R.I.P.: Former SC, NYC Radio Broadcaster James Vaughn

James Vaughn

In his heyday, James Vaughn was the voice of New York City radio, but the Spartanburg, SC native got his start in his hometown.

Vaughn, 87, died Monday in Bellaire, Fla. His oldest son, James Robert Vaughn Jr., said his father’s love of radio and the legacy he left behind will live on in those who knew him.

“He had a really big, deep classic radio voice,” he said. “To me, dad was just dad. It was just a job that he had ... I know others found that fascinating, but for us it was just kind of the soundtrack of our lives.”

Vaughn dipped his toes into the broadcast pool at 17, after the band director at Spartanburg High School suggested he apply for a job at a local radio station, WSPA.  That led to a disc jockey job for the afternoon show on WORD.

“He was working with all these older guys who’d been on the radio for years, and he was 18 and already had an on-air job,” Vaughn Jr. said.

Vaughn later obtained an on-air position back at WSPA and hosted a segment for children on WSPA TV called “Treasure Hunt” where he dressed as a pirate named Captain R.C.

Though he went on to work for radio stations in Pennsylvania and Florida, he is best known as Robert Vaughn during his time at All-News WCBS 880 AM in New York City, in the ’70s and ’80s.