Category: Legends People

1 August 2018

Legends To Celebrate Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018

The Broadcast Legends will celebrate the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018 on Saturday, October 13, with a special luncheon at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco.

This year’s class – the thirteenth to be honored – was selected in voting conducted among current members of BARHOF. The recipient of this year’s Sherwood Award as most popular personality active on Bay Area airwaves, as chosen by the public, will also be celebrated during the luncheon.

The BARHOF Class of 2018: (top l-r) Beach, Krock, Dung, Edwards, Bristow; (bottom l-r) Heller, Zlot, Burns, Papa, Farr

Among the members of BARHOF’s Class of 2018 are longtime Broadcast Legends Fred Krock, Gordon Zlot and the late Chris Edwards.

The announcement was made in July at the annual Radio Day By The Bay celebration at the California Historical Radio Society‘s headquarters in Alameda.

For reservations, please click here. (Advance reservations are required.)

10 May 2018

The Legends Summer Luncheon: TV News: Then, Now and Future

You know their faces and voices. You’ve seen the stories that they’ve reported. At the next Broadcast Legends luncheon, you’ll hear the stories behind the stories, as told by several of the finest reporters in Bay Area television history.

Don Sanchez

Belva Davis, Rita Williams, Manny Ramos and Tom Vacar will take to the Legends stage at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco to tell their stories from the front lines and behind the scenes in Bay Area television news, with another fabled Bay Area newsman, Don Sanchez, serving as moderator and sharing his own tales.

Our event is called “TV News: Then, Now and Future,” and it begins at 11:30 AM on June 19 with a no-host reception, followed by lunch and our program.

Peter Cleaveland, president of the Broadcast Legends and a 2017 inductee into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame, will serve as master of ceremonies.

To make your reservation, please click here.

5 February 2018

Something Happening Here: The Spring Legends Lunch

Dan Ethen in the AFVN Mobile Unit (Photo)

It was a year of protests and violence in every corner of the world, and of political battles and campus unrest — a year marred by the murders of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy, and the year that Richard M. Nixon was elected to serve as our 37th president.

The year was 1968, and nearly 550,000 American soldiers were serving in Vietnam.

John Mack Flanagan, with a 45 on his hip and a portable tape recorder in his hand

Not all of that half-million-strong force was there “in country” for armed combat, however. A small group performed a different military duty: providing entertainment on radio and television for their brothers and sisters in uniform.

Among those that served in Vietnam were three men with strong Bay Area media connections — John Mack Flanagan (BARHOF 2017), Dan Ethen (BARHOF 2017), and Michael Bennett.

At the next Broadcast Legends quarterly luncheon, these three will be on hand to tell their stories.

The event, entitled “Something Happening Here: Vietnam On The Air,” takes place on Thursday, March 15, at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco, beginning at 11:30 AM.

25 July 2017

Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2017

MARK YOUR SCHEDULE:
Saturday, September 23
Basque Cultural Center
South San Francisco
11 AM – 2 PM

The Broadcast Legends will celebrate the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame‘s incoming Class of 2017 with a special luncheon on Saturday, September 23, at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco.

The BARHOF Class of 2017 includes Peter Cleaveland (News), Dan Ethen (Engineer), Ron Fell (Management), John Mack Flanagan (Program Host), Richard Gossett (Program Host), Lee Jones (Specialty), Michael Krasny (Talk Show Host), Dan Sorkin (Program Host), Doug Sovern (News), Tony Tremayne (Pioneer; née Mel Fritze) and Rich Walcoff (Sports).

In addition, Chris Jackson of 98.5 KFOX will be honored as the recipient of the first Don Sherwood Award as the most popular radio personality in the Bay Area, as selected by the public. John Mack Flanagan, longtime personality on KFRC, KRQR, KSFO/KYA-FM and KWSS, goes into BARHOF as the people’s choice for the Sherwood Award in the Legends category.

Rosie Allen

Our host for the festivities will be Rosie Lee Allen, formerly of KGO Radio and herself a 2008 inductee into BARHOF.

The doors to BARHOF 2017 open at 11 AM for a no-host mix and mingle, followed by lunch and the ceremony at noon.

For reservations to the BARHOF 2017 celebration, please click here.

28 May 2017

Ken Ackerman: A Tribute To A Legend

KCBS legends Ken Ackerman, Stan Bunger and Al Hart

CHRS President and Broadcast Legends board member Steve Kushman (left) with Ken Ackerman.

Ken Ackerman, an inaugural member of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame and co-founder of the Broadcast Legends, died on May 28 at age 95 of natural causes.

Ackerman’s radio career began in Sacramento, where he “got the radio bug” while attending Grant Union High School. In 1942, he landed a job at KQW. At the time, the station was still licensed to San Jose, requiring some programming to originate there. Ackerman spent time in the San Jose studios as well as KQW’s San Francisco studios.

He told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Carl Nolte in 2009 that he remembers doing live broadcasts of big bands — Muggsy Spanier at the Bush Garden, a jazz band at the Mocambo, Del Courtney, Desi Arnaz, Ray Noble or Bob Crosby and his Bobcats, “live and direct for your listening pleasure from the Rose Room at San Francisco’s famous Palace Hotel.” Some of those live broadcasts would be distributed nationwide.

23 February 2017

Radio News: Past, Present and Future

MARK YOUR SCHEDULE:
Thursday, March 16
Basque Cultural Center
South San Francisco
11:30 AM – 2 PM

Over the years, the Broadcast Legends have presented all sorts of programs at our quarterly meetings — everything from old-time radio re-creations to kids TV.

One thing we’ve never done, till now, is take a look at Bay Area radio as it was in the 1960s, as it is now, and what it might look like in the future.

Remember what things were like in, say, 1967? What you could and couldn’t say … What sort of equipment we used … What our newscasts were like fifty years ago, in the time before satellites.

Make your reservation now!

How do things stand now? What’s been the effect of consolidation on news people and jocks and the listeners? And what might we see in the future? More news or less? Fewer owners? What about sports coverage? What about the business side? Where will the money be coming from, and who will do the selling?

We have a great panel lined up, which is scheduled to include Stan Bunger (Morning Anchor, KCBS); Stan Burford (Traffic Man, KGO); John Catchings (KFRC); Gil Haar (KYUU, KFRC); Jack Swanson (KGO, KCBS); and Peter Cleaveland (KGO), who will also act as the moderator.

This panel of folks has got years and years in the Bay Area radio. They have seen it all and helped to create much of it.

Join us and add your memories to the discussion on Thursday, March 16, 2017, at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco. Social time begins at 11:30 AM, followed by lunch at noon, and our program at about 1 PM.

Click here to make your reservation now.

1 August 2016

Broadcast Legends To Host Radio Hall of Fame 2016 Celebration

Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame Logo As it has each year since its inception, the Broadcast Legends will host the 2016 edition of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame luncheon, which will be held at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco on Saturday, September 24, beginning at 11:30 AM.

This year’s class of inductees include Dianne Nicolini and Hoyt Smith, both currently of Classical KDFC, in the Program Host category; Wes “Scoop” Nisker (News); Kevin “The Rat” Radich (Sports); Narsai David (Specialty); Dave McKinsey (Executive); Robert Hammett and Edward Edison (Engineers); Hilly Rose (Living Legend); and Wilda Wilson Church and Dean Maddox (Pioneers).

More than 5,000 ballots were cast for this year’s BARHOF nominees, in public voting conducted by the California Historical Radio Society and its Bay Area Radio Museum.

The BARHOF 2016 celebration is open to the public. Advance reservations are required, but membership in Broadcast Legends or CHRS is not required.

For more about this year’s inductees, please visit the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame’s website.

For reservations, please click here.

14 January 2016

Al Hart: Farewell To A Legend

We awake today to the sad news that Al Hart has passed away at the age of 88. A longtime member of the Broadcast Legends, Al came to the Bay Area about 55 years ago from KEEL in Shreveport, La., to work at KABL (960 AM) before moving to KNBR (680 AM).

KCBS morning news anchors Lois Melkonian and Al Hart (1995)

But it was at KCBS Radio a few years later that he hit his stride, becoming perhaps the most iconic voice on this iconic station’s staff. Al arrived at KCBS in 1966, and was part of the team that transformed the station in 1968 to the all-news format that continues to thrive there to this day.

Before moving to his role as morning co-anchor on KCBS, Al had been working afternoon drive on the station. Following his retirement, he continued to be a welcome voice on KCBS, appearing with current morning co-anchor Stan Bunger on the weekly Wednesday chats with John Madden — always bringing along a batch of his signature snickerdoodle cookies, as well as the latest ruminations from Charlie The Checker.

4 January 2016

Our 2015 Legend of the Year: Bob Brown

Bob Brown - 2015 Legend Of The Year The Broadcast Legends bestowed its annual Legend of the Year award for 2015 — the Myrna — to board member (and head of the Legends’ A/V Club) Bob Brown.

The announcement was made at the holiday celebration on December 18 at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco. Bob was photographed at the event flanked by Legends Father Miles Riley (at left) and Noah Griffin (at right).

Highly deserving of the award, Bob joins a star-studded group of previous Myrna recipients. View the list of Legend of the Year recipients here.

PHOTO CREDIT: Dennis Brown.

MARK YOUR SCHEDULE: Saturday, September 23 Basque Cultural Center South San Francisco 11 AM – 2 PM

MARK YOUR SCHEDULE: Thursday, March 16 Basque Cultural Center South San Francisco 11:30 AM – 2 PM

MARK YOUR SCHEDULE:
Saturday, September 23
Basque Cultural Center
South San Francisco
11 AM – 2 PM

MARK YOUR SCHEDULE:
Thursday, March 16
Basque Cultural Center
South San Francisco
11:30 AM – 2 PM