Saturday, January 15, 2022

January 16 Radio History


➦In 1939....the shrill siren call of radio’s “I Love a Mystery” was heard for the first time as the show debuted on NBC’s West Coast outlets. Creator Carleton E. Morse already had an established hit in a completely different genre, ‘One Man’s Family.’

FLASHBACK:





Click Here to Flashback to Radio January 16, 1926. How's this for an astounding headline?





➦In 1944...the family sitcom ‘The Life of Riley‘ began a 7 year run on radio, the first 18 months on the Blue Network, thereafter on NBC. A blue-collar William Bendix starred as Chester A. Riley.

➦In 1947...SiriusXM Radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger was born in Brooklyn, New York.

Schlessinger's first appearance on radio was in 1975 when she called in to a KABC Los Angeles show hosted by Bill Ballance. Impressed by her quick wit and sense of humor, Ballance began featuring her in a weekly segment. Schlessinger's stint on Ballance's show led to her own shows on a series of small radio stations. By 1979 she was on the air Sunday evenings from 9:00 to midnight on KWIZ in Santa Ana, California. That year, the Los Angeles Times described her show as dealing with all types of emotional problems, "though sex therapy is the show's major focus".

In the late 1980s, Schlessinger was filling in for Barbara De Angelis' noon-time relationship-oriented talk show in Los Angeles on KFI, while working weekends at KGIL in San Fernando. Her big break came when Sally Jessy Raphael began working at ABC Radio, and Maurice Tunick, former Vice-President of Talk Programming for the ABC Radio Networks, needed a regular sub for Raphael's evening personal advice show. Tunick chose Schlessinger to fill in for Raphael.

Ultimately, Schlessinger began broadcasting a daily show on KFI which was nationally syndicated in 1994 by Synergy, a company owned by Schlessinger and her husband. In 1997, Synergy sold its rights to the show to Jacor Communications, Inc., for $71.5 million. Later, Jacor merged with Clear Channel Communications and a company co-owned by Schlessinger, Take On The Day, LLC, acquired the production rights. The show became a joint effort between Take On The Day, which produced it, Talk Radio Network, which syndicated and marketed it to radio stations, and Premiere Radio Networks, (a subsidiary of Clear Channel), which provided satellite facilities and handled advertising sales. As of September 2009, Schlessinger broadcast from her home in Santa Barbara, California with KFWB as her flagship station. Podcasts and live streams of the show have been available on her website for a monthly fee, and the show was also on XM Satellite Radio.

At its peak, The Dr. Laura Program was the second-highest-rated radio show after The Rush Limbaugh Show, and was heard on more than 450 radio stations.

In May 2002, the show still had an audience of more than 10 million, but had lost several million listeners in the previous two years as it was dropped by WABC and other affiliates, and was moved from day to night in cities such as Seattle and Boston. These losses were attributed in part to Schlessinger's shift from giving relationship advice to lecturing on morality and conservative politics. Pressure from gay rights groups caused dozens of sponsors to drop the radio show as well.  In 2006, Schlessinger's show was being aired on approximately 200 stations. As of 2009, it was tied for third place along with The Glenn Beck Program and The Savage Nation.

On August 17, 2010, during an appearance on Larry King Live, Schlessinger announced the end of her radio show saying that her motivation was to "regain her First Amendment rights", and that she wanted to be able to say what is on her mind without "some special interest group deciding this is a time to silence a voice of dissent."  Several of her affiliates and major sponsors had dropped her show after her on air use of a racial epithet on August 10.

On January 3, 2011, Schlessinger's show moved exclusively to SiriusXM Radio.

David Seville
➦In 1972....David Seville died of a heart attack in Beverly Hills, just days short of his 53rd birthday.  

Born Ross Bagdasarian, the musician was the force, and artist, behind the Alvin and the Chipmunks novelty songs of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.  Seville first claimed fame, not through the novelty impact of the hit, “The Chipmunk Song” (it sold 3.5 million copies in five weeks); but by writing Rosemary Clooney’s biggest hit, “Come on-a My House”, in the early 1950s and the number one hit, “Witch Doctor”, in 1958.

➦In 1986...evangelist Herbert W. Armstrong, founder and longtime leader of the Worldwide Church of God, and original voice of the longtime radio/TV religious broadcast, “The World Tomorrow,” died at the age of 93.  His son and fellow preacher,Garner Ted Armstrong, succeeded him on the air in 1957.

➦In 2016…Ted Marchibroda  died at age 84 (Born March 15, 1931). He was a football quarterback and head coach in the National Football League. He spent his four years as an active player with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1953, 1955–1956) and Chicago Cardinals (1957). He was later head coach of the Colts in two different cities and decades, first in Baltimore during the 1970s and then Indianapolis during the early-1990s. Upon joining the Baltimore Ravens in a similar capacity in 1996, he became the only individual to serve as head coach with both of Baltimore's NFL teams. His career coaching record was 87–98–1 (.470) and 2–4 in the playoffs

Marchibroda was a radio color commentator for the Indianapolis Colts from 1999 to 2006 alongside Bob Lamey.

➦In 2017...Russ Thompson, a prominent afternoon drive time radio host for over 40 years in Toronto, succumbed to cancer at age 82.  Russ worked for CKEY, CBC Radio, CKFM and finished his career at Easy 97 in 1992. He was also a TV spokesman for some of the Canada’s most prestigious brands including GM, Timex, CN/CP, Belvedere and Proctor and Gamble.

Barbara Lynn is 80

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

  • Opera singer Marilyn Horne is 88. 
  • Singer Barbara Lynn is 80. 
  • Country singer Ronnie Milsap is 79. 
  • Singer Katherine Anderson Schaffner of The Marvelettes is 78. 
  • Renee Felice Smith is 37
    Country singer Jim Stafford is 78. 
  • Radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger is 75. 
  • Director John Carpenter (“Halloween” films) is 74. 
  • Actor-dancer Debbie Allen is 72. 
  • Singer Maxine Jones of En Vogue is 63. 
  • Singer Sade is 63. 
  • Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule is 63. 
  • Bassist Paul Webb of Talk Talk is 60. 
  • Actor David Chokachi (“Baywatch”) is 54. 
  • Comedian Jonathan Mangum (“Whose Line Is It Anyway,” ″The Drew Carey Show”) is 51. 
  • Actor Richard T. Jones (“The Rookie,” “Judging Amy”) is 50. 
  • Actor Josie Davis (“Beverly Hills 90210”) is 49. 
  • Supermodel Kate Moss is 49. 
  • Actor-playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Mary Poppins Returns,” ″Hamilton”) is 43. 
  • Guitarist James Young of The Eli Young Band is 42. 
  • Guitarist Nick Valensi of The Strokes is 41. 
  • Actor Renee Felice Smith (“NCIS: Los Angeles”) is 37.

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