R.I.P. John Stevens Sr.., Longtime S.E. Texas Broadcaster

John Stevens Sr.

A Southeast Texan many remember as “Black Bart” from a 1960s local children’s television show as well as local radio over the years passed away Tuesday at 92.

John Stevens, Sr. played the sidekick to “Cowboy John” on the “Circle 4 Club” show on KPAC-NBC beginning in 1958. He performed as the bad guy to John Garner’s good guy until 1970 reports 12 News Now.

Stevens was born and raised in Port Arthur. He began his career in broadcasting in 1947 covering sports, including Texas League Baseball, for Port Arthur’s KPAC Radio.

In April 1957 while in Dallas he witnessed the tornado that left a path of destruction from Oak Cliff to Love Field killing 10 people. He called in to KPAC and made a live report as the tornado headed toward him.

The radio station then hired him to do news as well as sell ads and work as a disc jockey.

Later the same year after Hurricane Audrey struck  just west of Cameron, Louisiana, Stevens reported the disaster via ship-to-shore radio back to KPAC and the rest of the world.

Stevens began a 20-year stint working with Lamar University’s KVLU Public Radio in 1986 where he volunteered his radio talents to host a variety of musical programs.   Some of those shows included popular “Juke Box Saturday Night,” “At the Hop,” and “Big Band Danceland.”