CNY's Own Broadcast Legends

A. So it's the laughter. That we will remember. Whenever we remember. The way. We were. Hi I'm Phil marker. You know the 40s 50s 60s and 70s were kind of a golden age of broadcasting radio and television especially local radio and TV. Everyone in America could hear Arthur Godfrey watch Ed Sullivan but only we central New Yorkers had Jim Villein and

Danny Sullivan Ron Curtis K. Russell K. Larson and several several others people who created entertainment that was uniquely ours here in central New York. The world as they say was a lot different than what we've done here is kind of gather some friends some of central New York's own broadcast legends to tell the stories about the way things were. Now it's fairly presumptuous of us to think that we are the only ones that can tell the old stories because I'm sure there's a lot of folks that we might have overlooked to invite. But the assemblage here I think can pretty much cover the fun in the days of the way we work way back then and like you to meet the people that are with us today. This is Jean Dorothy and I think you may know her better as the play Lady. Our other panelists include Bill Everett sometimes known as salty salmon a few other characters. Fran McGrath who did a lot of radio on also a character named Count creep. We have read Parton real name Claude maybe nobody knew of that but you do now of

course Mr. sports for years. And here is Mike Pryce better known or seen at least without the Baronne de mon cape. And finally Jack Morris will join us and maybe you didn't know this but Jack also was the Sandman and the old Sandman serenade one time back in the 40s and 50s and of course known for a lot of sports as well. What I thought we might do is just to let the folks know who you are individually is give each a two minute resume review of your life and times of way back maybe when you started as a teenager. I think a lot of us in high school mom and dad wanted us to be doctors or lawyers or Indian chiefs and somehow we ended up in this crazy business. But whatever you were for my high school up through college military and broadcast it might be interesting to the folks to let them know your history. Up to today so let's start with our senior member only by age. However And that would be a red card I think is back in the robbery example to sign as a from Campanella bonds and prejudiced. Strike three Swanny. So there are now two men down in the top half of the first inning as the Syracuse chickens.

First up out of this bowl game. All right but it wasn't a hell of a plan out of Washington and when I found it was calling on another guy good paper but bob here and I were going up and down of a clear yard line when taken by Greg Allen. I don't come back up with a purpose. When I want to cry because of what I read Glad you're with us. When did it all begin. It began from a fill. Oh probably if I was a freshman in high school there was a guy that was broadcasting on Boston. I thought he had the world's greatest jobs than was Fred the holy h o u y. And he never traveled but he had the Red Sox skins when the Red Sox were on the Red Sox won on the road. The Braves were home so I couldn't get home fast enough from school. I got the bug and I just stayed with it I wanted to be a broadcaster so bad. And I would pose my bedroom door and go upstairs and I would broadcast baseball

games and my mother would come up. Jordan her word score not in there. From high school today. I. Came to Syracuse University very fortunate I picked up the paper one day when I was a junior and I read that there was going to go a radio station was going to go on the air next Monday it was WLS. So I inquired if they're having out auditions. Come on in made a date for the next Monday when I got a call that I have a job so I did a 10 minute sports program each night. That was my first experience with after 19 years somebody bought the station Mango I was one of the guys that was out and went to W. One day yard and I was at W. One day you are with the fabled Framley graph for three or four years. And all of a sudden the front of mine and myself we. Put a radio station on the air WPA w the Parton and Parton and Webb.

And we went on the air in 1065 and went to Channel Nine next where I had the privilege of working with the remarkable film market for a number of years. David was a fabled Fradkin remarkable throwing adjectives with 30 letters. Careful you didn't play by play too right. Oh yes. Yeah the play by play for. Well I did the Syracuse Chiefs back in ancient times starting in the late 40s and that was a thrill because baseball was always number one for me. But I want I'm from there and I did Syracuse University basketball. I did Syracuse University football on their network for a number of years. And. Then I did college football for 17 years and won a choice assignment that was I just loved that it was a wonderful life. OK and it still is and it still is good for you read covering the the great world of

sports and all the other parts of radio read partan sitting right next to read Speaking of sports and maybe he's best known for sports as far as television goes. But maybe a lot of you as I said in the opening didn't know the jet was one of your Sandman serenader or the Sandman himself or a request Philly or is it too 10:53 this goes back to the days before the prefixes but I only did that once in a while and occasionally I'd sneak into Red's office to watch The Tonight Show with Steve Allen because he had a TV set this office and that was pretty neat. Where did search with your high school station in Binghamton WY and I ended up doing station breaks around soap operas I was still in high school and I always wanted to do something in radio and then went to Syracuse got the job AWOL left. Then I went out west so my wild oats worked at a couple of stations in California. That was an interesting adventure. Big news today out of Syracuse football practice is the passing scrimmage senior quarterback Jim Donohue bangs the shoulder but he's alright he finishes practice junior defensive end Jay Brannan aggravates an earlier right ankle injury it is sprained

and then after Channel 5. Then I went with some cable when Syracuse New channels was doing some really good local community stuff and I was right there for the first one we did a regatta. Everybody said you can't do it we got it we did it because we had enough people to do it to make it interesting. And then Channel 9 came calling. And then I said See you later I got enough egg money I don't need to do this full time and mercifully happily I'm with this guy every morning. It's nice to have you on the course every morning with yours truly. NWT L.A. Let's move over to the distaff side as they say of our panel here in jeans already may be best known as the play Lady but probably a lot of other things preceded that moment as she got into the broadcast game. What other college dean was it. Yes. What I have to say that it's I have to say Barbara high school because boy you're just cut right off if you don't say Barbara Pennsylvania what school was the Barnes borough. BARNES It's a little coal mining town. My

greatest accomplishment. That was the water carrier for the football team. My father wanted all his kids on the field and I was the only girl. But always I wanted to be in show business from the time I was just a little bitty kid. And as I learned more and more I didn't know whether I had either talent or stamina for theater with the world a lot more radio stations. And I was brought up with KDKA Pittsburgh and I went to Indiana Pennsylvania you know the University of Pennsylvania and then Syracuse. And when I left Syracuse University I went to Cleveland to work and I eventually wound up working in a very small advertising agency with some great accounts including Red Shoes. Well we we did a kid show and I was very happy in Cleveland and I got a call from Syracuse University is that there's a job open at a station called. W h e n. If you come here. You will be able to do more things than anyplace else in the country. See I didn't know that women didn't

do a lot of jobs I didn't know that there were weren't women directors or jobs like that. But I should have known I was going to get to do a lot I finally decided to come. I arrived on the day of the march of dimes to an auction. They were by 500 people who may have been one of them. I remember we all went work together to raise money. There were 500 people in the station that day and I knew two. Then the next week charming Dorothy Kelly Carr you know remember was starting a new show and I got to greet all the people that came came in so my parents cause a how are you doing I said fine I said What are you doing I said I'm making coffee for the guests that are coming in. And you know some people would have thought that wasn't so good for somebody who just had an incomplete master's degree. And the but my mother said. Be sure and put a napkin on the tray there. Whatever you do do a good job. And then if my first job was doing we were called announcer director she had to do to do both. And I.

I got to do it. I did not do the fashion shows or the women shows but I did get to do the benchwork swelter show because I know my football Magic Toyshop came along a. Couple years later we started work on that. Now that was the icing on the cake for me. I that wasn't my real job. My real job was Community Affairs. How long did the toyshop last. Twenty seven and a half years with a pretty good run and now I'm archiving. Wonderful. Let's move next to Jane and Fran McGrath another pioneer. I think you know I think maybe your read referred to as a fable. I don't know if that's good or not. But Fran let's start with your high school and head was held high and here we were in this way again heading west. But one high school I did talk of Ailey academy known as the valley in those days along with Mike Price's matter of fact in the same class and George pulled back it's three of us went into broadcasting. But not having any direction then I probably don't have much now I didn't take the radio and TV course that we

had in that high school. But I guess they did that a chord with me. Well George took it and from there I want to learn more in college and I squeezed a four year economics degree into five years and stayed there as long as I could. I was drafted in the Berlin crisis in 61 and got out of the Army in 1963 and at that time George had just gone from or left to NPR. I came out and got a job with an insurance company hired for insurance and the owner of W NDR and the judge as he was called then had an idea to put actually a put Mike Mike Price and W NDR as Baron de mon but Channel 9 didn't want to go along with that at all in those days we were bitter enemies there was no crotch cross promotion

and they wouldn't let him do it and George says I've got the guy that can do it. So I came over there and I was coming to creep for an hour a day while I worked at the insurance company. Oh really. Yeah they would know that for quite a while. Eventually worked into full time with the craziest split shift in the world. I was doing Mac and MOT in the morning for two hours from 5:00 to 7:00 you Makar Mon. I was both. Oh that's another story there. Was a little take off and Maude Fricker from Jonathan with my great heroes Jonathan Winters Yeah I was doing count to creep in the afternoon for an hour I was selling advertising for the programs. And also doing news on the weekend as Dave Scott another name. Yeah yeah we all had a new way well. So how long do you stay with NPR before we went to yours.

We were known in throughout the country as little lass to the mom and pop stations were actually got down to 12 as George and myself who also sold advertising were a salesman as well as on air personalities. So I guess the question is answer which came first the bird or moan or counter group. Mike Price Baron de mon came out OK. Now where did you start when high school in the much low Novia Fran and I were old classmates at Onondaga Valley Academy and. I did know what I want to do when I was in high school I wanted to be a baseball player or a jazz drummer. Yeah there would be no work involved in that and I wasn't a very good high school student as Fran can attest. But I had enlisted while I was still in and high school in the Coast Guard Reserve and part of that obligation was two years of active duty. And when my hitch was over in those two years were over my father my older brother were both graduates of Syracuse and so they pushed pushed pushed over to go to Syracuse

University which was a big mistake. They never should have pushed for you know some people aren't cut out for college. So I went and I didn't last very long I dropped out but I went to a lot of people laugh and they joke about trade schools I went to a place in New York City for about 10 months called The Academy of broadcasting arts. Doesn't that there's another way of saying I don't Columbia. Do I think they went out of business a long time or that they don't operate anymore and I was there for about 10 months and came back and all we did there was broadcasting for like about six hours a day five days a week. And I came back and you get your certificate. You don't get a diploma or a degree you get a certificate. So I started to inquire around and I walked into w a life with my tape and George pluckers who was there and I talked to George and help out an old classmate. He said you know I'll get on the phone and I'll call a guy out of WSO que or North Syracuse who might be able to help you out. Then they put me on full time and I worked there for about a year. And then I read a little article in the paper that said Channel 9 Angela is auditioning people. And one of the things that they were looking for was staff

announcers. Son I went out there and auditioned as a staff announcer but they also had an opening for a weathercaster not a meteorologist. You know they're all meteorologists and I was there in those days they were just weather casters. And so I auditioned and got the job there and I've been there now if I'm in my forty second year it's one mile and going to pass my probationary period and they're going to they're going to keep you know I mean I think I think I saw you. You got my knock on wood here. Oh Mike Mike is still at Channel 9 you see him of course on the news doing some kind of man on the street features and his best known character is burned to morrow and I will probably talk about the creation of that character a little bit later on as we chat with some wonderful people here reviewing the history of broadcasting in central New York. Our final panelist has about five names I never knew where their name was Willard labor or Everett. Bill Everett which is Everett is my middle name my real middle name the Everetts of Albany. Oh OK. And Willard was my first name and late L A P is.

Well that's the character I sure will back with no rejoinder. Oh yeah a lot of people remember you as you Paul but high school college of acquittal from well I wrote my first radio script when I was about 12 Me and my friend Max Anderson he had a little recorder home recorder and I stole everything from Walt Disney. I did Jack in the beanstalk and of course the two of us did it all the sound effects and all the voices and everything. I wanted to be a radio actor when I grew up. Course when I grew up and got out of high school you could take a post-graduate course I took a post grad course I got actually I got right up to the. I don't the upper third of the class. And that's how I got into the Air Force because you had to be in the upper part of your class for that. We all wanted to go to the Berlin Airlift that's where we wanted to go. But they said You guys are all right too young to untrained You can't do that. But if you had been to high school and graduated high school in those days this would be 1048. You were considered more a but more educated person and I used to take a

little votes from my students class and maybe only 3 out of 20 men would have graduated from high school. This was back in in the middle and late 40s. But anyway I got through the air force was a great time and I went to Syracuse University got through. Broadcasting at W E R that was where I began. I worked myself up to the summer program director. We did new sports and we did the FM Empire State School of the air which Jack remembers and we did all sorts of things on the radio that I never got to do ever again as soon as I got out into the water. So I got I finally graduated from college and. And got married and my wife and I went down to Florida w r h c Jacksonville Florida. I got through that pretty well and then came back up to Syracuse. My first station was w o n

o in overnight. The Wong song survey of top 2 innings reached 16 every morning. We signed on with the Chinese gong. Well my name was will wobble and I think I got it but I had to pick my name he said. Your will wobble. Now that was a Polish name because a lot of Polish people in the night or I think I work for Jim MCKECHNIE j and k and then I worked at WS way are from 961 to 1991 30 years salty Sam was on the air for 19 years and he was on the air for 16 years altogether. I mean. Is it something someone can

host it is our guest again. Most unfortunate that you would have company doing this. There was this inspired again by burned him on everybody seem to be doing. I laugh. I would tell you I got everybody in the business a little better is we are bloody body has Yeah. Everybody was buddy buddy does it better than I ever did. You should have done this OK. I graduated from CBS what's in the mind I want to see in full when I went in the United States Army. I went to Syracuse University I went to Elmira New York and worked in television I went out to Rockford Illinois I worked in television there and came back to Channel Nine for a couple of years and I went to Fort Lauderdale for about a year or two I came back to W h e n radio. Then I went to K Devil am in Dallas Texas. From there I came back to Syracuse one more time to w NPR from there I went to WY and are in Binghamton and from there I went to Virginia Beach and almost killed myself running a bar. And from there I came back to W H E N again to Syracuse from there I went to Columbia South Carolina to read some freelance and from there I

came back to WTMJ which is where I am now. That's one minute Rosie that's broadcast so I think I've got the most alphabet soup of all of us later. Stay tuned for memorable Jingles most embarrassing moments and more. I just realized my first job was 50 years ago 1953. So we've been around for a few years as all together. What's the biggest difference. Those who are still working from today as when we first started that's it we were pioneers that we can go back to the 20s and 30s as far as the beginning of broadcasting but in our time of the 40s and 50s the things were different than they were today. Jed what do you find the most if radio was theater. Fifty years ago I was an announcer on a live studio show done at wor little old Binghamton

would you believe. And of course we did had the big studio and we had the the music stand. Why would he lie on our Binghamton. You know and it's your hand. Yeah oh yeah. Add two and you had the copy and you're careful and then when you're done you just threw it off on the floor and you read the next thing. But it was theater it was big. We had live live life. We didn't play our own records. We had engineers who played records sure. Mike you mostly TV did a little radio just started. But TV today is too. When we first started on the set up on what Jack just said in television when we when I started it was it seemed to me a form of show business in those days. And it's not now it's just news and public affairs primarily and the electronics and how things have changed in the media are fantastic I can remember when we did news then when guys would go out. Now we call them videographers they were photographers and they would go out with a Polaroid camera. Sure. And take pictures of them fire an accident scene come back and those would be mounted on a card and placed on an easel and the director would call

for camera one to take this shot of the fender bender and then dissolve the camera too. And it was all silent or voiced over by the anchor people. But Polaroid pictures and remember on Channel Nine we were colorful channels and I guess we had color Polaroid. A good wife. All right here's the original channel 9 logo and if you got a close up of their member the pinwheel. Oh yes well that was a big deal and we all know that Fenway Oh yeah that was revolutionary It was our local color felt like our second or third logo. Yeah we had a lot of friends of course you and George and Celtic creep and all your characters. It's a time of really radio as opposed to maybe even today's radio. It was more spontaneous and creative Do you think. Oh absolutely yeah and I think would have big differences other than your morning time slot now. Then every day part had a personality. The emphasis was on a personality as opposed to today playing 10 or 12 in a row. You go in and drop in the time or

whatever well I guess because he was a little known to create you know what he told us you know. OK with that test I couldn't tell the difference. So word started I guess with me it was kind of a cheap imitation of the way Bela Lugosi did it started and I was saying we go we go back to early days when we did romper room and we did local news and we did variety shows and we did a host of them. We could do when I thing we didn't know enough to be afraid of doing things. I mean how many how many live local shows can you remember on the early HCM for instance.

Oh wait I could just remember us on a Saturday for instance. We did Toy Shop Tamary 9 to 10 then we did ten o'clock scholar. Then we did Gene's junior auction. These were a lot of shows. Boom boom boom to what half hours and they were live as they happen my radio studio audience for for jam borate and then the zigs and we in the one thing we always concentrate on with the kids that somehow we would never lose the the magic and we had all kinds of magic words. I don't really remember Uncle skip. Oh yeah absolutely. And I showed movies where he had a spot on Friday's presidential race that he was projector restored changeover By jingo going to reject. Well one night I was directing John Scott didn't say that I would have been sitting there till this very day because I would not push the button. Misato So you know then we all had little signatures of how we opened or closed the proud the Magic Toyshop open did not have a song or a scene that I thought

that's better than I thought that that that that that the rock. And then. Mr. Elster does the magic to work to this. But it's a Magic Toyshop at to open it. You need a key and then narrow they say. Mr. Nasr And Mr. Nasr man did someone do that your thumbs at the corners of your tongue. Boys and Girls. The magic doors of the wonderful magic going on. Those were the days and the course we're talking about the way we were back in those days and things some are still the same and there's the magic of television and the magic of radio and as Jack said in most cases it's still the theater of the mind especially radio because you don't see what you do you know you imagine it on yourself. The old days Jack and the Jack Benny's and there are a lot of old radio shows I would love to have in an old radio. Yeah Red you remember the cars mostly in the sports area what's new in sports as opposed to in the 40s or 50s as of today.

Just think to me the most fun. I think that I ever had. Was doing re creations of baseball games. People talk about ticker tape but what we had we had a marvelous guy in Syracuse that worked for Western Union. His name was Bill McCoy. He couldn't tell the difference between a baseball and the fielder's glove. But I'll tell you he was in the studio with me. And there was another guy at the ballpark in let's say Montreal. And by Morse code the sky would click. Off to Bill McCauley and every batter had one sheet. Yeah and he would turn over the. Sheet to be in it would see be yellow ball low side and then you had s one f strike one swinging and we created the ballgame from that was not the guy was pulling the looks and the pitch is like

one call and the early stages of this ballgame pleated is showing good control and fine speed. I'm gone when I'm gone. I think after the first one to come out of the shower Tom Waits on the pitch. It's a mallet to Hina. It was high and outside. I think I'm sure it's not going to get hammering Henry anything that is too close and we did not phony it up but there was a lot of guys I'm always yours that had sound effects in the crowd noise crowd and they would stay in maybe half an inning behind so they could prepare me for this. My feeling on it was that I wanted to be as much a surprise to me as to the listener. Sure I get it. Course where people talk to me now about remembers doing 50 years ago. Sure but there was a great adventure. Good names from the past in the world of sports Willard cars.

Can I call you will or Gary Paul or every bill I write or what I father call me Bill that mother call me Billy My sister called me will my brother call me Willy. I didn't have a brother that. OK and a bill of course you did a lot of creativity. Did you create salty Sam based on any one of your oh I was told I could do a character Id be myself so I did a sort of a character voice you know. And originally but I just I just became salty Sam and how do you Paul worded that as well I'm a lawyer part of the alum Alair and I were co-producers and in the show who was the hand that was Mr. Miller. OK let's call her he was called Dr. Nick quick. But I do hope to guess. I've attended. Most to maybe get him negative of the UN no doubt. I'm sure the dodgy I guess. What's so bad about it throughout.

And it ran. In the afternoon and it was for adults and children and all we did was imitate the movies that we saw when we were boy and we had just had to describe why we did this to this to the cruel Why do you have to do it in this way why do you do that. That's the way the movies did it you have to do this you have to. We knew and we both of us had seen all these movies when we were kids and so we had just left all we did was talk it was a monster movie about Nessa called monster movie in that name and there was a midnight mass because there was a diagnostic movie. I did I was Squire Applegate which was a character for G.L. left which was the Grange Louvre for the ration later become what Agway. Yeah and there was a care with a corn cob pipe and a checkered hat I was an Atlantic weather man and we talked about that I used to be show business you did a variety show and that's academic The quiz show and we had a dance party show we did kid shows.

Well locally originated from our studios and then we had the Live from the shopping town theater we had there was just yeah you know there was another law and it was Netherland. Do you remember the song Another one milk. No. We know what kids are drinking. Remember that during the milk commercials we all remember some commercial airline. Brothers and everybody I remember brothers Well there was the first one where the body how do you do it. We go to my chair there to see brothers. Yes that's the prices I sold it so you know your wife there was a little pop up to drive a little bit with

the price and I never saw all that sort wondering how are we doing. And then how about a savior. OK save your money save your money save your money save it save it for a rainy day. Open an account for any amount and your savings right away. Let's see if we do burned very burned burned very well. It's mighty fine just plumb full up by the mile and a wealth of help then any rate drop. Good for the newsgroup. If they don't write them like that anymore I know we gotta give credit to Bud buddy right. He was a fine those people worked with but once in my living room on a couple of those wrinkles I remember but great guy his brother Tommy still around because the cool again

agency did those old commercials. The fall of that was the voice of most of those was a guy by the name of Norm Mazursky. And Norm was a fellow who had great difficulty in speaking. He was a stutterer and no matter what happened when you were talking of Norm he just stuttered. But then they would up playing the piano and he would never miss a word go bell till a syndrome. Yeah yeah like yeah I did yeah. I thought he had a ham Wardle would sit down at the most of these recordings were all done in the studio so they'll be all out. Yeah because but cool again the course was are the chief of our sales staff and the female singer on those was Charlotte Charlotte I just wrote hey are like real Remember those names. Mighty fine I am a good looking young man to think your

money paid good money think your money was made and money spent the night and today I am in you. Good evening I'm good goalie to you. How did the burn start and where did they go. It started on one afternoon in the studio our general manager of the time general manager Bill Drummond and I remember our program director Jeff Davidson. We're discussing that apparently they had purchased or leased a package of eight or 10 of these old horror films the old original Frankenstein in The Mummy and Dracula and they didn't know when they were going to air them or how they would use them. And it was in early October and I walked by them and I overheard the conversation and they said you know I can do a fairly decent imitation of Bela Lugosi speaking like that. I think about it. And I I had heard in other

markets they had tried this and it worked pretty well a guy out in Cleveland who used the name Gulati and then down in Philadelphia there was another guy Zachary. And those two went over quite well. So I said maybe I could do that here and they said OK try it. So we tried it and it worked you through another black caper seven over to double duty grants which was next door to our studios in shopping town and I said give me about three yards of that black cotton cloth. And I tucked up my short collar and threw some baby powder in my face and darkened in my eyebrows. And that's how it started. I didn't love the lottery. Cause I might get. Together. Friend you're probably most memorable part of your association with MDR would not be characters would not be people but it would be water. Oh yeah. It was bizarre it was a bizarre place the

I guess the thought was in those days that if you put your towers near water and it sank you know where you made your signal better whatever. Well we were lying low in an area that's for sure. I can remember many morning walking to where everybody had their own hip boots went down to do Julio's and get it was a prerequisite of doing a show what India are doing anything there. And many morning in the pitch black had those boots and staggering in above 4:30 in the morning to start the show it would flood everything you know literally I mean that this was this would be like for 80 90 yards before you got to the building and you had water above your knee that you had to walk through to get to the station and the lawyers were ok so would you actually use a boat too. Yes yes it was like being in the Navy you know that was by the way that would be located about Andrews St. Andrews road where there are about about Andrew's road adjacent to what is 481 now the towers are still there at least so left.

Jane when you first started working a car so today we have beautiful studios and we have all kinds of appointments for broadcasting facilities but I think when TV and radio first started they just kind of threw stuff together with the masking tape thing. The way she got on in 16 days which is still a record there was a big studio for cameras. The wonderful thing was. They had left the post right in the middle of the studio. And you always had to had to work around that post with your planning. But it was the perfect place to keep that the staple gun was all right and then we had a smaller studio where we had case kitchen. Yeah and you know person that. Yeah yeah but we did it was amazing what you could which you could do but it was the facilities obviously have improved over 30 40 and 50 years Jack you were what W I N R Yes in Binghamton there was just a transmittable of English and know what that was in downtown Binghamton that was a big one and that was the place that everybody I auditioned at every station around the area I could find when I was still in high school and they said whatever you do don't go to

WY and because there are major network affiliate affiliate you don't have any experience you talk too fast also and never hire you. Well I ran out of options. That was the only station I hadn't gone to. And bless his soul and may he rest in peace Jan costly hired me took a chance and hired me. Speaking of facilities I'll just throw in the first facility I worked in television was in Elmira New York and that was the satellite of Esquire channel 18. They had one camera but three lenses. You had to flip the lenses and get the low sums and that's all we had we had one class one camera and one projector and one slide projector but that's like all of us was where it started for me. And like Jean I was a program director the announcer took care of the log swept the floor and you know did all that. But it started for me in Elmira New York so it was a great training ground for what was to be you know a long term future and a great business broadcasting. I thought maybe we'd kind of wrap this

up if we would with a little memory of a name or two that unfortunately isn't with us today due to their passing on as I said but in my regards I remember Jack Burgess maybe you all remember the name Jack Burgess and I remember him mostly because he gave me my first job in broadcasting off. I went down to WNBA Oh in Auburn and he didn't have a job he said Here let me get Jack on the phone I got a young man here and I went up there and he and a fellow named Eddie Wright can I think that he's still alive up there worked for Nestle was the engineer. But they sat me down a bunch of records the old albums and they pulled one out and they said here if you were on the air how would you introduce this group. And it was the Ink Spots. And I said well we have a selection here from these refugees from a blotter. Here are the expats. And they said pretty good food you're hired. So that was my first job there but one on each of you give a name or someone that you either worked with or got your going is unfortunate is not with us today Mike.

Well I was influenced I think locally here when I was younger and looking at television channel 3 ws why I was said Murphy I thought I was very impressed by Ed Murphy. I thought his stage presence and the way he handled things on the air also over time. Yeah yeah he was all he was a pretty straight and very professional. Jean what in the names you can throw out and see Gordon alderman who taught us also so much about it and he made you feel that this television had so much impact that we better know what we were doing because we could influence or we could hurt. And he was the program drug ram it was program director news to me he was everything you know everything and I was here I was on the air also yet still doubt it ever work and then it was withdrawn. You know I think how many Christmases I spent with with Ron and his family and he was just so claim it's run for just you know on her and my mother said about much it was about 98 at the time ready to cast an absentee ballot. She said you know I believe everything Ron Curtis tells me I wish I could feel the

same about the candidates. Fran how about you obviously we mentioned George you know well never forget obviously George. But what a lot of people don't know that George and I grew up together he came to this city from New York with his family when he was about 10 or 11 years old so that's. We grew up literally grew up together went to junior high school high school together. He went on to as you I went out to unwind but I spent most of my time at SU because all of my friends were there as opposed to going to Le Moyne and he got me into radio and started my broadcasting. Career when he was NWA E.R.. He did the basketball games and he needed stump some of the dude to do the statistics. So I said yeah sure I'll do it so I'm trying to keep up with everything I had never done them before. So we came to the halftime he turned to me so well Fran do you have the stats from that first half and he said no.

Oh I had my first words of it no no no. Can you do George. No I go to hear George a lot of I've broken George did. And to the control he had I mean if you need any heavy things that yes he did you do George. I had I thought well I'll try it. Well that's bullshit. You'll know what all that we can say that yeah I'd like to. Yes it might make your day. Yes that's what feelies the weather is the big story in the Central New York area amount of backing because that was it then that was you know what I mean. Although using a tractor you for quite a while lost track of everyone but everybody had to be somewhere. That's right. Jeanne you mentioned garden and their cars there's a whole lot of reward How about some people that got you going

or that you remember most. Well most of the people that's true they passed away. John Gray and I used to sit in the booth together and talk about the air air force he was an Air Force during World War Two. He got the D.A.'s seat not once but twice the Distinguished Service Cross really no one knew about this. He never spoke of it to anybody. But he was also an architect and he used to build custom homes for people. That's what he did on the side and he was he was usually very quiet. And everybody was trying to tell him how to sound. But he had a natural. Voice a deep rich voice and he was a strong man and he was a late night show I think a midnight show and he did that yes. And you know what he did he took office and put on slippers to do that show reel a thermos of coffee there and he would just sit there you know in his slippers and do this show. I got to tell you a bill merchant story I remember Granny I grew yeah oh yeah.

Bill was a wonderful wonderful man. And when I was doing morning radio at 6 o'clock in the morning bill would do the all night show from 12 to 6 and maybe a little tired obviously. And I'll never forget one morning I sat down and I started to do the show and I had my cup of coffee and I took a sip of coffee while Bill was taking readings and you know signing off. And I swallowed it the wrong way. My coffee and I. And I was really turning blue and I said Well. I wanted to do the Heimlich. He came behind me and get a half nelson not me. I almost broke my neck but I laughed so hard at him you know I'm not you know and I don't it's not I'm like Bill that's half Milsom. So you folks may not know who we're referring to his name is Bill merchant he did a character called Granny groove and he wore the hat and the whole dress in the old yeah I think he wore a bra I mean this has to be authentic he did it all. They claim he got stopped by the cops once and he would you know out of character even area. But another you know another great name we could

go on and I'd read any great names you recall I'm sure you remember your old partner Mr. Webb. My Well of course. My old partner Mr. Webb Spider Spider way and Spider and I were together for approximately 60 years he passed away a couple of years ago. But he was my great friend my dear friend and we did operate a radio station together. A guy that I was very grateful to. Maybe you folks won't recall but. Hamilton. What will we have the ham was the original program director. Sure Marshall brought him. And his radio career was all on Buffalo. And he'd been on radio probably for 20 25 years. And I was very grateful to the guy because here I was a 20 year old when I got the job and I'm on the air with a full time sports program my first day on the air. Jack you must have had someone that either got you going as you remember and will always.

Yeah it's a name that nobody around here will remember I don't think although it came from a great broadcasting family Bill Wheeler leukemia cutting down at about age 28 I was an impressionable high school kid and he took me under my wing and I just couldn't believe this was happening so it had an effect on me. And then much later in my career I miss Paula Dante. Oh yeah great guy scared the big jibber is out and everybody says you know we've got to get you on television. And then the man who made the Athlete of the Week possible Larry Rhodes. Yeah I wish there were here you know because he was a good guy. He says now there get this thing in Miami now see what you can do with it. I said thank you because most. He was the general manager of the station that took over from Paul at the time and most general managers of that time would say just read the scores. You know we can't be bothered is too expensive to cover local. Well he didn't think it was too expensive and thank you Larry Rhodes. As I said before and could repeat over and over we're leaving a probably more out than we've mentioned and we apologize to the family. People who remember other names and we can just go on and on in

that regard. Let's conclude if we can go around the horn once with either your most memorable or hopefully your most embarrassing moment. We've all had those in our careers of broadcasting so it must have been a time when you did something wrong or it was a gaffe or maybe you got fired or whatever but Freddy How about you and some of your experiences. Well there were quite a few but one I remember early in my career. The state troopers used to step in once in a while for coffee early in the morning and I'm on the air at 5 o'clock and I'm doing Mac and modern and I'm doing both voices so I just trooper his cup of coffee and he's wanders into the studio while the record is on and I look say hello or whatever and this guy standing there and he's going to watch me talk to myself and then if this guy's going to think I'm real and I think and I just kept holding it I've only had finally the record into and I had to go into it and do

a little dialogue. Well OK it's a 10. Yeah let's let's don't do engender writer director all the folks out there waiting for do engender either which was a little take off. And the writer is a town and then I work in some small town jokes into their model of the voice and the Mac would be just yeah I'd be like my own straight man. He said he wanted to talk to the police but of your big troopers there they go Yeah sure he's OK. J Records were live television and there was a television I think how many wrong buttons I must apportion. But one day we used to start with. We did four shows back to back these things we share and next door the Magic Toyshop and party line and I was directing Well I got a washing machine commercial you know but right next to that the priest was waiting to go on these things we share and I watched him up in the middle of the commercial but he was so nice he said that will please the sponsor because Cleanliness is

next to God you know live television doesn't like it well or did you ever get out of your problem. Well I did have a few problems I must admit. One time I was doing the news on TV at the booth and I said now the news headlights and everybody and all the guys you know you have an air of your fun and I also did some awful gaffes on radio and one of them was one of my favorite vocalists was Peggy Lee and I used to play her a W. J and K are there was it was one of my early broadcast days and I was going to be really you know. And now here she is like he said even I don't. Right then right. Oh a lot of Ling had Stevie heard 200 you know read when you did play by play or sports or anything you know of course you also did news on General night do you have a couple of problems. When I remember more than anything else Phil was my exit from Channel 9. But it took you three months to get fired no no no no no no it took me six six people yes I'm currently ahead of the game too long and they didn't want to tell me you know get

out of here right away. But they told me in January and. You know you're going to be among those at the party and I said well just tell me when. Well you know we want to go and find another job I said I'm not going to look for another job. But at any rate it becomes February and it becomes March 1st of every month and if they found anything no April comes of if I said No in fact my wife and I are going to Florida for several weeks. So what the Florida we came back with this may have may finally in June he said read. We've got to get rid of you to somebody. You're going to work for the month of June and the last day of June is your last day so I had a calendar from me on the last day of June happened to be Friday June 29 and I says How would you feel if you had to go home to your wife that night and tell her that you're getting fired on your wedding anniversary.

Work through the twenty eighth wonder of it all. It's Jack you ever do a Hubert Hoover and really those little yeah yeah Red did that baseball recreate and my partner John Harmon and I did I think we're the last ones to do it in the mid to late 60s. And we're doing it in the studio one night and the engineer had the option of turning your microphone on or off or with a flick of the switch in the control room. You could control the mike and he said you have control. But he he still had control. And something went wrong. And I said bleep bleep can't anything go right. They were very discouraging words. They were not obscenities but they were solid profanity. You know as I flipped the mike switch to what I thought was off short the engineer had not flicked the switch and I didn't have control. And I came back out. Sorry about that. You know one of those a gun is always loaded and a microphone is always there.

Yeah do that right broadcasters creed. My most embarrassing moment and I had a lot of. Yeah I did a show called Style time and it was a fashion show and I would narrate the people doing their twirls in their dresses and coats and then we decided one show will do what they call a bow teak instead of having models will at each store present some of their accessories. And so we had tables full of shoes in the shoe store and maybe hats and gloves for the ladies store. And then there was a children's store and so they would will the tables out and on the back of each item would be a description so I could hold it up to the camera and say you know this is hat from Style time and it's 295 and it's made of wool and I can read the cue card on the back of each item. So they wheeled out some accessories from one of the stores. And as I picked up each item I could read the pinned little information sheet I have to pick up a pair of panties. In the slip had fallen off.

So I tried to edit my way out of and I said I'm not sure what these are but I'll get into him later and then I realized what I had said. But that was one of my more memorable moments. And of course the microphone being left on a lot was another one of my shirts. I think you've had a few maybe as early as you. Yesterday I got a bunch of them but going back several years when I was doing Baron de mon on a regular basis I used to get called to go up to the Enchanted Forest for a weekend and do something up there and Billy Dee who was our floor manager at the time I Channel Nine would go along with me to assist me and help me with things. Well Saturday night when we shut down we get back to the motel and I take off the costume and everything. Then we'd go out and maybe imbibe a little bit but you're just a little bit. Yeah I have a cheeseburger or two and maybe a little something to wash it down and then we maybe go to another place and the big lodger the knotty pine or another place and. And I remember going back to the motor forge motel one Saturday evening and not feeling quite right. And then the alarm went off early on Sunday morning to appear

over the Enchanted Forest. So as we're getting ready or my head hurts and I had a bad headache and as I was getting ready I noticed that I was expounding or extinguishing a lot of gas at the time. You know a lot of burping and other things that were happening. So I put the cape on I go over the Enchanted Forest and that's part of the Western motif there. They had Boot Hill so they had my crypt set up at the top of Boot Hill and I'm doing this little enclosed area and Goat Hill and still flapping. Cigarette of the expulsion of gas and they opened the gates and a kid comes in with his mother and she says there he is right up there you've been asking me all week can we please go and see the Baron and I'll run up there and see him. So he ran up there to the scene and probably my breath wasn't too good at the time either. In addition to the gas. And I said Well hello bloody body how would you with this morning and I shook hands with him and talked with him for a couple minutes and he said hi and BAM and he turned and he ran back down the hill and he said he really

is dead. You want to smell him. I'm not well it's really been exciting and interesting as I said we could go on and on and on here forever and ever and we've told a lot of stories OFF-MIKE that I'm sorry we can't include in some of our presentation here but I've got to thank all of you folks and as I said at the opening we are not being presumptuous enough to think that we are you know the legends of Syracuse broadcasting because there's a lot of them out there who still are around and as we said earlier who have gone before us and we certainly thank all of those for being a part of what is a great part of central New York the broadcast history. Syracuse So our thanks again to everybody I think individually will go around the horn here and thank each of you for being here. And first Jeanne Dorothy the play Lady. Thank you so much for your participation. All three of you thank you as well. Our good friend Fran McGrath of course sometimes known as Mac in Korea cannot have a good

old Claude read part in the red hair still shining through red. So don't be embarrassed about it. And of course sometimes known as the Baron but still known as Mike Price and shell line. Thanks for being with us and my partner every morning Jack Moore's story. I got a couple of other time. Well we hope you had as much fun kind of listening and watching. I'm Phil Markert. Thanks for spending time with us and we are glad that we could be with you. OK. Thank you all. Thank you.