Paul Berlin, Houston radio legend, passes away

Paul Berlin will be remembered as one of Houston's greatest broadcasters

From Andy Waldrop
The Celebration of Life Memorial Service for Paul Berlin will be held 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, July 25, 2017 at South Main Baptist Church, 4100 Main St., Houston, Texas 77002. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Shriner's Hospital for Children at www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org.
It was Paul's explicit request that his Memorial Service be open to "All of Heavenly Houston." His favorite advise to his peers: "Be informative, Be entertaining...or be quiet."

Paul Berlin interviewed in Dan Lovett's Houston radio documentary

When you think of the greats in Houston radio history, one of the first names to enter your mind has to be Paul Berlin.

Unfortunately, the news has been spreading around social media that Berlin has passed away. I believe he would have been around 86.

"He was a gentleman with the sunniest personality," former 740 KTRH reporter Tracee Evans told mikemcguff.com. "I looked forward to seeing him walk in the building when I was at Clear Channel. He was a walking smile."

Brent Clanton has told me this Saturday night from 6pm-8pm on KSEV 700, the last station Berlin still played songs from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s on the weekends, broadcasting greats Scott Arthur, Walter Hammock and Ronnie Renfrow will air a special tribute to the Houston radio legend. (LISTEN HERE: Archived Berlin KSEV broadcasts)

UPDATE: The Texas Radio Hall of Fame will be streaming the KSEV broadcast tonight on its Facebook Group.

Berlin played everything from early rock n roll to big band on Houston stations such as:
- 1230 AM KNUZ
- 102.9 KQUE
- 700 KSEV
- 790 KBME
- Then back to 700 KSEV

So many great articles have been written about Berlin's life through the years, I am linking to some of the best, so you can reminisce about this fantastic broadcaster:

Paul Berlin says goodbye to loyal listeners
December 17, 2004
Louis B. Parks

At one time Berlin was the highest-paid disc jockey in the Houston area. He was offered a job at New York station WABC at $50,000 a year, a $10,000 raise, with the chance of doing TV, but he turned it down.

"I said, 'I've got three little boys. I'm making $40,000 right now, and I'm promoting rock 'n' roll shows. But most of all, I'm happy.' What price do you put on happiness?"

Berlin and Nezzie, his wife of 52 years, had five sons in all.

He's been a nominee for radio's Marconi Award. His face and voice are seen and heard in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. He's in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame. He's proud of the accolades, sure, but adds, "I can take a kick in the butt, too, for screwing up. I've done that." READ MORE

Paul Berlin has entertained listeners for 65 years
March 22, 2013
By David Barron

He also promoted concerts, beginning with big bands at the Plantation Ballroom on South Main, and owned two nightclubs, the Dome Shadows near the Astrodome and a short-lived location on Richmond. His acts ranged from the Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie and Artie Shaw big bands to Nat "King" Cole, Frankie Avalon, Chubby Checker, the Dave Clark Five and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

Perhaps the biggest one, alas, got away in 1964. Berlin said he had just booked a show for Sonny and Cher when he received a call asking if he was interested in bringing the Beatles to Houston on that same date.

"I said I couldn't do it, and I asked them please not to bring the Beatles in on that date, because they would kill Sonny and Cher," Berlin said. "So they booked them in Denver."

Berlin tried to get the Beatles a year later, but KNUZ management insisted that promoters guarantee the Fab Four would show up without sending replacements. The promoter refused, and the Beatles' Aug. 14, 1965, shows at the Sam Houston Coliseum were sponsored by KILT. READ THE REST

HOUSTON BROADCASTERS REMEMBER PAUL BERLIN (email or post your memory)

Michael Garfield KPRC 950
"Sad loss. A legend indeed. Story time: when I started at Clear Channel in 2002 the KPRC studio shared a window with KBME Oldies. Paul was always doing his thing on-air while I was on the other side of the glass just learning radio. Talk about intimidating...staring at the legend whilst he stared back at me. He couldn't have been nicer. Always said "Hey, baby, what's shakin'? You're doing a great job. A superstar!" His stories were amazing. Nevah gonna be anyone like him. RIP, Pablo."

AUDIO: Paul Berlin talks Houston radio and music history

Michael Berry of NewsRadio 740 KTRH treats us to a great walk down Houston radio and music memory lane with legend Paul Berlin.

LISTEN HERE

They talk Houston visits by Elvis, Beatles, Johnny Cash and a lot more!

(Image courtesy of thehistoryofrockandrollradio.com/PaulBerlin.html)

Dave Ward's honor saved by waitress and other radio stories

Hear about Dave Ward's early radio career including the time a whiskey bottle came through the studio window and more!

Wednesday, November 9th, Dave Ward will have been at KTRK abc13 for 50 years. And he has a Guinness World Record to prove it.

This week, I am posting parts of my sit-down interview with Ward I conducted in his home last week. So much has been written about Ward, but I never knew much about his eight year radio career prior to channel 13. So sit back, and get ready for some great stories about Ward meeting legendary newsman Paul Harvey, the broken window incident and so much more.

Mike McGuff: OK, so radio, you actually started out when you were still at school, right? In Tyler?

Dave Ward: Yes, in Tyler. I was going to Tyler Junior College. And one of my frat brothers was a disc jockey at KGKB Radio, and I went out there and watched him work, and it was intriguing. And I learned how to run the board and queue the records and do all this.

And he put the microphone up over my head, and he would do the disc jockey talking part. But I'd queue the records and the commercials on tape and, and worked the, did the mechanics of it. And I pestered the general manager until he gave me a job.

I went on the air from, uh, 5:00 to 7:00 in the evening. I had never heard of drive time at that time. But I was on the air from 5:00 to 7:00 in the evening, and that's where I changed my name from David to Dave, at this general manager's insistence.

He said David sounded too biblical, so I became Dave. And, uh, was with KGKB there until 1960.

Mike: What format was that?

Dave: It was, uh, pretty much, uh, easy listening when I went to work first, but then a guy named Harry O'Connor came in and bought the radio station. He owned a station in Shaman, Texas that was strictly rock 'n' roll.

We became rock 'n' roll overnight, and then, and he moved the station to downtown Tyler, right on Broadway with a picture window studio where the disc jockeys worked. And it was quite a change going from the easy listening that we'd been doing to straight, like, Top 40 radio.

And there was a radio station there that was a strong number one, KDOK, K-D-OK. It was Top 40. We went head-to-head with them. We got a good rating one time, and one of their, their most famous disc jockey on, on KDOK, was a guy named Paul Williams. He got drunk one night, and he came driving by the front of our station on Broadway.

He had a Ford convertible, and had the top down. He threw a whisky bottle through our picture window. It didn't make a big enough hole, so he threw a Dr. Pepper bottle after that, and made a big hole. Wow, the next morning, O'Connor had 'em tape big, wide, red masking tape and put tape out there around the jagged hole in our windows.

That afternoon, Paul Williams was fired from KDOK. That evening, Harry O'Connor went on the air with this editorial, "We hold no animosity against this young gentleman. We understand his competitive attitude. We want him to come work with us at KGKB."

And Williams did. He came, and we became a strong number one. Well, long story short, I left and went to WACO in Waco. Paul left and came to KNUZ in Houston. I was at, uh, WACO in Waco for two years.

Paul called in. He said, "There's an opening at our news department down here, Dave. Why don't you come see if you could do it? Be a news reporter." And at the time, WACO had a news department, a news director, a guy named Bob Vandebetter. And he taught a radio news writing course out at Baylor University. His students, that was their lab. They came out to the station, and they would rip wire copy, and write stories, and they would run out of the door going to fires and stuff.

And I thought, "Those kids are having a hell of a lot more fun than I am, sitting in here in this cubby-hole, playing Vaughn Monroe records over and over, Elvis Presley stuff."

Mike: So it was a...it's a country station now but it was a rock station back then.

Dave: Is it? Really? I'll be darned. Yeah, it was a kind of a multi-purpose thing. You'd, uh, have, uh, easy listening in the morning, some easy listening in the afternoon. Then after the kids got out of school, they'd play rock 'n' roll stuff.

And it, it was an ABC station, and an interesting story. The radio commentator, Paul Harvey -- I don't know if you ever heard of him.

Mike: Oh, yeah.

Dave: He came to Waco to address the annual chamber of commerce banquet or something. And he did his radio newscast out of WACO. Well, the manager, Glasgow, told me, "Dave, you gotta be here in the morning. You've gotta make sure Mr. Harvey has everything he needs. Show him where his typewriter is." and this and the other.

I met him there. He got there by about 4:30 in the morning, and he was dressed impeccably. You know black suit, a black hat, a black umbrella, and a black briefcase. I came walking in and I showed him where he was to work.

Well, later on that morning, his noon newscast, which was his big one, was preempted because ABC went live at the Cape for the launch of John Glenn, the very first American in orbit. Well, I'm standing there in the newsroom.

Bob Vandebetter, he was sitting behind his desk. He had a little black and white TV set in there. I am standing there. Paul Harvey is standing to my left, and we're watching this launch. And after the rocket blasts off and goes out of sight, and they come back to Cronkite or whoever we had on the TV.

Harvey standing there like this with his arms crossed, and I just turned and looked at him, and like, what do you think? And he says, "Well, I don't know." It was like, where are we going with this thing? You know, going into space, what in the he-? He was upset his shows had been cancelled.

Twenty years later or so, on the 20th anniversary of that blast off, I wrote him a little letter and reminded him where he was when John Glenn was launched into space and, and wrote in there, "And you said, 'Well, I don't know.'"

And I said, "I D-U-N-N-O... is what are we going to do with this, Harvey?" About two weeks later, I got a note back from Paul Harvey. He said, "Dear Dave, Very well written letter. Sincerely, Paul Harvey." That was all he said.

Mike: [laughs]

Dave: Quite a treat to get to meet that guy.

Mike: He was one of the biggest newsmen at the time, right?

Dave: Yeah, Paul Harvey was huge. His, "Hello, Americans. This is Paul Harvey. Standby for news."

Mike: As someone who went to Baylor and lived in Waco, what did you think of Waco back then? What time period would have this...?

Dave: This is 1960 to 1962.

Mike: Had the tornado already happened? But I guess that had happened in the '50s, right? The bad tornado that hit Waco?

Dave: Yes, that happened before I went there.

Mike: Were they, kind of, a city rebuilding at that point, would you say?

Dave: They had pretty much gotten over that tornado. There were probably some areas where they were still rebuilding. But the one thing about my two years in Waco, my mother and my father, and both of my sisters, went to and graduated from Baylor University. I was there for two years, I never went anywhere near the place. [laughs] I really didn't. I was busy at the radio station.

Mike: Where was it located? Do you remember?

Dave: Yeah, it was located on the west side of town, probably a couple of miles from downtown Waco.

And I'll never forget. I moved my first wife and my little daughter, Linda, when we moved there, we had no furniture. Very little, so we rented a furnished house. Two bedroom, furnished brick house with a garage, all bills paid, all utilities paid. I remember the, the refrigerator had an ice maker in it. In 1960, there, there were...It cost $85 a month.

$85 a month, all bills paid, all bills paid. Two bedroom furnished house.

Mike: Were you making good money at WACO?

Dave: No, I wouldn't say that, you know. What was I making there? Maybe $300, $350 a month. Something like that. But you gotta remember, this is back in the late '50s, early '60s. Salaries were nothing like what they are today of course.

RELATED
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Mike: Sure. So, what led you to Houston?

Dave: Yeah, and I had an interest in news from Vandebetter's news writing course, I kinda monitored his course a little bit. And when Paul Williams called me from KNUZ and said, "Hey, Dave, there's a job open in the news department. Why don't you apply?" I did. I came down, talked to him, and I got the job.

Mike: And KNUZ at the time, was that all news, or did it have talk shows?

Dave: Oh, no, no, no, it was strictly, it was rock 'n' roll. Yeah, Top 40 rock 'n' roll. We did three and a half minute news casts straight up on the, on the hour, and a little headline thing at, at the half hour, and that was it.

Mike: I guess at that time, 740 KTRH was still...that would have been the kind of news talk station.

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Houston radio DJs of the 1960s talk about era

Dave: Yeah, uh, KTRH was the main news station, and KILT was the number one rock 'n' roll station. KNUZ, we were going head-to-head with them all the time, and we had some good ratings. When I went to work there, it was in November of '62, and we had a good Hooper book that month.

And the boss took all the disc jockeys, the seven disc jockeys and the five newsmen, and treated us to dinner at the old Glenn McCarthy's Cork Club. And that night, a young -- very young -- entertainer named Wayne Newton was on the stage, he and his brother.

And that was the first time I had ever ordered a mixed drink. Liquor by the drink didn't exist in Texas at the time. You had to go, and you, and the Glenn McCarthy's Cork Club was like private club, so they sold mixed drinks.

This waitress came over. She's asking these guys, "What are you all...?" I'll have a scotch and water. I'll have a, a vodka and Seven Up or rum and Coke, whatever. They come to me, and I didn't...I had never ordered a mixed drink in my life. So I said, "Well, I'll have a scotch and Coke, please."

Well, these guys, they hurrahed me like crazy. "Scotch and Coke? Why in the world do you ever drink anything like that? What is...kid from the sticks in Waco!"

Well, this waitress saw that I was embarrassed all hell, and she said, "Yes, Sir, that's a very popular drink in Canada." That ain't a popular drink in Canada. It ain't a popular drink anywhere, but bless her heart. She tried to help.

Mike: So, this was the same [Wildcatter] Glenn McCarthy who opened the Shamrock?

Dave: The Cork Club at that time was near downtown. He opened the Shamrock Hotel back in 1948, I think it was when that opened. And the Cork Club was not in the hotel. It was downtown, where exactly downtown I don't remember, but I remember it was downtown.

But I do remember that when he sold the Shamrock Hotel to the Texas Medical Center, and they couldn't wait to tear that old hotel down.

And when they did tear it down, come to find out there was like a time capsule that McCarthy had put in the foundation of that hotel back when they were building it, 1947 and '48, but they just ripped it open and didn't let McCarthy know anything about it. It was quite a scandal.

And I came on the air, on television, with a commentary stating that the people of the Texas Medical Center should be embarrassed. They owe Glenn McCarthy an apology. He was a wildcatter and a wild sort of guy, all right, but that was his hotel, and that was his time capsule, and then got a call from Glenn McCarthy inviting me to his office.

He had an office somewhere else and, just to thank me, and said, "That was very, very thoughtful of you to say that," and by then, they had given him that time capsule or, it was just like a strong box, all it was. I don't remember if we took any shots of that thing. There wasn't much in it, to tell you the truth. Some old coins and stuff, that was it.

Mike: Back then, what was radio like? Was it super competitive?

Dave: Oh, we were highly competitive, yeah. I knew some of the other guys in the news departments of the other stations because on news conferences and big new stories we would all see each other there, you know. And, it was very highly competitive, though. Highly competitive.

Mike: And it must have been very hard going against KILT.

Dave: That was the Gordon McLendon station, and they had really good talent on the air over there. They really did, yeah.

Mike: Do you miss that type of radio?

Dave: Not really. No, I have satellite radio in my car. I listen to music from the '40s. The big bands and stuff like that.

Mike: So that's what you actually have preferred though, all this time you're working rock stations.

Dave: Well, when I was younger, yeah, I kinda got into the rock 'n' roll music stuff, you know. But when you get older, I think you mellow a bit. [laughs]

Mike: So when the time came to go to TV, did people at the station say, "Dave, you're crazy. You should stay here in radio." Or were they supportive?

Dave: The people at the radio station, yeah, no, they were pretty supportive of me going over there. They knew it was quite an opportunity, and I don't think I had told them that I was taking a pay cut, but they wished me well when I left.

Mike: So obviously, Dave Ward is more known for television than radio but you were in radio for about eight years. So recently, you just got inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.

Dave: I was nominated for it by two former disc jockeys at KNUZ. Paul Berlin, who was the longest running disc jockey on the air here ever, and Arch Yancy, who, I was the news reporter for both of those gentlemen while I was there at KNUZ.

Uh, it was very nice of them to nominate me for that, that honor. I got voted in and, uh, they, the induction ceremony was in Fort Worth last weekend. And I could not be there. I had commitments here, I couldn't get away. But I wish I could have.

Arch called me and left a message on my phone, and he said, "Robert B. McEntire read the speech about you being inducted, Dave." And Robert B. McEntire was with KILT. [laughs]

Dave Ward will leave abc13 KTRK December 9th, 2016.

To follow Dave Ward after he leaves KTRK abc13, like Dave Ward's Houston.

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FULL COVERAGE: Dave Ward 50 Years KTRK abc13

Beatles play Houston on this day in 1965 AUDIO

The Beatles play Houston August 19, 1965


August 19th is a special date in Houston's history because it marks the day in 1965 when The Beatles played The Bayou City. 

The Fab Four played twice at the now defunct Sam Houston Coliseum.

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Dan Lovett was there. The former abc13 KTRK sportscaster was working for 610 KILT and covered the big event.

He has graciously allowed me to post the chapter about The Beatles from his excellent book Anybody Seen Dan Lovett?: Memoirs of a Media Nomad on my blog for this special occasion.

Dan Lovett with Kitirik
Kitirik, 86, still in the hearts of Houston TV viewers
Kitirik returns to Houston!

The following text is from Lovett's Beatles chapter:

The Beatles Have Landed

...They twist, they shout, kids knock themselves out...

August 19, 1965. I am here for the scoop, and to help scoop up The Beatles. The Beatles are on Texas soil, arriving in the middle of a muggy night at Hobby Airport in Houston. It is the fourth stop, and the only one in Texas, on a ten-city tour that began in front of 55,000 frenzied fanatics at Shea Stadium in New York. They arrive from Atlanta, where they had performed a few hours earlier in a brand new outdoor stadium (one day to become a parking lot).

I work for KILT radio. My assignment from the news director is to "get your butt out to Hobby and report on the big event.” Our station is sponsoring their two concerts at the Sam Houston Coliseum.

I am not impressed. Elvis is my man, who, along with Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison, had received more play than these four kids from across the pond in the U.K. I don’t see what the fuss is all about; but I do see the fuss.

Much will be written over the coming years about The Beatles’ visit to Houston. The most popular story has the late Dickie Rosenfeld being the man responsible for getting them to the Bayou City. That is partially true. Rosenfeld, at the time, is the General Sales Manager at KILT. He is instrumental in promoting and coordinating The Beatles’ two shows in Houston.

 
In reality, it is Bill Weaver, then General Manager of KILT, who’d been given the green light, and I mean green, from station owner Gordon McLendon, to see to it that KILT is the station bringing “the boys” to Texas.

Dallas was one of the stops on their inaugural tour of the U.S. a year earlier. Prior to their concert in Big “D,” in mid-September of 1964, there was an open date in late August for them to play in Houston. However, Bayou City teenagers would only learn years later that it never happened. The teens of the ’60s, who are now in their sixties, may never have known why. Until now.

The Beatles opened their 1964 North American Tour at the Cow Palace in San Francisco on August 19, 1964, followed by shows in Las Vegas, Seattle, Vancouver and Hollywood. August 26 was the open date. Paul Berlin, the most well-known Top 40 disc jockey in Houston in those days, had received a call from his contact with The Beatles. He asked if Paul, who was on KNUZ, the rival rock station to KILT, would like to promote a concert by The Beatles in Houston on August 26.

Berlin jumped at the opportunity, only to check his calendar and discover a major conflict. Paul had already booked Sonny and Cher for that date in 1964. He convinced his contact not to bring The Beatles to town and kill his booking. Thus, Houston got Sonny and Cher, while The Beatles twisted and shouted that night at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre outside Denver.


Capitol Records is the American subsidiary of London-based Electric & Musical Industries, which owns the rights to all of The Beatles’ recordings. In 1963, as the group was creating a sensation across the pond, Capitol had no desire to release their records in the U.S., where British artists were considered to be pale imitators of the authentic, homegrown stuff. EMI farmed out single releases to two small, independent distributors: Vee-Jay, a black-owned R&B label out of Chicago; and Swan, a Philly-based outfit once co-owned by Dick Clark of American Bandstand.

Vee-Jay releases in February (“Please Please Me”) and May (“From Me To You”) quickly disappeared with little fanfare. In September it was Swan’s turn. They released “She Loves You” and sent promoters to radio trying to create a buzz among the most influential music marketers of the day. Murray the “K” played it for the first time in New York City on WINS radio. His former cohorts at Swan thought Dick Clark would give them a boost, but he showed little interest. Clark spun it one afternoon during his “Rate-A-Record” segment. The response was weak. Reportedly, the American teens in the studio giggled when shown a picture of the mop-topped lads. The song just wasn’t that popular. What remains The Beatles’ best-selling U.K. single of all-time failed to even chart on Billboard in the U.S. back in ’63.

In Houston, Arch Yancy, of KNUZ, received a copy of “She Loves You” from Wayne Schuler, the regional rep for Capitol Records. Yancy said he played it at a sock hop one Friday night at Mount Carmel High School and the kids didn’t much care for it. He played it the next day on his KNUZ radio show and got much the same lack of response.

Of course, the apathy soon turned into near-apoplexy after teens began seeing film clips of British Beatlemania on prime time TV. By the time “the boys” landed in New York the following February, the disease had already infected a growing legion of stateside youths. After three iconic appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, followed months later by the ’64 tour, the fever was inescapable. Houston’s teens were not immune.


Gordon McLendon, not to be outdone when it came to mining promotional gold, gave Weaver a blank check and told him to get on a plane and fly to New York City, where the group’s manager, Brian Epstein, was making plans for the 1965 tour. Weaver was told to cut a deal. He pulled it off. Epstein filled in the check for $100,000. KILT received clear rights to promote the hottest group in the world at the time, with the added bonus of shutting out archrival KNUZ, which was in no position to suddenly stop playing The Beatles’ records and pretend they didn’t exist.

Yancy, the first D.J. to play a Beatles record in Houston, told me Dave Morris, owner of KNUZ, didn’t want any part of The Beatles. Morris wouldn’t have parted with any money to bring them to Houston, anyway. Certainly not a hundred grand!

To establish my presence on the scene, I make my initial call to the KILT newsroom from a pay phone on the Gulf Freeway. I am killing time waiting to tell Houston the British invasion is coming, like a modern-day Paul Revere. It is a raucous spectacle at Hobby. The only time I would see anything quite like it again in Houston would be the rowdy weekend crowds at Gilley’s in Pasadena, a joyful beer joint owned by singer Mickey Gilley. When you walked into Gilley’s, you had to be ready to ride a mechanical bull and geared up to party.

This is, however, the wee hours of a Thursday morning. No bar.

At around 2:00 a.m., a four-engine Electra taxies in with The Beatles and their entourage on board. I can see them peering through the small windows on the big bird.

A screaming pack of hysterical teens storms the tarmac as the plane slowly comes to a stop. The challenge is now to extricate the four lads who are recognized throughout the music world. “The boys” will not be able to disembark down the air-stairs, as they had famously done when they first arrived at JFK Airport on February 7, 1964, waving to the loonies who had been safely barricaded out of harm’s way.

They probably thought their arrival was to have been a secret. But this very moment might be the first time you will see the words “secret” and “radio promotion” in the same sentence. Other than my regular over-the-air “news” bulletins, how would 5,000 screaming teenagers know when to show up at Hobby to swarm their plane, break through police barriers and almost climb the wings to get a glimpse of their idols? I never saw anything like that at Gilley’s.

Rosenfeld has it all under control. It doesn’t bother him that thousands of chaotic kids are clogging the tarmac. Dickie, in fact,
probably orchestrated the entire scene. He is a master at pulling off big events in Houston.
What to do?


Rosenfeld had previously made arrangements to have an airport food truck available to dolly up to the plane and unload The Beatles by way of its elevated scoop. For that to happen, the pilot taxies the plane away from the mob and toward a remote hanger at Hobby. The kids are crushed as the plane begins to pull away. Emotionally crushed, that is, although, with the lack of security, it would not have been a surprise if a few of them had been flattened as they chased after the plane with reckless abandon.

With the teenyboppers at bay below, the service truck’s scoop is elevated so The Beatles can walk onto it. I become more involved at this point by helping Paul, John, George and Ringo get off the plane. It is quite fun actually. The Beatles are enjoying it, too. Lennon and McCartney yuk it up as they wave and shout to the throbbing throng below them. It is a routine of which they will soon grow weary; their very last concert tour will end in San Francisco in just 375 more manic days.

The truck begins to lower the cargo bed without the group’s manager, Brian Epstein, who is still attempting to disembark. With one foot in the plane and the other in the air, Epstein tries to leap to the lift as it moves away. He plunges about sixteen-feet and lands on his back. He is taken to a hospital by taxi. Sadly, Epstein would die two years later from an accidental drug overdose.

The Beatles are transported to a Brinks armored truck, which takes the mop-tops (with me as their station chaperone) to the loading dock at the Sheraton Hotel. The conversation on the trip downtown is pleasant enough, it seems. With their thick Liverpudlian accents and consistent use of slang, I have no idea what they are talking about most of the time.


The King Curtis Band, Cannibal and the Head Hunters and Sounds Incorporated perform as the warm-up acts for the Fab Four at both shows, at 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. The Beatles play the same twelve songs at each performance. They open with “Twist and Shout,” but they don’t play “She Loves You.” Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Some 12,000 kids, paying five bucks each, are jammed into the 5,000-seat arena for both performances. KILT is paying 150 police officers to keep the bedlam from turning into a complete riot.

Rental cost for the Sam Houston Coliseum is $1,500. Police security costs $2,500. KILT also donates almost $15,000 to the Houston Farm and Ranch Club, a social organization of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, for which the Coliseum had originally been built.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame DJ Russ Knight, “The Weird Beard,” and the nighttime jock on KILT, emcees both shows and makes the historic introductions. He threatens to cancel the afternoon show if the rowdy fans in the first few rows can’t get a grip on their overwrought passions.


Chuck Dunaway, known as the “Round Mound of Sound” on his KILT morning show, is also part of the big party. I am there, too, with a backstage press pass as one of the station’s newsmen. I reluctantly observe the event as The Beatles holler their way through two thirty-five-minute performances in the old building. These are short concerts by latter-day standards, but to me it seems like the noise will never end. I’m not being critical of the music. I can barely hear it. Shrieking teens, primarily female, generate enough decibels to put a double “L” in the word; my ears are still ringing.

Chuck Dunaway, another early icon of rock and roll radio, is the only Houston DJ to be invited aboard The Beatles’ plane prior to its departure from Houston. Malcolm Evans, The Beatles’ close friend and tour manager, takes Dunaway aboard the Electra as it idles on the runway awaiting lift off from Hobby.

Inside, sitting alongside McCartney and Starr, Dunaway is getting some final comments from “the boys” before it is time to go.

They autograph a program for Dunaway, who, years later, gives it to his son, who in turn sells it to a collector in England.

With far less fanfare than their arrival, they depart for their next stop on the tour, Comiskey Park in Chicago.

Many years later I will fully realize what had taken place in August of 1965 in Houston. Although, as the Brits might say, they were not my “cup of tea,” one cannot ignore their mark on music history.

Texas Radio Hall of Fame 2009 ceremony highlights

Rowdy Yates of 100.3 KILT sent me this great recap of the 2009 Texas Radio Hall of Fame ceremony:

It was the biggest and best, Most attended and most comfortable. Held in a historic place, Tin Hall, there was no better venue to showcase legendary talent, than a legendary landmark, which has hosted concerts and special events since 1889.

About 350 were in attendance and the faces that belonged to the voices were a 'who's who' of Texas Radio royalty including Paul Berlin, Joe Ladd, Pam Ivey, Crash Collins, Mac Hudson, Arch Yancey, Michael Berry, Bill Young, Bill Moffett, Chuck Dunaway, Jim Carola and R.B. McEntire just scratch the surface.

Award for "best preserved personality" had to go to Dr. Bruce Nelson, who is as witty as ever, and is in better shape today than he was during his days here at KENR. Dr. Bruce is the General Manager of KFTX in Corpus Christi, and is recognized for breaking an unknown artist named John Conlee and his tune "Rose Colored Glasses." John placed 27 hits in the country top 40, including 7 number 1's. Houston made him a star.

Most touching moment came when Cathy Forsythe of KACC was inducted and honored. Her award was accepted by her children. Cathy passed away from cancer a few years ago, and contributed more than her own good work to Texas radio. Running KACC in Alvin, she built and developed that college radio program into the most recognized in the country (this is a Junior College mind you) that has produced numerous radio industry pros including Wendy Miller, Tom Fontaine, Bobby "Slam" Duncan and TV personalities that now work for KPRC, Telemundo and ESPN.

Paul Ray works on the radio in Austin-he is only the second 'public' radio personality to be inducted. He can be heard on KUT-FM hosting a show dedicated to soul and blues from the 40's through the 70's. What made me laugh the most was his story of realizing the impact that music had on everyone-be it good or bad. He recalls his older sister being punished for playing a sacrilegious and sinful b-side when she was young. Her father smashed to pieces a vinyl 45 straight from Satan's studio. It was a Christmas standard "White Christmas" recorded by The Drifters.

JP Pritchard and Lana Hughes from KTRH could have kept us entertained for hours. To see the big framed, big voiced 'gold standard' for morning news in Houston show a softer side was enough to make a few of us tear up, and her story of how she got her job at KTRH will make most of us giggle for the next few days.

Standing ovations came for Houston TV and radio star Larry Kane (who is no longer with us) KQUE's Scott Arthur and legendary rocker Colonel St. James who helped make top stations out of 97 Rock and KLOL, and has contributed to the success of KLDE, KILT and KKRW.

From the business side of things, I'd like to say that Bill Bailey is still a draw. He has not been on the radio for some time, but his involvement with the Houston rodeo, and his work as a Harris County Constable has done much to keep him in the public eye. On the day he should have taken center stage, and soaked in every bit of the spotlight he deserved for his good work, he shared the stage with two compadres from his days at KIKK, which proved to be tasteful and quite classy. * I will point out, this is the only time I have used those terms to describe him, Joe and Arch!

As for the music heard on radio then and today, there were numerous people in attendance who spun the platters from unknowns who would became giants. B.J. Thomas, ZZ Top and Kenny Rogers were called "Houston Crud" but they became rock, pop and country music legends -they owe Texas (and primarily Houston) deejays for taking a chance on them.

Behind the scenes you might never know the name Tom Merriman. But the short songs you hear in between the records you all know, and have sung along with since the 50's. His "TM Productions" recorded more snappy and snazzy jingles for more Texas radio stations than any other. He is also credited for creating sixty second sing alongs we all grew up with for Nestle and others, and was also the man credited for creating "Otto the Orkin Man" bringing prestige and personality to pest control.

Scott Arthur was the first person to receive an award at the ceremony, and he set the tone for not only radio's past, but it's future. After 40 years he knows the formula: "personality, creativity, freedom and fun" -that is what works, that is what wins.

Audio and photos at:  http://www.texasradiohalloffame.com/

RELATED
2009 inductees for the Texas Radio Hall of Fame

Michael Berry of 740 KTRH going national?

Many of you know Michael Berry as the colorful afternoon 740 KTRH talk show host. You probably did not know he also served as AM operations manager for Clear Channel Houston.

Sources tell me that of last Friday the latter is no longer true. Longtime KTRH program director Bryan Erickson will be stepping into the operations manager role.

Berry stepping down from his management position does not surprise me. Why? Well he seems to be filling in on a lot of national shows lately. Then I noticed the debut of michaelberry.com...a site that could easily be made into a larger presence than just for Houston. So with more time for his show, is Michael Berry about to be a national radio show player?

“I’m now doing a longer show (4 full hours daily), and this takes all my time and energy." Berry told the mikemcguff.com blog. "Our stations are performing well and Bryan Erickson was ready to step in and lead them. I don’t know if going national is the next step, but I’m flattered that there is interest in carrying my show in places outside our market. Only time will tell what that means for me and the show.”

Berry's confession to me that his show could go outside Houston is the potential first step to a coast to coast broadcast. You can say you knew him when...

Just three years ago I interviewed Houston Councilman Michael Berry at city hall as he was leaving politics to enter radio management full time. How time flies.

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- AUDIO: Paul Berlin talks Houston radio and music history

Dave Ward, Houston TV icon, dies at age 86

Dave Ward, 86, a television icon, has passed away, according to his longtime broadcasting home, ABC13 Houston KTRK.

- Watch Ward's funeral service
- Dave Ward honored on "ABC World News Tonight with David Muir"

He is survived by his wife, Laura, three children, and three stepchildren. His son David Jr. passed away in 2023.

Anchor Tom Abrahams broke into the ABC primetime college game broadcast to announce the sad news to the Houston audience.

"Words cannot express my sadness over this larger-than-life Houston icon," former KTRK anchor Art Rascon told mikemcguff.com.  "I loved Dave Ward, and working beside him for more than two decades was an absolute blessing! Every day was an opportunity to learn and grow and truly understand what journalism was all about. He was the best and always will be!"

"He was not only a news legend, but a dear and close friend," former KTRK news director Dave Strickland told mikemcguff.com.  "I learned so much from Dave, both in television and in life. I will miss him dearly."

"He was a warm, funny, lovely man---and one of Dad's best friends. Such a loss," former KPRC 2 reporter Ron Stone, Jr. told mikemcguff.com.

A generation of Houston television viewers grew up with Dave Ward.

For 50 years, the powerful yet reassuring voice behind the ABC13 KTRK anchor desk guided the city through breaking news, triumphs, and tragedies. Ward delivered the news with unwavering integrity and authenticity.  Each newscast began with his signature greeting: “Good evening, friends.” 

Earning that trust meant everything. Ward insisted on balanced coverage, reporting both sides and getting the facts right. That relentless commitment to accuracy—paired with his warm, steady presence—is why he became known as “The Dean of Houston News.”

Since stepping away from the Channel 13 anchor desk in May 2017, Dave has continued sharing stories. His 2019 memoir, Good Evening, Friends: A Broadcaster Shares His Life, offers a rich look at his extraordinary career. He later returned to KTRK for the feature series “Dave Ward’s Houston.”

In 2021, he launched the “Dave Ward & Friends” video podcast, inviting audiences into casual conversations with the many remarkable people he’s met over more than six decades in broadcasting.

"I can recall so many times returning from a reporting trip and talking with him one on one, as he gave me more tips on how to cover a story," Rascon added.   "He was always a patient teacher, example, and the epitome of a journalist. I will miss him.  I will miss our occasional conversations after he retired, meeting for breakfast, and enjoying his captivating smile.  Love you Dave!  Your legacy lives on…even from heaven."

Mike McGuff and Dave Ward in 2016

Early Life

David Henry Ward was born in Dallas on May 6, 1939, though he grew up in Huntsville, Texas, where his father, Henry, served as pastor of the First Baptist Church.

While attending Tyler Junior College, Dave discovered broadcasting almost by accident, watching a fraternity brother spin records at KGKB radio. Soon, he was behind the microphone himself—after the station manager suggested that “David” sounded “too biblical” and the young announcer adopted the name listeners would come to know: Dave Ward.

KGKB’s easy-listening format flipped to rock ’n’ roll overnight with new ownership, and Dave adapted quickly. By the early 1960s, he had moved to WACO radio in Waco, shifting from music to news and eventually becoming program director.

Moving to Houston

In 1962, Dave moved his young family to Houston to join 1230 KNUZ-AM and KQUE, where he read news between Top 40 hits. He was later promoted to news director and ultimately inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame, nominated by Houston radio legends Paul Berlin and Arch Yancy.

"Well, at KNUZ, we were very big on the space program, the man space program, because NASA was headquartered in Houston," Ward told mikemcguff in a 2016 interview. "They hadn't built the Space Center yet. They were in the process of building that, but they were in buildings all around the city."

Joining Channel 13

Dave made the leap to television in 1966, becoming KTRK’s sole street reporter and photographer—a true one-man news crew. He shot film on a hand-wound 16mm Bell & Howell camera, covered everything from fires to city hall, and even took his job interview in a Rice Village pool hall.

"The man who hired me. The news director, Ray Conaway," Ward told mikemcguff.com in 2016.  "He was an old, B-24 bomber pilot in World War II. And he met Willard Walbridge who was the station manager somewhere in the military. He was the news director and the anchor. We only did 15 minutes at 6:00PM and 15 minutes at 10:00PM. That was it. And, Ray had a very grim, delivery. "Here's the news," you know. And, in '67 they put me on the 7:00AM news, which I didn't even know we had, [laughs] to tell you the truth."

Though Dave initially took a $50 pay cut to move from radio to TV, he was soon anchoring the 7 a.m. newscast and co-hosting the popular “Dialing for Dollars.” 

"I went on the 7:00AM in January of '67 and that summer -- it seemed like it was April or May -- they decided they wanted to do this, like a game show in the morning from 9:00 to 10:00," Ward remembered in a 2016 mikemcguff.com interview. "It was an hour-long program. I made six phone calls during that hour, trying to give money away. It was a funny format."

In January 1968, he moved to the main anchor desk at 6 and 10 p.m. with Dan Ammerman. Off the air, he often continued working through the night, covering breaking news around the city.

In those early years, KTRK’s newscasts ranked third in a three-station market. Dave helped change that. Over time, Houstonians embraced Eyewitness News, and by the mid-1970s, channel 13 had climbed to number one—a position it held for decades.

Dave would go on to anchor alongside Jan Carson, Shara Fryer, and Gina Gaston, becoming one of the most recognized faces in Texas broadcasting.

Reporting Across the Globe

Ward’s reporting took him far beyond Houston. He covered national political conventions, the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs from Florida, and major disasters across Texas and the South. He reported from Mexico, Central America, and Colombia; traveled with a Houston delegation to the Paris Peace Talks; and studied mass transit in Germany.

His interviews spanned the spectrum—from U.S. Presidents to everyday Houstonians. Five presidents and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller sat down with him over the years.

- Dave Ward's father did not want him working at KTRK and other stories
- Dave Ward's honor saved by waitress and other radio stories
- Dave Ward traveled with the Houston Oilers for $15
- How Dave Ward found love in charity

Dedicated Community Leader

Dave’s service to Houston extends far beyond the newsroom. He has emceed countless charitable events and served on numerous boards, including Easter Seals, the American Cancer Society, the Leukemia Society, the Press Club of Houston, the Houston Police Foundation, and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. He broadcast the Rodeo Parade for an astounding 49 years.

In 1973, he received the City of Houston Public Service Award for his coverage of the Managua earthquake.

Perhaps his most transformative contribution is his work with Crime Stoppers of Houston. Dave was instrumental in launching the program in 1981, pioneering crime reenactments and helping shape Crime Stoppers chapters worldwide. The first Crime Stoppers headquarters in the United States, which opened in 2016, was named The Dave Ward Building in his honor.

Honors and Legacy

Dave’s accolades are numerous:

Leon Goldstein Award for outstanding service in fighting crime

Regional Emmy for his interviews with Steve Tyrell

Induction into the Silver Circle of the Lone Star Emmy Chapter

Induction into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame

Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Parade Grand Marshal

Induction into the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Hall of Fame

Induction into the Gold Circle of the Lone Star Emmy Chapter

Dave Ward honored with street name next to ABC13 Houston studios

KTRK Anchor Emeritus Dave Ward Plaque unveiling and dedication ceremony

Most notably, Dave holds a Guinness World Record:

**“The longest career as a television news broadcaster—49 years and 218 days”—**all at the same station, on the same newscast.

A remarkable achievement for a remarkable man.

Dave Ward's career is not simply a record of journalism. It is the story of a trusted voice, a steady presence, and a lifelong commitment to the city he loves...one “Good evening, friends” at a time.

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Texas Radio Hall of Fame inductees for 2011

The names of the 2011 Texas Radio Hall of Fame inductees are listed below along with the radio stations and cities they've been most associated with during their careers.
With their inductions, they will be listed among those who are the greatest of the greats of Texas radio. The induction celebration will be held in Houston later this year. Congrats to all!

Below is the list of all the inductees listed in alphabetical order -- eight from the Houston area, seven from the San Antonio-Austin area, four from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, one from Liberty and one from Tyler.

Ken Barnett
(KVIL - Dallas-Fort Worth)

Bill Buchanan
(KSHN - Liberty)

Mitch Carr
(KVIL/KLUV/KRLD - Dallas-Fort Worth)

Errol Coker
(KHCB - Houston)

"Cuzzin Linnie" Leonard Henderson (Deceased - Died Thursday June 30, 2011)
(KLIF/KNON/KKDA-AM - Dallas-Fort Worth)

Bruce Miller Earle
(KVIL/KNOW/KLAR - San Antonio)

Howard Edwards
(KONO - San Antonio)

Pat Fant
(KLOL/KTXQ/KRBE - Houston)

John Furr
(KONO/KTSA/KITE)

Larry Galla
(KIKK/KVST - Houston)

Lanny Griffith
(KLOL/KTRH - Houston)

Doug Harris
(KLOL - Houston)

Lanny "Hoss" Huggins
(KZAK/KROZ - Tyler)

Pam Ivey
(KKBQ/KIKK - Houston)

Dave Jarrott
(KXOL/KTBC/K98 - Austin-San Antonio)

Larry Don Johnson
(KTSU/KCOH/KULF - Houston)

Ira "Eye" Lipson
(KZEW/WFAA/KTCK - Dallas-Fort Worth)

Richard Mock
(KLIF/KILT - Houston)

Elizabeth Ruiz
(KTSA - San Antonio)

Johnny Shannon
(KTSA/KILT/KONO - San Antonio)

Lee Woods
(KONO/KKPS/KRIO - San Antonio)

The Council of Advisors members are: Al Caldwell, Ann Arnold, Bob Ray Sanders, Bud Buschardt, Chuck Blore, Eddie Barker, Dr. Jerry Hudson, Jo Interrante, Jody Dean, Josh Holstead, Paul Berlin, Sonny Melendrez and Tom Glade and Larry Shannon.

http://www.texasradiohalloffame.com/

Houston radio DJs of the 1960s talk about era

Former KTRK 13 sports anchor Dan Lovett put together a video a few years ago that focuses on Houston's golden age of radio. Hear from the likes of KILT's Chuck Dunaway, KNUZ's Joe Ford, KNUZ's Paul Berlin, KNUZ's (and current KTRK 13 anchor Dave Ward), KIKK's Bill Bailey, KNUZ's Arch Yancy, KILT's Bill Young, KCOH's Skipper Lee and KILT's Jim Carola.

They're all talking 60s rock n' roll (lots of Beatles talk) and what it was like working Houston radio and news in those times.

As a bonus, listen to KILT Radio, Houston, TX, from 1966 right here and 1977 here.

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