September 6 Radio History

Morgan Beatty

➦In 1902...radio newsman Morgan Beatty was born in Little Rock Arkansas.  He achieved fame as a correspondent for the National Broadcasting Company radio network for 25 years. He began his career as a newspaper reporter and worked for The Associated Press before and after his years with N.B.C.

For many years in the 1940′s & 50′s in particular, he was a senior news broadcaster for NBC Radio based in New York. “This is Morgan Beatty speaking for Alka Seltzer bringing you news of the world! and the news tonight is…”

When TV arrived he became news anchor for the short-lived Dumont Network.  A great radio presence with natural gravitas in his voice, he died July 4 1975 at age 72.

➦In 1920...WWJ Detroit became the first station to air a professional boxing match. The station is believed to be the first to broadcast news reports regularly, and the first to present regularly scheduled religious broadcasts and play-by-play sports reports.The bout was won by Jack Dempsey.

➦In 1942...The radio comedy the Mayor of the Town made its debut. It starred Lionel Barrymore and aired until July 3, 1949 on ABC, CBS, Mutual and NBC at various times.

➦In 1954...1010 WINS NYC begins playing rock n roll with Alan Freed Show

➦In 1959...the hit radio sitcom “Fibber McGee and Molly” ended after almost 25 years. The situation comedy, a staple of the NBC Red Network for the show's entire run and one of the most popular and enduring radio series of its time. The show ran as a stand-alone series from 1935 to 1956, and then continued as a short-form series as part of the weekend Monitor from 1957 to 1959. The title characters were created and portrayed by Jim and Marian Jordan, a real-life husband and wife team that had been working in radio since the 1920s.

➦In 1965...Chuck Leonard started at WABC 770 AM.

From 1968...

Chuck Leonard

His deep voice and smoothness resonated across 38 states for 14 years at ABC. During his over 40-year career in broadcasting, Leonard worked virtually every shift and played all styles of music at stations including WWRL, WABC, WXLO, WRKS, WBLS, WQEW, WNSW-AM and WJUX. He has been inducted in the Museum of Television & Radio and is known as the first African-American disc jockey to work on a mainstream radio station.

On WABC, Leonard began in the 11 p.m. to midnight slot, and continued working late nights and Sundays at the station until November 27, 1979. He did the 10:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. shift following “Cousin” Bruce Morrow and later George Michael. He also gladly handled weekend and fill-in work.

Leonard was the host of "Sneak Preview," a five-minute Monday-through-Saturday evening program on ABC's American Contemporary Radio Network, which featured newly released songs. He stayed at WABC until 1979, before moving to WXLO and WRKS.

Leonard died on August 12, 2004, in Manhattan, following lung cancer. He was 67.


➦In 1987...Pat St. John left WPLJ NYC, and returned to his rock roots on WNEW 102.7 FM, which had been WPLJ's rival during its AOR years. He became the station's program director in the early 1990s while continuing his mid-day show until moving to morning-drive from 1994 through 1996. and then moved to afternoons. St. John remained with the station until it switched to a hot talk format in 1998.

From 1984...



St. John is one of the U.S.'s preeminent and longest serving radio personalities and voice-over artists.

Pat St. John

Known as The Dee-Jay’s DJ, he began his radio career on Windsor, Ontario's CKLW 800 AM in 1969 and '70, followed by WKNR 1300 AM in late 1970 to early '72, followed by WRIF 101.1 FM to April 1973.

Pat is best known for his work in the New York City market on WPLJ 95.5 FM , WNEW 102.7 FM, WAXQ and WCBS 101.1 FM.  Pat has done extensive television voiceover work, including announcing for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve from 2000 to 2010.

St. John was known for his conversational on-air style with interspersed bits of music trivia, along with "Collectible Cuts" from his extensive record library.

Today, Pat can be heard on SiriusXM's '60s on 6 Channel weekdays 3 to 7 pm (Eastern)

➦In 2013…Don Wade, a pillar of Chicago radio, died of a brain tumor, about a year after the condition forced the morning show host off the air. He was 72.

Wade spent 55 years in broadcasting, 27 of them at WLS 890 AM. From 1989 to 2012, he worked mornings co-hosting "The Don Wade & Roma Show" with his wife.

Colleagues said Mr. Wade was a relentless researcher who would wake up in the middle of the night to get ready for his 5 a.m. show. The "lovable curmudgeon" became a Chicago institution by knowing the topics he covered inside and out.

During his career he also worked in Seattle, Denver, Hartford, New Orleans, Buffalo, Boston, Dallas and Philadelphia.

➦In 2017...WFAN NYC sports radio talk show host Craig Carton and another man were arrested on charges of bilking millions of dollars from investors in a concert-ticket selling scheme.

Jeff Foxworthy is 63

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• Comedian JoAnne Worley is 85. 
• Country singer David Allan Coe is 82. 
• Singer-bassist Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) is 78. 
• Actor Swoosie Kurtz is 77. 
• Comedian-actor Jane Curtin is 74. 
• Country singer Buddy Miller is 69. 
• Actor James Martin Kelly (“Mob City,” ″Magic Mike”) is 67. 
• Drummer Joe Smyth of Sawyer Brown is 64. 
• Actor-comedian Jeff Foxworthy is 63. 
• Actor-comedian Michael Winslow (“Police Academy”) is 63. 

• 

  Deborah Joy Winans is 38

  Guitarist Pal Waaktaar of A-ha is 60. 
• News correspondent Elizabeth Vargas is 59. 
• Country singer Mark Chesnutt is 58. 
• Actor Betsy Russell (“Saw”) is 58. 
• Actor Rosie Perez is 57. 
• Singer Macy Gray is 54. 
• Singer CeCe Peniston is 52. 
• Singer Darryl Anthony (Az Yet) is 52. 
• Actor Daniele Gaither (“MADtv”) is 51. 
• Actor Dylan Bruno (“Numb3ers”) is 49. 
• Actor Idris Elba is 49. 
• Actor Justina Machado (Netflix’s “One Day At A Time,” “Jane the Virgin”) is 49. 
• Actor Anika Noni Rose (“The Princess and the Frog,” “Dreamgirls”) is 49. 
• Actor Justin Whalin (“Lois and Clark”) is 47. 
• Singer Nina Persson (The Cardigans) is 47. 
• Actor Naomie Harris (“Moonlight,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies) is 45. 
• Rapper Noreaga is 44. 
• Rapper Foxy Brown is 43. 
• Actor Deborah Joy Winans (“Greenleaf”) is 38. 
• Actor Lauren Lapkus (“Orange Is The New Black”) is 36. 
• Singer Max George of The Wanted is 33.