Dr. Don Rose, the radio personality who entertained generations of listeners in the Bay Area, died in his sleep Wednesday.
Rose commanded the airwaves in the 1970s and 80s with his morning show on KFRC-AM. He came up with nicknames for many local cities, like “Pinhole” for Pinole, “Sacra-tomato” for Sacramento, and “Berserkly” for Berkeley. … Read full obituary
John Peel, who championed rock/pop music made by people other than chart acts has died aged 65. On his radio show from the sixties to the present day he would give exposure to all forms of music not normally accessible on radio to the UK public.
Many bands have paid tribute to him, and have said that the face of music was constantly being changed by Peel, thanks to him and his radio show, which gave a chance for people to discover new music and new bands who might otherwise have been over-looked. … Read full obituary
NEW YORK (AP) — Disc jockey Scott Muni, the gravelly-voiced radio host whose encyclopedic knowledge of rock ‘n’ roll made him “The Professor” to three generations of New York listeners, has died at 74.
Muni, who spent nearly 50 years on air in the nation’s No. 1 radio market, died Tuesday. He had suffered a stroke earlier this year. But the cause of his death was not immediately known, said Josefa Paganuzzi, spokeswoman for Clear Channel New York.
Muni’s last gig was an hour-long afternoon show on New York classic rock station Q104.3, where he landed in 1998. He also hosted many nationally syndicated programs during his career, including Scott Muni’s World of Rock and the Beatles-oriented Ticket to Ride. … Read full obituary
Singer, songwriter and actor Sheb Wooley — who also recorded a series of parody hits as Ben Colder — died Tuesday (Sept. 16) at Skyline Medical Center in Nashville. He was 82. Wooley had suffered from leukemia for the past five years, his widow, Linda Dotson, told CMT.com.
Shelby F. Wooley was born April 10, 1921, near Erick, Okla. While a teenager, he worked as a rodeo rider and formed his own band. In the mid-1940s, he performed on radio stations WLAC and WSM in Nashville and subsequently had his own show on the Calumet Radio Network. He signed to Bullet Records in 1946, moving two years later to MGM Records where he remained until 1973. Wooley was a major musical influence on Roger Miller, who was related to him by marriage. Miller was only 11 when Wooley gave him his first fiddle.
Wooley began acting in movies in 1950, appearing first in Rocky Mountain with Errol Flynn. … Read full obituary
Bob Hope, whose mastery of the comic monologue and the topical wisecrack carried him from vaudeville to Broadway musicals and then on to worldwide fame as a radio, film and television star of the first magnitude, died Sunday night in Toluca Lake, Calif., according to The Associated Press, which cited his long-time publicist, Ward Grant. Mr. Hope was 100. …
Mr. Hope, who made an art and a vast fortune out of the delivery of the one-line gag, thrived on applause. It was the secret of his youthfulness.
It was also an important source of the energy that allowed him to travel millions of miles to entertain American servicemen, far exceeding the effort of any other entertainer. From 1941 to 1948 he performed nearly all his 400 radio programs at military bases. And at an age when most performers curtail their activities, Mr. Hope continued to make his annual tours during the war in Vietnam, playing to the sons of the servicemen he entertained during World War II and the Korean War. …
Mr. Hope excelled at a typically American brand of brash, timely humor. The wit was never very profound or subtle, but it was, at its best, irreverently poignant, carrying him through several immensely successful careers in the theater, radio, films and television. …
Mr. Hope served a long apprenticeship in vaudeville and the theater before he appeared on the national scene in 1938. That was the year he began his popular series of Tuesday night radio shows for Pepsodent toothpaste and made his first feature motion picture, “The Big Broadcast of 1938.” A bittersweet ballad he sang with Shirley Ross in the film, “Thanks for the Memory,” became the theme he used throughout his career.
He had made a half-dozen films of varying popularity when, in 1940, Paramount cast him in “Road to Singapore” with his old friend Bing Crosby. …
In the mid-50’s, as Hollywood began to feel the effects of television competition, Mr. Hope, who had made two and sometimes as many as three pictures a year, slowed his pace slightly to an average of one film a year and devoted more time to his weekly television show. … Read full obituary
…but there’s a much more interesting story here:
Radio show host killed; husband arrested
ST. LOUIS — The host of St. Louis radio’s top-rated morning news show was found shot to death in her home, and her husband was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder.
Nan Wyatt, 44, was found Tuesday evening in a bedroom of her home in the St. Louis suburb of Twin Oaks. Thomas Erbland, 43, was jailed without bail.
Police said that the couple had had marital problems. …
Stacy Keach Sr., father of actors Stacy and James Keach and an accomplished character actor in his own right, died Thursday of complications of congestive heart failure. He was 88.
He had been in declining health for more than a year, said publicist Dick Guttman.
Keach appeared in hundreds of movies, commercials, and television and radio shows in a career that spanned more than 50 years.
He had a recurring role as Professor Carlson in television’s 1960s spy spoof “Get Smart” and, more recently, as Judge Webster in “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” which starred his daughter-in-law Jane Seymour, wife of James Keach. … Read full obituary
LOS ANGELES — The estranged mother of broadcaster “Dr. Laura” was found murdered, Laura Schlessinger announced to her radio audience Friday. The body of Yolanda Schlessinger, 77, was found this week in her Beverly Hills condo. Police released few details other than that the killing occurred weeks ago.
“I have to talk to you listeners about something,” Laura Schlessinger said before signing off from her call-in advice show’s last broadcast of the year. “You may have already heard that my mother was found murdered. …
It said that the body was discovered Monday when officers made a welfare check at a North Palm Drive residence after a neighbor became concerned about not seeing the woman for several weeks. … Read full story
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bruce Vidal, a well-known disc jockey who held his “dream job” at KIIS-FM (105.9) for 15 years, has died. He was 54.
Mr. Vidal, whose sonorous voice was featured on local area airwaves from 1982 through 1996, died Friday of an apparent heart attack at his home near Palm Desert, said Don Barrett, author of the book “Los Angeles Radio People.” Mr. Vidal had suffered from complications of diabetes.
During the mid-1980s, Mr. Vidal was married to one of his chief competitors, Laurie Allen. … Read full obituary
Related:
California DJ Rick Chase, 45
Rick Chase, long-time DJ for several Bay Area radio stations, was found dead at his home in Stockton home this morning.
When he didn’t show up to host the morning show at Stockton station KWIN-FM (97.7), a fellow employee went by his home, said Roy Williams, president and general manager of Silverado Broadcasting. …
Chase was 45. The cause of his death wasn’t known, Williams said. …
The Salinas-born DJ went to work at KWIN two years ago. He is best known for his 13 years at KMEL-FM (106.1). He also worked at KFRC-FM (99.7) and at KITS-FM (105.3), when the alternative station was still a Top-40 station. … Read full obituary
Larry Dobkin, a veteran character actor whose television and film career spanned seven decades, has died. He was 83.
Dobkin, who appeared in more than 65 feature films including “The Ten Commandments” and “Sweet Smell of Success,” died of heart failure Oct. 28 at his Los Angeles home.
Born in New York City in 1919, Dobkin began acting off-Broadway in his teens. On radio in the 1940s, he was one of five actors who played famed detective Ellery Queen.
Turning to television in the 1950s, Dobkin appeared in shows such as “I Love Lucy” and “The Adventures of Superman.” He also appeared in a number of TV westerns, including “Gunsmoke,” “Lawman,” “The Rifleman” and “Rawhide.”
Most recently, Dobkin appeared in episodes of “NYPD Blue” and “Judging Amy.” … Read full obituary
Spike Milligan, one of the founding fathers of 20th century British comedy and zany genius behind BBC Radio’s The Goon Show, has died at the age of 83.
Milligan died of liver failure at his home at Rye, Sussex, surrounded by family.
Along with fellow Goons Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe, Milligan influenced with his surreal antics a whole generation of comedians from Beyond the Fringe to Monty Python’s Flying Circus. He was the last of the comic trio to die.
His greatest fan was Prince Charles, once famously labelled “a grovelling little bastard” on live television by Milligan.
Milligan made it up with Charles after his “bastard” remark by sending him a telegram saying, “I suppose a knighthood is out of the question now?” But it wasn’t — Milligan was given an honorary knighthood two years ago. … Read full obituary
A small icon from back when the Internet used to be quirky and fun has passed. Click not for a few moments, veteran Netizens. Hold still. Hank, The Angry Drunken Dwarf is dead.
Born Henry Nasiff, the oft-sauced and saucy little man made a name for himself in the terrestrial world as a sidekick on the Howard Stern show for the past five years.
But Hank rocketed to cyber-fame in 1998 when he won People magazine’s Most Beautiful People poll online. At Stern’s request, thousands of people had logged on to People’s website to support Hank.
. . .
As a tribute to his late colleague, Stern sang “Candle in the Wind” during his radio show Wednesday. Then he and his co-host, Robin, reminisced about some great moments with Hank — like the time he dressed up in a pink bunny suit to harass a magician trapped inside a giant ice cube.
Nasiff’s mother found him dead in his bed Tuesday afternoon, according to his manager, Doug Goodstein. The cause of death is officially unknown, but on his show Wednesday, Stern said they had all suspected Hank would die young from drinking too much. …
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