Radio History: January 28

Ad for radio appeared in the NY Times Jan. 28, 1926

➦In 1934...Newspaper columnist Walter Winchell, in his newspaper column, paid compliments to a Washington DC disc jockey.

As a result, 30-year-old Arthur Godfrey (right) began receiving offers from talent scouts and producers, and eventually was adored by millions across the country on CBS radio and TV.

His trademark (strumming a ukulele and delivering down-home patter) endeared him to fans for the next 30 years.

➦In 1940...“Beat the Band” made its debut on NBC radio with emcee Garry Moore (below). 

The band was that of Ted Weems and his 14-piece orchestra, who were joined by Elmo “The Whistling Troubadour” Tanner, and Country Washington. One other star of the show was a barber from the Pittsburgh area, who would record many hits for RCA Victor from 1943 right into the 1970s. His name was Perry Como, aged 27

 ➦In 1956...Elvis Presley made his first appearance on national television on “The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show” on CBS. He sang “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Heartbreak Hotel”. After the appearance, sales of “Heartbreak Hotel” skyrocketed; however the national Elvis furor did not erupt until his subsequent appearances on the Milton Berle and Steve Allen TV shows.

➦In 1959...Radio personality Randi Rhodes was born. She is a progressive political commentator, activist and talk radio host. The Randi Rhodes Show is live streamed having been previously broadcast nationally on Air America Radio, Nova M Radio, and Premiere Radio Networks.

Randi Rhodes

Rhodes' radio career began in Seminole, Texas at a country music station. Her next job was in a larger market, Mobile, Alabama. While in Mobile, she was paired briefly with a male DJ (also named Randy) for the "Randy and Randi" morning show. This was her first experience with extemporaneous dialogue other than reading cue cards between records. She used this experience as a spring-board to larger markets. In the late 1980s, she was hired out of that medium market directly to New York City by WAPP "The Apple", owned at the time by Doubleday Broadcasting. While working for WAPP, she took the name "Randi Rhodes," having previously used "Randi St. John".

While teaming with host Perry Stone at Milwaukee's WQFM, Rhodes was suspended in 1987 when their program offended the gay community and led several businesses to cancel ads.

In late September 1992, Rhodes started on WIOD in Miami, working the 8P-11P night shift. The Miami Herald described her as "a chain-smoking bottle blond, ... part Joan Rivers, part shock jock Howard Stern and part Saturday Night Live's 'Coffee Talk' lady. But mostly, she's her rude, crude, loud, brazen, gleeful self."

In 2004, Rhodes joined Air America Radio, bringing The Randi Rhodes Show to a national audience for the first time. In 2007, Rhodes was recognized by the radio industry's well known periodical, Talkers Magazine as Woman of the Year.

Burt Mustin 'Leave It to Beaver' 

➦In 1977..."Burt" Mustin died (Born - February 8, 1884). Over the course of his career, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions. He also worked in radio and appeared in stage productions.

Mustin began his professional acting career at the age of 67 after director William Wyler cast him in the 1951 film noir Detective Story. Known for his dependability and versatility, Mustin went on to establish a career as a well-known character actor and worked extensively in film and television from the 1950s to the 1970s. Before he began a professional career in show business, Mustin did amateur acting and performing. In 1921, he became the first announcer for a variety show broadcast on Pittsburgh's then newly established KDKA radio station. 

➦In 1986...the NASA shuttle orbiter mission STS-51-L and the tenth flight of Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-99) broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members on board: flight commander Francis Scobee; pilot Michael Smith; Ronald McNair; Ellison Onizuka; Judith Resnik; Gregory Jarvis; and schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, who was to have been the first civilian in space.

The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:39 a.m. EST (16:39 UTC).

The disintegration of the vehicle began after a joint in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff. The failure was caused by the failure of O-ring seals used in the joint that were not designed to handle the unusually cold conditions that existed at this launch. The seals' failure caused a breach in the SRB joint, allowing pressurized burning gas from within the solid rocket motor to reach the outside and impinge upon the adjacent SRB aft field joint attachment hardware and external fuel tank. This led to the separation of the right-hand SRB's aft field joint attachment and the structural failure of the external tank. Aerodynamic forces broke up the orbiter.

The crew compartment and many other vehicle fragments were eventually recovered from the ocean floor after a lengthy search and recovery operation. The exact timing of the death of the crew is unknown; several crew members are known to have survived the initial breakup of the spacecraft. The shuttle had no escape system, and the impact of the crew compartment at terminal velocity with the ocean surface was too violent to be survivable.

➦In 2003...Stan Martin, a New York City radio personality, died at age 64. He worked at WQEW-FM and WNEW-AM, among others, and hosted the nationally syndicated “Solid Gold Country”.

Martin (right) joined WQXR in 1992 as program director when The NYTimes changed the station's format from classical music and its name from WQXR-AM to WQEW. He eventually became the station manager.

He left in 1998, when The Times leased the station to ABC, for Radio Disney.

His radio career began in 1959 at WDLC in Port Jervis, N.Y. He then worked for several other stations, including WPIX-AM, WHN-AM and WFAN-AM in New York and WPEN-AM in Philadelphia.

After leaving WQEW, Martin was master of ceremonies for cabaret shows in Manhattan and host of a website.

➦In 2015…Well-traveled radio personality Lee “Baby” Sims, who worked for 27 stations in Charleston, Orlando, San Antonio, Hartford, Cleveland, San Diego (twice), San Antonio (three times), Detroit, Los Angeles (four times), Miami, Santa Rosa, San Francisco (twice), Honolulu, and Phoenix, gave up his battle with cancer and killed himself at age 72.

Born Gilmore LaMar Simms in Charleston, South Carolina, Simms dropped out of high school at 16 and began jocking at WTMA as “Hot Toddio on the Radio.” Simms, by his own recollection, worked at 35 stations in 22 markets and was fired 25 times because he “never accepted an insult from anyone.”

Lee Simms

While Simms was at KONO in San Antonio, program director Woody Roberts gave him the nickname “Lee Baby.” Simms also worked at WMBR in Jacksonville, WLOF in Orlando, WJBK in Detroit, WSHO in New Orleans, KTSA in San Antonio, WIST in Charlotte (where he doubled as program director), WGCL and WKYC in Cleveland, WPOP in Hartford and WMYQ in Miami.

On February 9, 1971, after spending three years as afternoon host at KCBQ in San Diego, Simms joined KRLA as 9-to-midnight host. He began his first airshift just 15 hours after the 6.6 Sylmar earthquake which killed 65 people and caused $500 million in property damage.

After a few months at KRLA, Simms traded time slots with 6-to-9 host Dave Diamond. Simms briefly worked at KROQ and KTNQ before moving to Hawaii, where he jocked at KKUA, KORL, KDUK and KPOI. In the 1980s he worked at KFOG in San Francisco, WLVE in Miami, KKIS in Concord and KPRQ in Rohnert Park.

In the 1990s, Simms jocked at KOOL in Phoenix and KYA and KISQ in San Francisco. While at KISQ, his show was also heard via syndication on WUBT in Chicago.

Simms retired from radio in 2002.

➦In 2021...Longtime New York City radio personality Harry Harrison died.  Harrison (born September 20, 1930 in Chicago) had been a popular American radio personality for over 50 years. Harrison is the only DJ to be a WMCA "Good Guy," a WABC "All-American," and on the WCBS-FM line-up.

Harrison had a number of "trademark" phrases, such as "Morning, Mom", "Every brand new day should be opened like a precious gift", "Stay well, stay happy, stay right here" and "Harry Harrison wishing you the best... because that's exactly what you deserve!” Also, on the last day of every year, Harrison would bring his four children to work with him and at the end of his shift, he would join them in giving listeners New Year's wishes.

Barbi Benton is 74

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• Actor Nicholas Pryor (“Risky Business”) is 89. 
• Actor Alan Alda is 88. 
• Actor Susan Howard (“Dallas”) is 82. 
• Actor Marthe Keller (“Marathon Man”) is 79. 
• Actor Barbi Benton is 74. 
• Director Frank Darabont (“The Green Mile,” “The Shawshank Redemption”) is 65. 
• Guitarist Dave Sharp of The Alarm is 65. 
• Singer Sam Phillips is 62. 
• Guitarist Dan Spitz (Anthrax) is 61. 
• Bassist Greg Cook of Ricochet is 59. 
• Gospel singer Marvin Sapp is 57. 
• Singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan is 56. 
• Musician DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill is 56. 
• Rapper Rakim is 56. 
• Actor Kathryn Morris (“Cold Case”) is 55. 
• Humorist Mo Rocca is 55. 
• Keyboardist Jeremy Ruzumna of Fitz and the Tantrums is 54. 
• Singer Anthony Hamilton is 53. 
• Singer Monifah is 52. 
• Actor Gillian Vigman (“The Hangover” films) is 52. 
• Keyboardist Brandon Bush (Train) is 51. 
• Actor Terri Conn (“One Life to Live”) is 49. 
• Singer-actor Joey Fatone of ’N Sync is 47. 
• Rapper Rick Ross is 47. 
• Actor Angelique Cabral (“Life in Pieces”) is 45. 
• Actor Rosamund Pike (“Gone Girl”) is 45. 
• Singer Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys is 44. 
• Actor Vinny Chhibber (“The Red Line”) is 44. 
• Actor Elijah Wood (“The Lord of the Rings”) is 43. 
• Rapper J. Cole is 39. 
• Actor Alexandra Krosney (“Last Man Standing”) is 36. 
• Actor Yuri Sardarov (“Chicago Fire”) is 36. 
• Actor Ariel Winter (“Modern Family”) is 26.

✞REMEMBRANCES:

• In 1976..Chris Kenner, R&B singer-songwriter (I Like it Like That), dies at 46
• In 1986..Christa McAuliffe, Teacher, dies in the Challenger space shuttle disaster at 37
• In 1986..Ellison S Onizuka, Hawaii, Mjr USAF/astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
• In 1986...Francis R Scobee, Wash, USAF/astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
• In 1986..Greg Jarvis - Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1944)
• In 1986..Judith Arlene Resnik, Akron Oh, astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
• In 1986..Michael J. Smith, Astronaut (51L-Challenger disaster), dies in Challenger at 40
• In 1986..Ronald E McNair, Astronaut and physicist, dies in Challenger disaster at 35
• In 2016..Paul Kantner, Rock singer and guitarist (Jefferson Airplane - "Volunteers"), dies following a heart attack at 74
• In 2020..Bob Nave, American rock and blues Hammond B-3 organist (Lemon Pipers - "Green Tambourine"), jazz radio DJ, and philanthropist, dies at 75
• In 2021..Cicely Tyson, Stage and screen actress (Roots; The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman), dies at 96
• In 2021..Grady Gaines, American jazz, blues, and R&B tenor saxophonist (Little Richard; Sam Cooke, James Brown, Jackie Wilson), dies at 86