June 27 Radio History

➦In 1907...John McIntire was born in Spokane.

John McIntire - 1941

He was best known for replacing Ward Bond, upon Bond’s sudden death, as the star of NBC-TV’s western Wagon Train from early 1961 to the series’ end in 1965. He also replaced Charles Bickford, upon Bickford’s death in 1967, as ranch owner Clay Grainger on NBC-TV’s The Virginian for four seasons.  A graduate of USC, McIntire began acting in radio in the early 30’s on the syndicated Tarzan and the Diamond of Asher, where he met his future wife, Jeanette Nolan. McIntire worked on countless Suspense CBS radio programs from the early 1940s, as well as scores of other shows. He was a key announce voice on the CBS program The March of Time.

He died on January 30, 1991 from emphysema and lung cancer, at age 83.

➦In 1949…Gene Autry recorded "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." His recording of the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard pop singles chart the week of Christmas 1949. It sold 2.5 million copies the first year, eventually selling a total of 25 million, and it remained the second best-selling record of all time until the 1980s

Gene Autry

➦In 1984....The FCC effectively deregulated U.S. commercial TV by removing most programming requirements and ending any necessity for a station to adhere to a minimum amount of news and local programming.


➦In 1995...Former WMMS engineer William Alford wass sentenced to 10 days & $1,000 fine for cutting an audio feed of Howard Stern's broadcast on WNCX  from Cleveland.

Stern had arrived on the Cleveland airwaves less than two years earlier, and in that time took his syndicated program on rival WNCX from an Arbitron ranking of thirteen to number one.  As promised, Stern held a party for his fans on the streets of Cleveland – a "Funeral" for his local rivals, much like similar events held in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia – and broadcast it nationwide.

During the now infamous broadcast, WMMS engineer William Alford snipped a broadcast wire used for the Stern show's satellite feed.  Stern continued on with the program over a phone line as engineers worked to quickly patch together the severed broadcast wire.

Alford was subsequently caught, arrested and later sentenced to ten days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Station management initially claimed that Alford acted alone, however WMMS Promotions Director Heidi Klosterman – working under the name Heidi Kramer – later pled guilty to a felony charge of attempted disruption of a public service and a misdemeanor of receiving stolen property; Greg Smith, a former Klosterman colleague, pled guilty to a misdemeanor of breaking and entering.

➦In 2005...WRAL 101.5 FM became the first commercial station in North Carolina and only the second commercial station in the nation (after WUSN in Chicago) was the first to utilize the "multicasting" capabilities of HD Radio technology to broadcast multiple digital channels

➦In 2017...Pandora Media’s co-founder and chief executive, Tim Westergren, announced he was stepping down at CEO of the internet music service.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY:

Julia Duffy is 69

• Singer Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys is 78. 
• Actress Julia Duffy (“Newhart”) is 69. 
• Actress Isabelle Adjani is 65. 
• Country singer Lorrie Morgan is 61. 
• Writer-director J.J. Abrams (“Lost,” ″Alias”) is 54. 
• Singer Draco Rosa (Menudo) is 51. 
• Actor Edward Fordham Jr. (“Battle Creek”) 50. 
• TV personality Jo Frost (“Supernanny”) is 50. 
• Actor Yancey Arias (“Kingpin”) is 49. 
• Actor Christian Kane (“The Librarians”) is 48. 
• Actor Tobey Maguire is 45. 
• Singer Leigh Nash of Sixpence None The Richer is 44. 
• Christian rock singer Zach Williams is 42. 
• Reality star Khloe Kardashian is 36. 
• Actor Drake Bell (“Drake and Josh”) is 34. 
• Actor Sam Claflin (“Hunger Games” films) is 34. 
• Actor Ed Westwick (“Gossip Girl”) is 33. 
• Actor Matthew Lewis (“Harry Potter” films) is 31. 
• Actress Madylin Sweeten (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) is 29. 
• Singer Lauren Jauregui of Fifth Harmony is 24. 
• Singer H.E.R. is 23. Actor Chandler Riggs (“The Walking Dead”) is 21.