R.I.P.: Chuck Dunaway, Houston, OKC, NYC Radio Personality

Chuck Dunaway

Retired radio personality and station owner Chuck Dunaway has died at age 87.

He was known for his work with a number of popular radio stations in Texas, Ohio, Oklahoma and New York City. Dunaway occupied the afternoon drive slot at every radio station he worked at during his 35-year career, including radio KILT-AM in Houston, KLIF-AM in Dallas, WKY in Oklahoma City, WABC (AM) in New York City and WIXY in Cleveland. He finished his career as the owner and operator of six FM and two AM radio stations in Joplin, Missouri.

In 1952, after graduating from high school in Houston, Dunaway obtained his first full-time on-air radio job at KBST in Big Spring, Texas, at the rate of 65 cents an hour, where he remained for one year before joining KPRC in Houston as a staff announcer in 1953.

After a brief time in Galveston and Freeport, Dunaway returned to Houston and his hometown favorite station KNUZ as a DJ. But as his strengths as on-air personality began to flourish, it was not long before he was offered the highly coveted afternoon drive slot on WKY in Oklahoma City. While working there, Dunaway became a featured character on the popular children's show, Foreman Scotty’s Circle 4 Ranch, on WKY-TV channel 4. 

But it was Dunaway's afternoon radio show with its 72.9% audience share—a rating never previously achieved in the market—that brought WABC AM's program director, Mike Joseph, to Oklahoma City to offer Dunaway the afternoon drive shift in New York City. Dunaway eventually became disillusioned with the station's broad play list and after a year and a half decided to return briefly to his old job at WKY in Oklahoma City.

In the early nineteen-sixties, Dunaway was asked to take over the programming duties at KBOX in Dallas, but soon after the station's number one competitor, KLIF-AM, enticed him to work for the legendary Gordon McLendon at KLIF-AM doing afternoon drive. In 1964, McLendon transferred Dunaway to Houston for the afternoon drive shift at KILT-AM Following KILT, Dunaway joined WKYC, an NBC-owned and operated station in Cleveland, Ohio, for afternoon drive. In early 1969, when NBC decided to change the top 40 rocker to a softer music format, Dunaway moved to WKYC's number one rival, WIXY Cleveland where he was both program director and afternoon drive personality. 

After a few brief stops in Austin at KHFI and KLBJ, Dunaway secured his first job as a radio station manager.