S.F. Radio Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2008

The Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame's Class of 2008 was announced at noon today. The full list and details can be viewed on the BARHOF website.

Just the names:

• Rosie Allen
• Alex Bennett
• Red Blanchard
• Renel Brooks-Moon
• Bob Fouts
• Bill Gavin
• Hap Harper
• Mikel Hunter Herrington
• Russ Hodges
• Don Klein
• Mickey Luckoff
• Dude Martin
• Terry McGovern
• Doug Pledger
• Dave Sholin
• Roy Storey
• Russ "The Moose" Syracuse.

The luncheon celebration for the new inductees will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 1, in Berkeley. Last year's event was not only sold out, but attracted an overflow crowd, so I urge you to make your reservation as soon as possible at www.BroadcastLegends.com.

RIP: Les Crane

Norman Davis has sent along word that Les Crane (born Leslie G. Stein) passed away on Sunday (July 13) from pneumonia. Crane was 74 years old and had resided in Belvedere (Marin County).

Crane was PD at 1260/KYA in the early 1960s, where he worked as "Johnny Raven" and built one of the most talented radio teams in local history.

He then moved to KGO/81 (as Les Crane), where he became very successful as the host of a nightly talk show from the hungry i night club. ABC later moved him to KGO-TV, then the entire ABC television network, with a short-lived late-night program called "Night Line ... With Les Crane." The program was later renamed "The Les Crane Show." It became another in the long list of challengers to Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" that fell by the wayside.

Among the more interesting accomplishments in his life: his fourth wife (out of five) was Tina Louise, who played "Ginger" on "Gilligan's Island"; he started Software Toolworks, whose most notable release was "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing"; and in 1971 he won a Grammy for "Desiderata," the year's best spoken-word recording.

You can hear Les Crane (as Leslie G. Stein) on the "Sounds of San Francisco from the KGO Music Tower" recording on the radio museum website by clicking here.

The New York Times included a detailed obituary of Les Crane in today's online edition. (Registration required.)

"Radio Day By The Bay" Set For July 5

The California Historical Radio Society (CHRS) will open the doors to its museum on Saturday, July 5, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. for its annual "Live! At KRE" celebration.

The event will take place at the historic KRE radio building in Berkeley, under the giant radio tower on Ashby Avenue near Highway 80.

CHRS has been refurbishing the KRE building into a world-class broadcasting museum, filled with classic radios and equipment, working studios and an authentic ham radio "shack," as well as the home of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.

The July 5 celebration is the perfect event for families seeking a day of entertainment close to home. "Live! At KRE" will feature a variety of entertainment -- including music and an old-time radio performance by the Broadcast Legends -- and a flea market and auction of great old radios, ham radio equipment, phonographs and test equipment.

Carter B. Smith, a member of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame (Class of 2007), will serve as master of ceremonies for the event. Carter worked at KRE early in his radio career, before moving on to great success at KSFO, KNBR, Magic 61 and KABL.

Another special guest will be popular Oldies disc jockey Herbie Hancock (http://qmproductions.com), one of the most renowned Wolfman Jack impersonators in the industry. Herbie will spin 45s in the KRE studio -- the same studio used in the radio station scenes featuring Wolfman Jack in "American Graffiti."

Admission to the event is $5 for adults. Children are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.

For more information, please visit www.BayRadioDay.com.

"Night Of Radio Stars" On June 10

Five of the Bay Area's greatest broadcasters -- Frank Dill, Al Hart, Jim Lange, Mike Cleary and Carter B. Smith (all members of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame) -- will be on stage together on Tuesday, June 10, for a special evening of memories, sponsored by the San Francisco Museum & Historical Society.

The program is part of SFMHS's current series of lectures on the "Golden Age of Entertainment" in the Bay Area.

The June 10 program "will cover the radio years from the 1960s to 1990s and will feature radio stars who dominated the air waves in the intervening years, people who became daily companions, especially to commuters bogged down in traffic."

The SFMHS "Early Radio" event this past Tuesday was a near sell-out in the nearly 500-seat Kanbar Hall at the magnificent Jewish Community Center in San Francisco, and was a roaring success.

Admission is only $5 (free for members of SFMHS). There will be a "pre-show" reception at 7 p.m. Curtain is at 7:30 p.m.

Kanbar Hall at JCC/SF is located at 3200 California Street. (For detailed directions, please click here or view the Google Map of the location.)

For more information, please visit:
http://www.sfhistory.org/index.php?pageid=118

Gavin Newsom No-Show For KKGN Debut

To the great disappointment of several, Gavin Newsom was a no-show for his much-ballyhooed debut on KKGN/960 last Saturday. In Mondays' Chronicle, Matier & Ross had the inside poop:

{snip}
Hair America: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom was a no-show for his debut on Air America. ...late last week, the mayor's office put the whole thing on hold, saying Newsom's schedule was just too jammed with his trip to Israel and New York.

The mayor was slated to start his half-hour gabfest on KNEW-AM Saturday.

So the station had to pull back on its ads promoting the show and instead run a bunch of "Whoops, we're sorry" spots.

"I guess it just wasn't the best time for him to start," said KNEW's John Scott. "Hopefully, we'll regroup in a couple of weeks."
{/snip}

Note the errors in the M&R piece: readers should replace references to KNEW with KKGN. Also, the program wasn't scheduled to be carried on Air America; it is a Green 960 local production and presentation.

The Green 960 website, above a smiling photo of the San Francisco mayor, simply says "The Gavin Newsom Show: Postponed Due to Scheduling Conflicts."

Dude Martin Documentary On KTEH, KQED

David S. Washburn's documentary on Berkeley's own "Broadcast Cowboy," Dude Martin, will air this Monday, March 17, on KTEH (Channel 54) at 11 p.m.

It will be rebroadcast on KQED Digital Channel 9.2 (Comcast Channel 189) on Saturday, March 22, at 11 p.m.

Dude, whose real name was Steve McSwain, was a hugely popular Western bandleader and radio show host from the 1930s through the 1950s on KLX, KGO, KYA and other local stations. He was part of the Bay Area's thriving Western Music scene during that era that included Black Jack Wayne, Cottonseed Clark, Cactus Jack, Longhorn Joe and Red Murrell, who appeared in nightclubs and on the air on a regular basis.

Oddball fact: late in his career, Dude moved to L.A. and hosted programs on KTTV (Channel 11) in the late 1950s as "Steve Martin."

More information on the documentary at BroadcastCowboy.com.

Jim Goggin has also written an interesting book, "The Dude Martin Band Story," which is available from Trafford Publishing.

Eshoo Bill Calls For Licensing In "Public Interest"

From today's Radio Business Report:

H.R. 4882, the "Broadcast Licensing in the Public Interest Act," is in the hopper, introduced by Anna Eshoo (D-CA), with four co-sponsors. If enacted into law, the eight-year broadcast licensing term would be reduced to three, and civic affairs, news, and locally produced programming would become a blanket requirement.

Eshoo represents California's 14th District, covering the Peninsula down through Santa Cruz. The bill focuses on television, but includes specific provisions for:

• a dedication to the civic affairs of its community;
  
• a dedication to local news gathering;
  
• local production of programming;
  
• a commitment to providing the viewing public a presentation of the issues, candidates, and ballot items that are before voters during a local, statewide or national election, including coverage of candidate debates and forums, political conventions, and ongoing news coverage; and
  
• presentation of quality educational programming for children.

How about going one step more: require radio stations to generate a minimum of eight hours of live, locally-originated programming?

I can just see the huge ownership conglomerates instantly wetting their slacks over that, and the NAB screaming bloody murder ... and getting out the checkbooks to buy off enough legislators to kill the bill. Why? Because radio isn't about programming in the public interest any more; it's about "economies of scale" and getting the most return for the least effort.