PBRTV - Pittsburgh Area Radio/TV Mailbag
PBRTV - Pittsburgh Area Radio & TV
PBRTV Mailbag February 15-28, 2002
Eric, I assume your poster from Florida who listed the names was asking whatever happened to? Tony Graham passed away several years ago. Sir Walter is retired and living in Pittsburgh. After WAMO, he had a second career as a reporter for WPXI-TV under his real name, John Christian. Henry Dabecco is retired and living in Pittsburgh. Roy Elwell is retired in Santa Monica, Cal. Jim McLaughlin owns an ad agency in New Haven, CT. Larry Aiken is in Evansville, Ind. He owned a concert promotion business which he sold and remains a consultant to the new owners. Vic (February 28, 2002)
Henry DaBecco, Roy Elwell, Jim Mc Laughlin, Larry Aiken, Lee Vogel, Perry Marshall, Tony Graham, Jack Armstrong, Lou Janis (Drive time-WMCK), Sir Walter Raleigh, and Frankie Crocker(from WZUM when it was urban). I'm a former PGHER living in Tampa---R. Liff (February 28, 2002)
Eric's Response: Perry Marshall - retired...still living in the area. Jack Armstrong, according to 440 Satisfaction is at WMQX in Winston-Salem, NC.
why is there not one easy listening (elevator music) station left on the air anywhere? what happened to them all and why? (February 28, 2002)
Eric's Response: It's a long story, and it's not entirely dead. There are about 25 Beautiful music stations left - mainly in piddly little markets in the middle of nowhere. But they are there. Easy Listening began to suffer in the late 80's as it became more and more like "wallpaper." It wasn't an easy sell to advertisers either. As you know, most stations appeal to a 25-54 age group and mostly with women. Easy Listening (with a few exceptions) doesn't really appeal to the younger crowd, nor does it appeal to most people as something they'd like to have on during the day. At one time, however, the format really led the charts and people tuned in all day at work, at home, wherever. Let me tell you, in times like these, I really could go for some of that! A couple of the staitons that I know of can be found at www.wezs.com/, or www.wjejradio.com/. (These stations used to broadcast online, but I suppose with the copyright jargon going on, they are offline.) Also, a couple of sites available - www.easylisteninghq.com, www.geocities.com/ezartists/. Dennis Ciapura wrote an excellent article on the rise and fall of easy listening available at http://www.bext.com/rise_and_fall_beautiful_fm.htm. Oh and I almost forgot about the Beautiful Instrumentals Group available at Yahoo!
Eric: The fellow in the mailbag is right about the late-70s/early 80s WPTT program being sort of a rip-off of "Captain Jim." This "old salt' was named "Captain Pitt." There was also a girl named Taylor and an invisible bird named "Bruce." Okay..so there was nothing else for me to do around 2:30 in the afternoon back then! It was either that, soaps or Mike Douglas. Ed Weigle (February 26, 2002)
Ok....get it right!!!!!! It was:..."THE O'BRIEN & GARRY ELECTRIC FRIDAY NIGHT VIDEO SHOW "!!!!!...... Anyone remember WPTT 22 in the late 70's with another Captain Jim?....showing cartoons, 3 Stooges, kind of a rip from WIIC in the 60's!!!! Mark M. (February 25, 2002)
Eric, You might like to know that Mike Hambrick is no longer news director at WTAP in Parkersburg. Apparently, he fizzled quickly. He opened a media consulting firm, Hambrick Media Works, and now is the campaign manager for Jim Henry, a Republican candidate for Tennessee Governor. - Jim Lokay (February 24, 2002)
Eric, I don't remember the "Come Alive" scenario the way Greg does. Chuck Brinkman was the host, followed by Terry Lee. If other DJs hosted, they must have been filling in for vacation or illness because I don't remember there being any formal rotation system. If someone wants to nail it down, Chuck can be e-mailed via the website of his current station, KLUV-FM in Dallas. Among current radio people, I believe John (B94) Cline is still a co-host of that "Date Night" show that runs on WPXI after "Saturday Night Live." In the past, Jack Bogut had his daily 10 a.m. show on WTAE-TV for a while and then tried "Big Sky Cafe." In the '60s, Big Steve Rizen (KQV, WJAS) hosted a game
show on WIIC called "Give It a Whirl." Jack Wheeler did TV shows for KDKA and WPGH. Sad to say Al (Jazzbeaux) Collins died a few years ago. Vic (February 22, 2002)
"It seemed like every jock in town had a TV gig at one time or another." Yes, but none so forgettable as "O'Brien & Gary's Friday Night Videos". Come to think of it, it must not have been that forgettable, as I remember it, including Neil Spence crouching on a tall filing cabinet in the background wearing a leather flying helmet. I also remember "Quinn in the Morning at Night" on channel 19 on Saturday nights at 10:00. But considering that I remembered the wrong name for Clark Race's show and got the Banana Don/Bwana Don thing wrong, maybe my memory isn't all that trustworthy. "Too bad those days are gone." Ain't that the truth! The only show on the air featuring local "talent" that I'm aware of is the karaoke contest show on WBGN. I'm sure that both of its viewers enjoy it. I'm surprised that with the popularity of pro wresting on TV, there aren't any local wrestling shows like Bill Cardille's old "Studio Wrestling" on WIIC, with its rows of painted fans in the audience. George (February 21, 2002)
Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins TV show remains on hiatus. Does anyone know if he is still in San Francisco? (February 21, 2002)
Eric, Regarding "Come Alive" on WIIC: I remember the show having multiple hosts, including the below mentioned Terry Lee, who introduced the staff of the new "WIXZ 13-60," including a shy Midwestern teen who went by the air name of "Jeff Christy." After Chuck Brinkman hosted, it seemed to rotate among the KQV jocks. I remember Fred Winston hosting some shows, and Jim Quinn on another. It seemed like every jock in town had a TV gig at one time or another. Channel 53 in the early years had a Saturday night horror show featuring some of the air talent from the old WYDD. And then their was Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins who did a late night show on WTAE-TV. I also as a kid remember Sterling Yates doing a variety show on channel 2 featuring local and national talent. Too bad those days are gone. Regards, Greg McAtee (February 21, 2002)
Eric: The song is "Experiment In Terror" (No kidding!)
By Al Caiola Ted (February 20, 2002)
What on earth ever happened to Terry Lee? (February 20, 2002)
Eric's Response: The report we have is that he is semi-retired and living on a farm in Ohio. (Mailbag - December 2001.)
Eric:
The theme to "Chiller Theatre" was by Al Caiola, who did the "Theme to
The Magnificent Seven" and--a bit of obcure Pittsburgh trivia--played
guitar on The Skyliners' 1959 record, "Since I Don't Have You." The
title I cannot recall, only it had something to do with terror or
nightmares. I draw a blank--But I'm right about the artist.
Speaking of The Skyliners, we should send best wishes to Jimmy
Beaumont, who, accordingto a mutual friend, is to undergo valve
replacement surgery. Here's another bit of trivia: Art Pallan broke "Since" on KDKA, Dec. 26, 1958, at 20 past 10 AM. The late Joe Rock, who co-wrote the song with Jimmy, even had Art doing his voicemail message, as late as 1984. See what silly things we ex-radio jocks retain? Ed Weigle (February 20, 2002)
Just surfed by your site. First time I found it. Nice. I'm the owner and morning host of WVLY(AM) in Wheeling and grew up here with a close listen to Pittsburgh radio and TV so the "old-time" names and memories are a lot of of fun. You might want to add a link to our call letters on your listing page. Our web site is sportstalk1370.com. Thanks,
Howard Monroe (February 20, 2002)
Eric, Chilly Billy WOULD know but I'm not sure he's going to e-mail you. So I'll tell you the Chiller Theater theme is "Experiment in Terror" by Al Caiola. It's available on a couple of different CDs, just do a title search at CDNow or amazon. Vic (February 20, 2002)
WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE THEME SONG FOR CHILLER THEATER AND WHO RECORDED IT? (February 20, 2002)
Eric's Response: I bet Chilly Billy would know.
Nice site!! If I remember correctly wasn't WTAE AM - WRYT at one time??? An old map I have still has their tower (over in north Baldwin) as WRYT. Gary (February 19, 2002)
Eric's Response: In fact it was! WRYT was Easy Listening.
Eric,
Here’s some updates to the info you have on your web site concerning our stations.
Channel 29 WIIC-LP
WPBA-LP and our station WIIC-LP (formerly W29AV) co-existed side-by-side for a while, WBPA-LP in Pittsburgh, and WIIC-LP in Washington. When WBPA went off the air a while back (I don’t know exactly when) , WIIC moved to Pittsburgh. WIIC broadcasts MTV2 (formerly The BOX), and also locally originates programming (which includes Live Auction Television) and other programs currently on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. W29AV became WIIC-LP on 2/6/02.
And I know, WIIC used to be Channel 11’s call letters! Since it’s so well known in Pittsburgh, and it kind of goes with our motto We’re the ones to count on! [Get it? Abacus? Count?] that’s why we took it. :-)
Channel 35 WBYD-CA
Channel 35 changed call letters on 2/6/02 from WONT-LP to WBYD-CA. WBYD broadcasts Shop at Home Network, along with the Abacus Television Network Programming (just like WIIC Channel 29).
And to answer the question of why Channel 35 is licensed to Johnstown (according to the FCC), it was moved from there due to economic reasons, and is operating on a STA (special temporary authority) in Pittsburgh. Someday, they’ll acknowledge Channel 35 has been in Pittsburgh for 8 years.
Channel 69 WPTG-LP
Channel 69 changed call letters on 2/6/02 from W69CC to WPTG-LP. Channel 69 shows Shop at Home From 9AM-3PM, and MTV 2 all other times, except when we locally originate with the other stations. Channel 69 gets repeated to WQVC-LP (Channel 28 Greensburg), WWAT-CA (Channel 45 Uniontown) WBOA-LP (Channel 64 Kittanning) W43AX (Channel 43 Butler) and W47BH (Channel 47 Charleroi).
Hopefully, this all makes sense. Abacus has 8 stations in SW Pennsylvania (WIIC, WBYD, WPTG, WWAT, WBOA, WQVC, W47BH, and W43AX). They show Shop at Home, MTV 2, or a combination of both. We also do local programming from the Channel 29 Studios at the Eastland Mall in North Versailles, which is simulcast on all 8 stations at the same time. Since we’ve started the simulcasting on all of our stations (and changed Channel 35’s call sign), we don’t refer to ourselves as TV 35 WONT anymore. We simply refer to ourselves as Abacus Television Network. However, all the stations get IDed together at the top of the hour. Kind of like how WBGN refers to their whole network as WBGN but in reality they’re 12 different stations with different call letters.
Also, our website address has changed, since WONT doesn’t exist anymore. Our new web site address is www.abacustv.net If you have any questions about all of this, check out our web site, or e-mail me.
Other news Looks like W63AU (WNEU) switched from ShopNBC to Shop at Home Network just recently. Kind of odd, if you ask me. WBGN’s description on your site is kind of outdated, too. They’re basically a general entertainment network now... They’ve drifted a bit away from local sports. You may want to check out their site at www.wbgn.com to get a better idea what they broadcast nowadays.
Thanks, Joe Krinock Technical Director Abacus Television Network
http://www.abacustv.net (February 18, 2002)
Eric, I hate to rain on a good story but "Banana Don" Jefferson's radio handle didn't have anything to do with "Bwana Don" Riggs. The PD at B94 gave Don the name because he was looking for a silly name that would make people remember the morning team. The PD wasn't from Pittsburgh and didn't know anything about "Bwana Don" from 20 years earlier....The poster is right that Don Riggs is a very talented guy....Also, the name of Clark Race's show on Channel 2 was "Dance Party," not "Record Hop."....I believe Ed Schaughency was Santa Claus on the Sterling Yates "Mr. Wrinkle" show that others have mentioned....Hank Stohl did live in the Pittsburgh area for several years recently but he has since moved back to Connecticut to be closer to New York's voiceover work. For a time, Hank and some other local broadcast vets did a Sunday show on WJAS. Hank is also an author -- you can find his book ("A Play on Letters") on amazon.com....Also, Bob Tracey (KDKA, WJAS, Metro Traffic) had a role as a newspaper editor in "The Mothman Prophecies." Vic (February 17, 2002)
Eric's Response: I was going to say something about Banana Don/Bwana Don, but I decided I'd rather not be the one to rain on the parade.
Hello, WQXK 105.1 FM and WSOM AM 600 in Salem Ohio have moved their studio's to Youngstown because Cumulus Brodacasting owns station FM and AM stations in Youngstown and I guess they want all of there stations in one place. Also did anyone know that some Clear Channel Station's have there ive WebCast back in Pittsburgh and Cleveland Market's. They can't air Local AD's. All you hear is Music, Station Promo's and DJ Talk. Has anyone heard of Waitt Radio Networks out of Avon, Colorado.
I hate WPGH FOX (53)! Doesn't everyone? (February 17, 2002)
Will Kelton is correct about the Mr. Wrinkle show with Sterling Yates and Josie Carey being the one that had the rocket ship of mail to Santa. That show also featured Johnny Costa in a ridiculous Indian squaw outfit as Indian Mary! His (her) main gimmick was a tin pie plate necklace that Costa used as an ashtray for his cigar. (This was way before the days of political correctness.) Costa would pick up the plate to drop his cigar ash, then let the plate drop with the ashes falling to the floor once he was done. Another bit on the show was "Gnorman the Gnome", with the hard "G's" pronounced. It was a weird effect with someone laying on their back on a table with their head over the edge, and a fake nose and eyes on the chin and a fake beard covering the real nose & eyes. The result was a talking mouth that worked upside down. I was around 9 or 10 years old at the time, and thought that Gnorman was really cool, but he frightened my 5 and 6 year old brothers and sisters. Another great local kids show I remember from those days was Bwana Don on Saturday Mornings. It starred Don Riggs (one of the really underappreciated talents of local TV) and featured old Frank Buck "Bring 'em Back Alive" clips as well as visits from animal trainers and handlers from the zoo. Apparently enough Pittsburgh Baby Boomers remembered Bwana Don that years later, Don Jefferson would use the handle Banana Don as an homage to the earlier program.
The same baby boomers who were the target audiences for Mr. Wrinkle, Hank Stohl's K'nish & Rodney, Cap'n Jim, and Paul Shannon's Adventure time were targeted a few years later with shows like Chuck Brinkman's "Come Alive" dance party show on WIIC and Clark Race's "Record Hop" on KDKA. Both were local versions of the venerable "American Bandstand", though Brinkman also had local high school garage bands play live in the studio.
Around that same time, WQED aired a program called "The Place", that was a magazine format show based on an imaginary coffeehouse. It featured local amateur bands and acoustic folksingers, plus panel discussions by teenagers. The Place was hosted at first by Bill Hillgrove and later by Dennis Benson, and featured a group of area teenagers as "student producers". Among them were local news reporters Harold Hayes and Bob Mayo. It was produced in conjunction with the Council of Churches, who later changed their name to the Christian Associates of Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Place TV show spun off a radio version on KQV Sunday mornings called "The Place-KQV", hosted by Rob McClure and a real coffeehouse on Market Street called "The Place", operated by Tex Scheuch.
One of the more interesting things that the production staff at 'QED was able to do was to create "music videos" of the bands long before anyone heard the term. WQED had some of the best techncial people around in those days, including sound man Al Lawyer, who made the amateur garage bands sound pretty good, and Steve Zorbas, who created incredible visual effects using the Marconi Mark VI camera controllers. The Place also had a string of outstanding producer/directors, including Ira Klugerman, Jim Sweeney, Clayt Hartman, and Hugh Downing.
I was also one of the student producers of "The Place", and have been trying for the last ten years to convince WQED to gather some of the alumni of the show together for a reunion show. None of the old episodes still exist, as back then video tape cost several hundred dollars a reel, so we had two reels for the show and we would tape two episodes back to back every other week over top of the shows from two weeks earlier. George Erdner gerdner@email.msn.com (February 16, 2002)
(As of 6 AM ET 2/16 when I checked) All of the Clear Channel Pittsburgh Websites are DOWN. (www.wdve.com, www.wxdx.com, www.970theburgh.com, www.kissfm961.com and www.1047thebeat.com)
Believe me, they're down, I double checked my browsers with Yahoo (and if Yahoo goes down, then we're probably a step closer to WWIII, or something like that)Yes, this could be dismissed as routine maintenance, but every single site in the cluster?
Eric's Interjection: As of 8:45 AM ET 2/16, the sites seem to be in proper working order. So either they were down for routine maintenance or your computer was tired of CC websites.
Some Industry followers may remember last fall when the Infinity stations in Baltimore: Mix 1065, WQSR and B1027 (now X1057) all shut down their websites before the frequency switch of WXYV and WQSR.
Mix 1065's site is still not up. Also as industry watchers know, the weeks immediately following the week of Valentine's Day are prime times for format changes, as the Spring book will be here before you can say 'e-file'. Speaking of Valentine's Day, it was the one-year anniversary of the debut of the Valentine inthe Morning Show on WKST. Yet no much of a mention or celebration. Maybe he was stuck in L.A. traffic and couldn't fly in to Pittsburgh for the first time since he 'started' on KISS-FM. And more rumors to stoke the fire...I hear Tom Joyner will say 'Jammin Hits' in Pittsburgh before you can say 'Play Ball' Remember who told you first. John. February 16, 2002
Eric's Response: Remember RUMORS! They circulate like bad weeds, but there is a definite possibility for anything!
To whom it may concern...99.5 WXMJ, AM 1150 WHUN, and 106.3 The Bee have been sold to Forever Broadcasting. And I must say are taking over like a**holes! Take it or leave it! Thanks Dustin Getz, Former employee of WHUN/WXMJ Mount Union (February 16, 2002)
Hi Eric, reading the letter from Rich in the latest mailbag stirred my gray matter to the point where a few memories bubbled to the surface. Rich was asking about Paul Shannon's Adventure Time kids show, and the annual rocket ship to the North Pole at Christmas.
That brought to mind the KDKA Christmas classic..."Mr Wrinkle", a character played by Sterling Yates. He, along with Josie Carey (I think) and a few other radio and tv folks would put together a five or ten minute show for kids around Christmas. If I recall correctly
it ran in the news or just before or after it. Along with the obligatory letters to Santa, there would be some threat to the holiday...the reindeer couldn't be found, not enough snow to make the trip, kids letters to Santa were stolen, etcetera. Kids would interact via letters and help resolve the conflict. At one point there may have been a contest or two with prizes. This ran well before the Paul Shannon show, and may also have included a rocket with letters going to
Santa. In fact I think the title of the show was "Mr. Wrinkle Goes to the North Pole". I'm wondering if anyone else remembers the show and if they do would be brave enough to say so and reveal their age? And just where did the Mr Wrinkle character come from? Was it part of another kids show that I haven't remembered? Will (Carnes) Kelton WSHH, WJAS, WPTT (February 15, 2002)
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