make it interesting." Guests were hard to come by and it was strictly a raw experiment that developed into "SportsTalk." He worked with Leo Durocher and Jimmy Piersall.

Born in Illinois, Allin grew up in L.A. "I was the kid who sat in the bleachers and called the game," said Allin when interviewed for Los Angeles Radio People. He was a radio actor before World War II and worked in radio dramas with Jack Webb. "I was working in the sound and lighting department at the Biltmore Bowl while studying at the Pasadena Playhouse. A waiter suggested that I try radio acting." He became a regular with Keith Jackson on Sports Scoreboard on KABC/Channel 7.

Later Allin joined the daily lineup on KNX News radio where he shared his insights and thoughts on the world sports scene. His career had many highlights. He starred as Jason, opposite Dame Judith Anderson, in the Honolulu production of Medea; he was the two-time winner of the Associated Press, Golden Mike Award for excellence in broadcast journalism. He was honored by the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper for showing fairness and consideration in reporting on the treatment of African American athletes in the Mexico City Olympics. He was also past president of Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association and a long time member and supporter of AFTRA. Allin was a poet, artist and writer with a great sense of humor.

SLATER, Bill: KFWB, 1964-65; KRLA, 1965-67; KPPC, 1969-70. Bill died of a heart attack in late October 2002. He was 67. Bill started out with McLendon Top 40 powerhouse KILT-Houston in 1960. He spent a year at WGR-Buffalo in 1963 before arriving for weekends at KFWB. In 1966, Billboard published the results of the Radio Response Ratings, and Bill tied for top all-night disc jockey in the Pop Singles category. Between KRLA and KPPC, Bill was pd and did the evening shift at Progressive KSJO-San Jose. After KPPC, Bill worked KZEL-Eugene, KZAP-Sacramento and KQFM-Portland. The University of Houston radio/tv graduate returned to his hometown of Victoria, Texas, in the 1980s, and worked radio and tv production. He also restored antique photos at "Custom Copy Photos by Bill Slater." (Photo is courtesy of Bill Earl, author of When Radio Was Boss)

Slater, Jenn: KNX, 2008-18. Jenn reported traffic at KNX Newsradio. 

SLATER, Julie: KSWD, 2008-16; KYSR, 2017-18; KFI, 2017-18; KCSN, 2022-23. Julie joined 100.3/fm The Sound in the summer of 2008 and left in January 2016. In 2018, she left her part-time news anchor at KFI. In the spring of 2022, she joined 88.5/fm.

Slattery, Jack: KLAC, 1959. The long-time announcer on Art Linkletter's House Party has passed away. He was born on February 18, 1917 in Missouri. He was an actor/anouncer on Pardon My Rhythm, and the Colgate Comedy Hour. He died on October 29, 1979 in Lancaster, California.
Slaughter, Paul: KBCA, 1968. Paul lives in Sante Fe and is a highly respected photographer.

SLICK, Vic: KRLA, 1984-87 and 1992. Vic works afternoons at Oldies KOLA in the Inland Empire. He started his radio career in 1983 and has been with KOLA since 1994. For over 20 years, KOLA has been playing Classic Hits (pop hits from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s).This 30,000 watt power station covers the Inland Empire, Orange County, and parts of Los Angeles and San Diego counties. He was born and raised in Colton. Vic is a huge fan of classic cars.

Slim: KKHR, 1985-86. Slim is living in Phoenix. Slim was born in Tacoma and worked at KFRC before coming to KKHR. Her real name is Leslie Nielson.  She started going by Leslie Nelson to avoid confusion with comic actor Leslie Nielsen.  Here is a scoped aircheck of her from 1984.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZvBlCjehtg 

SLIWA, Curtis, KABC, 2007-09. His syndicated show ended its run at KABC in late 2009. Curtis did mornings at WNYM-New York and now hosts morning drive at WABC-New York. Born on March 26, 1954 Curtis has such a diverse background as an American activist, radio talk show host and founder and chief executive officer of the Guardian Angels, a nonprofit organization for unarmed crime prevention. Sliwa was the Republican nominee for the 2021 New York City mayoral election, which he lost to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

 

SLOATMAN, Dennis: Clear Channel/LA, 2012-19. Sloatman was appointed chief engineer for Clear Channel/Los Angeles in 2012, replacing Terry Grieger. He's now vp of engineering for SummitMedia Group. “Dennis comes with a wealth of experience in the IT and engineering worlds,” wrote Greg Ashlock, in a memo to the staff. “Dennis has worked on numerous special projects throughout many Clear Channel markets - and for the past 5 years has held the chief engineer position for Cox in Richmond. He is super excited about the opportunity and can’t wait to get started."

SLUGGO: KROQ, 1992-96 and 1997-2017; KLOS, 2019-23. Doug “Sluggo” Roberts joined KLOS in the late summer of 2019 as assistant pd / music director. Doug was associated with KROQ for most of the nineties, plus working swing until 2017. In early 2021, he teamed with Kevin Ryder for afternoons at KLOS. Additionally, from day one of the very successful JACK/fm format, Sluggo has been a writer and music scheduler since 2005. He held that position until a few months ago. Doug arrived at "the Roq" from KZZP-Phoenix. In the spring of 1996 Sluggo joined WXRK-New York before returning to KROQ in late 1997. He stayed until 2004 working nights and afternoon drive, then returning to KROQ frequently working until two years ago. “The last shift I did at KROQ was on the day that I was interviewed for Adam Carolla’s [hopefully still] forthcoming documentary about The Roq. I figured that would be a nice way to wrap up my tenure there, and I quit doing air shifts after that day,” emailed Sluggo. “I started radio at an MOR in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1984 when I should have still been in high school.” He remembers talking to Casey Kasem on the phone for about 10 minutes as an impressionable teen. “I was asking him all about being a dj and he thoughtfully answered every question,” Sluggo remembered. “His best advice was ‘Get used to playing records that you hate, kid.  Over and over again.  It’s part of the job.’”

Sluggo was born and raised in Phoenix. To pursue his radio dream he attended a 6-month radio course at Arizona Tech. “I drove all over Arizona dropping off audition tapes I made at Arizona Tech. Carlos Ibarra, one of the best bosses I’ve ever had, at 600 AM (KCLS-Flagstaff) was the first to bite.”

And how did he get the nickname Sluggo? “The Sluggo name story is pretty boring! Haha. My buddies Jed the Fish, Freddy Snakeskin, Swedish Egil determined that I, Doug Roberts, should be Doug The Slug. I slowly morphed it into Sluggo. For the first couple of weeks on the air, though, I was both Frank Distortion, the Father of Mayhem and Thurston Howell, The Monster.  Still use that one sometimes.”  

Sluggo was the voice of MTV2 for half of the broadcast day during their first year on the air. “Also, I got to be on Guy Zapoleon’s legendary Top 40 powerhouse KZZP-Phoenix with Kevin Weatherly, Kevin & Bean, Jimmy Kimmel and all the rest from 1986 – 90.”

While assuming his new duties at KLOS, Sluggo stated: “I’m staying with SiriusXM on both 1st Wave and Lithium Monday – Friday, and have been there since June of 2015.”

SMALLS, Tommy: KDAY, 1958-59. Known as Dr. Jive, Tommy was implicated with Alan Freed in the payola scandal. He became promotions director at Polydor Records. Tommy died after a short illness on March 8, 1972, at the age of 45. Born in Savannah on August 5, 1926, Tommy was an influential black jock in New York City during the early days of rock 'n roll. He owned the Smalls Paradise club in Harlem in the 1950s. He attended Savannahy State College and a time in the US Coast Guard, Tommy became the first black disc jockey in Savannah in 1947 on WSAV. In 1952 he moved to New York, and became the original "Dr. Jive" on radio station WWRL. His weekday afternoon radio shows - with the slogan "Sit back and relax and enjoy the wax / From three-oh-five to five-three-oh, it's the Dr. Jive show" - became popular with teenagers and featured vocal groups, blues, rock and roll and Latin music. In 1955 he began to present live rhythm and blues revues from the Rockland Palace, the Apollo Theatre and in November 1955 Tommy presented an unprecedented 12-minute segment on the nationally-networked The Ed Sullivan Show featuring Bo Diddley, LaVern Baker and the Five Keyes. In the spring of 1956,  he was elected to the unofficial post of "Mayor of Harlem", with a parade held through the town in his honor. (Source: Wikipedia ... photo of Smalls with Jayne Mansfield)

 

SMILEY, Tavis: KGFJ; KJLH; KKBT, KABC, 1994; KMPC, 1994-95; KCRW and KPCC, 2002-04; KBLA, 2021-23. Tavis hosted a nightly talk/interview show on PBS until December 2004. In the summer of 2021, Tavis took over ownership of KBLA/1580AM. He also hosted the midday show at the new Progressive station. In early 2018, Radio/TV station owner and cable/streaming content producer Kevin Adell offered Tavis a haven, as Smiley shakes off being cut by PBS and Public Radio International following allegations of sexual misconduct with staffers. His road to redemption takes him into inspirational territory via The Word Network, thus avoiding current events. By March 2020, a Washington, DC jury decided that the former public television host, violated the morals clause of his contract by carrying on sexual relationships with multiple subordinates. Now, they agreed, he owes the broadcaster nearly $1.5 million. In late 2020, Tavis purchased KDAY (1580AM for $7.1 million).

 

SMITH, Alexa: KTWV, 2013-16. Alexa joined KTWV (the WAVE) in the late summer of 2013. She arrived from CBS/Sacramento, and she has worked in San Francisco, Portland and San Diego. Rick Thomas, her pd at KTWV said: “She lives and breathes radio and is a great person.” "My radio journey has taken me from production, morning show co-host, all the way up to the titles of PD and OM. It's been a strange and wild ride but I wouldn't change a thing. I got my start at KSFM as an intern for local celebrity Mark S. Allen, I never looked back. The radio bug bites and you never get rid of the fever. This same bug has made me hungry to do and learn all I can so that I'm a well-balanced and informed team player with more than one thing on my tool belt," she said in an AllAccess interview. Alexa described her biggest asset: "I have yet to find something I can't do. Not to be too braggadocios, but I love to learn, I love a challenge and I love digging my heels in to be part of a team that likes to win."

(Linda Salvin, Arnie Spanier, and Sharise)

SMITH, Bill: KGIL, 1970-76; KABC, 1980-90; KNJO, 1996. Bill, a veteran radio and television everyman, died July 10, 2017, at the age of 74. An Army “brat” whose youth was spent globe-trotting with his U.S. Army parents, beginning school in Japan and finishing in Germany, Bill’s entire broadcasting career was in Los Angeles. Bill began as a news reporter at KGIL, became nd and eventually took over morning drive when Sweet Dick Whittington left the station after a long and successful run. During the “Whittington” years, Bill was the “mystery voice” of the character Harrison Hollywood, a popular parody of Hollywood reporters. As a licensed pilot, Bill often flew the KGIL Skywatch plane reporting on freeway traffic. This led to his first stint on KABC. Following KGIL, Bill spent ten years as reporter and anchor on KTTV/Channel 11, anchoring the station’s “Today-like show” noontime newscast. During his decade at KABC, he worked as regular fill-in (with Eric Tracy) for the popular morning team, Ken Minyard and Bob Arthur. He also teamed with Wink Martindale for an afternoon drive program. After KTTV, Bill spent three years at KCBS/Channel 2 and then went to KTLA/Channel 5. “Even though I have won various awards for ‘best TV reporter,’ my heart remains with radio.” At KNJO, Bill was teamed with co-host Kirby Hanson, billing themselves as a “low budget Regis and Kathie Lee” in an experiment to see if talk radio would work on a “very local” level. “All was proceeding well until gm Steve Angel (longtime friend from the KGIL days) died of leukemia and the station was sold.” For a time Bill free-lanced for “KNXNewsradio.”

Smith, Bill: KEZY, 1986; KFI, 1987-94; KMPC, 1995. Bill was born in Elgin, Illinois and went to the University of North Colorado. In 1994, he briefly worked tv at KCAL and KTLA. When Bill left the Southland he worked in Denver in the late 90s. He's currently owner/president of Radar Marketing Group in Amherst, New Hampshire.
Smith, Billy Ray: KXTA, 1997-2003; XERB, 2003-18. The former San Diego Charger linebacker was the co-anchor of morning all-Sports "The Mighty 1090" until the summer of 2012. He returned in early 2013.
Smith, Bobby: KGFJ, 1973. Unknown.
Smith, Calvin: KFAC. Calvin launched his first Los Angeles radio station in 1926 with a $200 investment and introduced KFAC's Classical music format. He and an L.A. High School classmate scraped up $200 and went on the air as station KGFJ. They broadcast only when they had something to say, then went off the air and spent the balance of their time trying to sell commercials so they could resurface the next day. He went to work for KFAC in 1932 as chief engineer and became manager during a difficult Depression-era economy. His first success was the ongoing Southern California Gas Co. two-hour evening concert. The former owner of KFAC died in August 1991. He was 86. 

SMITH, China: KDAY, 1971-72; KRLA, 1972-73; KROQ, 1973-74; KMET, 1974-75; KLOS, 1979; KWST, 1980-81; KMGG, 1983-84; KUTE, 1984-87; KTWV, 1989-91; KAJZ/KACD, 1992-96. KCBS, 1999-2001. China died August 23, 2005, after suffering a fatal heart attack. He was 61. China was one of the big L.A. voices for three decades. Once you heard China’s voice, you never forgot it. It shook the speakers.

Thomas Wayne Rorabacher was born in Grand Rapids in 1943. In 1969, at KCBQ-San Diego, pd Gary Allyn gave him the name China. The name Smith was picked to give an ethnic balance of exotic and American. Bob Wilson brought China to the Southland to work AOR KDAY from KING-Seattle. China was also an accomplished artist, using his computer to produce fabulous digital pieces.   

The business wasn’t always kind to China. In the Spring of 2003, China fell on hard times and the following story appeared at LARadio.com: 

This is a difficult story to write. The subject is a nice guy. But his circumstances are uncomfortable. No one wants to write this kind of a story, especially the subject of this story.   

Ten years ago when I naively started researching the first edition of Los Angeles Radio People, I thought of the project as a fun look for some of our early radio people and to learn about their journey. It turned tragic rather quickly. One of the brightest Top 40 stars in L.A. radio was living in a box at Vermont and Hollywood Boulevard. Others had taken their lives or because of a hard lifestyle, life had taken them early. Many had just disappeared.   

It seemed that success came early to our radio people and then circumstances, and now consolidation, have made employment difficult. Many were just not prepared for the eventuality when the microphone would be turned off. Somehow many thought the swirling red light would remain on outside the studio until retirement.   

I found the thrill of those who made it to be exhilarating. I gravitated to those who made lemonade out of lemons. A young David Hall had dreams. Still in his twenties, David was driving his Volkswagen when a drunken truck driver with two loads of cement crashed into his car, and the gas tank exploded trapping him in his car. He lost both legs and within six months was walking on artificial legs. David was given an opportunity at KNX/fm. He loved acting and soon found himself in the role of a double amputee in Gene Hackman’s Class Action (written by LARP Chris Ames), Judge Swaybill in L.A. Law and a ton of cartoon voice work. David is now the coroner in the hugely successful CSI tv series. “Life could be a dream…Sh-Boom.”   

The purpose of this story is a cry for help. One of our own is hurting. He’s a breath away from being homeless. It would be easy to dissect his past and lament at some of the left and right turns he took with his decisions. We could talk about some of his medical setbacks, but this is not about the past. This is about now and very real. He’s ready to go. He’s in the starting block and needs an opportunity to begin the race. He’s been with some incredible stations, yet can’t get a job.  

His name is China Smith and he needs a job or an assignment. China doesn’t want your pity; all he wants to do is pay the rent this month before he gets thrown out on the street. He's already received a notice to vacate and no place to go. Perhaps you can help. He’s not begging. I am. Radio in 2003 is different and there is a new generation. If you have any compassion for those who have gone before you, this is the time for you to reach into your arsenal and help. We all know that times are tough. We all know that jobs are tough to come by. For those who care about the L.A. radio community and the fraternity of 4,000 voices during the past half-century, this is your turn to make an investment.   

And so many of you did help and you made a difference. He was very grateful for the outpouring of love and support. He died following a heart attack in his apartment. China had been in failing health with heart disease and he needed to replace both knees. He continued to smoke until his death.  

 

SMITH, Dave: KIEV, 1993; KMAX, 1995-96; KWNK, 1996; KIIS/AM/KXTA, 1997-2002; KMPC, 2003-07; KLAA, 2008-09. Dave worked afternoons at KMPC/1540 The Ticket until the spring of 2007 when the station was sold to Radio Korea. He co-hosted morning drive at the Angels station, KLAA, until early summer of 2009. He then joined the NBC Sports Radio Network working weekends. In 2001, Dave, with Tomm Looney, was voted the Best Sports-Talk Host in Southern California in the annual Daily News poll listing of the best & worst of L.A. sports media. Tom Hoffarth praised Dave for being "a step ahead in the Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O'Neal situation, the NCAA's investigation of USC basketball player Jeff Trepagnier and the Rick Pitino-to-UCLA rumors." Tomm praised his partner: "Dave has become the Matt Drudge of sports talk-show hosts. If Dave is talking about it on Monday, you'll see it on tv or read about it in the newspaper on Tuesday or Wednesday." Dave was a journalism major at Cal State Northridge and struggled through cable tv outlets and the short-lived KMAX before landing at "XTRA Sports 1150."

Smith, Dennis: KBIG, mid-1960s; KBCA, 1969-78. Unknown. 

SMITH, Frazer: KROQ, 1976-79; KLOS, 1979-84; KMET, 1984-86; KLSX, 1986-97; KLOS, 1997; KRTH, 2002; KLOS, 2014-20. Frazer, the "Godfather of KLOS" was doing mornings before Mark & Brian joined the Classic Rock station. He had been doing weekends when he was let go in early summer 2020. When he came to Los Angeles, Smith joined forces with Phil Austin (ex-Firesigner) and Michael C. Gwynne (an actor/comedian). Together they comprised The Hollywood Niteshift, an improvisational comedy show which ran for about a year-and-a-half on KROQ. He was offered his own show while still part of the Niteshift; for a while, he did both, but eventually left to devote more time to his own program.

 

SMITH, Hal: KLAC, 1972-76. Hal was born November 13, 1936, and grew up near Nashville. He worked at WKDA and WAKY-Louisville and WMPS-Memphis before joining Capitol Records as the Southeast marketing director. His time at KLAC included being the operations manager. At the 1973 Billboard Radio Programming Forum, he was awarded Country music pd of the year. In 1976, he went to KNEW-San Francisco as gm. When Hal left the Bay Area he traveled to Philadelphia to manage WMMR and WIP. When the stations were sold, the president of Metromedia formed Encore Media. Hal was hired to manage an Encore station, KSYG-Little Rock. "My first job in broadcasting with at WNAH in Nashville as PD/Announcer. I later did afternoon drive and for a few months and did both morning and afternoon drive. Then history repeated. Gordon McLendon and Don Keyes had a morning change of planes in Nashville and heard me. A few days later I was hired for WAKY in Louisville. I was later promoted to pd, did noon the three plus traffic reports in morning and afternoon from an airplane." In 1972 Bill Ward hired Hal as program director at KLAC. "The station became a cash cow for Metromedia. In 1974 George Duncan dispatched Bill and I to San Francisco to 'get me a reason to switch KNEW to a Country music format.' We filed our report and a few months later, Bill, Carson Schreiber and I went to Oakland and switched the station to a Country. In 1976 George Duncan decided on a management change and promoted me to vp/gm for KNEW. My marching orders were to 'get it profitable so we can sell it.' I did and they did. Actually they traded KNEW for KJR in Seattle in 1980." "I then went to WMMR, a highly rated station in Philadelphia. A lot of listeners but not profitable. A few years later it was the number one billing fm in the market and number 2 overall.  "I am enjoying tennis and golf and we do some traveling seeing this great country." Hal is retired and living in Northern California.

 

SMITH, Jack: KLAC, 1957-59. Jack Ward Smith was born on November 16, 1913 in Seattle and died of leukemia on July 3, 2006. He was 92. Known as Smilin' Jack Smith, he was a crooner, radio host and actor. He was in a singing trio, The Three Ambassadors, from age 15. In 1939, he became a solo crooner with a voice described as "The Singer with a Smile in His Voice." He also sang with the Phil Harris Orchestra in 1932, recording Here It is Only Monday. In a 1945 poll of radio critics by Motion Picture Daily, Smith was voted radio's "most promising star of tomorrow." Smith was offered the second lead in Warner Bros.' On Moonlight Bay in 1951 opposite Doris Day. In 1953, Smith briefly hosted the NBC game show Place the Face, only to be replaced by Jack Bailey, who in turn was followed by Bill Cullen. Smith became the host of You Asked For It in 1958. He also appeared as himself in the "Fearless Fonzarelli" episode of Happy Days, which aired in 1975.  (ed. note: Don Barrett was a guest dj on Smith's KLAC show in 1958)

Smith, Jan: KWIZ. Unknown.

SMITH, JJ: KNX, 1962; KABC; KPOL; KRLA, 1975; KFI, 1978. JJ broadcast news during his time in the Southland. He was one of the last voices of the original radio network newscasts. JJ died from intestinal cancer on July 28, 2014. in Burbank. He was 88. As a radio newsman, JJ landed at KNX from WGN-Chicago in 1962, said his longtime friend and colleague, Dave Sebastian Williams. In 1958, JJ became the voice of everything Sears (a total of 26 years) and wanted to move to LA.  As the story goes, Sears picked up the phone and secured JJ a job at KNX. The Bob Crane Morning Show ('57-'65) was already a fixture at KNX when JJ arrived, handling the morning show newscasts. Later, he replaced Ken Ackerman on the American Airlines Music ‘til Dawn national radio show before moving on to KABC, KPOL and finally KFI. JJ earned 3 Golden Mike Awards while in Los Angeles.  He retired from his day-to-day newsroom duties as he chose to leave KFI in the late 1970’s while it was a music station.  Through the 80’s, 90’s and the new millennium, JJ continued to work as a voiceover actor.  He voiced over 1,200 Industrials,  thousands of radio commercials, and hundreds of tv spots.  Beginning in 2005, JJ voiced Chrysler 300 spots for tv, radio, and dealers. JJ Smith's last agent of record was the William Morris Agency.  JJ went on hiatus a couple of years ago to replace one knee and half of another, followed by a hip replacement. JJ turned 88 in early April this year and was optimistically mounting his VO career again when, in late April, he was diagnosed with his illness.

Dave Sebastian Williams remembered his friend:

“In the 70’s, during one of my three stays at KIIS/fm  / KPRZ (K-Praise) my then VO agent and Casey Kasem’s longtime friend / VO agent and former legendary SF Bay Area radio personality, Don Pitts, called me to produce a game show demo for one of his VO clients.  That client was JJ Smith.

From the day JJ and I met we were friends and grew even closer over the years. In the late 70’s, under Biggie Nevins and John Rook at KFI, JJ handled the evening newsroom and on-air duties during my Top 40 music show."

SMITH, Jason: KSPN, 2008-09; KLAC, 2018-19. Jason was part of the ESPN syndicated programming heard at KSPN. Jason is now heard on the Fox Sports Radio. Former Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth wrote about Smith in 2008: “The main story is about the trials and tribulations of putting on an overnight show, which Jason has done for ESPN Radio since August of 2005,” emailed Tom. “He does the 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. show, fortunately for him, out of the L.A. studios on La Cienega. At that time of night, the only other people in the building are Peter Tilden and his board op doing their 11 p.m. – 3 a.m., show for KABC, an engineer and dj doing the overnight show at KLOS, waiting for Mark & Brian to come in, a security guard, and a husband and wife cleaning crew." ‘It’s like the plot for a horror movie,’ said Smith. ‘One night, I had a Subway sandwich stolen from the employee refrigerator. Who could have done it? There’s only eight people in the building.’"

 

SMITH, Joe: KFWB, 1961. The former president and chief executive of the Capitol-EMI record label produced World Cup USA 1994, died December 2, 2019, at the age of 91. As the former prexy of Warner Bros., Elektra and Capitol Records, he has donated recorded interviews with more than 200 top musicians to the Library of Congress. Smith's archives, comprising 238 hours of interviews taped over the course of two years, served as the basis for the exec's book Off the Record, published by Warner Books in 1988. Joe is also an accomplished pianist. Earl McDaniel remembers introducing Joe in Japan in 1947. Joe started as a dj in Boston before becoming a weekender at "Channel 98." Joe left KFWB in August 1961, refusing to cross the picket line. Only Joe and Ted Quillin did not return to KFWB after the strike. He commented on leaving his on-air career: "I felt an insecurity in the talent end of the business. The emphasis had shifted from individual personalities to a station's sound." Born in 1928, Joe rose through the ranks of Warner Bros. Music, beginning in 1961 when he was national promotion manager. He was responsible for signing and developing the careers of such artists as the Grateful Dead, James Taylor and Jimi Hendrix. By 1966, he was gm of the label. At Capitol he helped revive the career of Bonnie Raitt. He has served as president and ceo of Warner/AMEX Cable's sports entertainment. In 1975, Joe was made Elektra/Asylum Records chairman of the board. In 1993, he became executive producer of entertainment activities for World Cup USA 1994 - the world's soccer championship.

Smith, Ken: KGFJ, 1986. Ken is part of Bayley Productions. 

SMITH, Matt: KROQ, 1994-2005; KLAC, 2005-20; KFI, 2017. Known as Money at KROQ, Matt was part of the LA Lakers broadcast team and he co-hosts an afternoon drive show at KLAC with Petros Papadakis. Beginning in the 2017, Matt became the voice of the Los Angeles Chargers on KFI. For many years Matt was the sports guy on the KROQ Kevin & Bean morning show. “When KLAC gm Don Martin overhauled the Lakers broadcast team, he offered Money the pre-game, half-time, and post-game shows for all Laker games. Additionally, he would work an afternoon drive show with Joe Grande, a young man who worked in morning drive with Big Boy at Power 106. Money said he was excited about doing an afternoon drive show and trying to establish himself as a personality, but it was the opportunity with the Lakers that tipped the scales to leave KROQ. “Nobody leaves KROQ because it is such a great place to work.” Money is a huge sports fan but it is the NBA that really excites him. “I guess I’m strange that way,” he said. The other factor in making the switch to KLAC was a feeling that it might be time to go beyond the three-minute hourly sports report. Money did sports for 7 years. “Then there was a Bud Light night in Jimmy Kimmel’s backyard. When Jimmy left KROQ, they hired Paul ‘Action’ Jackson and he flamed out. Jimmy was having a housewarming party and we were in the backyard drinking beer and Jimmy turned to Kevin Weatherly and said, ‘Why don’t you let Money do it and that was it.”

Smith, Milton: KJLH, 1992. Unknown. 

SMITH, Pete: KNX; KDAY, 1956-58; KRKD, 1958-61; KNOB; KPOL; KMPC, 1961-88; KJQI/KOJY, 1993-95; KGIL, 1998. The native Californian, who was born in Orange, has spent his entire radio career in Southern California. He grew up in Laguna Beach and Newport Beach. “Ever since I was little kid I wanted to be an announcer. I liked the style of announcers on CBS and I was thrilled to work a summer at KNX.” At 23 he was programming KDAY, an early pioneer Top 40 station. “Of all the stations I worked, my experience at KDAY was the best. The gm didn’t interfere and I was able to hire and fire.” At KRKD (now KIIS/AM) Pete worked morning drive and was the md. During his 40 years of radio employment, the longest journey was on and off KMPC, for three decades. Pete worked at Armed Forces Radio Services for 21 years. “For many years there was another Smith who followed me at Armed Forces Radio, Bob Smith. As the Wolfman he had a ‘little’ different style.” In 1979 Pete became a station owner. A group of investors bought KWVE-San Clemente and ran it until 1985. Pete’s five years at KNOB was because he loved jazz. “I taped the shows. There was no money, so mostly it was for a little barter and a love for the music.” Pete joined “The Music of Your Life” satellite-delivered program. He splits his time between living in Palm Springs and Rosarita Beach, Mexico.

Smith, Rick: KNX, 2020-22.

SMITH, Stephen A: KSPN, 2007-09; KLAC, 2009-10; KSPN, 2011-13. Stephen's syndicated show was heard all-night at all-Sports KLAC until late December 2010. In 2011, he joined KSPN and the ESPN network. He seems to relish his role as sports talk's reigning provocateur. He graduated from Thomas Edison High School in Queens. After attending the Fashion Institute of Technology for one year, Smith received a basketball scholarship to attend Winston-Salem State University, a historically black university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Smith is a commentator on ESPN's First Take, where he appears with Max Kellerman and Molly Qerim. He also makes frequent appearances as an NBA analyst on SportsCenter. Smith also is an NBA analyst for ESPN on NBA Countdown and NBA broadcasts on ESPN. He also hosts The Stephen A. Smith Show on ESPN Radio. Smith is a featured columnist for ESPNNY.com, ESPN.com, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

 

1

SMITH, Steve: KNX. The president of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles died in April 6, 1998 at the age of 38. Steve, who had suffered from AIDS, committed suicide. Until overcome by his illness, he had been editorial director for KNXNewsradio. He began his broadcast career in 1982 as a producer for KNXT/Channel 2 (now KCBS/TV). A native of Chico, Steve studied at Cal State Northridge.  Among his awards were 10 Golden Mikes, 10 Greater Los Angeles Press Club Awards, four National Editorial Excellence Awards, the National Commendation From American Women in Radio and Television and the National Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Professional Journalists.

 

SMITH, Steven G.: KLOS, 1977-98; KPLS, 1998-2000. For the past decade. Steven has been the director of business relations at Comscore (formerly Rentrak) in the Movie Group.  When Steven left radio, he joined KDOC/tv as director of marketing and promotion, followed by six years with the Movie Marketplace of the Landon Media Group.

SMITH, Dr. J Thomas: KJLH, 1970-72; XPRS, 1972; KDAY, 1975-77. J Thomas replaced Wolfman Jack at XPRS (Soul Xpress) when the Wolfman went to the Midnight Special. He graduated in 2000, earning the Juris Doctor degree, from Texas Southern University - Thurgood Marshall School of Law. He is associated with the law firm of Anderson & Smith, P.C., and operates a mental health consulting practice in which he provides administrative and clinical consultation and training. A variegated career in radio, teaching, and psychology has well prepared J Thomas for writing his new book, My Laws of Success. This is not a book about radio, but about life. Dr. Smith will teach you to learn and speak the language of success. Growing up in Detroit, J Thomas worked midnights at the Ford Motor Company Dearborn Engine Plant while he was a high school senior. “Periodically, I paused at various points to observe the manufacturing process, eventually bound for the assembly line, to create a new vehicle. His book has chapters on how to be happy, planning for the worst, stick-to-it-ness, and accepting responsibility for your actions with no excuses, among other evergreen clues to his Laws of Success. Smith began his radio career in afternoon drive at WGPR-Detroit in 1969, later moving to WWWW-Detroit, WKLR-Toledo and back to Detroit at WJZZ.

SMITH, Wallace: KUSC, 1972-96. Wallace was the General Manager Emeritus at WLIW-New York. He died on October 27, 2022. He was 87. Smith managed WLIW until 2020, when the WNET Group of New York City acquired the license.  When Wally took over control of KUSC he decided that a university radio station should not have much to do with a university - outside of accepting its monies. He moved the station off campus, got rid of the students, switched to Classical music and signed up with National Public Radio. He was KUSC's first general manager, and except for one year ('87-'88) in New York running WNYC, has served in that capacity until 1996. In a 1994 profile of Classical music radio in the LA Times, Wally described KUSC: "Our objective is to bring...Classical music to a new public." Dr. Wallace was born in 1936. He is a graduate of Waynesburg College and the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, receiving his master's and Ph.d degrees in communications from the University of Southern California. Dr. Smith resigned in the fall of 1996, according to the LA Times, "amid a review by a USC task force of the station's finances and management structure and an analysis of its listenership and programming." The station experienced a $500,000 deficit in his last fiscal year. In the summer of 1997 he became gm of WPBX-New York.

Smithers, Ray: KPOL, 1978-79; KMPC, 1980-81. Ray is active in the voiceover world from Florida. He's also the co-owner at The Autism Channel. 

SNAKESKIN, Freddy: KTNQ, 1977-78; KWST, 1978-79; KROQ, 1980-89; KOCM/KSRF, 1991; KROQ, 1990-93; KCBS/fm, 2006-15. Freddy was with CBS/LA since July 2006, as a writer a writer and production and music guy for JACK/fm. Freddy handled all the programming and music for KROQ-HD2 (the Roq of the 80s). He was let go in July 2015, as part of a massive national CBS layoff program. In late summer of 2018, he was rehired to re-launch KROQ-HD2. The Arizona native first came to Los Angeles as a weekend/fill-in at "Ten-Q" as Dave Trout. After “10-Q,” Freddy did production at Watermark, Inc. When he went to KROQ, there was already a fish name (Jed the Fish), so Frederick J. became a snake. Freddy worked at KROQ for almost a decade and was pd for a while in 1983. He had an enormous drop-in collection and probably even more Jack Webb one-liners that he seamlessly integrated into his music and show. He launched the "MARSfm” techno-rock format on May 24, 1991. The format did not last long, and he returned to KROQ for weekend part-time work. In the late spring of 1994, Freddy left for morning drive and md at KEDG-Las Vegas, moving to afternoons during that summer. He left Vegas in the spring of 1998. “I ended up back in my ole hometown (Phoenix)."

 

SNOOP DOGG: KPWR, 1995-2000; KKBT, 2000-01. The hit recording artist aired a syndicated show at "The BEAT" until the spring of 2001. Snoop Dogg is a West Coast rapper who evolved under the tutelage of Dr. Dre, and has received fame for albums such as Doggystyle, Tha Doggfather and Reincarnated. He was born Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr. in Long Beach, on October 20, 1971. His nickname came from his mother because she thought he looked like Snoopy from the Peanuts cartoon. The musically inclined youngster played piano and sang at his local Baptist church, before starting rap in sixth grade. After graduating high school, Snoop was arrested several times for drug possession and spent time in prison. He started making music as a way out of his troubles and recorded early demos with his cousin Nate Dogg and friend Warren G as 213. A track on one of these came to the attention of Dr. Dre, who invited Snoop — then rapping under the name Snoop Doggy Dogg — to audition. Snoop appeared in several films, including Starsky & Hutch, The Wash and Training Day. He also made guest appearances on television shows, including The L Word and Weeds, and starred in his own E! reality show, Snoop Dogg's Father Hood, in 2007. He was part of a sketch show, Doggy Fizzle Televizzle, and participated in the 2011 Comedy Central Roast of future president Donald Trump. In 2016, he partnered with Martha Stewart for VH1's Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party.

 

SNOW, Jack: KMPC, 1993. Jack, the former Ram, teamed with Chris Roberts briefly on the all-Sports KMPC. Jack died January 9, 2006, at the age of 62, of complications from a staph infect. Snow had been in critical condition since shortly before Christmas." He battled his illness with great courage and tenacity," said Steve Savard, the Rams' radio-play-by-play broadcaster for the past six seasons who became close friends with his partner. "He was an inspiration to everyone around him, including his doctors and nurses. Jack's family appreciates all the support and love St. Louis fans showed him during his illness." Snow broadcast his last game on November 20. He intended to work the Rams' game November 27, in Houston, but became too ill to go on the air that day. He returned to St. Louis with the team after that game, and immediately was hospitalized. His condition eventually improved and he was able to move to a rehabilitation facility. However, he took a turn for the worse shortly before Christmas and he was readmitted to the hospital and was unable to recover.

Snow remained fiercely loyal to the club through the years, to the point he sometimes drew criticism for sticking up for players through lean times.

Snow had double hip replacement surgery in 2005, having the operations done simultaneously so he would be ready when training camp began in July. He thought the deterioration of the joints was related to his long football career.

"I was talking with the doctors, and the amount of running you do - the hips were both ground down to nothing," he said at the time. "They weren't a ball, they were just flat on the top. The area the round ball sits in was all screwed up." Snow recovered and was back in the booth for the first broadcast this season. Snow's doctors didn't think the development of the staph infection was connected to those surgeries, although a hip is one of the places the infection eventually hit.

Snow was a standout receiver for the Rams from 1965-75, finishing fifth in the NFL in receptions (51) in 1970 and ninth that season in receiving yardage (859). Steve Futterman said that Jack was always a great guy to talk to in the Rams press box. "He made what has to be one of the greatest fingertip catches of a Roman Gabriel touchdown pass against the Baltimore Colts in 1967," remembered Futterman. Jack's son is former Angel J.T. Snow.

Snow was drafted out of Notre Dame in 1965 by Minnesota, but the Vikings traded him to the Rams, for whom he played his entire 11-season NFL career. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1967. Snow was the Rams' receivers coach in 1982 and eventually moved into the club's broadcast booth, and came with the club to St. Louis when it left Los Angeles in 1995.

Snow was an all-city baseball and football player as a high school student in Long Beach before heading to Notre Dame. He made the varsity as a sophomore in 1962 as a backup and punter before eventually blossoming as a senior, when he caught 60 passes (second in the NCAA) for 1,114 yards and nine touchdowns and was a first-team All America selection. He finished fifth in balloting for the 1964 Heisman Trophy, which was won by John Huarte, the quarterback who threw him the ball.

Snow was born January 25, 1943, in Rock Springs, Wyoming. He graduated from Notre Dame in 1965 with a degree in psychology. He is the father of J.T. Snow who played with the San Francisco Giants.

Snow, Kat: KNAC, 1982-85. Kat was there for the rock 'n rhythm format at KNAC and became Killer Kat when the station changed to Pure Rock. She was married to KRLA's Lee Duncan. Kat is working on a book, raising her granddaughter Genesis Duncan, does volunteer work for her school, freelance research and voiceovers.
Snow, Tony: KFI 2005. Tony hosted a weekend show at KFI. He went on to be the White House press secretary to George Bush beginning in May 2006. After some challenges with cancer, Tony left the White House in the fall of 2007.Tony died in July 2008.

SNYDER, Jack: KEZY/fm, 1973-77; KMET, 1977-82; KLOS, 1984-85; KMET, 1985-87; KLSX, 1991-92. Jack is working as an artist manager in New Orleans. Jack was part of the legend of "the Mighty Met." Born in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, his parents brought him to Compton when he was one year old, and he grew up in the area. While at KEZY, Jack started on KMET as a community switchboard volunteer. At KEZY he eventually became assistant pd and afternoon drive personality. In 1980, Jack joined Westwood One as artists relations director. He returned to KMET in 1986 and was there when the AOR "underground" format was abandoned on February 6, 1987. Results in the settlement of a multi-million dollar suit against KMET's owners and operators coincidentally changed his life. Jack had not been on a vacation in years and took off for Cancun. A friend encouraged him to stop in New Orleans. He fell in love with the city, its charm, its pace and the deep roots of the music. "I couldn't believe it. Every day I learn things about music that I never knew." He came back to the Southland for a brief stay at KLSX and Unistar. "In early 1992 I knew that New Orleans was to be my new home. I packed my car; anything that didn't fit, I didn't take. I got there with no job but soon was working at WRNO and in early 1995 joined WZRH. The city is a living, breathing organism."

 

SNYDER, Tom: 1988-89. Tom's syndicated ABC radio show was carried on KGIL. He was known for pioneering the late-late network tv talk show with his trademark cloud of cigarette smoke billowing around his head. Tom died July 29, 2007, from complications associated with leukemia. He was 71. Prickly and ego-driven, Snyder conducted numerous memorable interviews as host of NBC’s Tomorrow, which followed Johnny Carson’s Tonight show from 1973 to ’82. Snyder had John Lennon’s final televised interview in April 1975 and U2’s first U.S. television appearance in June 1981. One of his most riveting interviews was with Charles Manson, who would go from a calm demeanor to acting like a wild-eyed, insanity-spouting mass murderer and back again. His time slot was eventually taken over by a hot young comedian named David Letterman. Born in Milwaukee, Snyder began his career as a radio reporter in his home town in the 1960s, then moved into local television news, anchoring newscasts at KTLA/Chanel 5 and KNBC/Channel with Kelly Lange. ‘ In 1988, Tom launched his late-night radio talk show at ABC. Snyder announced on his Web site in 2005 that he had chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Sobel, Brad: SEE Sandy Beach

SOBEL, Carol: KFWB, 1968-74. Carol publishes a monthly 32-page magazine on the law of entertainment.  "As a reporter for City News Service, I was covering the news conference in early 1968 announcing the format change to all-News at KFWB. I stayed at Perrino's for lunch that followed and was asked if I would be interested in applying for a job at the new operation. I was making $80 a week and vowed to take the job if they offered $100. To my amazement they offered $235. I also was the only woman hired on the news team." Born in California, Carol grew up in Highland Park, Illinois only to return to the Southland to attend UCLA. She graduated with a degree in English and started with the City News Service as a reporter. Carol quickly moved up the ranks at KFWB. "It was an exceptional team when we started out at KFWB. A very exciting time. We were like pioneers." She left the station in 1974 for the birth of her daughter.

 

SOBEL, Ted: KNX, 1987-90; KMPC, 1990-93; KLAA, 1995-2000; KFWB, 1994-2016. Ted is one of the premiere sports broadcasters in southern California and hosts his own podcast touching greatness. From 1995-2000, Ted was the play-by-play voice at KLAA of the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the now defunct International Hockey League. He joined the all-sports format at KFWB, the Beast, until the station was sold to a foreign language entity in early 2016. Ted was born in Temple Hospital near the site where Dodger Stadium was built and he has ended up spending much of his life there. “As long as I can remember, I have been a huge fan of radio. I was very fortunate having Vin Scully and Chick Hearn as mentors. Being around good broadcasters rubs off. Some young people hear bad and think that’s good.” Ted went to Fairfax High School and studied radio/tv at Los Angeles City College (Pete Arbogast and Paul Olden were classmates). He started out as a stringer at Dodger Stadium for AP, UPI and other networks. He did play-by-play for a minor league team in New England. “This was the year after the movie Slap Shot and we did the same thing. The team changed cities during the season and we had to endure those long, 18 hour bus rides. I wouldn’t have traded the experiences for anything. Outside of sports, one of my biggest mentors was Dave Hull. He was great at KRLA. He was one of the reasons I fell in love with radio.”

Solari, J.A.: KMET, 1968-69; KLAC, 1969; KYMS, 1970; KPPC, 1970-71. A.J. is in the produce business in the Bay Area.
Somers, Steve: KMPC, 1981-82. Steve, also known as "The Schmoozer," works at WFAN-New York. He's been with the Sports station since its inception.
Sommers, Bill: KHJ, 1970-73; KLOS, 1973-96; KABC/KDIS/KLOS, 1997-2001. Bill retired from his post as general manager of KABC/KDIS/KLOS/KSPN August 24, 2001.

SOMMERS, Dale: KLAC, 2002-04. Dale hosted the all-night syndicated Trucking Bozo Show until he retired in the Spring of 2004. Dale died August 24, 2012, at the age of 68. The Trucking Bozo Show originally started as a Country Music program in 1984 and evolved to a Talk and Caller Participation show. The  line-up of affiliates was primarily a number of 50 thousand watt stations that covered most of the Eastern half of the United States and KLAC was their first really true venture into the western USA." For two decades, Dale was true to the format of a program that catered to truckers. The program was a hoot. Every caller seemed to have a more bizarre handle. They talk about gasoline prices, per mile hauling fees, characters on the road, and the lonely life of a trucker. Dale did not retire lightly. He had three minor strokes in 1993, which affected his short-term memory. “It really stripped me of a lot of my confidence after that,” said Dale. He hoped that by getting back to a semi-normal routine with plenty of rest, by sleeping normal evening hours, he would take some of the stress off his back. Dale also suffered with Addison's Disease. “The Addison's is under control as long as I take the steroid injections as prescribed and the diabetes is doing a lot better now that they have taken me off of the oral steroids.”

When Dale lost a good friend, Waylon Jennings, he wrote: “I didn't even know he had diabetes, but for various reasons, it took his life. Could he have been in denial about his disease? I don't know but there are so many of us who have this disease and we tend to brush it aside. For the most part we don't feel any different than everybody else. If we have too much to drink at a party, we may get sick but we are inclined to say that, 'I could handle the booze much better when I was younger, age is catching up with me.' No, it's not the age that is catching up with you, it is the diabetes that is destroying your body in rapid fashion.  “I check my blood sugar up to 7 times a day and, yes, my fingers hurt but I fight like hell to keep my blood sugar under control 'cause if I don't, I will not live to be 69 or maybe even 65. I am pleading with all my friends in the broadcast community to please see your doctor if you have any of the symptoms I outlined earlier and if you do have diabetes.”  Dale concluded: “Learn to control it or it will control you and destroy your life. It doesn't care if you’re young or old, black or white, or anything else. It is a deadly disease that can be kept under control and you can live a fairly normal life. Mary Tyler Moore is a perfect example of what I am speaking of, but Mary had kept her diabetes under control for many years and you see the results, but don't kid yourself by thinking that diabetes will not take Mary from us someday, because it will, but due to her vigilance it will most likely be later. If just one person reads this and discovers that they have diabetes and then goes about controlling it and extending their life, it will be a perfect Christmas for me.”  Dale made headlines in 2002 when he broadcast the information on the car that the Maryland/DC/Virginia snipers were driving and one of the truckers just pulled into a rest stop and spotted the car and he said he called 911 and was told to block the entrance with his semi. Many said that if it wasn't for the Bozo they would have gotten away.

SOMMERS, Steve: KLAC, 2004. Steve hosted the all-night Truckin' Bozo Show (later named America's Truckin' Show). He joined his father, Dale, on the program in 1996 and took over the program in 2004.  Steve was born in Cincinnati on October 15, 1964. "Growing up I never really had any aspirations of being in this business, but at the age of 15, doing odd jobs for a station in Cincinnati I just happened to be in the studio one day and asked the host 'What do you have to do to be on the radio.'  Several weeks later I get a call asking if I would like to board operator for some weekend shows. It was more of a simple babysitting position, but I gladly accepted the invitation. I mean what kid at 15 years old has that kind of opportunity? After paying his dues and was eventually offered a position as producer of his father's show.  The all-night syndicated show was canceled by iHeart in 2020.  Beginning in early 2021, Steve began a 5-hour streaming all-night show.

Sondoobie: KPWR, 1998-2000. Sondoobie worked at "Power 106" from the group Funkdoobiest until the summer of 2000.

SONTAG, Frank: KLOS, 1985-2012; KKLA 2013-21; KABC, 2022-23. Frank hosted an afternoon show at Salem's KKLA until the summer of 2021. He was with Mark & Brian at KLOS until the team disbanded in the summer of 2012. He now hosts a weekend and fill-in show at KABC. In 2009, a Southern California tradition, Impact, signed off after 40 years on KLOS. The weekly 5-hour program was part spiritual, part hopeful and part inspirational, but followers of the Sunday night Monday morning exploration were loud in singing its praises. And for the past two decades the man who offered empowerment to his flock and in turn empowered himself to change was Sontag. Those who stumbled on the show and stayed seemed somehow to be forever changed.  “I hear the word transformation from those who were regular listeners,” said Frank. “The program has helped them transform their lives, changed their lives and given more meaning to living their lives. This is aways nice to hear but I know that it was God working through me. That’s not me”  Frank reflected on the end of this popular and long-running public affairs program: “I told the audience we’ve kept this alive for over 20 years."

SORKIN, Dan: KHJ, 1965. Dan ‘s major success in radio came at KSFO-San Francisco, during the glory years. He was on KHJ briefly before the station flipped to “Boss Radio” in 1965. Dan founded Stumps'R Us, an organization of amputees that would share success stories of how they coped and did so with humor and courage. Dan lost his own leg in 1964. “I stupidly took a perfectly good motorcycle off the highway at 100+ mph and broke my back and almost every bone in my body. My left leg was pulverized, and the surgeons didn't have much success in fixing it. When I learned they wanted to experiment by taking bone grafts from other parts of my body, I asked to have the offending limb removed so that I could get on with my life. Dan went on to earn a certified instrument flight instructor's certificate and a commercial license and eventually was hired on as a corporate pilot. Dan flew for the corporation for 15 years, became chief pilot and retired in 1989, when he founded Stumps 'R Us. In his spare time, he teaches computer technology to retirees in Rossmoor in Walnut Creek.

Sotelo, Eddie ‘Piolin’: KSCA, 2003-11. Piolin started morning drive at Spanish KSCA on February 3, 2002. He went on to have his own channel at SiriusXM. Piolin left the satcaster in the early fall of 2014. His show is now syndication.

SOTELO, Edgar: KAMP, 2019. After the departure of Carson Daly in July 2017, AMP Radio (KAMP) filled the vacant morning drive slot with Edgar and Brian Moote. The duo began in February 2018. He exited the station in October 2019. Edgar "Shoboy" Sotelo is now syndicated on a number of Entravision stations. Edgar came from sister AMP-New York, WBMP. When Rick Thomas, former pd at KRTH, joined AMP-New York, he was the one who discovered Edgar in Dallas while he was broadcasting in Spanish. “Yes, I’m very proud of Edgar. He is a great guy and very funny,” said Rick. “I miss him a lot but happy for him to be the newest LARP.”  Edgar was born in Mexico and grew up in LA with his brother, Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo, who was a big star with Univision. Edgar is happy to return to LA. On Instagram, he posted, “I serve God, love all, spread joy and eats. Blessed to be a husband, father, hijo, and creator of positive content.” In an on-line interview he said “when I feel it, I speak Spanish.” With the huge Hispanic population in the Southland, Edgar should be the perfect bi-lingual morning host.

Soto, Henry: KKGO, 1986-91. Unknown.

SOTO, Michael: KNAC, 1975-77; KWST, 1977-78; KNAC, 1978-79. Michael was born on Catalina Island, May 22, 1949. He attended DeMille Jr. High and then graduated from Millikan High School in 1967. He enlisted in the Marine Corps and served his country in Vietnam, earning two Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars. Upon leaving the service, he went back to school and started a career in radio and television. Michael worked the all-night shift at KNAC, then served as the music director at "K-West." In 1980 he joined KZAM-Seattle. Three years later, Michael joined KDKA-Pittsburgh as writer/producer for Evening Magazine. For the 20 years prior to his passing, Michael was vp/director for GST Corporation, which is owned by the NYK Steamship Line.   He died December 30, 2007, at the age of 58.

 

SOUL, Johnny: KUTE; KGFJ, 1968-72; XPRS, 1972; KGIL, 1971-73; KDAY, 1974-76. Born Ron Samuels, he lives in Texas and owns The Samuels Company. He's on the U2 video for Stuck in Time and Ron's got an active voiceover business, based in Houston. Ron worked the all-night shift at KGFJ and quickly moved to mornings. Johnny left KGFJ in 1974 to turn KDAY into an Urban station. He was the first morning drive jock at KUTE. When he left Southern California, Johnny went to San Francisco to work in "underground" rock as Ron Samuels.

Soul Assassins: KKBT, 1998-2000. Louis (B Real!) Freeze and BoBo hosted a Friday night show at The Beat. 

SOUTHCOTT, Chuck: KGIL, 1962-75; KBRT, 1980; KPRZ, 1983; KMPC, 1988-92; KJQI/KOJY, 1992-95; KGIL, 2009-11; KMZT, 2021; KKJZ, 2021-23. Chuck syndicated a Pop Standards format. He now hosts “Curtain Call” highlighting familiar Broadway Show Stoppers on Saturday mornings at K-MOZART. In the summer of 2021, Chuck began hosting Swing Time at K-JAZZ. Born on the beach in Santa Monica, the California native began his stellar career at the tender age of fifteen in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Chuck and his family chartered their boat to American tourists interested in learning how to use an aqua lung, and other underwater gear. "I was spear fishing with a friend and he told me about an opening at WSTA paying 50 cents an hour and that started my radio career." Chuck worked at KAFY-Bakersfield before joining KGIL. He left after 13 years to launch a radio syndication firm. Chuck was named Disc Jockey of the Year in 1967, as reported by the LA Times, and was upped to pd in 1968. The Gavin sheet named Chuck Program Director of the Year in 1971 while still at KGIL. For the "Music of Your Life" format, Billboard awarded Chuck the Program Director of the Year in 1983. At KMPC, Chuck was pd and on-air talent when the station won the 1990 Marconi Award for Radio Station of the Year. At KJQI ("K-Joy"), Chuck was pd. In 1993 the Digital Pop Standards Network launched Chuck's "K-Joy" Adult Standards format. When KJQI changed formats to all-news KNNS in the early fall of 1995, Chuck left to help design a revival of a syndicated "Music of Your Life" format. The programming is heard on over 75 stations. "Yes, a skin diving, spear fishing beach bum can make it in the tough world of broadcasting."

Southcott, Karl: KKLA, 1987-94. Karl is program director of the Adult Standards format at Dial Global.
Southern, Jim: KAPP, KKOP, 1964-65. Born Jim Pritchard, he is in semi-retirement living near Portland. "As I age, I have more and more trouble actually sitting and reading a book, so I didn't finish one last year.  I do listen to a lot of talk radio, so if I had to pick one of them, it would be Lars Larson. While he does have a national show, he also does four hours of local talk here in Portland every day. He does focus on the corruption and stupidity of the governing bodies in these parts, and they do certainly need to be exposed."
Sovel, Mark: KDLD, 2003-06. Mark was the music director at Indie 103.1.

(Mike Siegel, Bob Scott, and Don Savage) 

SPANGLER, Dick: KFWB, 1964-66; KBBQ, 1966-67, nd; KGIL, 1968-80, nd; KBLA, 1991-92. For a quarter of a century “Spangler’s World” was part of radio’s landscape. In 1970 the LA Times' Don Page named "Spangler's World" the Best Interview Series: "A gem of an interview series provides in-depth profiles of extraordinary perception." Long recognized as “one of America’s ten best interviewers,” his series was produced under his Spangler’s World Communication banner and was syndicated across the country. Dick was born at West Point Military Hospital in New York and as an “Army brat,” attended 14 schools before graduating from high school. He then went to the University of Hawaii and, at 18 years old, began his radio journey by teaming with Don Berrigan for the “Dick and Don Show,” a “minor sensation” on KHON. He moved solo to KORL-Honolulu. “I was America’s stunt dj for a while. I set the world record for underwater broadcasting, a world bowling record, raced speed boats, flew planes, M.C.’ed ‘Best Tan’ contests on Waikiki Beach...all in the name of better ratings and advertiser promotion. I suppose the craziest was broadcasting among 16 sharks (underwater kind) at Hawaii Marineland. I also did my show for two weeks dressed as an Indian Chief while living in a tepee.” In 1960 at KELP-El Paso he set a trampoline bouncing record and in another stunt, as a cowboy, rode a horse from Mexico to the radio station.

His world travels gave him the opportunity to learn a half-dozen languages and he attended the University of Mexico in the 1960s. “While studying journalism and drama at the San Fernando Valley State College, I interned at KFWB and quickly became a special features reporter and anchorman.” Dick later won just about every award in California radio, including five Golden Mike awards. His book, Kung Fu: History, Philosophy & Technique, is still selling as a trade paperback. His new book, in progress, is based on his provocative interviews with America’s best authors.  Dick has served as president of many local trade organizations. As a financial news anchorman, he was part of the launch of all-Business KBLA on April 17, 1991. His communication company produces radio/tv business programming, commercials and infomercials.

Spanier, Arnie: KCTD, 1999-2000; KXTA, 2000-2002. Arnie left the Dallas Cowboys stations in late spring 2012. He now works at Fox Sports Radio. 

SPARKES, Ken: KGBS, 1969-71. Ken was one of the most popular voices on Australian radio and later television, died September 11, 2016. He was 76. Ken was one of the rare Australian personalities who was successful in America. Ken was 16-years old when he began work as a junior radio announcer at 2MG Mudgee in 1956. By age 19, he was Sydney’s youngest dj, working for 2GB. Ken hosted Australia’s first chart show The All Australian Hit Parade from 2GB for the Macquarie Network. Before moving to Melbourne to take over the night show on 3UZ. The career of Ken Sparkes went in an international direction when a US radio consultant Ted Randall heard him on 3UZ and offered him a daily spot on KGBS where he spent this time from 1969 to 1971 before returning to 3UZ. Ken also worked on music television in the 70s. and as an occasional actor. He was also at one time an investigative journalist for A Current Affair and Sixty Minutes. He was born in Sydney, and studied in his hometown and in Japan. “My father was with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force and I could talk and write Japanese. I wish that I had kept it up.” He started his American radio career in 1967 at KPOI-Honolulu. “I didn’t last too long. I had gone from a big island to a small island, so I moved to San Francisco.”

 

SPEARS, Gary: KYSR/KIBB, 1996-97; KIIS, 1997-2004; KBIG, 2004-07. Gary started afternoons at KBIG in early summer of 2004 and left in the spring of 2007. After his work at Classic Hits, WJMK (K-Hits) in Chicago, Gary retired from radio broadcasting in the fall of 2017, and moved to Florida. He takes occasional requests for voiceover work. . From Lafayette, Indiana, Gary was hired for weekends at KYSR and doing fill-in at sister KIBB. He hosted "Cafe Hollywood," a Hot AC syndicated show from Superadio. In the fall of 1996 he joined mornings at "B-100" as part of the "Breakfast Jam." He worked afternoon drive at KIIS/fm.

 Spears, Hazel: KGFJ, 1981. Hazel was a weekend jock at Urban KGFJ.

SPEARS, Michael: KHJ, 1977. The former pd at KHJ died October 25, 2005, at the age of 58. Michael, former program director at Top 40 KHJ in 1977, was known as Hal Martin early in his jocking career at KLIF-Dallas and CKLW-Detroit. He was a three-time winner of Billboard Magazine's "Station Of The Year" award, and also winner of "Program Director Of The Year" two times (once while he was helming KFRC-San Francisco and once in Black radio. He is the only Anglo ever to achieve this honor). Last year, Michael was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.

At 19, he was working nights at KLIF while attending SMU. When he left his on-air jock life for one of programming, “Hal Martin” disappeared. When he left KHJ, Michael went on to purchase with partners Tampa Bay's first all-Talk radio station, WPLP. He owned the station four years prior to joining the Fairbanks Group as national pd. In 1978, Michael launched New World Media, a radio programming service. 

During his career, he programmed WYSL-Buffalo, KFRC, and KNUS-Dallas (first fm station in Dallas). As programmer at KKDA (“K104”)-Dallas for eight years, Michael achieved enormous success with the Urban station. Michael was in the television business for two years syndicating two national programs: The Beam, a black entertainment and music show and Youth Quake, which were on the USA Network. In 1992, Michael left Dallas to program WPNT-Chicago, a Hot AC station. He left in the summer of 1994 and returned to the city of his greatest success to be operations director of News/Talk KRLD-Dallas. Late in his career, he owned The Beam, a media company that produced and syndicated both tv and radio programs.   

“Michael was always in love with radio and the illusions radio can create,” commented Charlie Van Dyke. “Perhaps that is due to the fact that he was also an accomplished magician as a young guy. He was passionate about radio and had boundless energy. We both shared a McLendon DNA and, of course, the experiences of Drake and RKO. Fellow Texans, we grew up with the same appreciation of radio performance and the radio artists who fueled our desire to go into the business. Michael [or Hal as I first met him] went at it with everything he had. I'm told that's also how he approached his final battle with cancer. A friend who saw him last week said that he was at peace with his life and with God. He made his mark, helped people along the way, and always looked for the positive. Michael Spears was a good man and I am happy that I knew him. Rest, my friend.”

Spears, Russ: KHTZ/KRLA/KLSX, 1983-93; KSCA, 1996-97; KKLA/KRLA, 2001-07; KFWB, 2007-15. Russ worked at Metro Traffic Network until the fall of 2008 following a company downsizing. He's now heard on KFWB dispending traffic information.
Spencer, Raymond: KGBS, 1973. Raymond died May 25, 1987, in San Bernardino after a two-year struggle with kidney cancer. 

SPERO, Stanley: KFAC, 1951-52; KMPC, 1952-97. Stan, one of the giants in Southern California radio for a half century, died July 15, 2006, from complications of a blood disorder. He was 86. He was general manager at 710/KMPC during its MOR glory years. “Stan Spero was one of the greatest salesmen I ever met, but he was a man of integrity,” said Johnny Grant after learning about Stan’s death. “You could go to the bank on his word.” Johnny said that Stan loved counseling young radio people. “Stan Spero’s influence will be around L.A. radio for a long time,” concluded Grant.  “Stan was a superb radio guy and he meant the world to me,” said Wink Martindale. “He was my choice to be first speaker for my Walk Of Fame star installation. It was Stan who gave me the opportunity to be a part of the KMPC lineup where I was thrilled and pleased to work for him and Gene Autry a total of twelve years.  “Stan has been a close friend for almost 50 years,” emailed George Green, former gm at KABC. “We first met when Stanley was running perhaps the most legendary station in Los Angeles, KMPC. I was a young sales manager in 1965 making my national sales calls. And I remember meeting Stanley in the lobby of the United Airlines agency, Leo Burnett. I was schlepping a heavy briefcase up to the agency and Stanley was without a briefcase looking very dapper in his suit. I asked Stan where his briefcase was and he pulled out a rate card from his suit jacket and held that up to me. This is it. Of course, there was a standing line to get on KMPC.”

Green continued: “KMPC was a fabulous radio property and Stanley did a great job as its manager. KMPC was THE station serving the L.A. community. It never changed as long as Stan was in charge. Stanley never changed in his devotion to the LA community. To this day he served on the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. And to this day he was the only general manager who has been invited to serve as a permanent honorary member of the Southern California Broadcasters Association. His devotion to the community and his family and friends is unmatched.” 

Green said that Stan had a love for sports, especially the Anaheim Angels. “He has been a continuous fan for as long as the Angels have played baseball. He traveled down to Anaheim, even when he was working for KABC, who handled the Dodgers. Such devotion. Even when I managed KMPC I was reluctant to drive that distance. Stanley loved the drive, the ball team and his two wives who were so devoted to Stanley and his interest levels. When his first wife Fritzy Spero died he was lucky to have found another sports fan with his wife Harriet. He has always been quick to say that he was so lucky to have been in love with Fritzy and now to have found a second love, Harriet Spero."

"Yes, Stanley was a good friend," continued Green. "There has rarely been a week that Stanley didn’t call and ask how I was doing. He did that with all his close friends. Loyal, devotion and love was what Stanley offered. And talk about being smart and knowledgeable about sports. Don’t try to stump him on who was playing for the Angeles, the Rams (when they were here) or UCLA football or basketball. His mind was clear as a bell. It was his body that gave out first. Everyone who knew Stanley Spero will miss him greatly. To have had him as a close friend was an honor to me and many others.

“It is my great pleasure and honor to call Stan Spero a mentor and dear friend for nearly forty years,” wrote his long-time friend Ken Miller. “The radio industry will long remember ‘Day Cruiser 10’ with tremendous respect for all of his innumerable contributions to sports broadcasting, charitable causes and quality programming.”

"Here's the kind of man Stan Spero was," wrote Dan Avey. "Stan, as gm of KMPC, the Gene Autry flagship for Angels baseball, had to fire Don Wells from the Angel baseball broadcast to make way for Dick Enberg. When he called Wells in to his office to tell him, Stan then told Don he had a job, starting the next Monday, doing sports at KFWB. How many bosses felt so bad about firing you that they went out and got you another job? Stan Spero reeked with integrity. God bless him!"

Stan started his 40+ year career in sales at KFAC, moving to KMPC two years later and staying 42 years. When Stan stepped down as gm in 1978, he took over as parent Golden West's vp in charge of sales for its sports division. In the mid-1990s he was senior sports consultant to KABC/KMPC. Stan was born and raised in Cleveland Heights, Cleveland, Ohio and came to the Southland to study at USC. He received a B.S. degree in business administration. 

SPERRY, Tom: KFWB, 1991; KNX 1992-98; KABC, 1998. Tom was a traffic anchor. After radio, Tom worked as an actor doing several nationally aired tv commercials and appeared twice on General Hospital. "I now live in Anaheim Hills and work as a singer/pianist (video on YouTube) doing over 200 gigs a year in Orange County and Los Angeles."

Spiker, Dave: KYMS, 1976-82. Dave owns Imagination Media in Lynden, WA. 

SPINDERELLA: KKBT, 2003-06. Deidra Jones is the sexy dj of the Grammy award winning female trio Salt N' Peppa. She worked afternoons at "the BEAT" with A-1 until early 2006. She was working at an Urban station in Dallas until March 2011. Radio personalities over the years have latched on to unique names. In the past we’ve had Wolfman Jack and today we have Big Boy. Spinderella is Deidra Jones, a successful dj, musician, producer, rapper, writer, and mother. Before her gig at KKBT, Spinderella was known as one of the pioneers of hip-hop music and a prominent example of great achievements by female artists and entertainers in the music industry. Know the songs Push It, Shoop, Whatta Man and Let’s Talk about Sex? The Grammy- awarding female trio behind those hits is Salt N’Peppa. While men were dominating hip-hop and urban music, Spinderella and Salt N’Peppa carved out new territory for females.

Spinderella was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. “It wasn’t the best neighborhood, but never once did I feel like I was destined to stay there,” Spinderella revealed on “the BEAT” Web site. “I had big dreams and I was motivated by my love for music and performing.”  She has appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and The Tonight Show. She was also on Nickelodeon’s hit kid show, All That, as well as the comedy show Mad TV, which led to the opportunity to host her own show on MTV Lip Service. She also worked as a jock at “Hot 97” in New York and WPGC-Washington DC.

SPIVAK, Joel A.: KLAC, 1965-68. Son of big band leader Charlie Spivak, Joel distinguished himself as a talk show host and news commentator. One of his fellow workers at KLAC said of Joel: "What a wonderful guy. He arrived in Southern California from the East. He got off the airplane with an umbrella, wearing spats, a fedora hat, tight, close-fitting suit and narrow tie. He was a bit out of touch but within a month of his arrival, everyone loved him."   His radio career began quite unintentionally when he took a temporary job at a local station while attending the University of North Carolina. He came to KLAC following five years at KILT-Houston and four at WPRO-Providence.   When Joel left the Southland he could be heard over the next decade in Philadelphia and Washington, DC. During his time in the nation’s capital he was called a "moderator, catalyst, interviewer, and devil's advocate."  Joel died of lung cancer on March 4, 2011, at his home in Virginia. In a 1990 interview with C-Span, he said radio was more fun than television. "You don't have the time constraints that you do with television. People have more fun listening to the radio because they can see anything they want to see. . . . It's a very personal medium."  Since 1996, he had worked against tobacco use and was a spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

SPOON, Marco: KJLH, 1980-90; KDAY. Marco hosts the Quiet Storm at "Majic 102"- Houston. A few weeks after his arrival in Southern California from WGCI-Chicago, he became operations manager. When he left the Southland, he moved to Chicago and became the voice of WGBO/TV and hosted the weekly syndicated program "The Super Mix Dance Party." The award-winning radio personality and voice over specialist known for his golden voice and smooth style has been heard on national radio and tv commercials for artist like Whitney Houston, Boys II Men, Will Downing, Natalie Cole. With a mellow shift of gears, he’s been the spokesmen for Kraft, Mcdonalds, Sears, Coke just to name a few. Marco perfected his talents by attending the Ohio School of Broadcasting. He began his professional radio career at WABQ, WZZP, and WJMO in Cleveland, moved to Chicago’s major urban/contemporary radio stations WGCI and WBMX where he was also Program and Music Director. Gained national acclaim at WKYS in Washington D.C., where he also hosted the D.C. Lottery’s Radio and TV drawings. At WDAS in Philly hosted the weekend jazz show. (Some content from Marco's website)

Springfield, Dan: KHTZ, 1984. Dan has an active voiceover career in San Diego.

SQUYRES, John: KSPA, KCEO, KFSD. In 2009, John was appointed general manager of the Art Astor Broadcast Group of stations. Squyres spent a total of twelve years as gsm and DOS at K-FROG in Riverside/San Bernardino. His career started in 1964 at age 19, when he had to fib about his age to get a job at KILT in Houston as a weekend jock. As a member of the original staff at K-EARTH in 1970, Squyres became gsm, and was there for the launch from “Hit Parade” to Oldies. “I have been in management since I was 24, but I just held up my hand to ask a question,” said Squyres. After a series of management jobs in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Fresno and Oxnard, Squyres moved into ownership. “Until you have owned a station and had to sweat the threat of not making payroll, you don’t understand radio,” said Squyres. “In our present economy with car dealers closing their doors, we need to remind businesses that radio is still here and ready to help.  After all, nothing sells product better than a well written radio commercial…Just ask Larry Miller of Sit and Sleep or Tom Bodett of Motel Six.”

Squiers, Kirk. KDES, 1981-83; KFOX/fm, 1983-85. “Captain Kirk” worked morning drive at KFOX/fm.       
Squirle, Julie: KROQ, 1978-79. Julie is a litigation attorney in Northern California.

(Kirk Squires, Melissa & Jim Sharpe, and Jim Severn)

St. Clair, Dick: KFI. 1976. Unknown.
St. Claire, Chuck: KCBH, 1968. Chuck was a project coordinator for Salem Communications and lives in Northern California.
St. Claire, Claudine: KJOI, 1986. Claudine prepared entertainment and business reports for afternoon drive on the Beautiful Music station.

St. JAMES, Scott: KMPC, 1979-82; KMGG, 1984; KMPC, 1991-92 and 1995; KCBS/fm, 1995-2004. Scott died December 17, 2018, following a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. He was 75. Scott was born on January 25, 1943 in Lockport, New York. He got his start in radio at South San Francisco High School when he and a buddy built a pirate radio station. From 1960-65, Scott served in Korea with the US Army. Following his tour of duty, Scott tried his hand in the real estate market before playing the professional bowling circuit for a couple of years. He returned to radio at KLIV-San Jose, then afternoons at WPOP-Hartford. Always having tremendous respect for his audience, Scott made a point to travel to local high schools to get to know the kids who listened to his show. He even gave his home phone number on the air. He opened each show with a train whistle and exclaimed “The St. James Express is Smoking!”  Scott next moved to St. Louis where he worked at KKSS, KSD and CBS powerhouse KMOX. It was at KMOX he worked with legendary broadcasters Jack Buck and NBC sportscaster Bob Costas. Scott believed in the theory of ‘Go Big or Go Home.’ When Scott showed up somewhere, you definitely took notice. He moved to Los Angeles in 1979 and joined Gene Autry’s “Station of the Stars,” 710/KMPC. Scott became an important member of the Robert W. Morgan “Good Morgan Team.” Scott also formed a friendship with three-time World Heavyweight Champion Muhammed Ali during this time. It was a friendship that endured the rest of their lives. Scott also produced a nine-hour star-studded special on Gene Autry. The show covered the career of the Singing Cowboy from his three decades as a performer in radio, tv and film, to his ownership of both radio and tv stations, as well as he beloved California Angels baseball team. Scott’s later on-air jobs in L.A. included working with KIIS/fm’s Rick Dees, “Arrow 93’s” Uncle Joe Benson and Charlie Tuna. Once nicked-named ‘The Jammer with the Hammer,’ St. James picked up multiple Golden Mike and Mark Twain awards for commentary writing. In the ‘80s, Scott was on-camera sports director at KHJ/Channel 9. During this time, Scott regularly hosted the LA Police Department’s celebrity golf tournament.

Radio and tv wasn’t enough for this talent. He caught the acting bug and made his first appearance on the big screen with a role in Heart of a Champion: The Mancini Story, exec produced by Sylvester Stallone. He appeared in dozens of motion pictures. His tv acting work included Dallas, ER, The A-Team, Murder She Wrote, The Young & the Restless, Everybody Loves Raymond, with many appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live. His national tv commercial credits include American Express, Pepsi, DirecTV and the Honda Motor Company.

In 2004, he briefly returned to radio and did a talk show on KTRS-St. Louis. When he returned to the Southland, he was heard on the Cable Radio Network with Mike Horn. Scott was an incredible story teller.

For more than fifty years, Scott St. James has entertained millions of people from coast to coast, with his distinctive voice and charming wit. He’s worked with the best in the business and he and his celebrity friends have given their time and money to hundreds of charities and individuals in need.

There are lots of people who made their mark in radio and television, but few that are considered true ‘broadcasters.’ There are those unique individuals who relate to an audience one-on-one, and are not afraid to tell it like it is. Scott St. James is a man who always did just that! (Thanks for the obit from Keven Gershan. For 40 years Kevin was a colleague, dear friend and angel-in-residence in caring for Scott.) WATCH VIDEO:  interview with Scott: https://youtu.be/WXdAii7LQgc

St. JAMES, Tony: KYMS, 1969-70; KWIZ, 1970-74; KWOW, 1974-78; KIQQ, 1978-85. The native Philadelphian was born in 1946, and he teamed at KIQQ in morning drive with Bruce Chandler for close to five years until the station changed format to "Lite-100," the satellite-delivered Format 41. In 1987, he went to work at Unistar and was the original night jock on AM ONLY. He had a very lucrative voiceover career and his campaign for Coors Extra Gold provided the down payment on his house. Tony died April 22, 1990, at the age of 42 from complications following a perforated ulcer.

St. John, Geoff: KPWR, 1993-95. Last heard, Geoff was working at KYLD-San Francisco.
St. John, Gina: KYSR, 1993-95. Gina co-hosted E! News Daily for many years. She is an American actress and television presenter. She has hosted shows including CNET Central and E! News Daily, and has had roles in television dramas such as Crossing Jordan and Commander in Chief. In 2000, Gina became a Game Show Host, with the Lifetime Game Show Who Knows You Best?
St. John, Jon: KRTH, 2006-07. Jon was working swing at K-EARTH until early 2007. He has since provided the voice for numerous video game characters, most notably Duke Nukem and Big the Cat and E-123 Omega from Sonic the Hedgehog.
St. Regis, Lisa: KHHT, 2010-15. Lisa worked weekends at HOT 92.3 until a format flip in early February 2015. She's now with KISQ (Breeze 98.1) in San Francisco.

St. THOMAS, Bobby: KBLA, 1966; KFWB, 1967. Bobby, born Thomas C. "Tommy" Roche, passed away suddenly on September 17, 2012, in San Diego. He was 78. Bobby was born on April 20, 1934, and grew up in New Haven. He joined the U.S. Navy during the Korean war, serving as a hospital corpsman and prosthetic technician. Upon discharge from the Navy, he attended the University of Connecticut at Storrs. While at UConn he was active on the campus radio station WHUS as radio personality, special events director, producing remote broadcast from various campus events and jazz concerts. He also was play-by-play announcer for all UConn basketball and football games. These experiences led him to enter the broadcast industry. In 1965 Bobby worked as half of the Murphy & Harrigan team at KLIF-Dalls. He lived most of his life in San Diego (KCBQ and KFMB) and worked under the name Thomas Murphy. (Artwork courtesy of Bill Earl)

St. Thomas, Johnny: KRLA, 1979-85; KKLA, 1985-88. Since 1988, Johnny has been selling insurance. He's a vp at Supple-Merrill & Driscott in Pasadena. He also worked as John Newton.

ST. THOMAS, Kurt: KROQ, 2009-15. Kurt was a weekend fill-in joq and before that was at Indie 103.1 briefly. Kurt was born on August 5, 1963. He is an award winning filmmaker, author, and dj. He worked at the WFNX-Boston from 1987 to 1995 as a production director, music director, and ultimately as program director. In 1996 He began collaborating with Mike Gioscia in making what would become the feature film Captive Audience. The gritty black and white 16mm film focused on a strange bond between an overnight dj and a gun toting intruder. The film won seven international Film Festival awards including three at the 1999 Planet Indie Film Festival in Toronto, Board Of Directors Award Nashville Film Festival 1999, Best Feature Magnolia Independent Film Festival 2000, and Best Feature Editing Rhode Island International Film Festival 2000. He worked briefly as the afternoon drive host on Indie 103.1 at the end of 2008 before the station was flipped to Spanish. He then spent seven years doing weekends and fill-in at KROQ. On January 29, 2008 St. Thomas launched Houndstooth Radio, an internet radio station broadcasting from the garage of his house. The station features mostly new independent artists, houndstoothradio.com. St. Thomas is co-author of Nirvana The Chosen Rejects. On August 17, 2012, WFNX, now an Internet-only station, re-hired St. Thomas as its executive music producer. The new WFNX.com lasted just five months. (Wikipedia)

STAAB, Rochelle: KIIS, 70s. Rochelle was program director at KIIS. She recently published a mystery/supernatural novel. Rochelle was a Warner Bros. Records advertising and marketing executive. She blended her fascination with the supernatural and her love for mystery in her Mind for Murder Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime. Rochelle began writing professionally one phrase at a time creating radio promotions and, years later, advertising campaigns for music albums. She found her author's voice writing a weekly music sales trend analysis for fellow label executives at 4 a.m. every Wednesday morning, according to her website. Bleary-eyed and in a rush to get the latest news to her colleagues by their first morning cup of coffee, she bypassed business formality and wrote colloquial. Dry statistics came to life with humor and drama. Her creative editorials spread beyond the original four recipients to a following of hundreds. Positive responses to her style built her confidence to enroll in fiction writing classes. Rochelle left the music industry for a career as an author and the first novel she wrote: Who Do, Voodoo? became a bestseller. The book garnered Best First Novel nominations for the 2012 Anthony, Agatha, and Eureka! awards, and was a finalist for the Golden Heart®. Her second novel, Bruja Brouhaha won the Left Coast Crime 2013 Watson award. She has an associate's degree in history and is a graduate of the UCLA Writers' Program. Rochelle, an avid hiker, lives, writes, and studies in Studio City.

Stack, Bill: KFWB, 1983; KMDY, 1985-86; KNJO, 1986. Bill is now working for the State of California as Emergency/911/Public Safety Dispatcher.
Stacy, Rick: KYSR, 1995-96. Rick is the program director for XM's '80s at 8' channel.
Staggs, Brad: KGIL/fm, 1987. Brad works on camera on several of the Home and Garden tv shows. Brad lives in Nashville.
Stanfield, Ray: KLAC, 1966-69; KGBS, 1970-74. The former gsm at KLAC in the 1960s and gm of KGBS in the 1970s, Ray grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and started his radio career in his hometown at age 16. After two years in the Navy, serving in the Pacific after the war, he returned to work in Greenville and eventually joined Metromedia. Before arriving in the Southland, Ray worked at a rep firm and managed KMBC-Kansas City. Bill Ballance’s "Feminine Forum" and the creation of the Hudson & Landry morning team were launched under Ray’s watch. After leaving KGBS in 1974, Ray became a radio station broker in Southern California. He died after a two-year battle with colon cancer. After leaving KGBS, Ray became a radio station broker in Southern California. Ray passed away April 24, 1999, at the age of 71.

STANLEY, Chris: KNX, 1998-2007. Chris died June 9, 2012, of an apparent heart attack. He was 64. Chris joined KNX in December of 1998 as an anchor/reporter and left a decade later. In his fourth decade of broadcasting, he began his career as a Top 40 dj at WGBT in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Later, during the Vietnam War he was with Armed Forces Radio in Thailand, and afterwards he went from being a disk jockey to news reporter at WIVK and WNOX in Knoxville, Tennessee. He worked at various radio stations in Wisconsin before moving to Houston in 1975 where he became news director at KPFT/fm. He subsequently produced syndicated news and entertainment programs such as "The Daily Planet" and "The Planet," in San Francisco, where he and the late Steve Capen had a popular morning show on KSAN. He went on to produce "Direct News" in New York where he was news director at WPIX/fm from 1980-82. He joined the CBS Radio network in 1982 and worked there for 16 years as an anchor/reporter. Other areer highlights include a Peabody award for his 1979 series on the Jonestown massacre and covering six political conventions, especially in 1996 when he was on the campaign trail with Pat Buchanan and Robert Dole. He then joined the CBS Radio Network as an anchor/reporter before coming to Los Angeles and KNX. Chris attended Pepperdine University.

 

STANLEY, Lisa: KRTH, 2002-23. Lisa joined morning drive as the entertainment contributor at "K-Earth" in July 17, 2002 and is now co-host of the morning show. A native of Los Angeles, Lisa graduated from Beverly Hills High School and enjoyed her drama classes. Instead of being in front of the camera, she went behind the camera and behind the scenes and a career began. Studying journalism in college, her first job in “the biz” was at a national entertainment magazine. She then landed at Hard Copy and in addition was doing some entertainment reporting for radio. Lisa’s daily Entertainment Reports include movie premieres, parties, openings and Hollywood Walk of Fame induction ceremonies.  With all the Oldies that K-EARTH plays, her favorite song is More Today Than Yesterday by the Spiral Starecase.

 

(Kat Snow, Ed Salamon, and Tori Signal) 

STARK, Mike: KNAC, 1990-94. Mike was been the West Coast producer of the Tom Joyner Morning Show. He also is the owner/operator of the LA Radio Studio (laradiostudio.com). Between 1981 and the end of the century he worked at KABC and KNAC. Born and raised in Ontario, he worked at Cal State University Long Beach’radio station KSUL while earning a degree in radio/tv/film. Mike was an engineer at KABC for five years, then freelanced for ABC radio for almost two decades.  In 1989, Mike hosted KNAC's ‘Talkback’ show on Sunday mornings and was the producer of the Thrasher in the Morning program. Mike built a state-of-the-art broadcast studio in San Pedro’s Port ’O Call Village before “redevelopment” caused him to shut down. “I remain optimistic. My optimism, however, lies in the hope that this will be the final nail in what radio has been for several decades. I have had hope over the years, as radio has declined, that the ‘bean counters’ at the corporate radio level would wise up and recognize that getting rid of talented radio people while upping the level of the commercial load is not a healthy progression. Greed and now survival haven’t changed anything. So maybe this will bring on the rebirth in a dramatic way." Mike and columist Richard Wagoner have a weekly podcast about radio.

 

STARLING, David: KFI, 1940-71; KFAC, 1972-88. David, a seasoned broadcast pioneer who began his career in the Southland, died February 22, 2000, of a heart attack in Los Angeles. Born in Middletown, Ohio, David came to the Southland to attend UCLA where he graduated in 1936 with a pre-legal degree. It was accidental that he got into radio. While working in a little theater a fellow actor suggested he join his group doing radio shows. This led David to a three-decade run with KFI as news director, editorial director, program director and production manager. He was the announcer for "Hit the Road," "Ladies Day" and reading the Sunday comics from the LA Times on the air every Sunday morning. Some twenty years later he hosted at KFI and KFAC over 2,000 90-second programs called "A Word on the Presidency," "Energy" and "A Word on Tomorrow." Since retiring he worked quite a few Los Angeles County Fairs and taught in a local radio school. "I have enjoyed the days spent, able to do what I liked, but I haven't forgotten it was tough going when trying to get a start," David told me when researching my book. He was 84.

 

STARR, Bob: KMPC, 1980-89. Bob was the play-by-play broadcaster for the Rams and the Angels.Bob died August 3, 1998, at the age of 65. He was brought in from KMOX-St. Louis where he had been the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals for eight seasons. He had two stints as the announcer for the California Angels. During his first tour he worked with Ron Fairly and then left to broadcast Boston Red Sox games, returning in 1993. Bob started his sports broadcasting career in the mid-1950s.

Starr, Steve: KPFK, 2002-05. Steve was a host and general manager during his time with the Pacifica station. He's working on film and technology projects.
Steadman, Bill: KNX, 1957-60. Unknown.

STEAL, Jimmy: KPWR, 1999-2017; KPWR/KDAY, 2017-19. Jimmy was program director at "Power 106" and in the fall of 2000 he was promoted to regional vp of programming for Emmis Communications. Beginning in the summer of 2017, he was also made programming chief for KDAY. After almost two decades with KPWR, he’s headed to the Windy City where he has been named vp of brand content at WTMZ (the “Mix”). Murelo Media purchased KPWR from Emmis in the summer of 2017. Murelo already owned KDAY, so Steal’s position was in question since the time of the acquisition. Jimmy enjoyed much success at KPWR during the time Big Boy was morning man. Kurt (Big Boy) Alexander later left Power 106 for mornings at KRRL (Real Radio). In the fall of 2000, Jimmy was promoted to regional vp of programming for Emmis Communications. Prior to joining “Power 106,” Jimmy was the director of programming and operations for Clear Channel in Dallas, which included KDMX. Other assignments included pd at WKRQ-Cincinnati, assistant pd and md and dj at KEGL-Dallas and nighttimer at WHLY-Orlando.

 

STEC, Sandy: KOST, 2018-23. Sandy is a funny girl who is obsessed with weiner dogs but too lazy to actually own one. An avid traveler, she once used Google Translate to tell French locals how  “excited" she was to be there; only to learn she was actually saying she was “horny.” Also, David Hasslehoff is following her on Twitter, and she has no idea why.   Sandy was 1/2 of “Marcus and Sandy”- a highly rated morning radio show in San Francisco on Star 101.3. For almost 20 years, she’s worked her way up from a weekend shift in San Jose, to her current status- mornings in the 4th largest radio market in the country. Additionally, she can be heard on her sister-station KOST on weekends. In the spring of 2022, she joined KOST full-time. She is also a hilarious and HIGHLY booked stand-up comedian. She’s worked with greats like Kevin Hart, Chelsea Handler, Arsenio Hall, Dana Carvey, Craig Shoemaker, Richard Lewis, Brett Butler, and many, many more. She’s worked for corporations like HP, Benefit Cosmetics, Caymus Vineyards; and her recent Britney Spears parody “Snack B**ch” made it on tv’s Right This Minute. Though extremely driven, Sandy does a weakness for buttercream frosting and slot machines. (from Sandy's website)

 

STECK, Jim: KRLA, 1964-67. Jim arrived in the Southland from KACY-Oxnard and was a newsman during the era when KRLA brought the Beatles to L.A. conducting many of the interviews with the Fab Four. He is remembered for boarding a plane with Dave Hull to interview the Beatles before the plane took off. When he left the Southland he went to the Bay Area and worked for KCBS and KTVU/TV. Jim eventually spent time in Hawaii. In 1993, it was discovered that Jim had an inoperable brain tumor. A colleague noted, "He had humor all the way through till his death."  Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1935 he branched out in the mid-1960s and combined his radio work with a stint on Teen Scope, a public affairs show aimed at the Los Angeles teen audience and aired on KCOP/Channel 13. Steck, a Korean War veteran, died on September 27, 1990 and was buried at the San Francisco National Cemetery. (Thanks to Bill Earl for the artwork)

 

STECKLER, Doug: KLSX, 1997-2005. Doug worked evenings with Tim Conway, Jr. at Free FM, KLSX until late Spring 2005. He went on to appear with Conway at KFI on Friday nights until the summer of 2015. Doug was a featured player in Chicago’s improvisational group, “The Second City.” In 1975 Doug moved to L.A. to pursue acting work in tv and film. In 1978 he co-authored The Other Book of Lists. Doug won two Emmys for his tv writing with SCTV. His credits include: The Tracey Ullman Show, Mr. Belvedere and The People Next Door. He and his partner Tim Conway, Jr., left KLSX in the spring of 1998 and they returned to the Talk station three weeks later.

Steele, Dave: KPOL, 1977-78. Dave worked afternoons at KPOL. Unknown.

STEELE, Diana: KKBT, 1989-98; KHHT, 2003-07; KRBV, 2008; KSWD, 2011-14. Diana joined mornings at V-100 (KRBV) in January 2008 and left when Radio-One sold the station to Bonneville in April 2008. She worked weekends and part-time at 100.3/The Sound. She was working at WBMX-Chicago until the spring of 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic led to her exit. While at KRBV (V-100) mornings Diana starred in an episode of Carter Can, the room/house renovation show on HGTV. Diana needed help with a catch-all room that doubled or tripled as a multi-purpose room. She used the space as an office, while her youngest son Ty used the area as a playroom. Diana’s older son also wanted a place to watch tv and hang out.   “I really loved the whole experience!” exclaimed Diana. “Since the show I have purchased my own nail gun, which was a fun part of doing the show.” She saw an ad on Craig’s List and wrote in, looking for help with her one room. “The fact that the host, Carter from Extreme Makeover, was extremely hot, was the icing on the cake! The crew pretty much moved in for two days and the reveal was a tear jerker for me.” Diana’s experience with Carter Can was a very satisfying experience. “The room is beautiful and couldn't have fit my style better,” emailed Diana.

Steele, Ed: KIEV, 60s. Ed, who was working at KPLM-Palm Springs, died in a gas explosion in his Desert Hot Springs home.

STEELE, The Real Don: KHJ, 1965-73; KIQQ, 1973-74; KTNQ, 1976-77; KRLA, 1985-89; KODJ, 1990; KCBS, 1992; KRTH, 1992-97. A California boy with a mouthful of energy, The Real Don Steele personified all that was right about afternoon drive. When you think center stage, think the Real Don Steele. At the end of a school or work day, Don has lifted our spirits like no other over the course of three decades. In 2021, Steele was posthumously inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. He was born Donald Steele Revert and born for stardom in Hollywood on April Fools Day, 1936 and attended Hollywood High School. Don’s mother gave him the middle name of Steele because it was a good show business name. Before making the round-trip home to Los Angeles radio, he worked at KOIL-Omaha, KISN-Portland and KEWB-San Francisco. Don was the original afternoon drive "Boss Jock" at “93/KHJ.” He was the dj on the air when the station debuted in 1965  and he described the moment: "We were standing literally at ground zero, then it became a huge giant. It was like a mushroom cloud that went up - heavy on the mushroom." In 1967, he hosted a Canadian syndicated radio show called CBC's Action Set, and in the same year he made his acting debut in ABC/TV's Bewitched. In 1967 and 1968 Don's popularity and influence were such that he was named Billboard's #1 air personality influencing the sales of record singles. "Tina Delgado is Alive, Alive!" became his afternoon cry. He had his own weekly tv show, The Real Don Steele Show, which was the top rated rock-and-roll television dance show in Southern California from 1968 to 1975. Legendary filmmaker Roger Corman utilized Don to create movie versions of fast-talking, hip characters numerous times. He starred in movies with Sylvester Stallone, David Carradine and Ron Howard in cult classics such as Death Race 2000, Rock & Roll High School, Grand Theft Auto and Eating Raoul. In the early '80s, Don hosted Music USA, a syndicated radio show for the Golden West stations. The late '80s saw a resurrection of his tv dance show on Orange County's KDOC/TV. Live From the Sixties, a successful, nationally syndicated weekly radio show brought The Real Don Steele into over 300 markets coast-to-coast. It originally aired from 1987 to 1993 and is still heard in reruns in many places in the country.

Philip Eberly, in his definitive book on the history of radio and pop music, Music in the Air, cited the following excerpt as an example of "Boss Radio" as delivered by The Real Don Steele between records: "It's three o'clock in Boss Angelese! hey hey, HEY, thitz me, The Real Don Steele! A billion dollar weekend there, and you're looking out of sidewalk call. I got nothing but groovy those groovy golds. We're gonna kick it out here on a fractious Friday boy, got to get a set outside that (unintelligible words resembling blowing bubbles in a glass of water) jumbo city! (Pause). Take a trip. When you chase'em daylight!" It took 11 seconds. In 1995, The Real Don Steele received his Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He passed away on August 5, 1997, due to complications from cancer. He was 61.

 

STEELE, Gregg: KNAC, 1991-95. Gregg left his position as VP/Music Programming at Sirius XM Satellite Radio in March 2016. Gregg was om/pd of KRXX-Minneapolis before arriving at KNAC to be pd in the spring of 1991. He left in early 1995 when the station switched to a Spanish format and joined WZTA-Miami as pd. Gregg has since been promoted to Paxson Miami vp of FM programming. He left WZTA in April 2002. He's based in Beaufort, South Carolina.

 

STEELE, Kari: KOST, 1999-2001; KBIG, 2001-11; KOST, 2011-23. Kari works middays at KOST.   "Before L.A., I worked in Hawaii for 10 years as a morning show host or co-host for a few stations including 'I-94,' KQMQ and KRTR," said Kari. After accepting a position as a news director for a radio station in Kauai, her love for radio broadcasting (and Hawaii) grew. Her career evolved over the next ten years to include hosting her own morning show on Oahu. "I came to KOST after deciding I had peaked in Honolulu and was ready to see what I could do in the #2 market." Kari grew up in the Southland and  graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a broadcast journalism degree. She has two boys, Drake and Cameron. "The schools are better here than in Hawaii too." How did she get to KOST? "I sent a tape to the pd Jhani Kaye," said Kari. "He flew me in for an audition and asked me to come here to help out with 'Lovesongs on the Weekends' primarily." In addition to entertaining listeners during her midday show, she also serves as host of KOST’s public affairs show, Sunday Journal, as well as The Breeze 98.1 in San Francisco. Her passion for radio is evidenced by the incredible relationship she’s developed with fans, and she continues to impress and inspire millions of loyal listeners everyday.

 

STEELE, Michael: KDLE, 2004-07. The former music director at KIIS/fm was appointed pd at "Indie 103" on January 1, 2004. He left Indie in February 2007. In the fall of 2012, he joined Northern Lights Broadcasting/Minneapolis as director of ops and pf of Hot AC KTWN (K-Twin 96.3). He left the Twin Cities in late 2014. In the summer of 2022, Michael joined Nashville-based Visionary Media Group as vp of Streaming & Digital. The Mass Communications graduate from the University of South Dakota is a well-respected programmer who put a Class A radio station in the vortex of being a cool radio station. He charges that KROQ reacted severely to the launch of Indie 103.1/fm in 2003. Michael appeared with David Adelson on KLSX. Steele talked about the limited signal of Indie. "It’s primarily just on the Westside and in Orange County. It doesn’t reach into the Valley very well. Our idea was to program to people who primarily live on the Westside, which happens to be more Rock oriented fans. It’s primarily white and a little bit on the upper end with the 25 – 54 demographic. It is primarily heavily male and music fans. Going against KROQ was never the mandate. Like any other radio station, it was which format will bring revenue into the radio station. It did fairly well but Entravision was just trying to come up with a format that would bring money into the radio station. They were doing a Dance-thing before that and just wasn’t working very well.   Indie was very much a lifestyle station for people who were music fans and people who buy concert tickets, CDs, or steal music. It was primarily for music fans." Steele said: "In its heyday, Indie was unbelievable."

Steele, Mike: SEE Mike Sakellarides
Steele, Shadow: KQLZ, 1989-91. Last heard he was writing for Hits magazine.
Steele, Sharon: KEZY, 1992-93. Sharon was working evenings at Westwood One's Hot Country format.
Steele, Shaune McNamara: KHJ, 1977-80; KHTZ, 1980-84; KHJ, 1984-86; KRLA, 1987-90; KLSX, 1990-92; KRTH, 1992-93; KCBS, 1993-94. Shaune was music director for many leading rock stations. She is documenting, archiving, presenting and preserving the radio legacy of her late husband, The Real Don Steele.
Stein, James R.: KUSC, 1969-72. James is a Chicago native. He co-hosted The Stein and Illes Show on KUSC and went on to become a tv writer/producer for 30 years, winning 2 Emmy awards in partnership with Bob Illes. Jim produced Howard Stern's Son of the Beach show. 
Stein, Les: SEE Les Crane
Stein, Mike: KRHM, 1959. Unknown.

(Gianna Suter, Saint John, Phil Shuman, and Tracy Simers)

STEIN, Alex "Sleepy": KNOB, 1957-66. "Sleepy," the founder of the Southland's first all-Jazz station KNOB, died July 27, 2000. Born in Savannah, the son of a news service executive, he grew up in Miami and Havana and graduated from the University of Havana with a degree in languages. He worked in New York and Chicago radio in the '40s. Stein got the name "Sleepy" when he replaced an all-night dj in Chicago named "Wide-Awake Widoe," according to the obit in the LA Times. He came to the Southland to work at KFOX from Phoenix where he programmed KARV. In 1957, he bought KNOB and began all-Jazz programming. Stan Kenton helped him finance the station by contributing the profits from his band's appearance at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa. In the early '60s, Sleepy hosted a radio show three nights a week from Strollers, a club in Long Beach, with live performances by players like Chico Hamilton. He sold the station in 1966 and started a firm called GROUP LA, which sold time on several fm stations in the Southland. He eventually left the broadcasting business and became a stockbroker. "Sleepy" died of cancer at the age of 81.

STEINBRINCK, Bob: KMPC 1972-92. Bob, newsman at Gene Autry’s 710/KMPC for over two decades, passed away on June 17, 2015. He was 82. Bob was born in Oak Park, Illinois and from childhood he aspired to be a voice on the radio. His first opportunity arose at WCAZ in Carthage, Illinois, where he was a college student. He played records and read the news for 90 cents an hour. After graduating from Carthage College in 1954, he did a two-year stint in the Army and one year of graduate school at the University of Illinois. He held his first radio news job in Janesville, Wisconsin. His next position was as a newsman at WREX/TV in Rockford, Illinois. From there he moved up to become news director at WAAP in Peoria. He then relocated to Riverside to be news director at Dick Clark’s KPRO. While living in Riverside, he broadcast Riverside City College basketball, every race at Riverside International Raceway, the early years of racing at the Ontario Motor Speedway and the Long Beach Grand Prix.

Bob garnered ten Golden Mike awards, broadcast UCLA football and basketball games and, as KMPC’s Washington correspondent, he traveled with President Ford on his trip behind the Iron Curtain to the Helsinki Accord.

Upon his retirement from radio, for over 20 years he wrote a weekly column for the Riverside County Record. He also voiced his column on InlandNewsToday.com for three years before his death. An avid golfer, Bob was an Honorary Life Member of the PGA and member of Victoria Club.  

STEINER, Charley: KFWB, 2004-07; KABC, 2007-11; KLAC, 2011-20. Charley joined the Dodger broadcast booth in late 2004. Charley began his professional broadcasting career in 1969 at WIRL-AM/Peoria, Illinois. Before landing his current play-by-play job with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Steiner broadcast three years for the New York Yankees. Prior to his seasons with the Yankees, Steiner spent 14 years at ESPN, where he anchored SportsCenter and did Major League Baseball play-by-play on both ESPN Radio and Television. He was also was the voice for ESPN 2's Saturday Primetime football.  Steiner grew up in Brooklyn, listening to Vin Scully call Dodgers games and dreaming of someday having that job. He is a five-time Emmy Award winner and in 2013 was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. Steiner received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Bradley University, where he established the Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication and holds an annual symposium in the offseason.

Stench: SEE Mike Roberts

STEPHAN, Doug: KRLA, 2002-03; KPLS, 2003; KFWB, 2008-15; KLAA, 2009. A native of Framingham Center, Massachusetts, Doug began his broadcasting career at radio station WTTF during his student days at Heidelberg College in Ohio. “Talk radio should be informative...fun, personality driven, entertaining, but most of all, it should be a partnership between the host and listener," he says. Doug is host of “Doug Stephan's Good Day," the nationally popular, coast-to-coast talk radio show. "Even though I may fundamentally disagree with some guests and listeners, I respect their right to their own opinions and their right to be heard. I am not afraid to ask the tough questions." Doug’s show has played host to a wide range of guests from U.S. Presidents to Ed McMahon to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to gun control advocate Sarah Brady and many others. Following an assignment with CNBC’s Talk Live, Doug began hosting some new television ventures, which include infomercials as well as other tv outlets. Described by many of his peers as the “quintessential” talk show host, Doug has been compared to tv personality Maury Povich for his warm, friendly and intelligent style. He has more than 30 plus years of experience as a broadcaster, including key assignments with four national radio networks and shows over both KABC and KRLA. He lists veteran tv newsman/host Walter Cronkite and top Boston radio personalities Bruce Bradley and Dick Summer of WBZ among those that have truly influenced his career. “Everyone has a story to tell,” he once said. “I want my guests and callers to be able to discuss their viewpoints in a friendly and warm atmosphere.” And that is just what Doug has done, creating his own special brand of talk radio, skillfully blending conversation, controversy and commentary. In his leisure time, Doug enjoys his Massachusetts farm where he spends time with his children, Megan and Brendan, both college students.

Sterling, Philip: KCSN. Philip hosted "Goldensterling," a weekly two-hour program that aired on KCSN. He died from complications of myelofibrosis, a bone marrow disease, on November 30, 1998. He was 76.

STERN, Heidi: KBIG, 1998-99. Heidi left KBIG and joined Star in San Diego. The Heidi Selexa (Stern) Show is a talk show about the world according to Heidi and heard on Genesis Communications Network. "It's Heidi's take on current events, pop culture and relationships with a lot of fun thrown in," according to her website. "Don't let her giggle fool you, though. It's a show that also goes deep and inspires people to really think. It's playful and upbeat, but always honest. Heidi's authenticity is refreshing. Her presence is a welcome break from the challenging world around us." Some topics Heidi has covered includes: What are women really thinking? How do men get out of the Friend zone? What are the things about men that drive women CRAZY? What should men do to get the perfect woman? Texting, sexting, emails, phone calls and How much? How little? She has worked at MIX-Chicago, KDWB- Minneapolis, B94-Pittsburgh, WEDJ & KISS-Charlotte and XM Satellite Radio Heidi Selexa has had over a 15 year success rate starting and building XM 80s on 8, winning several awards for best personality and best radio show including 3 March of Dimes A.I.R. awards and was titled official pin-up girls by the U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

 

STERN, Howard: KLSX, 1991-2005. Howard has never done anything quietly. In the 90s when his show, based in New York, was simulcast across the country, many felt it would not play in Southern California. How wrong the naysayers were. He took aim at the leading personalities in each market that took his show. KLOS' Mark & Brian were in his crosshairs here. Howard was unrelenting and even came to Hollywood to preside over their funeral, blocking traffic for blocks. Howard, self-proclaimed "King of All Media," left terrestrial radio in 2005 and joined Sirius Satellite (now SiriusXM) for an estimated $100 million. He has since re-upped his 5-year contract a couple of times. "I had been in a toxic relationship with terrestrial radio. And no matter how well I treated the medium, no matter how successful I made them, they abused me. Going to SiriusXM liberated me. I felt like Tina Turner freeing myself from Ike,” said Stern, who announced the news on his most recent renewal. He's written two best-selling books, starred in his autobiographical movie, Private Parks, and Howard was also a judge on America's Got Talent.

 

STERN, Kevin: KUSC, 1969-71; KIQQ, 1974-79; KCSN, 1974-81; KGBS/ KTNQ, 1977-80. Born in Los Angeles on November 11, 1948, Kevin grew up in the San Fernando Valley. He went to the Don Martin School of Radio & TV. Kevin did overnights at KIQQ for five months and worked in production the remaining time. He also worked as production director at KGBS/KHTZ and Weedeck Radio and he spent a number of years as producer of KCSN’ “Don’t Touch That Dial.” During much of the 1980s he lived in San Francisco. “From the time I was given my first radio and discovered KMPC, I knew I wanted to work in radio or tv.” Kevin owns California Auto Repair in the San Fernando Valley. He records shows for LA Reader Service for the blind. “I do miss radio and someday hope to get back.”

 

STERNBERG, Ira David: KWIZ, 1968-70; KOST, 1971-73. Born in Brooklyn, Ira grew up in the Boyle Heights area and spent his teen years in West Hollywood. “I used to sneak into KHJ on Vine Street on weekends and roam the hallways. I loved being around radio and television.” Ira went on to L.A.C.C. and UCLA. At UCLA, he joined the campus radio station, KLA, became public service director and on-air personality, working with Larry Boxer, Bill Pearl and Gary Campbell. At the same time, he would call the Dick Whittington show, performing voice impersonations of Mort Sahl, commentator Louis Lomax, car salesman Ralph Williams and others. In the late 1970s, Ira moved to Las Vegas, where he worked as a writer, editor and public relations consultant. He worked at two Vegas stations, KNUU and KDWN, and became a stringer for several radio networks and a correspondent for Billboard magazine. Ira developed the character of Larry Las Vegas, whose intro was: “This is Larry Las Vegas, Man About Town, Bon Vivant, Close Personal Friend to the Stars, and former Las Vegas showgirl, with my news, view, previews and reviews on what’s happening in the 24-hour town.” The character was heard on KGIL and KABC’s “Ken and Bob Show.” At KOST, Ira served as public service director and co-hosted a weekly program with Rob Edwards. Ira was director of PR at Tropicana Resort and Casino for well over a decade. “I held the title of longest-running PR director at one property on the Las Vegas Strip.” The single father of three teaches comedy writing and is writing a book on casino publicity. He owns IDS Creative Communications, a public relations and marketing firm specializing in gaming, travel and tourism. Check out his podcast: https://iraseverythingbagel.com.

Sterns, Deloy: KWVE, 2005-08. Deloy worked afternoon drive at KWVE.

STEVENS, Andy: KEZY, 1988-94. Andy has been the announcer for ESPN's American Muscle Magazine for most of the nineties. He got his radio start in Tucson working at: KHYT, KTKT, and KRQQ. "Having retired from broadcasting, I have a house on the beach in Carlsbad in North San Diego County. I returned to school to get my degree in Computer Information Science, and now own my own Web design business, and work mostly at home."

 

STEVENS, Bill: KUTE, 1973-79, pd; KKGO, 1983-86; KRTH, 1991-2003. Bill was born and raised in Montebello. He started his radio career in 1964 at KRFS-Superior, Nebraska, and went on to KODY-North Platte, KUDO-Riverside, KFXM-San Bernardino, KLOK-San Jose, KYNO-and KFIG-Fresno in 1971 as pd. He was pd of KUTE during the disco era and described the station at the time to the LA Times: "Although we identify ourselves as a Disco station, I think it's altogether appropriate for us to play a ballad every once in a while. You have to break it up. You can't run on 140 beats per minute for 24 hours." In the early 1990s he sailed his small boat around the Pacific to Tahiti, Marquesas, Bora Bora, Samoa and Hawaii. In 1991 he worked as pd at a small island station, WVUV-Pago Pago. Bill has done many films and his tv credits include the part of Dr. Forbes on the CBS soap Young and the Restless. In 1992 when Brian Roberts left "K-Earth," Bill moved into the overnight slot. He relates well to the nocturnal hours. "Overnights on KRTH was the best job in radio!"

Stevens, Bob: KNX, 1985-88. Unknown.
Stevens, Edwin J.: KFAC. Ed is deceased.

STEVENS, Greg: KQLZ, 1992-93, pd. Greg "Stevens" Straubinger arrived at "Pirate Radio" from KGMG ("Rock 102")-San Diego and replaced Carey Curelop. He teamed with Steven O. Sellers and they billed themselves "The Rude Boys." The "Guitar-Based Rock" format was beginning to see ratings success when Viacom bought the station in the spring of 1993 and changed it. Greg aired the last show on "Pirate Radio" with gm Bob Moore, and they played Another One Bites the Dust by Queen, The Traveling Wilburys' End of the Line and Guns N Roses' Welcome to the Jungle, which ironically kicked off the format in 1989. Greg was born in Buffalo and was exposed to not only the big personalities in Buffalo but at night he could tune in the Chicago voices. In 1975 Greg graduated from Ithaca College cum laude with a B.S. degree in radio and tv. He worked for a half dozen Buffalo stations while in college and after graduation he started at WBBF-Rochester followed by “13Q”-Pittsburgh. Greg shifted from Top 40 to AOR to work mornings at WQXM and WNYF-Tampa and KEGL-Dallas. His first pd job was in 1982 at KISS-San Antonio, where he met his 11-year morning partner, Sellers. They moved the "Rude Boys" show to KCFX-Kansas City in 1986 and a year later to KGMG.

In the spring of 1993, Greg returned to San Diego and dropped his on-air work to program KIOZ. "My first interest in radio came when my dad took away my night-light (age 6 or 7) but still allowed the glow of the lighted radio dial. I pretended to sleep, but stayed up listening for hours." Greg has a wife and teenage son and says he hopes to retire in San Diego "in about 20 years from now if my luck hold out!" Since the mid-1990s, Greg has worked at KIOZ, KQRC-Kansas City, KEGL-Dallas, and WHTQ-Orlando.

In 2009, he went to Webster University in Orlando to earn a master's degree in Marketing. He's currenty Associate Course Director at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.

Stevens, Jackie: KJLH, 1989-97. Unknown.

STEVENS, Jan: KFWB, 2005-09; KNX, 2010-22. Jan was an anchor at all-News KFWB until a format flip in the fall of 2009. She is now an anchor at all-News KNX. Jan got her start at ICRT, the premier English-language radio station in Taipei, Taiwan, where she was the morning drive anchor for several years. One of her creative additions was to do a "Good News Cast," which featured only upbeat news stories of the day. She lived in Taipei for 18 years -- part of the time while the island nation was under martial law - where she reported on the country's dramatic transition to democracy. Two in-person interviews of note were with Mother Teresa and former astronaut James Lovell, of the famed Apollo 13 mission. She was dispatched to South Africa to do a special report on their culture and politics, where she then travelled to and met with the foreign minister of the homeland of Bophuthatswana. Though Jan broadcasts in English, she is proficient in Mandarin Chinese and has even given public talks in the language. Jan enjoys learning about diverse cultures and peoples, having visited more than 20 countries, including China, Outer Mongolia, India, Switzerland, the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands, and has worked in community building. Jan is a fourth-generation Californian. She enjoys music and dancing, tennis and other outdoor activities, and spending time with family and friends.

 

STEVENS, Jay: KRLA, 1969-72; KROQ, 1972; KIIS, 1972; KKDJ, 1973-75; KIIS, 1975-77; KGIL, 1978; KRLA, 1986-87; KMGX, 1990; KRLA, 1992-93; KRTH, 1993-2003. Jay retired in late summer 2003. Born Steve Janovick in Pittsburgh on July 20, 1941, he got the opportunity to own radio stations, a goal that most jocks only dream about. Steve grew up in Orange County and graduated from Anaheim High School. He started as Steve Jay at KFXM-San Bernardino, KCIN-Victorville; KUTY-Palmdale; KMAK-Fresno and KGB-San Diego. In 1966 Steve went to KFRC-San Francisco where he spent three years. Morning drive was his first assignment at KRLA in June of 1969 with his companion Moby Duck and within months he was made md. During his stay at KKDJ he began a programming syndication business with Ron Lewis. He was briefly involved with a radio station in Bishop. “At KGIL and KMGX, I programmed the stations with one of my automated formats with the assistance of pd Mike Lundy.” During the mid-1980s he traded some programming for a radio construction permit in Klamath Falls. He built an AM daytimer and a Class C FM station. The economy, Gulf War and other financial factors eventually forced Steve to sell his stations.

 

STEVENS, Jeff: KNX, 1997-98; KABC, 1998-2001. Jeff broadcast traffic from Metro Networks. Traffic reporters Jeff Culver, Jeff Stevens and Wes Wood were all married on the same day They are the same person. Jeff was in born in Washington state on March 20, 1976. “My family moved a few times in my early years, but I spent about five years in Austin during elementary school before moving to Southern California in 1988.” The family moved to Lancaster. Before long, as a young teen, he began calling the request line, which led to an internship in the summer of 1991. “That non-paid summer turned into a board-op position on sister station KAVL/AM, running Dodger games, which led to a weekend shift on the fm station, ‘Hot 97.’” He worked weekends until graduating from high school in 1994. Over the next couple of years Jeff worked evenings and was apd at KAVS. He was also commuting to KCXX-Riverside to do weekends. “I joined Metro Networks in 1997 as a traffic anchor and within a couple of months I was working a regular weekend shift on KNX. A year later Metro put me on the Sunday morning KABC shift. Jeff is now a teacher.

Stevens, Julie: KJOI, 1989. Unknown.

STEVENS, Kris Erik: KKDJ, 1973-74; KIQQ, 1974-75; KGBS, 1975; KIIS, 1975; KCBS, 1991-92.  Kris became a legendary success almost overnight as the youngest Rock radio personality in Chicago, and was presented with Billboard Magazine’s ‘Radio Entertainment Award’ for his exemplary on-air talent while at WLS-Chicago, a 50,000 watt flamethrower with a signal that covered 46 states at night. During his brief but celebrated radio career, he was consistently rated #1 on major market stations like CKLW-Detroit, WMYQ-Miami, WCFL-Chicago, WQXI-Atlanta, and KKDJ and KIIS/fm. Seeking a new challenge, he opened Kris Stevens Enterprises, an LA-based Broadcast Creative Services company specializing in advertising, recording, imaging, and syndicated radio programming. The firm began winning awards for their innovative Radio/TV advertising expertise and celebrity driven radio specials featuring the biggest movie and rock stars. Stevens conceptualized and hosted "Entertainment Coast to Coast" and won the Gold Medal Award for "Best Entertainment Radio Program" of the year which aired on the CBS Radio Networks. In 1990, Kris added another dimension and dream for many broadcasters: station ownership. He bought his first radio station, WFXD-Marquette, Michigan and ran it remotely from LA. Other career highlights include hosting Drake/Chenault's "History of Rock-and-Roll. He credits his voiceover skills as the key ingredient to his career success. Over the years his voice work has been heard on commercials for Heineken, Mercedes Benz, LifeLock, Wall Street Journal, Wells Fargo Bank, Delta Airlines, Pontiac, Starbucks, Orkin Man, AMC Theatres, US Marines, AT&T, promos for all the major networks. Kris has voiced trailers for all the major studios. For decades he has been the signature voice for leading stations across the country. As the host of Movie Tunes for 10+ years, he’s heard in thousands of movie theatres across America prior to show time. Internationally, he hosts various Christmas Radio Specials for the Voice of America each holiday season. His website is: kriserikstevens.com.

Stevens, Les: KKDJ, 1974. Unknown.
Stevens, Matt: KXTA, 1997-2003. The former UCLA quarterback from 1983-86, Matt was part of the Bruin broadcasting team. After a bout with testicular cancer, he now broadcasts UCLA pre-game shows on XTRA Sports. Matt is general manager of the Los Verdes public golf course. 

STEVENS and GRDNIC: KWST, 1979-80. The married couple had a widely syndicated comedy service. They are based in St. Louis. Ron Stevens and his wife, Joy Grdnic had over 700 stations worldwide that subscribed to their comedy service. “I was standing in a parking lot at a high school party when someone got the bright idea to call the dj on KSHE-St. Louis and invite him to the party,” said Joy. “The dj was Ron and by the time he arrived everyone was gone but me. We talked and then later in the school year I was writing a story for the school paper and called KSHE to interview a personality. Ron answered the phone. We’ve been together ever since.” Joy eventually joined KSHE as a dj and worked morning drive. At KWST Ron did morning drive during the week and Joy was morning personality on the weekends. When “K-West” ended, the couple wrote for tv. Some of their credits include WKRP in Cincinnati, Facts of Life and Anything For Money. They have written comedy books, How To Make Love To Yourself and Should I Have a Baby Test? They won a Grammy for their album Somewhere Over the Radio, which also was the theme of a two-hour KMET special. A second album was titled, Retail Comedy at Wholesale Prices. Ron and Joy launched a national talk show at the time of the O.J. Simpson trial. “The timing was awful.” They teamed at “hot dance urban mix” WQHT-New York. “Can you imagine? We never worked as a morning team on a music station and we start in New York!” They took the show to AC “Y95”-San Diego. Joy and Ron returned to their home in St. Louis and hosted the morning show at KIHT (“K-Hitz”). They are the most widely syndicated radio comedy team with their morning show prep sheet and over 3,000 produced comedy bits to date. “It’s just the two of us and our managing partner and we did a million dollars last year!”

Stevens, Richard: KRTH, 1989-91. Richard is working at Cumulus as a syndicated radio host, based in Dallas.

STEVENS, Shadoe: KHJ, 1970; KRLA, 1970-73, pd; KROQ, 1973-74; KMET, 1974-75; KROQ, 1976-80. The oldest of five kids, Shadoe was born Terry Ingstad in 1947 in Jamestown, North Dakota, and became a weekend deejay at age 11. He studied art at the University of Arizona and did on-camera announcing at a Tucson tv station. Majoring in Commercial Art and Radio/TV Journalism at the University of North Dakota and the University of Arizona, he put himself through college working in radio at KILO in Grand Forks, North Dakota, KQWB in Fargo, North Dakota, and KIKX in Tucson. Even then, described as a workaholic and overachiever, while going to school he worked full-time at the stations and appeared in university plays on weekends. He worked at WRKO-Boston before arriving in the Southland. In addition to his activities at KRLA in 1972, Shadoe produced, narrated and syndicated "The Greatest Hits of Rock 'n' Roll." By the end of the year he had stepped down as pd and remained as a jock. While at KMET in 1974, he was the pd and midday jock; he left in 1975. Shadoe described his station as being "for this age and beyond. Theater of the mind. No formulas. We are satirical in nature."

He was Billboard magazine's Personality of the Year in 1975. He returned to KROQ to do weekends in 1976 with Sparkle Plentee and was a programming and production consultant in 1978 through his company Big Bucks.

In the early 1980s, Stevens was bigger than life as the spokesperson Fred Rated, the bearded tv spokesman for the Federated Group, selling discount stereo equipment. One of his most celebrated tv spots for Federated stated, "Rabid frogs ate our warehouse, so we're passing the savings on to you." Fred Rated then announced "RabidFrog Bonanza Days" as hundreds of rubber frogs bounced around the tv screen. After the first weekend of the campaign, sales increased 500%. In four years, the group grew from 14 local stores to 78 superstores in 5 states. The success of the Federated advertising campaign was extraordinary. It was the first regional advertising campaign ever to have received a 2 page spread in Time magazine.

This commercial success led to being the announcer on Hollywood Squares in 1986. The producers experimented with putting Shadoe in a celebrity square occasionally, and the appearances escalated, giving him national exposure. In 1988, Shadoe took over the American Top 40 countdown show and became only the second host of the program. Watermark spent $1 million to promote Shadoe and by 1994, AT40 had been discontinued in the United States.

Shadoe became a regular on tv's Dave's World. He was the first program director of "World Famous" KROQ/fm. He appeared on Midnight Special where he was a correspondent, giving artist backgrounds and doing celebrity interviews with major rock groups. He appeared in the movies: The Kentucky Fried Movie, TRAXX, Mr. Saturday Night, and the much revered Bucket of Blood for Roger Corman.

From 1995 to 2005, Shadoe hosted Rhythm Radio, which aired in 30 countries. Another syndicated show he hosted, Top of the World, was on in 25 countries from 2006-09. Since 2011, Shadoe does Mental Radio on SiriusXM. In late 2023, Shadow will be inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

Stevenson, Al: KTYM. Unknown.
Stevenson, Verne: KCBH; KMLA. Unknown.

Stewart, Bill: KMPC, 1951-59; KGIL, 1965-66; KRHM, 1966 and 1969; KGIL, 1973-75. He was the Bill of the KMPC jingle..."Ira, Johnny, Bill and Dick!" In 1962, Bill was president of Albums, Inc. For Armed Forces Radio he hosted "A Quarter Century of Swing." In 1969, the 30-year veteran was honored with a concert at the Palladium. For 20 years he did in-flight airline music programming. Bill died in 1993 of congestive heart failure.
Stewart, Guy: KDAY, 1974-75. Unknown.
Stewart, Hank: KBCA. Unknown.

STEWART, Jill: KFI, 2002-03. Jill is an award-winning journalist and she was a fill-in host at KFI. In early 2016, she left the LA Weekly where she was managing editor to oversee and manage the Coalition to Preserve L.A. The Coalition is pushing the slow-growth initiative for the November ballot.

Stewart, John: KKLA, 1988-93; KBRT, 1993. John hosted "Live From LA" on Christian KKLA. He's now a lawyer in Orange County.
Stewart, J. Michael: KEZY, 1970; KKDJ, 1971-72; KYMS, 1973-74; KWIZ, 1985-87. Also known as Jason Stone at KEZY, Stewart is a vacation consultant for the Hilton, Marriott and Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. He's also producing a multi-media project for business and visitors to Vegas.
Stewart, Peg: KFI, 1997-2000 and 2001-07; KBIG, 2002-04. Peg was a weekend news anchor at KFI. She is lead instructor at the radio broadcasting program at Fullerton College and pd at KBPK.

STEWART, Ralph: KTWV, 1991-2003; KCBS, 2005-14; KCBS/KTWV, 2014-23. Ralph is program director at JACK/fm and KTWV. He has been with CBS/Entercom/Audacity/LA for decades.  His colleagues admire him as both a strong radio man and a wonderful person. In 2003, he briefly ran away to the circus, joining Michael O’Shea in the launch of All Comedy Radio as the program director. He returned to CBS in 2006, first as a freelance writer for JACK/fm, and now as its operations manager.  Ralph was raised on rock and roll in Seattle, KJR and KOL through his teething years, and KZOK and KISW pretty well sealed his fate. It wasn’t just the music; it was the stuff between the records that ruined him for life. He’d be late for class because he couldn’t turn off KISW before a Langan and West bit was over. He’d try his best to emulate either Crow or Hovanes (afternoons at KISW-Seattle in the 1980s) when he was doing his show on the University of Washington’s college station and felt completely outgunned. Undaunted, he eventually got his space on the Seattle rock airwaves, working with some of his heroes. Ralph went from Rock to CHR and, in 1987, he suddenly found himself in the middle of a format flip. But by this time he had flipped too. He had gone from air talent to management. His CHR station flipped to whatever it was that newfangled WAVE was doing in LA. He rolled with it. Suddenly he had Yanni’s home phone number. He became the pd of that station.  It was sold shortly thereafter. As fate would have it, The WAVE had an opening. It was at that last gig in Seattle where he met his wife, KLOS AE Mary Bedrossian.

Stewart, Rick: KEZY, 1976-78; KODJ, 1989-91; Westwood One, 1991-93. Rick has a successful career in video and film production in Southern California. 
Stewart, Suzanne: KLSX, 1989; KLOS. Unknown. 

STEWART, Zan: KBCA, 1977-80; KCRW, 1980-82. Zan was a longtime jazz writer for the LA Times and recently retired from the New Jersey Star-Ledger. "I started in radio at KCSB/fm, the UC Santa Barbara station, in 1964, and returned there from 1972-1974, playing straight ahead jazz on those occasions. I then was on KOVA in Ojai in 1975, doing both classic pop and classical, and on KTMS in Santa Barbara from 1976-77, hosting a Sunday evening jazz show on an otherwise all-Rock station. Then in 1977, moved to Los Angeles, joining KBCA, first just on weekends, then as a regular dj, working weekdays alongside Jim Gosa, Chuck Niles, Bob Cole, Laura Lee Lyman, and others. Then moved to KCRW, hosting a weekly jazz show through 1982. Then it was jazz coverage at the Los Angeles Times through 2000, and the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger from 2002-10. Since then, been in the San Francisco Bay Area, focusing on saxophone performance and teaching."

Stiles, Sue: KFWB, 1978-2009. Sue is a crew member at Trader Joe's. 

STINCHFIELD, Grant: KRLA/KTIE, 2021-23. In the spring of 2021, Grant, joined Salem Media Conservative Talker Jennifer Horn in morning drive. Stinchfield will continue to anchor for Newsmax TV in addition to his new role for Salem. He previously hosted evenings at Cumulus Media’s 570 KLIF-Dallas, was an investigative reporter for NBC owned television stations in Dallas and Hartford, and a host for NRA TV. Stinchfield fills the co-host slot that had been held by Brian Whitman until last December.

 

STILWELL, Frosty: KYSR, 1998-99; KLSX, 2000-2009; KABC, 2009-10; KFI, 2010-11; KLOS, 2016-20. Frosty joined Frank Kramer and Heidi Hamilton at KLSX in the fall of 2000 until 2.20.09 when the FM Talk Station flipped to AMP RADIO. The trio joined KABC on October 5, 2009 and left a year later. He went solo and did a weekend show at KFI until late spring of 2011. He went on to co-host mornings at Star 101 (K101)-San Francisco. In the early summer of 2013, Frosty joined San Francisco Talker, KKSF (910AM) and left a year later. In September 2016, Frosty rejoined Frank and Heidi at KLOS. He left KLOS in the spring of 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.

 

STOLTZE, Frank: KLON; KPFK, 1992-2000; KPCC, 2000-20. Frank is an LA native and has spent his career as a reporter, news anchor and program director. Currently, he covers criminal justice and public safety issues for KPCC. Frank reports on racial bias, community policing, gangs, the use of force, technology, and generally what works and what doesn’t at law enforcement agencies in the region. Over more than two decades in Southern California, Frank has covered L.A. City Hall, national political conventions and all manner of breaking news – from the Rodney King riots to wildfires, earthquakes and the death of Michael Jackson. His awards include Golden Mikes for coverage of Skid Row and a documentary on the historic recall of California Governor Gray Davis. Frank was named a Distinguished Journalist by the L.A. Society of Professional Journalists and was twice awarded Radio Journalist of the Year by the L.A. Press Club. He was a Guggenheim Fellow at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice Center on Media, Crime and Justice and USC’s Annenberg Institute for Justice and Journalism. After graduating from Southern Methodist University, Frank first reported for radio in San Luis Obispo, covering the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. He is a contributor to NPR, the BBC, The Takeaway and The California Report. Frank is based at KPCC’s downtown bureau, a stone's throw from Central Market tortas.

 STONE, Bob: KGRB, 1965-67 and 1972-73; KWST, 1973-78; KGRB, 1978-89; KKGO, 1989-90; KGRB, 1990-93; KJQI/KOJY, 1993; KGRB, 1994-96. Bob, mostly associated with the Big Band era of KGRB (West Covina), died October 19, 2011. He was 73. Bob had stage four breast cancer. He was treated for that and a year later went to the doctor for therapy treatment and they discovered the cancer had spread to his lungs, kidney, liver and his heart.

While Bob was in the U.S. Coast Guard School of Electronics in Groton, Connecticut, his commanding officer suggested that he had a voice for radio. Once out of the service in 1960, Bob secured his first radio job in his native San Francisco at KHIP. In the early 1960s he joined CBS Films in New York. Bob returned to California in 1963. He worked at KFMX-San Diego and KGUD-Santa Barbara (which he left after the station was burned to the ground) before starting on KGRB. Between 1967 and 1972 he was at KCRA-Sacramento. During his career he remembered an unusual job: "I was the voice of Kmart for many years." Bob's last stop at KGRB was as transitional gm during the sale of the station.

Stone, Bonnie: KBIG; KACD; KSCA, 1995-97. Bonnie joined Fox Sports.
Stone, C.J.: KYSR, 1992-95. C.J. worked at Dial-Global until late summer 2009.

STONE, Cliffie: KFVD, 1940-44; KFI, 1950s; KPAS/KXLA, 1952-59; KFOX, 1959-65; KLAC, 1973-78. Country Music Hall of Fame member, LA radio personality, singer, songwriter, bandleader and producer of more than 14,000 tv and radio shows, Cliffie died of heart failure on January 16, 1998. He was 80. Cliffie was born Clifford Snyder in 1917, and his primary success came from his association with the Country music industry. Beginning at age 15 when he was discovered playing bass at Burbank High School, he performed with Stu Hamblen for 14 years on tv and radio shows. Cliffie hosted "Hometown Jamboree" for 10 years. The show started at the El Monte American Legion stadium which was a launching pad for a multitude of singers that included Johnny Cash, Eddie Arnold, Jim Reeves, Johnny Horton, Tex Ritter and many more. He produced over 14,000 tv and radio shows during his 50-year career in the entertainment industry. Cliffie played in the bands of Jan Garber, Gene Austin and Ken Murray. He started Lariat Records with $300 and produced records for Merle Travis, Stan Freberg and Mary Ford (before Les Paul). Cliffie managed Tennessee Ernie Ford for 20 years. In the early 1940s he was head of A & R for Belltone Records and a music producer at Capitol Records, where he was involved with Tex Ritter and Hank Williams. Near the end of his life, he was president of Showdown Enterprises, which included book and song publishing, along with a record label. His awards include: Pioneer Award, Academy of Country Music/1972; Country Music Associations' Hall of Fame/1989; Hollywood Walk of Fame/1989; Walk of Western Stars/1990; Nashville's Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame/1979. He wrote two successful books, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Songwriting and You Gotta Be Bad Before You Can Be Good.

"I never planned on being a manager or anything else that came my way. In many ways I wish I were still playing the bass. You have to have a lot of luck in this business. There are four critical essentials for success: attitude, luck, sense of humor and a wife with lots of money." Cliffie’s wife Joan Carol remembered: “I’ll never forget something he said when we were driving to his daughter’s house. He looked out the window and said, ‘I just love life. I just really love life.’”

STONE, Dave: KABC / KSPN, 2001-06. Dave was part of the morning drive show at KABC and co-hosted afternoons at sister station, KSPN Sports. He died at the end of 2013, at the age of 64. Dave was born in New York City and moved to L.A. in the late 1950s. “I became a sports junkie immediately upon being taken out of kindergarten on April 18, 1958, by my mom and Dodger fanatic dad so they could take me to the L.A. Coliseum to see the Dodgers and Giants in the first major league game ever played in Los Angeles. My dad grew up in Brooklyn and turned me into a baseball fan in his image,” said Dave when interviewed for Los Angeles Radio People. Dave loved all sports. His first job out of college in 1975 was as a public relations intern with the Dodgers. “The job paid basically nothing, but working for the Dodgers? I’d have done it for free.” Dave got into sports reporting with AP Radio and UPI Audio. He would get sound bites from sporting events and phone them in to the syndicates. From 1979 to 1986 Dave was the PA announcer for the Harlem Globetrotters. In late 1989 Dave joined a Huntsville, Alabama station as ops manager. “I gravitated from news and management to talk while in Huntsville.”

It was there when Dave gave Sean Hannity his first high-profile job. In 1997,  Dave worked afternoon drive at WGST-Atlanta and then “K-News” in the summer of 1999.  At that time, he was doing political news/talk.

In the fall of 2000, Joe McDonnell offered Dave the chance to return to sports radio via a position at the new ESPN station, KSPN. Dave also did sports for the morning team at then-Disney sister station KABC.  McDonnell said that Dave was “intelligent and well-prepared…One of the most passionate people I’ve ever known.”

Joe offered this tribute on his Facebook page:

I first met Dave Stone in the mid 70’s when we were both going for the job of operating the message board at Dodger Stadium. Dave beat me out, but it became a moment when I met one of the best friends I’ve ever had. Dave was also a radio reporter like myself, and we would ride to almost every game together that didn’t involve the Dodgers. And if there was a bigger Laker fan than me, it was Dave. We would spend hours talking about West, Baylor, Chamberlain, Darrell Imhoff, Archie Clark. If he was a Laker, we knew about him!  Dave then got a job as the traveling voice of the Harlem Globetrotters, and if the phone rang at 3 in the morning it might be Dave calling from Singapore to get the score of the Laker game. It was an amazing friendship that continued until he passed away. I got home from dinner with Elizabeth and some friends and received the horrible news. I didn’t even know he was sick, which was typical of Dave. Didn’t want anyone to fuss over him, even when he was batting a terminal disease. Dave was my first hire when I was putting together ESPN/710 in 1999-2000 and he put his heart and soul into everything he did there. God bless you Dave. You have no idea how much I’m going to miss you. Happy trails. I love you. After several months of ill health, Dave was diagnosed with ALS. 

Stone, Gary: KSCA/KLVE, 2000-10. Gary retired in late 2010.
Stone, Greg: KLOS, 1993-94. Unknown.

STONE, J.B.: KHJ, 1974-77; KGFJ, 1980-81, pd; KJLH, 1982-84, pd/gm. Born John Barry Pleasant on September 12, 1947 in Bay City, Texas, he was the eighth child in a family of three brothers and five sisters. J.B. died September 19, 2015. He was 68. J.B. arrived in the Southland from WHBQ-Memphis. Between KHJ and KGFJ, he worked at KDIA-Oakland. He grew up in Texas and received a B.S. in Finance from California State University, Hayward and an MBA from California State University, Dominguez Hills. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam. At KJLH he was upped to vp/gm, and by the summer of 1984 he was out. In 1990 he became director of Taxi Productions. In 1993, he was head of Stevie Wonder's broadcast group. In 1995, J.B. was working at “Magic 97” in Albany, Georgia. One colleague wrote at the time of his death, "J.B. was a TRUE radio whiz, a student of the business. Supremely qualified to lead successfully as he did after taking the reigns of KGFJ in the early 80s. J.B. was the last program director to lead this small, community AM radio station, all 1000 watts, to phenomenal numbers while playing the music people wanted to hear. He led us quietly, but he did with a firm, and strategic hand."

 

STONE, Jay: KNX/fm, 1971. Jay, born Jack Spaw, died in a one-car crash October 15, 2001, in Hawai'i Kai. "He was really a total radio nut," said long-time friend and radio consultant Jerry Clifton. "He worked long hours and his mind was in it all the time." Clifton said Stone was a jokester who would find a way to make any situation funny. "He would have probably made a joke out of this," Clifton said. Jay was program director at KNX/fm in the early 1970’s. He was killed when his car flipped and hit a tree on Haha'ione Road. Police say speeding was involved and Stone was not wearing a seat belt. Clifton said Jay, whom he had known for 30 years, was moving to the Las Vegas area to be near his family and was probably late for his flight when the accident happened. "He was excited about moving near his son," Clifton said. "He was real positive about the move and in one of those places in his life where he was moving to a whole new mission. I talked to him the night before and said goodbye, but I didn't think that would be the last time I would ever talk with him."  Jay and former KROQ dj Mike Evans went to high school together at North Torrance. “He did mornings at several stations including WNBC in New York,” emailed Mike. “The past 14 years, he’s been in Hawaii - we did mornings together at I-94 and KIKI. He was most recently fired from his gig doing mornings and station manager at the Oldies station, KGMZ, in Honolulu. His father was Jackie McCoy, a world famous boxing trainer [in boxing’s Hall of Fame] who had several championships, including Little Indian Red Lopez. Jay Stone's hero was Soupy Sales and Jerry Lewis and he acted like them both - a very funny guy,” Mike said. He was 55.

Stone, Jefferson: KEZY, 1976. Unknown.

STONE, Sebastian: KHJ, 1965-66. Sebastian was Johnny Mitchell at KGB-San Diego before he joined "Boss Radio." He was at KFOG-San Francisco in 1976 and was pd of KFRC-San Francisco. Sebastian died of a heart attack on November 11, 1987. At WOR/fm-New York in the 1960s he was known as Sebastian Stone and was the Drake's stations' first program director. At KCBQ-San Diego in 1959 he was Johnny Holiday and as Johnny Mitchell at KHJ in 1965 and and Sebastian Stone at KFRC-San Francisco in 1967.  He was born Gerald Edward Phillips. REEL Radio described him this way: "Sebastian sounds really comfortable, pleasant and engaging. He's a terrific midday host."

 

STOREY, Roy: KFI, 1972-73. Roy spent one season as the Kings television/radio play-by-play man in 1972-73 with Dan Avey. Roy died April 17, 2012, after a lengthy illness, in Desert Hot Springs. He was 85. His call of “Shot On Goal!” reverberated in the Bay Area, LA and San Diego for three decades. Roy was in between the first play-by-play announcer in Kings history, Jiggs McDonald, and the current voice of the Kings, Bob Miller. The former broadcaster for the California Golden Seals began as the announcer for the Los Angeles Kings in 1972. He was a news anchor and sports director of KYA-San Francisco and formerly "the voice" of the San Francisco 49ers alongside Bob Fouts. When he left the Southland he joined the old World Hockey Association Mariners in San Diego. The club terminated operations there prior to the league merging with the NHL in 1979. A native of Grand Rapids, Storey's long career included stints behind the microphone for major league baseball. He also served as the radio announcer for hockey games at the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley and was the voice of Saint Mary’s College basketball for many years. In addition, he was a news anchor at KYA in the 1970s.

STOREY, Tom: KJOI, 1974-81; KOST, 1977; KMPC, 1981-82; KZLA, 1981-87. “I loved to fly over L.A. It’s so beautiful, the sunrises, the sunsets and the weather.” Tom worked many years for several local traffic services. He remembered the best part of his job was when he was “airborne” broadcasting live news and traffic reports for KFWB. Between 1992 – 2009 he received 11 Golden Mike awards from RTNA, the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California. Even though he no longer flies doing traffic reports, Tom is busy with Avalon Artists Group in Los Angeles doing television commercials. “I have a national commercial that has been airing for Jitterbug flip-phones currently and in 2015,” he emailed. “I was featured on a satirical web-based television news series, airing 176 shows to a World-Wide audience.” He reported traffic on K-Earth 101 as ”Major Tom,” then over the 17 years working as an airborne reporter, he also did traffic on KLSX, Arrow 93, KMPC and a few other radio stations. He also filled in on the “Sid Barlow” Radio talk show on KIEV in the 1970s. Tom spent five years as a dj on Country KZLA in the 1980s, where he did live interviews with top recording artists, such as Lee Greenwood, Charlie Daniels, and the Sweethearts of the rodeo, and opened concerts on stage at Universal Amphitheater and the Forum. In the early 90s, he jocked at Country K-FROG in the Inland Empire. “While working on my Sunday morning public affairs program ‘Conversation’ on KJOI, I won the California Governor’s award for the Best Public Affairs program concerning the training and hiring of the disabled,” Tom remembered. “The talk show I did on Sunday night at KMPC, was sponsored by the same group that nominated my show, a group called ADEPT [assisting the disabled with employment, placement, and training]. The show on KMPC was ‘The ADEPT Connection,’ and I was nominated a second time for the California Governor's Award. That organization helped push through the blue disabled parking areas around the country and wheelchair ramps at many facilities, and it was my pleasure to work with them.” Tom was born in Hollywood “near Sunset and Vine.”

His grandfather, also named Tom Storey, was a movie director and writer from the silent films of the 1920s to the ‘Talkies’ in the 1930s. Young Tom grew up in the San Fernando Valley and went to L.A. Valley College and studied anthropology at Cal State Los Angeles. “I trained for a year for a dig in Peru. Just as our team was about to leave, we received a call from the consulate office warning us of Communist guerrilla activity in the mountains. We never went.” Following a year at Don Martin’s broadcast school, Tom joined KJOI. After a brief four-month stay at KOST in late 1977, Tom rejoined KJOI as operations manager. In the early 1980s Tom was the news director for KWHY, the financial tv station.

 

STORY, Ralph: KNX. “We’ll never see the likes of Ralph Story again,” said Stephanie Edwards at a standing room only memorial service in Los Olivos. He died September 26, 2006, at the age of 86. Ralph was the morning man at KNX in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1961, Story began producing and hosting Hollywood Today, heard on CBS Radio until 1971. From 1964 to 1970, he wrote and hosted Ralph Story's Los Angeles, a look at the history and culture of L.A. Along with Stephanie Edwards, he co-hosted Ralph Story's A.M. for KABC/Channel 7 from 1970-75.  Santa Ynez had been home to Ralph and his wife, Diana for many years. Nestled in a valley surrounded by vineyards, every store along the four-block town seemed to boast of either wine tasting, art galleries, or horse accessories. “Ralph had been announcing his imminent death since at least 1973 and I thought I was ready for this,” said Stephanie from the pulpit. “We will not see the likes of him again,” continued Stephanie, “because tv doesn’t allow for his like. Ralph was a mentor to a number of us in this room and I’m sure countless others that we don’t even know about. I don’t see much mentoring because it takes time. Ralph was a mentor. He gave away goodness for free.” Stephanie concluded: “I’ve often quietly said to my husband that whatever career I’ve had, I owe to God and Ralph Story and sometimes I’ve gotten the two confused.”  There were others in attendance who shared their memories about Ralph Story.  During the war, Ralph flew a P-51 Mustang fighter plane in which he flew 63 missions over Europe. “Most of the airmen named their planes after a girlfriend, wife or Hollywood starlet," recalled Ralph's son, Brad. "My father named his plane ‘Brad’s Dad.’ In fact, two planes were named ‘Brad’s Dad.’ The first one crashed when he was taking off with a full load of fuel. In one of those freak aviation accidents, he was thrown clear from the resultant fireball. Except for that fluke I would have lost my father more than 60 years ago.” Dan Gingold, former producer on the KNXT Big News, said it best about Ralph: "What an irony. The great storyteller was actually named Story." Almost as an unscripted afterthought, to end the ceremony the minister of St. Mark's Church asked the congregation to stand and sing the Air Force song, Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder. Turned out to be an inspired afterthought. There was hardly a dry eye.

Stradford, Mike: KKBT, 1990. Mike was pd at KKBT.

STRASSER, Teresa, KLSX, 2006-09; KABC, 2010-11. Teresa was part of the Adam Carolla morning show at the FM Talk Station (KLSX) until a format flip to AMP RADIO on 2.20.09. She co-hosted the morning KABC show with Peter Tilden until late summer of 2011. She's now co-host of The List TV. Teresa co-hosts a podcast with Gina Grad. She is an Emmy-winning writer (Comedy Central’s Win Ben Stein’s Money), and Emmy-nominated television host (TLC’s While You Were Out). She was a field correspondent for Good Day New York, Good Day Live, and On Air With Ryan Seacrest, and co-hosted How to Get the Guy for ABC. She is a regular guest on Dr. Phil, The Doctors, and CNN’s Headline News. Her first book, Exploiting My Baby, was a Los Angeles Times Bestseller.

 

STRATTON, Gil: KNX, 1967-84 and 1986-97. The longtime sports broadcasting icon died October 11, 2008, of heart failure. He suffered a heart attack two months before his death and he seemed to be making a recovery with active participation in physical therapy. Gil was 86. Born in Brooklyn, his early career was as an actor appearing on Broadway with Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney and Elizabeth Taylor. In the movies, Gil appeared with William Holden in Stalag 17 and with Marlon Brandon in The Wild One. He was an umpire for baseball's Pacific Coast League and coined the term, "I call 'em like I see 'em" and took the line into his broadcast career at "The Big News" during the 60s and 70s on KNXT/Channel 2. He was heard on KNX for decades. To horse racing fans, he was a fixture at local tracks doing the announcing for the weekly horse races that were broadcast on national tv. His ubiquitous sports broadcasting career included the Los Angeles Rams with Bob Kelley.

KNBC/KFWB sports anchor Bill Seward sat with Gil during the year before he died. Bill paid great respect to his mentor in this interview: 

“When I was a kid I loved getting the mail from the mailman,” remembered Gil. “I was named a junior and I would see something for Gil Stratton in the mail and of course I opened it. My father said I was not Gil Stratton, I was Gil Stratton, Jr. ‘And don’t open my mail.’ It was that way until I was about to open on Broadway and they asked me how I wanted to be billed as Gil Stratton or Gil Stratton, Jr. I said bill me as Gil Stratton, Jr. I did it really just to show my father and then it just kinda stuck. Particularly after World War II where I primarily made my living as a radio actor the junior part would lead to what part I played on the show. They would read all the parts and if there was a kid’s role and they saw junior they would pick me and it stayed with me all that time.” 

Gil grew up in Brooklyn and Garden City, Long Island, spending his time equally between the two cities. “My dad was in the printing ink business. He manufactured printer’s ink.” Gil remembers his father receiving a holiday or birthday card and spitting on his fingers and then rubbing the ink on the card and invariably say, “cheap ink on this one.” 

A long-time sports fan, in 1940, Gil saw 77 home games at Ebbets Field. “Somebody in our apartment had a pass and all it cost me was a ten-cent tax plus a nickel each way on the subway. In 1941, the Dodgers won their first pennant in 25 years. I saw the only game that the Dodgers won in the 41 World Series. They beat the Yankees 3 – 2 in Yankee Stadium in Game 2 on October the 2nd,” said Gil. 

Acting came easy to Gil. He was in all the school plays. “It was something I did easily and I guess fairly well because I was busy doing those things,” Gil reminisced. “I used to do summer stock in the Brighton Theatre, which is right near the start of Coney Island. It was a legitimate theatre and a girl I went to high school with had gone on to the American Academy. She was in Brother Rat and I went down to see her. I had spent a year in military school, so I had the uniform on. Saw the matinee and went to dinner with the whole cast and we can back and they thought it would great idea to put me on stage because I was in uniform, just like they were on stage. That was probably my real stage debut.” 

The following summer he was offered a role in Atlantic City for $5 a week. His parents drove him down and he got a room in the YMCA for $2.75 a week. “I used to go out on the boardwalk and get a nickel’s worth of Jujubees to kill my appetite.” 

Gil played on Broadway as one of the leads in Life With Father. Two years later Gil had the lead in Best Foot Forward. “This led to a contract with MGM and I headed West, young man. World War II had started and when I got there I had to go to my draft board because we were going out of town for a production in Chicago and you couldn’t leave the state without going to the draft board. This was August and I asked what they thought and they said I would be carrying a gun by the first of October.” (Gil in Girl Crazy)Standing in front of the draft board building with some other guys, Gil was asked if he knew about the Air Cadets. “It is the Air Force and if you could qualify for it for bombardiers and things like that and pass the written and physical there is no place to put the guys right now so you can stay out longer, so that’s why I did it. I opened at the Airliner Theatre in Chicago and after passing the exams, they asked if they could swear me in on stage after a matinee. A Major came down and swore me in. I got the call the following March but we hadn’t finished filming yet and I got a deferment until July, so it was almost a year from the time I signed up before I went in.” 

“I ended up flying in B-17s and one night we were on a night training navigation mission over Little Rock, Arkansas when they lost two engines on the right side and we were losing altitude over the Ozarks Mountains and the pilot said, ‘Okay, boys, prepare to bail out.’ I snapped on my parachute and I was the first one out. It was kinda like the big hill on a big roller coaster. I jumped, pulled the handle on the rip chord, and nothing happened. I later learned there was a three-second delay between pulling the handle and the parachute opening. It feels like a lot more than three seconds when you’re looking at it and nothing is happening.” 

Gil was discharged from the Air Force on October 5, 1945. “The thing you wanted more than anything else was a civilian suit. The first job I got was in Chicago. The William Morris Agency was my agency at the time and they thought of me primarily as a Broadway actor. I got involved in a radio show and shortly after joining them they moved it to the West Coast. I really wanted to come back to Hollywood any way I could and that worked out great.” 

From 1946 to 1954, Gil made his living primarily as a radio actor. “I was on Lux Radio Theatre 29 times. Meet Corliss Archer, the Life of Riley and on and on. I was Margie’s boyfriend on My Little Margie with Gale Storm and Charlie Farrell. I was a regular on Junior Miss and then we did a television show called, That’s My Boy, which had been a movie with Martin & Lewis. I played the Jerry Lewis part. Everything was fine for the first 13 weeks and then we went up against George Gobel. After 13 more weeks nobody ever heard of us again.” 

Beginning in 1954 and up until the late 1990s, Gil fulfilled the final third of an incredible three-career life. “I was a sports announcer, mostly at CBS,” recalled Gil. He was doing My Little Margie and went to visit his friend Tom Harmon who anchored a coupled of the tv sportscasts. Tom mentioned that he was going to be leaving the late news at Channel 2. His wife had put her foot down and told Tom that he had to choose between the two newscasts. I told him that’s what I wanted to do since I was eight years old. He told about an audition and when I showed up about half of the guys on the Rams team were auditioning along with most of the sports writers in town. I got the job.” 

Busy with his radio acting, Gil was also a professional baseball umpire for ten years beginning in 1947. “I spent five years in Class C baseball; so I did pay my dues. I finally ended up in the Pacific Coast League. I could have done that as a career.” 

When Gil joined KNXT/Channel 2 the tv news had revolving anchors. “We called them the Bum of the Week. The first one was a cowboy actor and he couldn’t even pronounce President Roosevelt, so he was on his way out. Even Bill Stout was an anchor for awhile and he hated it. It was kind of different and it finally shook down around 1960 with The Big News. It became the all-time biggest television news shows in history. We used to get 21 – 23 ratings on that show.” 

About five years after joining KNXT/Channel 2, he started doing sports broadcasting on KNX. “It happened when George Nicholaw took over as general manager. He was smart enough to recognize the pull and success of The Big News and its people. He proceeded to put all of us from tv on radio. Bill Keene and I used to the sports and weather together and we kind of kidded each other as we went along. More people came up to us and said they enjoyed what we did on radio, more so than on television.” 

Did Gil enjoy radio or tv more? “Television was meant for me,” Gil responded without pausing. “It was that kind of medium. Having been an actor I was loose in front of the camera. I don’t mean that as conceit, it is just kind of like I am. On the radio you are reading everything word for word. When I was a radio actor it was the best job I ever had. I can’t think of anything easier. That was the best job we ever had. The Lux Radio Theatre paid $133. That was scale. That was a lot of money back in those days.” 

The sports scene in L.A. helped glorify the period for Gil’s reporting. “Remember John McKay was winning the college football championships at USC. John Wooden was winning the college basketball championships at UCLA. The Lakers were winning. The Dodgers were winning. There were 50,000 people on a Saturday afternoon at Santa Anita. This was the sports capital of the world, without a doubt. And it is no longer.” 

Gil carries a money clip with a Rams helmet embedded on it, which reminds him of a special time when he was part of the Rams broadcasts. “The Rams were an institution. They came out here from Cleveland in 1946. It was a big deal. We had two of the greatest quarterbacks in football – Bob Waterfield and Van Brocklin. Other players like Elroy Hirsch on the end. Ollie Matson came later. He was in a deal for 11 men. There was also Tank Younger and Jon Arnett. It was wonderful. I can remember 100,000 people in the Coliseum for the Chicago Bears games. It was a great rivalry. Everyone was a fan. I was fortunate to be their play-by-play on television for a few years and I certainly enjoyed it.” 

For 20 years Gil hosted the Saturday broadcasts that originated at great race tracks in the West. “It was a very popular show on the West Coast,” said Gil. “We covered races from Canada to Mexico and went as far East as the Rockies. It was on the Pacific Coast Network, which consisted of 34 tv stations. I don’t think there was a bar or a country club or any place where people gathered that they didn’t watch that show. When I would go to one of these other markets they treated me like Frank Sinatra had just come in. What was strange was that I didn’t like horse races. I never did like it and I’m not a gambler. I was lucky to have a partner who really knew everything. He was a real race tracker. I studied so hard to be prepared for that show and people really got the impression that I knew what the hell I was talking about and that was not true.” 

“I broke my wrist when breaking a horse out of the gate, which resulted in wearing a cast. I would only let jockeys sign the cast. I turned down all the baseball or football players. Only jockeys could sign it. I think that had something to do with the popularity of the show because I was so accepted by the jockey colony. My size also worked for me because they were used to six foot two guys who were leaning down. I could look eye to eye with most of the jockeys. Consequently I had very good rapport with them. I enjoyed them but I can’t say I enjoyed going out to the track. I looked forward to it every week because I got paid well.” 

Gil remembers the times that he would be walking around the track area and fans would come up to him asking for a tip on a winning horse. He would ask which race. They would say the fourth race. He would tell them horse #4 looked good, or if it was the sixth race, he would say the number six horse. If the horse won the race they thought he was a genius. If the horse lost, they just wouldn’t ever ask again. “I didn’t know one horse from another,” confessed Gil. 

In 1953, Gil had a major role in Billy Wilder’s Stalag 17 starring William Holden and The Wild One with Marlon Brando, two of the most successful films of the 50s. “Stalag 17 was like being in the prison camp. It really was. The director’s assistant acted like a prison sergeant and he would yell at us to get our asses on the set. After a few weeks on the set it really did feel like we were in the service because you are in uniforms all day long.”

Gil revealed that he partied hard during much of his incredible career. “I was part of it all for a long time and finally I joined AA and that seemed to get me straightened out and from there on there were no problems.” 

STRATTON, Ric: KUCI, 1978-79; KOCM, 1980. Born Richard Wayman in Whittier and raised in Pacific Palisades, Ric started his radio career at KUCI-Irvine doing the all-night show. During the 1980s, Ric programmed and worked drive slots in El Paso, stations along the Central California Coast, Utah and Las Vegas. In 1992 he was a producer at Books on Tape at Dove Audio. Ric went on to become the sales manager at KBCB/TV-Bellingham, Washington. He is now retired and living in St. George, Utah.

Straw, Tom: KMPC, 1981-82. Tom has moved into television. He received two Emmy nominations for Night Court and he was executive producer on Dave's World. He was involved with the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

STRAWBERRY, Shirley: KKBT, 1990-2005; KDAY, 2006-09; KJLH, 2009-23. Shirley is one of the "Angels" on the Steve Harvey morning show. She left KKBT on May 20, 2005, when Harvey exited the station. She rejoined Harvey when his syndicated show was picked up by KDAY. It now airs on KJLH. Heard on nearly 90 radio stations by approximately six million weekly listeners, it’s the number-one syndicated morning show in America. Steve Harvey and Shirley started their morning show relationship in Los Angeles. From 2000 to 2005, Shirley was the co-host of Harvey’s popular LA-based morning show and it was Harvey himself who dubbed her: “The Best Voice in Radio.” Their program went on to become one of the most talked about in LA radio for their tireless community efforts – from helping students get desperately needed books, to honoring women and teachers, as well as feeding and helping the underprivileged all over the city. On May 23, 2005, Harvey, Shirley and the rest of the morning show aired their final broadcast in Los Angeles. It was a sad and historic day in LA that left a lasting impact on the Southern California radio dial. In October of 2005, The Steve Harvey Morning Show was launched into national syndication by Premiere Networks and Shirley joined the show as co-host. For her work on the program, Shirley has been recognized numerous times by Radio Ink as one of the “Most Influential Women in Radio.” On April 5, 2011, Shirley released her first book, The Strawberry Letter: Real Talk, Real Advice, Because Bitterness Isn’t Sexy. Based on the popular Strawberry Letter segment on The Steve Harvey Morning Show, she delivers more of the no-nonsense woman-to-woman straight talk her listeners have come to love. Shirley tells it like it is from the heart. Whether the topic is cheating boyfriends, crazy mother-in-laws, job troubles or money problems, Shirley’s girlfriend-next-door honesty has made the Strawberry Letter segments of the show a huge hit. Now, in this uplifting motivational guide, she brings her vivacious, inspirational, and down-to-earth message to women everywhere: Get up, get out, and be the best you can be! (KJLH website)

 

STREET, Commander Chuck: KIIS, 1983-2012. Chuck was the pilot for KIIS Yellow Thunder traffic helicopter for over 20 years. For a time, his reports also aired on the KTLA/Channel 5 Morning News. Having airborne traffic reporters gives the listener a trust factor that what is being reported is in actual time – an eyewitness to an accident, traffic jam and alternative roadways. Commander Chuck was one of those trusted airborne reporters. In 2012, the relation ship ended with sponsor Pepsi. An era has ended.  In 2003, LARadio presented the LARP Triangle, an afternoon of stories with Commander Chuck, Michael Jackson and Saul Levine. “Commander Chuck” Street dazzled the crowd with stories of spending two decades above the traffic fray and his special working relationship with then-morning man at KIIS, Rick Dees.   In the early 1980s, Chuck described his life situation as being desperate. He concocted a way to interview for a job reporting traffic on KIIS/fm by hovering outside the 19th floor of the KIIS building in Hollywood with a topless female in the co-pilot seat. It got Rick’s attention and within days Chuck was meeting with then-gm Wally Clark. He got the job. They called his helicopter “Yellow Thunder,” which was a play on the popular film, Blue Thunder.

 

STREET, Dusty: KROQ, 1979-80; KLOS, 1980-81; KWST, 1981-82; KROQ, 1982-89; KLSX, 1989-94. Dusty Francis Street is her birth name! The native Californian was born in San Francisco and started her career in 1967 at KMPX as an engineer and weekend jock under Tom Donahue. "I followed Tom (the only female engineer that did) to KSAN in 1969, doing middays until 1974," Dusty said. She worked at KSFX and KTIM in the Bay Area before moving to LA and KROQ in 1979. As of 2022, Dusty lives in Eugene, Oregon. Dusty was one of the youngest female AOR rock djs. Her father's name was Emerson Street, and they lived on Emerson Street in Palo Alto. Dusty was part of a radio/video production company (Rock Around the World) that was launched in 1979. Dusty returned to the "Roq" in March of 1982 and stayed until 1989. She claimed she was fired from KROQ because she had "too strong of a personality." She told the LA Times: "DJs no longer have any voice. They might as well hire people with no ears. By the end of the year, I doubt seriously the station will resemble what KROQ used to be." Interviewed in 1994, she talked about the highlights of working in Southern California radio: "I loved the experience of interviewing Billy Idol, Wendy O Williams, Johnny Rotten, the Cult and Slash of Guns and Roses." Dusty commented on the state of women in radio: "A lot of ladies who got into radio decided that they had to do that bedroom thing, and not many of them developed an individual personality." She left KLSX in the spring of 1994. She told Gary Lycan of the OC Register, "It was like mini-purgatory working in "Classic Rock" radio. My background is free-form, progressive rock. I started with Tom Donahue and hopefully I'll be getting back into new music." In the fall of 1994, Dusty went to Las Vegas for middays at KEDG. In the spring of 1995, she moved to weekends at KXPT-Las Vegas. Dusty is the host for SiriusXM 26 broadcasting from the R&R Hall of Fame on Saturday and Sunday noon to 6pm. I also have a podcast that reflects how I think good radio should be. Like most people my tastes are varied and cross many decades, you'll hear a large assortment of new and old music from Alternative to the Blues. It's called Flylow Show on flyingeyeradionetwork.com. In 2015, Dusty was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.

STREIT, Steve: KBIG, 1997-99. Steve was program director at KBIG until late October 1999. He is founder of Green Dot, a pre-paid credit card business, based in the Southland. The former pd of WASH/WGAY-Washington, DC, WMGF/WJRR-Orlando, programmed three stations in West Palm Beach before joining KBIG. He brought to KBIG his role as a strong turnaround executive at numerous major market adult contemporary stations including WMGF-Orlando, K101-San Francisco and WASH-Washington, DC, which was nominated for The Marconi Award's AC Station of the Year and WGAY in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Chancellor, he was the group pd for Paxson Broadcasting in Orlando.

 

STROBEL, III, John W.: KRLA, 1960-61; KMPC, 1961-63; KNX, 1969-75. John was a newsman during his time in L.A. radio. “My first job was in the news department of KRLA when it was in the Huntington Hartford Hotel in Pasadena. I went from there to KMPC where I did the morning newscasts from 6 a.m. with Dick Whittinghill. I worked with Hugh Brundage, John Babcock, and Val Klenard.” John moved over to KHJ/TV and wrote and produced the John Willis tv news and he also wrote a news quiz show What's News, among others. “I went from KHJ to KTLA News with Clete Roberts and Bill Stout, as assignment editor. From 1969 to 1975 I was Ventura County correspondent for KNX.” John was born and raised in Ventura. His first job in radio was at KVEN where he did a 15-minute sports show that his dad sponsored. “I was so bad that Syd Held, the manager of KVEN arranged for me to win a scholarship to Don Martin's School of Radio Arts and Sciences. I returned to Ventura after graduating from Martin's [who was still alive and running the school then, 1953]. I went back to KVEN and was there until 1967 when I became news director for KACY. I left KACY to become news director of KGMS-Sacramento, and from there came to KRLA. John retired from broadcasting in 1983.   After that he produced 27 educational film strips for Walt Disney Educational Materials Company and produced and filmed a number of industrial documentaries. He's completed a novel, Winds of Horror.

 

STRODE, Tollie: KBCA, 1962-72; KAJZ. Tollie was born and raised in Birmingham. Growing up, he always had an interest in music and entertainment, according to his son, Tollie, Jr.  After service in the Army in the early 50s, he returned to Birmingham and opened a night club, the Down Beat. He later moved to Los Angeles, following his older brothers.  Eventually, he married his hometown sweetheart, Lillian. They established a family and remained in LA until his death.    Tollie brought an East Coast flavor to his music presentation on Jazz KBCA. Known as a jazz purist and for his many contributions that helped make jazz a strong genre and market force in the LA scene, with sayings such as "Straight Ahead, Slow Traffic To The Right."  After radio, Tollie turned his attention to real estate.  He lost his battle with cancer on January 18, 2001. He was 71.

Stroka, Mike: KPPC, 1964-66. The former general manager of the underground station has passed away. 

STRYKER, Ted: KYSR, 1996-98; KROQ, 1998-2009; KLSX/KAMP, 2009-10; KROQ, 2010-22; KYSR, 2022-23. Stryker hosted morning drive at KROQ with Kevin Klein until early summer of 2021 when he departed the CBS/Entercom/Audacity cluster after two-plus decades. In the fall of 2021, Ted launched a new podcast, "Tuna on Toast with Stryker." He's now co-hosting afternoons at ALT 98.7 with Chris Booker. Stryker was the dj on The Ellen Show for one season. For a time, Stryker co-hosted the nationally syndicated call-in show Loveline with Dr. Drew Pinsky. Loveline had been co-hosted by Adam Carolla for over a decade before Adam was tapped to replace Howard Stern at sister CBS Radio station, KLSX. Not wanting to trigger comparisons to Adam, then-KROQ pd Kevin Weatherly waited almost a year before making the Stryker announcement. Stryker began his career in Tucson as morning host/music director at 92.1 KFMA. He moved to Los Angeles in 1996 and joined KYSR. Two years later he took over nights at KROQ before segueing to afternoon drive. Stryker and Klein were tapped to fill the morning shoes of Hall of Fame duo of Kevin & Bean.

Styble, Bryan: KIEV, 1989-90. Bryan is a long-time talk show host in Seattle. He now writes a media blog.

STYLES, Dave: KIIS, 2003-14; KBIG, 2014-22; KRTH, 2023. From Northwest radio, Dave worked the all-night shift at KIIS/fm, as well as weekends. In early 2014, he joined MY/fm for afternoon drive, as well as night and weekend personality. He left KBIG in the spring of 2022. In the summer of 2022, Dave became the announcer and audience host for the "Wheel Of Fortune Live!" tour. Dave joined weekend and fill-in at K-EARTH in the spring of 2023. He started his road to radio in the 7th grade, where he used to record his own weekly countdown show using his home stereo and a microphone. Then he would sell copies of the tapes to kids at school. At age 13, he began working as a mobile DJ for parties, weddings, and special events. Before landing at KIIS/fm, Dave made stops at KHTR in Pullman, WA, and KKRZ in Portland before returning to Seattle, where he did weekends at KBKS. Born in Seattle, Washington to British parents, Dave made a move "across the pond" at age 6 and grew up in Cantril Farm in the West Derby district of Liverpool, England. Most of his relatives, though, reside in Northwest England and Wales. Aside from radio, Dave also works in his home-studio producing background music for VH1 tv shows. During the Dodgers home games, Dave can be seen on the big board asking fans questions for gifts.

Stuart, Linda: Linda broadcasts traffic on KABC weekends via Metro Traffic. During the week she does fill-in news and traffic shifts for KABC, KPLS, KOLA, KJLH, and the Highway Stationsin Barstow.

STUART, Rick: KROQ; KNAC, 1986. Rick is working afternoons at KFOX in San Francisco/San Jose. Following his stints in L.A., Rick returned to the Santa Cruz area and did fill-in on KYLD-San Francisco and he had a long run at KITS. Prior to Rick’s arrival in the Southland he worked at KBLC-Lakeport, KUSF and KQAK-San Francisco. He was born in the Bay Area and went to high school in Richmond. He went to college at the University of San Francisco. In 1998, Rick was nominated for Local Air Personality of the Year from the  Billboard/Airplay Monitor Magazine . “I have a boat for fishing in the beautiful San Francisco Bay and if I am feeling brave a nice trip out the Golden Gate Bridge for some salmon. I enjoy flyfishing, mostly with guides in the streams near Burney."

Sturgeon, Wina: KFWB. Wina is a freelance reporter for various publications in the Northwest, including the Salt Lake Tribune 

SUDOCK, Mark: KLON, 1970-84. Mark is a video production editor at KTTV/Fox 11. Mark was born and raised in Long Beach. He was inspired in his early years by Steve Allen's Westinghouse syndicated show in the early 1960s. Mark earned a B.A. in speech/communications from Long Beach State in 1977. His radio work includes on-air stints in music, news and talk show formats. He has performed as an MC, narrator, on-camera host and spokesman in more than 400 corporate productions for Mazda, Procter and Gamble, Bank of America, GTE (Verizon) and more. Once he became a parent, there wasn't enough money in public radio and Mark took his post production skills to KTTV/Fox 11, where he has been an editor since 1983. A Golden Mike and Emmy award winning artist, he has also received the Iris for Outstanding Documentary Production bestowed by the National Association of Television Production Executives (NATPE), recognition for excellence in journalism from the Associated Press and notice from the Sinatra Music Society for excellence in hosting and music programming. Mark is an excellent violinist.

 

SUITS, Bryan: KFI, 2008-13; KABC, 2013-15; KFI, 2015-21. In early 2010 Bryan returned to his home in Seattle and continued with a weekend show on KFI until moving to KABC in late 2013. Bryan left KABC in early 2015. He had a weekend show at KFI.In this day and age when radio people come to the medium from the world of acting, politics, lawyering, tv, and sitcom writing, the new evening personality at KFI comes from radio. When he was ten years old, Suits and his best buddy Andy Schuon – yes, that Andy Schuon – pd at KROQ before Kevin Weatherly, would listen to the radio late at night. Every day at their Port Angeles, Washington, elementary school they would compare notes on what they heard. He's now doing mornings at KTTH-Seattle. Bryan’s dream has taken numerous twists and international turns in Iraq and Bosnia. He was decorated with a Bronze Star and awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat. Bryan credits KROQ’s Bean with opening the door for him at KFI with pd Robin Bertolucci. “Robin had heard me before but I wasn’t really leaping to mind. Bean is the one who called Robin,” said Bryan as we chatted by phone.

Bean and Bryan were friends from the time that Bryan was an intern (known as ‘Big Leo’) on the Kevin & Bean Show. “I now owe Bean a lunch forever.” The Northwest has been home to Suits in recent years and it is where he grew up.

Bryan’s wife is a police officer and wants to continue when they move here. “I would really rather she didn’t but she’s dead set on it,” said Bryan.

He was born in Hawaii but grew up on the coast of Washington, not far from British Columbia. His mother is Canadian. “Growing up pretty much my only friend was Andy Schuon. We were complete geeks listing to KIRO, KGO, KXL. We got into CB radio and shortwave radio. All of our lives we somehow wanted to be in radio. Andy moved to Reno and was actually doing overnights while he was in high school. He then went to San Antonio, Denver, KROQ, and MTV. He’s the guy who got me into radio after the first Gulf War.”

When Bryan returned from the first Gulf War, he went to graduate school. “In 1992, Andy called me to get me into radio, which he had been trying to do for years and years. I kept telling him it wasn’t a real living. He called me on the right day. I was working in the emergency room at the University of Washington Hospital. He encouraged me to quit and come help him with the Kevin & Bean morning show. I was hired and got to learn about radio. My first gig in radio was at KROQ and that definitely spoils you for everything afterwards.”

When Andy left KROQ, Bryan embarked on his own radio journey. “Kevin & Bean just weren’t funny and didn’t get it. They didn’t understand how brilliant I was.” The friendship between Bean and Bryan really developed after he Bryan left the show. Bryan went to Reno, the Bay Area, Salt Lake City, Portland and then in 1998 to Bosnia-Herzegovina for a year. Bryan didn’t do radio in Bosnia but his National Guard unit was called up. He was a field medic in the first Gulf War and a Sergeant and Cavalry Scout in Bosnia.

“When I got back I was intending to take a job with Radio Free Europe in Prague and my friend Kennedy had just started a talk radio show on the Buzz (KIRO/fm) in Seattle. I met her when I was at KROQ. She was an intern for Kevin & Bean. I sat in with her for three hours and when I came out of the studio, Kris Olinger, pd at KIRO and now at KOA-Denver, and she offered me the 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. show. I had been trying to get into Talk Radio and I said, ‘How do I break in?’ and she says you just did three hours with Kennedy and as far as I’m concerned that’s your audition. It was an extremely lucky break.” Bryan couldn’t wait to call his buddy Andy Schuon and tell him, ’Hey, no shit, I just got hired by KIRO.’ KIRO was the Holy Grail in the Northwest.’"

From KIRO, Bryan went cross town to the conservative station KVI to work early evenings. “I wanted a new time slot, a raise, but I found out that I’m not an ideologue. I don’t really have a party line. I’m more of a Libertarian, but we were a Fox radio station.”  

In 2003, Bryan went to Officers Candidate School and was deployed to Iraq in 2004-05. "When I was wounded in Iraq the Gods of radio were smiling upon me, except for my hearing and nerve damage. Now my ability to tolerate morons is particularly non-existent.” Bryan was awarded the Bronze Star for "exceptionally meritorious service while serving in Iraq in 2005. When Bryan returned from Iraq he returned to KVI. “They made it feel like they were doing me a huge favor. I understand that this puts a radio station in a tough position. It is the Bryan Suits Show and the actual Bryan Suits is busy being the only conservative talk show host actually fighting the war, but it is a federal law that they have to hold your job and I owe Tony Snow [later the White House Press Secretary] a huge favor. He had me on every week on his syndicated show. He would call me in Iraq and I would go on for 20 – 30 minutes and talk about the week in Iraq. That kept my voice on the air at KVI.”

A newspaper columnist in Seattle described Bryan: “His on-air demeanor was marked with colorful witticisms and a unique sense of humor which brought a different slant to the often stodgy topic of politics. Bryan had the freshest voice in talk radio.  He was witty. 

Sullivan, Alex: KNX, 1968-2004. Alex, a graduate of Harvard University, retired from radio in the fall of 2004.
Sullivan, Bill "Soup": KNAC, 1983. Bill worked evenings at "Rock 'n Rhythm" KNAC.
Sullivan, Chuck: KFOX, 1969-71; KLAC, 1971-80; KREL, 1971-72. Chuck was living and working in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He died in 1993.

SULLIVAN, G. Michael: KEZY, 1977-80; KWIZ, 1980-87. Michael dreamed of either pursuing radio as a career or being a cop. After he got out of the Navy, he was involved in an auto accident and lost one eye. The decision was made for him. He died March 6, 2016, at the age of 71 following a long illness. Michael started at KBRN-Bright, Colorado where he "did everything." His next stop was KAAT-Denver. When interviewed for Los Angeles Radio People, Michael remembered the studio being in Hugh Hefner's old suite in the Radisson Hotel. "There was a sunken bath tub in the studio." How did he get to Southern California? "After KAAT was sold I had always wanted to work in California. So I packed my car until it was filled and gave away the rest and headed to Orange County." At KEZY he teamed with Jeff Dean for the "Doctor and the Dean" show in morning drive. Michael was born in Dallas and grew up in Salina, Kansas. He attended Ft. Hays State College before being called to serve his country during the Vietnam War. He served two tours in Vietnam and three years at Sea Duty. When he was done with radio he joined the Orange County Fair in their radio/tv department. He had done many remotes from the fairgrounds and knew the people. "I spent three years doing that then decided to check out the management end and went to Victorville, San Bernardino County Fair for three years." Michael became the manager of the Monterey County Fair. Miss radio? "Radio was great and yes I miss it at times."

Sullivan, Joe: SEE Joe Collins

SULLIVAN, Kathleen: KFWB, 1999-2000. Kathleen mysteriously walked out on her morning drive co-anchoring job at all-News KFWB in April 2000 and never returned. In 1984, Sullivan became the first woman to anchor a telecast of the Olympic Games. She sits on the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration) Advisory Council, to which she was appointed by the White House in January 2003. Kathleen lives in Rancho Mirage.

Sullivan, Paul: KNAC, 1976-78. Paul is executive vp for Global Media based in Vancouver, BC.
Sullivan, Pete: KZLA, 1980. Unknown.
Sullivan, Tim: KLAC; KHJ, 1973-79; KWST/KMGG, 1981-82. Tim is owner/general manager of KCAL/KOLA in the Inland Empire.
Summer: KCAL, 2006-07; KYSR, 2007. SEE Summer James
Summers, Bob: KBCA, 1973. Unknown.

SUMMERS, John: KWOW, 1983; KWDJ, 1983-84; KDIG, 1984-87; KBON, 1986-90; KFRG, 1993-94; KLAC, 1999-2001; KHTS, 2006-09. In the 1980s and 90s, John worked on the fringes of LARadio, many in the Inland Empire, before joining KLAC. He was morning host at KHTS-Santa Clarita until early 2009. He's now news director at Cumulus News/Talk KKOB-Albuquerque. “I'm presently the news director of the 10-station cluster here in Ithaca, New York for the Cayuga Radio Group (Saga Communications) and program director for its NewsTalk WHCU AM/FM,” emailed John. He made the rounds to NewsTalk 780 KOH & the Cumulus cluster in Reno as news director.” He also served as regional program director and news director for the Cherry Creek Radio clusters in both Wenatchee and Tri-Cities, Washington. “Been knocked around a lot, obviously, with buyouts and cutbacks. But I think I’ve finally found a place to settle for a while here in the beautiful Finger Lakes Region of Ithaca, New York, home to Cornell University & the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College. I do miss the West immensely, this being my first East Coast job.” John sent some broadcast history. “My WHCU at 870 AM, dates all the way back to 1912 when Cornell’s School of Electrical Engineering began transmission service w/the call letters, 8YC, later as 8XU. Then on May 27, 1922, the FRC issued a broadcast license. The call letters WHCU stand for Home of Cornell University and I air the Cornell Ivy League sports. It’s a whole different mindset here in the Northeast & New England.” (Photo: Summers speaking before the New York State Broadcasters Association in Syracuse this past April, having received a news award from the organization.)

Summers, Karen: KOST/KFI, 1984. Karen lives in Ventura.
Summers, Nick: KTWV, 2004-05. Nick is production manager at RM Broadcasting, Palm Springs.

Summers, Scott: KWST, 1981. Scott arrived in the Southland from KFRC-San Francisco. In the 1990s he worked at Shadow Traffic services. He died in January 1995 of complications resulting from a kidney transplant.
Sumner, Kevin: KYMS, 1995. Unknown.

SUNDERLAND, Paul: KLAC, 2002-05. Paul was the LA Lakers play-by-play announcer after Chick Hearn died. He got his start doing pro beach volleyball in the mid-1980s. He has done tennis for Fox Sports Net. Paul became only the second Lakers play-by-play announcer since the NBA team arrived in the Southland in 1960. Paul served as the team's play-by-play broadcaster for 56 games during the 2001-02 season as Hearn missed time due to various health-related issues including open-heart surgery and an additional surgery for a partial replacement of his left hip. He is a familiar face and voice to Los Angeles sports fans as he has served as the host for the pregame shows for the Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Dodgers. Additionally, he served as a play-by-play announcer for national NBA telecasts on NBC for several seasons. He has also covered three Olympic Games for NBC and a multitude of other national and international sporting events. A native of Malibu, Paul played college basketball at the University of Oregon and Loyola Marymount University, and also earned All-American honors in volleyball while attending Loyola. He played for the U.S. National Volleyball Team from 1975-84 and was named the U.S. Player of the Year in 1977, 1979 and 1982. He was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Volleyball teams in 1976, 1980 and the gold medal-winning squad in 1984.

 

SURE, Al B: KHHT, 2007-09. The Grammy-nominee r&b singer (five number one r&b hits) joined HOT 92.3 in the summer of 2007 and left in the spring of 2009 following a Clear Channel downsizing. In early 2021, the Nite and Day singer shared a health update that included video of a doctor removing drainage tubes from his swollen abdomen. The 52-year-old artist didn’t say what exactly was wrong. But now that he’s on the mend, he thanked fans for their prayers and the doctor for saving his life. “Thank you Dr. Rosenberg for allowing me a few more years here with my loved ones. Hearing that I only have 4 to 6 months left if I didn’t fix me, was eye opening and mind boggling.” In 2022, his health challenges put him into a coma for a few months. Al's Nite and Day sat atop the charts for almost two months. He has received 35 ASCAP awards for writing and composition. Al B. Sure! has co-produced hit tv shows including one with Jamie Foxx. Al has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Good Morning America, BET, Soul Train, and Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Al's son, Lil Al B. Sure! was be part of a new reality series, Rock the Cradle, which aired on MTV. Al’s love affair with radio started when he was a teen growing up in New Rochelle, New York. “I started doing radio for my church. I had a four-track and Bishop Odell Lyerly and I built a recording booth. In addition to having a place to record the choir and the sermon, I would set up the four-track and place the microphones to record the sermon. I would do the voiceover and take the cassette to the local radio station, WVOX, 1460 on your AM dial. I can remember it like it was yesterday. It was like the start of falling in love with the production, voiceover and compilation that would play on the station. We had such a good time doing it and it just kind of stuck with me.”

Suter, Gianna: Gianna is an update anchor for Fox Sports Radio, traffic reporter for Metro Networks, and co-host of Threeway Talk syndicated on CRN.

SUTTON, Daron: KLAC, 2000-01. The son of Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton, Daron was part of the baseball broadcast team in Milwaukee, Arizona, and Detroit. In the Motor City he worked alongside Mario Impemba. In 2021, he served as the secondary television voice of the Los Angeles Angels until he abruptly left halfway through the MLB season.

Sutton, Ralph: KGFJ, 1984-86. Ralph is with the Urban League of Southern California.
Sutton, Robert P.: KNX, 1953-68. Born in Ogden, Bob started out as a vaudeville writer at the age of 7, performing with his parents. He later wrote for radio comedy shows. After the navy, he worked at WCCO-Minneapolis before joining KNX as pd in 1953. In 1961 Robert was named gm. Following his retirement in 1968 he turned to sculpting and also built a yacht in which he cruised the world. Robert died April 18, 1996, at the age of 87.

SVEDJA, Jim: KNX; KUSC, 1978-2022. Jim has a classical music show at KUSC and reviewed films for KNX. After four-plus decades at KUSC, Jim retired in February 2022. Jim made a lasting impact in the world of Classical music. Jim is "irreverent and savvy when it comes to Classical Music," according to Gary Lycan of the OC Register. In the summer of 1994, he completed his 600th show and marked his 12th year as host of his nationally distributed "The Record Shelf." Jim, who plays oboe and English horn, also reviews films for "KNXNewsradio" and the CBS Radio Network. At KUSC he worked on two weekly features, "The Record Shelf" and "The Opera Box" (both shows were syndicated by American Public Radio). He also recorded the intros for a nightly midnight show, "Music Till Two." Born in 1948, Jim grew up in Michigan and earned a master's degree from Syracuse University. After serving as the md of WONO-Syracuse, and a similar post at WCRB-Boston, Jim joined the staff of KUSC.

 

SWANEY, John: KFWB, 1968-78; KGIL, 1987-89. John anchored at KFWB from "day one" of the all-News format until he began the full-time practice of law ten years later. John graduated from Loyola Law School in 1977 and joined the law firm of Girardi, Keese and Crane in downtown L.A. For the next eight years, he was an active trial layer, specializing in plaintiff’s medical malpractice and products liability cases. In 1986, John left the practice of law to return to broadcasting and becoming the host of "The Breakfast Edition" on KGIL and stayed until the station was sold in 1993. John was praised as a first-rate newsman and a friendly, enjoyable, decent person to know and work with. KFWB morning co-anchor Dan Avey had high praise for John: "John Swaney may have been the smartest, most insightful man I ever knew. It was a treat to work with him." John died October 2, 1999, at the age of 57. A few months before his death, there was dreadful sight that flickered on our tv screens of an apartment building being dismantled in order to extract an 800-pound man. Turned out it was John Swaney.

"Somebody has to care when somebody dies,” said K-EARTH morning man at the time, Charlie Van Dyke. “I did not know about the tragedy of his weight gain until reading it in LARadio.com. I hadn't seen him since 1964. My first meeting with John was in Dallas at KVIL, before it was the heritage station that it is today. It was a weekend and summer job for me. I was the dj. John was the newsman. We didn't agree about most things - radio, politics, the condition or future of the world. In fact, we actually had some friction when we worked the same shift. One day he said to me going into the 5 p.m. news on Sunday, ‘Hey, I need some extra time on the news.’ I, a high school junior eager to stay on format replied, ‘For what?’ He said, ‘Just give me the time, I'll take the heat.’”

Van Dyke continued: “He then personally chose to read a Kennedy funeral speech...now famous...‘So, she took the ring from her finger and placed it in his hand.’ [It had just cleared AP. John was moved and determined to share the emotion.] Let me tell you, he shared it. KVIL, in those days was a pathetic 1,000-watt daytimer that drug along a 119, 000 watt FM in simulcast. He read it; he made it ‘feel.’ John was always a mystery to me. I knew in an instant of meeting him that there was a great mind present in a complex personality. I wished, as a high school junior, that I could have been smart enough to debate him...because he loved that so much. I never made that happen.

Former KFWB newsman Andy Park remembered: "John Swaney had a voice that was in a class with Alexander Scourby, David McCullough, and Chet Huntley. In addition, he was a first-rate newsman and a friendly, enjoyable, decent person to know and with whom to work. His decision to become a lawyer late in life was typical of John's ability to accomplish what he wanted. His illness was a long-time distress to his many friends. His agony was in the breech of the personal privacy he so valued. He will be missed and he will be remembered by many of us who valued his friendship."

Sway: KKBT, 1996-2001. Calloway hosted a Saturday night hip-hop show with King Tech at "the Beat." He is a reporter and exec producer for MTV News. He's also co-host of the nationally syndicated show, The Wake Up Show.   

SWEENEY, Dave: KEZY, 1965-69; KGBS, 1969; KBBQ; KFOX, 1972-76; KALI, 1996-2006. Dave was vp of the West Coast for the owners of KALI. He died November 10, 2020. Dave was known as "Sweet Sweeney" in the way he treated people and used his voice to appeal to thousands of people via radio and as an elder at Our Savior Luthernan Chuch in Arcadia, according to his obituary. Pastors and others envie, and teased hi about how members of the church requested he audio-tape the enire Bible so that they could hear his rich, resonant voice. He worked in management roles for Arthur and Yvonne Liu, the owners of Multicultural Broadcasting. He always had strong management positions at KGBS, KFOX, KMEX/tv, KRML, KIEV, and KALI.

Sweeney, Jen: KLYY, 1999; KACD, 2000. Jen worked weekends at KACD until the station was sold and changed format to Spanish in late summer of 2000.

SWENSON Steve: KFWB, 1980-85. Steve was a newsman at all-News KFWB and moved up to assistant pd. In 1985 he became pd of WINS-New York and a decade later vp/gm of WTOP-Washington, DC. Steve was general manager at WCBS-New York. Since 2011, Steve has been svp/market manager of CBS Radio in Washington, DC, managing five diverse stations – WIAD-FM (Hot AC), WJFK-FM (Sports), WLZL-FM (Spanish), WPGC-FM (Urban) and WHFS-AM (News/Talk).  When Entercom took over the CBS stations, Steve exited his position. Swenson graduated from the University Of California, Santa Barbara.

 

(Karl Southcott, Lily Sheen, Jen Sweeney, and Soul Assassins)

SYMONDS, Dave: KEZY, 1982-84. David reports from London for various U.S. tv outlets, including the old McNeil/Lehrer Report. "In the summer of 1980, I met David while on vacation in London," wrote Diana Kelly who worked at KWIZ at the time. "At a pub after David's afternoon program on BBC Radio, David said he was very interested in American radio. I gave him some contacts and two years later he was at KEZY/fm doing the morning show." He was born in Oxford, England, on June 28, 1943 and was among the original lineup of BBC Radio 1 in 1967 and one of the original Capital Radio djs. After college in Oxford, Dave embarked on an acting career in New Zealand.   In 1995, Symonds moved to Cyprus and set up his own radio station. Currently he is running an Internet radio station called "The Roolz" from his home in Southern France.

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