June 11 Radio History

➦In 1900.. Lawrence E Spivak born (Died at age 93 – March 9, 1994).

He was a publisher and journalist who was best known as the co-founder, producer and host of the prestigious public affairs program Meet the Press. He and journalist Martha Rountree founded the radio program in 1934 as a promotion for Spivak's magazine, The American Mercury, and it became the longest-running continuous network series in television history. During his 28 years as panelist and moderator of Meet the Press, Spivak was known for his pointed questioning of policy makers

Spivak sold Meet the Press to NBC in 1955 but remained as moderator, producer and panelist.

➦In 1914...actor Gerald Mohr was born in New York City. The radio, film and television character actor appeared in over 500 radio plays, including the title role in Raymond Chandler’s “Adventures of Philip Marlowe.”  He made 73 films and over 100 television shows, including westerns “Maverick”, “Cheyenne”, “Bronco”, “Sugarfoot” and “Bonanza”, as well as episodes of “Perry Mason”, “77 Sunset Strip”, “Hawaiian Eye”, “Lost in Space” etc, and did announce/narration for early episodes of “The Lone Ranger.”   He died of a heart attack Nov 9 1968 in Stockholm at the age of 54.

➦In 1953...the all-black TV sitcom “Amos ‘n Andy,” which had begun on radio in 1929 with two white men playing all the parts, was driven from the air in the heat of the civil rights movement, for its so-called stereotypical characterizations.  This was the last time it was seen on CBS, though the radio series on which it was based ran until 1960.

➦In 1972...KRE-AM, Berkeley, California changed call letters to KPAT-AM.

➦In 1985...WJW-AM, Cleveland, Ohio changed its call letters to WRMR-AM.

WJW began broadcasting as WLBV in Mansfield, Ohio on November 13, 1926 under the ownership of John F. Weimer.    In 1928, the call letters were changed to WJW, reflecting the owner's initials.   By 1931, the station had been sold to Mansfield Broadcasting Association, and it was broadcasting at 1210 kHz with 100 watts.

WJW moved to Akron in 1932.  By 1936, the station was owned by WJW, Inc.   On March 29, 1941, WJW, like most stations around the country changed its frequency with the implementation of the North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement. As of 1942, the station was broadcasting with 250 watts at 1240 kHz.

On November 13, 1943, William M. O'Neill purchased the station and moved it to Cleveland, with facilities in the Guardian Building (now the National City–East 6th Building at 619 Euclid). Marvin Cade signed on the station that Saturday and was the evening news announcer. On the 11 of June 1985, Marvin Cade was invited to sign off WJW Radio for the final time when it switched over to WWWE at 1100 kHz.

WJW became Cleveland's fifth radio station after WHK, WTAM, WGAR (AM) and WCLE.

The frequency was moved to 850 kHz, and power was increased to 5,000 watts. The station became an affiliate of the Blue Network, soon to be ABC. WJW also brought the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts to Cleveland. The station also featured news commentary by Dorothy Fuldheim, and for a short period in the early 1950s was home to a disc jockey called Soupy Hines, later known as Soupy Sales.

A young disc jockey named Alan Freed joined WJW in 1951 from WAKR in Akron, Ohio. Shortly thereafter, Alan began making broadcasting history with his shows in which he was known as the "Moondog." Freed played rhythm-and-blues music by black artists for a largely white teen-age audience. He is purported to have given the music the name by which it is known today – rock and roll.

In addition to his radio program, Freed also organized local concerts by early rock artists, called the Moondog Coronation Ball, which many consider to be the first rock concert in American history. The concert on March 21, 1952 at the Cleveland Arena turned into a riot when far too many listeners filled the hall, causing Freed to apologize on the air the next day.

Freed left WJW in September 1954 for WINS New York.

On July 3, 2001, WRMR was one of seven Northeast Ohio radio stations involved in a complex exchange between three radio companies. Although generally reported as a "frequency swap", in reality these seven radio stations mostly traded call signs along with their respective formats and staffs – all to facilitate the transfers of ownership of four of the seven stations. As part of this complex exchange, Salem Communications changed the WRMR call sign to WKNR. In effect, this new WKNR 850 AM licensed to Cleveland became the successor to the previous WKNR 1220 AM licensed to Cleveland, now WHKW. Today WKNR is owned by Good Karma and airs Sports Talk.

➦In 2003...David Brinkley died of complications from a fall at age 82 (Born - July 10, 1920). He was an newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997.

From 1956 through 1970, he co-anchored NBC's top-rated nightly news program, The Huntley–Brinkley Report, with Chet Huntley and thereafter appeared as co-anchor or commentator on its successor, NBC Nightly News, through the 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, Brinkley was host of the popular Sunday This Week with David Brinkley program and a top commentator on election-night coverage for ABC News. Over the course of his career, Brinkley received ten Emmy Awards, three George Foster Peabody Awards, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He wrote three books, including the 1988 bestseller Washington Goes to War, about how World War II transformed the nation's capital. This social history was largely based on his own observations as a young reporter in the city.

➦In 2014…Country Radio Hall of Famer Lee Rogers died at age 67 following a stroke. Lee Rogers has worked in the radio business for more than 40 years.

His first job in the Country format came in 1970 at KBAM in Longview, Wash. His career includes stops at KMPS (Seattle, Wash.), K102 (Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.), WQIK (Jacksonville, Fla.) and KCBQ (San Diego, Calif.). For 13 years, Rogers was operations manager and morning show host at Portland, Oregon's KUPL. Combining his Country radio career with his love of live music, Rogers has toured and performed with artists including Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow, Don Gibson, Keith Whitley, Minnie Pearl, Dwight Yoakam and Charlie Daniels.

Rogers retired from KUPL in 2009.

➦In 2018...SiriusXM Radio announced an agreement to pay $150 million to SoundExchange to settle two lawsuits claiming that the satellite-radio giant underpaid royalties for recordings.  The funds were later distributed to rights owners and artists whose music was programmed from 2007 to 2017.

Hugh Laurie is 64

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS

• Singer Joey Dee of Joey Dee and the Starliters is 83. 
• Actor Roscoe Orman (“Sesame Street”) is 79. 
• Actor Adrienne Barbeau (“Maude”) is 78. 
• Drummer Frank Beard of ZZ Top is 74. 
• Singer Graham Russell of Air Supply is 73. 
• Singer Donnie Van Zant of .38 
• Special and of Van Zant is 71. 
• Actor Peter Bergman (“The Young and the Restless”) is 70. 
• Actor Hugh Laurie (“House”) is 64. 
• Talk show host Dr. Mehmet Oz (“The Dr. Oz Show”) is 63. 
• Singer Gioia Bruno of Expose’ is 60. 
• Bassist Dan Lavery of Tonic is 57. 
• Country singer Bruce Robison is 57. 
• Actor Clare Carey (“Jericho,” “Coach”) is 56. 
• Actor Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”) is 54. 
• Bassist Smilin’ Jay McDowell (BR5-49) is 54. 
• Actor Lenny Jacobson (“Nurse Jackie”) is 49. 
• Bassist Tai Anderson of Third Day is 47. 
• Actor Joshua Jackson (“Fringe,” ″Dawson’s Creek”) is 45. 
• Actor Shia LaBeouf is 37.

✞DEATH ANNIVERSARIES

• In 1979..John Wayne, Actor (Green Berets, True Grit), dies of stomach cancer at 72
• In 2015..Jim Ed Brown, Country music singer (Nashville on the Road), dies at 81