PBRTV - Pittsburgh Area Radio/TV Mailbag

PBRTV - Pittsburgh Area Radio/TV Mailbag PBRTV - Pittsburgh Area Radio & TV

PBRTV Mailbag January 16-31, 2004

Eric: There was a fellow named George Eisenhauer, who was the voice of KDKA-TV for many years..In fact, when he retired and moved to New York (I think), KDKA gave him the old RCA 77DX microphone that he used in the vocal booth. Could this be who the person to whom the mailbag query refers? Does anyone know what ever happened to him? As I recall, he was in his early-60s when he retired in the mid-1980s and had recently fathered a child. Also, didn't the the velvety-voiced fellow who did the Kaufmann's ads (Was it Bob Hamilton?? For some reason that's the name I seem to remember) also do some work for KDKA, as well? It could be that I heard his voice so many times on the station, I've just come to associate him with KDKA-TV. Also, my old pal, Ray Tannehill, used to have a home on Longboat Key, near Sarasota, Florida, where I now live. If anyone talks to him, have him give me a ring! I suspect he's still living on Mt. Washington in the warmer months. Hope all's well! Keep warm! Ed Weigle (January 30, 2004)

I just moved back to Pittsburgh after a 10-year hiatus, only to find that I can STILL hear WJAS radio loud and clear in the phone lines at my new home. Can anyone help me understand why? Is there anything I can do to get rid of this ghost? (January 30, 2004)

Eric's Response: First of all, think about where you live. If you live in the Swissvale/Edgewood area...close to the two-tower array (visible to your right as you travel outbound out of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel) the signal may somehow cross paths with the phone lines.

His first name was George. His last name may have begun with the letter "W". He was a really tall guy with a substantial "mane" of gray hair. Occasionally, he would substitute as the weekend weather guy on KDKA-TV for vacation relief. (January 29, 2004)

Sorry to hear that CBS may be getting ready to pull the plug on The Guardian. (your latest news link) I guess it's time for Mayor Tom Murphy to begin hastily assembling a taxpayer-funded bailout to keep the program going. Maybe offer CBS some TIF financing for production costs, or subsidize their purchase of new Hi Def cameras,or convert the former Lord and Taylor into a rent-free soundstage for them. Heavens knows, it is the role and duty of City Government to keep any private business endeavor within City limits from ever going out of business for any reason...EVER! Maybe we can tax all those ungrateful Dormont residents who now don't like the show. Or maybe they can come up with a story line where Nick Fallin goes to work for the Penguins. Then they can kill two birds with one stone. I agree the show has become very dark as of late....but hey, the 'Burgh is a dark place these days! JC South Hills (January 29, 2004)

I believe for a brief time before they were bought out by the company that runs WDVE, 106.7 in Beaver Falls played an alternative and heavy metal playlist. Also I many college stations have shows that play mainly metal in various forms. Sincerely, Dom Salvucci (January 29, 2004)

I am trying to track down who was the 'voice' of KDKA-TV during their "Eyewitness News" days. I believe he was also the voice talent in radio spots for Kaufmann's. (January 29, 2004)

Eric's Response: Yes, I know the voice you are speaking of...but I never did find out who it is...but someone who visits PBRTV might know!

For a period of time 1510-am was all metal I believe Chris DeCarlo was the jock. (January 29, 2004)

Hello Sir, I was wondering if this radio was the Pittsburgh Radio station in Pennsylvania? If so I wanted to ask a question... Why is there no Metal channel? I'm talking about bands like In Flames, Opeth, etc.. (I have a huge list) I honestly think a good addition to the Pittsburgh Radio would be a good "Death Metal" radio channel. Thanks (January 28, 2004)

Eric's Response: Has ANY city had a "Death Metal" station?

Eric - I remember my share of Easy Listening radio stations in the Erie Region. The first was WLVU Stereo 99. They remained with the Easy Listening format until they decided to flip to Easy Rock 99.9 which would eventually lead to Classy 100 in 1985. They tried the format on sister station WLKK as "Beautiful Lake 1260." The other Easy Listening station was WERO FM 97 where Jet TV anchor Sean Lafferty made a stop before moving on to TV. Former liberal talk radio host Barry Dain Stienhagen was also at 'REO & sister station WFUN 970. They too went AC after an experimental mix of AC & Smooth Jazz in the early 1990's. The last station with Easy Listening was out of Warren, Pa. WRRN 92.3 held on to the format into the late 90's before flipping to Soft AC & then the current Oldies format they run. The only station I can find that is even close to Easy Listening is out of Tillsonburg, Ontario. CKOT 101.3 FM bill itself as Easy 101. They play a mix of AC, Smooth Jazz & Easy Listening "covers" as it were. Of course, you could tape hours of the Easy Listening channel on Directv for the road. I can get it on XM Radio, they call it "Sunny" which plays instrumentals like Dentists' used to drill to. Tom L. (January 24, 2004)

Eric's Response: Yes, I frequently tune into the Easy Listening channel on DirecTv which is programmed by Phil Stout. Marlin Taylor programs "Sunny" on XM. Both are members of the group I mention in the other email. I have always been convinced that the format has dwindled in popularity because of negative associations with dentist office memories.

Indeed, it was Sterling Yates, that portrayed that character. If memory serves correctly, the role of Santa Claus fell upon Uncle Ed Shaughency. I think Josie Carey was 'Suzy Snowflake'. It appeared after the evening news I believe during the holidays. Unfortunately, the name of the program escapes me. RJ Kanary (January 24, 2004)

I remember 'Mr. Winkle' and him sending letters to Santa Claus in a rocket ship (this was before Paul Shannon on Adventure Time doing it). What was the name of the show that Mr. Winkle(he wore wire rim glasses and held his head at an angle and had an 'old voice') and Suzie Snowflake appeared on? In only remember seeing them about 2 times (seasons) when I was little....perhaps very, very late 50's or very early 60's. Thanks so much. (January 23, 2004)

Eric's Response: Didn't Sterling Yates play this character?

Eric, I regret to say that WEZE, like WJJJ, is not likely to return anytime soon. In lieu of this, however, I'll be happy to offer any interested parties some recent tapes of WCTM (1130) in Eaton, Ohio, a 250-watt daytimer that plays Easy Listening music, much of it from the original beautiful-music reels. If you'd like to hear instrumental cover versions of "Aquarius," "Mrs. Robinson," and "In The Year 2525," this is the place. Read more about WCTM and its 80-year-old owner and sole operator, Stanley Coning, at this link: http://www.fybush.com/site-021205.html. Regards, Clarke Ingram. (January 23, 2004)

Eric's Response: Well realistically, I know that Beautiful Music, unfortunately, is dead as a radio format. But it's not dead in my CD player. In fact, I invite anyone who enjoys said format to join the Beautiful Instrumentals Group on Yahoo. The link is on the Links page.

I urge each of you to write to Eric O'Brien and complain about his decision to change the format of 104.7 to talk radio. Personally, I'm going to wage a petition drive and I won't be satisfied until Mr. O'Brien restores EZ-listening WEZE-FM to that frequency! I haven't been this mad since Eric fired Bob Prince. Next, I'm going to write to all of the newspapers and complain about all of these reruns of "Peanuts." Can't they get any new comic strips from Charles Schulz? (January 23, 2004)

Eric's Response: I'm all for WEZE-FM...no complaints here!

I am writing to voice my opinion on your decision to change 104.7 THE BEAT to talk radio. I was a loyal listener of "THE BEAT" and am very dissatisfied in the change, actually you lost a listener. I am a sales rep and listen to the radio all day in my car. I do enjoy talk radio at times, but all day is a bit much. Jim and Rose in the morning are somewhat bearable to listen to, but as for Neal Boortz he is UNBEARABLE. This man needs a wake up call to let him know that we as people all have opinions. I listened to him and I found him appalling the way he criticizes listeners thoughts and views of issues. This man is going to be a lose for you instead of a benefit. Also I really feel the decision to change the format of the station was a poor choice, you lost a listener in me. Bonnie (January 22, 2004)
Eric's Response: It wasn't MY decision...and I am certainly glad it wasn't!

I have a complaint I would like to submit against the host of the "America's Morning Show" here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the radio station 104.7 FM. The person's name is "Quinn" of "Quinn & Rose". Prior to the first of this year, 104.7 FM was a radio station that played music (to include oldies) and was referred to as "The Beat", and I listened to it all the time. Around January 6th, while driving to work, I noticed that the format of 104.7 FM was changed to talk shows. "Quinn & Rose" is on every morning, at least through the week. I asked a co-worker (who is also an avid listener of the station) what happened, and she told me that there was an article in the newspaper recently which mentioned the format change. I've heard of "Quinn & Rose" before, but I really never listened to them. Because I had my car and work radios tuned to 104.7 FM, I decided to give this show a listen. I must say that I am appalled at the majority of what I've heard. Apparently, this show is geared towards conservative republicans, and the comments that are made by both Quinn and Rose are supposedly the opinions of conservative republicans (so they say). On Monday, January 12th, Quinn made reference to the "Million Man March" which was held in Washington, DC several years ago, as the "Million Moron March". On Monday evening, January 12th, my husband and I watched the democratic presidential candidate debate which was held in Iowa. On Tuesday, January 13th, "Quinn" made reference to Al Sharpton as being an "entertaining thug". He also referred to Ambassador Braun as being the "former queen of welfare", and John F. Kerry as "John frikkin' Kerry". The worst statement I've heard to date was on Wednesday, January 14th. Quinn stated that Clinton never held an intelligent cabinet meeting in his entire tenure as President because he never sat across the table from a black person. He went on to state that Bush, on the other hand, has had meetings which included Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice and Secretary of Education Page, who are all black. He stated that this fact was not important to conservative democrats because they thought of these individuals (Powell, Rice and Page) as just the "house n*****s". I WAS SO ANGRY, I ALMOST STOPPED MY CAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY!! He laughingly repeated this phrase at least 2 or 3 times, like he enjoyed saying it. I wanted to call into the radio station and give this man a piece of my mind, but I knew my call would be screened and more than likely, I either wouldn't get through, or I'd be cut off. It amazes me how the callers that I've heard all seem to be of the same opinion as Quinn, which further strengthens my feeling that calls are screened in an attempt to air only those calls which support what Quinn says. In my opinion, there is enough racial tension in this country without people like "Quinn" feeding this garbage through the radio airways on a daily basis. I think he should be taken off the air. I wouldn't even suggest that he make a public apology because I truly believe it wouldn't mean anything to him, and all he would be doing is giving lip service in an attempt to calm the anger of people like me who find him to be extremely offensive. (January 22, 2004)

Hi-- I'm Martie Gray (air name) and I worked at WEEP under Glenn Barrie and Jay Stevens and also was the music director at WIXZ when it was owned by Tony Renda and in a country format. I left Pittsburgh for Charleston, WV where I worked in radio for many years at stations such as V100, WQBE and WVSR. I'm a published writer now and am working for the Division of Culture and History in WV on a major museum renovation project. Thanks for the nice page. MM Marta Martin (January 22, 2004)

From PBRTV.com columnist/researcher Jason Togyer who explored the following website: http://www.cartoonresearch.com/questions.html. "Ben Varkentine asks: 'I figure this question is going to be maddening either because you've answered it a lot or because I don't have enough information. So I'm sorry in advance. But a couple of friends and I have been trying to find a cartoon we all remember from when we were kids and saw it on television. It's the story of a man who has a parade pass by the front of his house every day. This wouldn't be so bad, but the last part of the parade is the sanitation department truck, which always hits a pothole outside his house causing a load of garbage to be dumped outside his house. He goes to see several people to try to get this fixed, explaining the problem in a cod-French accented song. Any ideas? Thank you so much.'" "That cartoon is called LA PETITE PARADE and it's a Paramount Modern Madcap cartoon from 1959. I get asked about this one a lot. It's a real cult favorite. It was part of the 'Harveytoon' package, shown with Casper, Baby Huey, Herman & Katnip, Little Audrey back in the day, on TV. Hard to see these days. Renoir the Matchmaker is the main character in this film and he appeared in a few more Modern Madcap cartoons during 1960-61. It's not on TV or tape. I hope these images refresh your memory!" (January 22, 2004)

When I was a young kid, There was a Saturday morning kids show called "Cartoon Colorama" which aired on WIIC TV in Pittsburgh.. On one particular Saturday morning,,they aired a cartoon which has stuck in my mind for almost 35 years,, I have seen this cartoon once in my entire life, But I have spoken to many whom have seen it,,They too have only ever seen it once,,and it appears that it has had the same effect on every one who has viewed it. This particular cartoon was very strange,, Odd music,,the voicings were very peculliar, and the artwork and animation was unlike any I have seen... The story is about a french man and his wife...Every morning the local garbage trucks would drive past his house,,, hit a bump in the road in front of his house, and dump garbage in his yard,,, After a while ,the frenchman becomes irritated, and begins a crusade,, complaining to local law and political figures,,, Each time the frenchman would complain, he would perform an odd little dance..beat on his large stomach..and sing this strange little song,explaining what was happening... "rahh ta ta tumm rahh ta ta tumm rahh ta ta tumm ,,,, rahh ta ta tumm ARMY .... rahh ta ta tumm NAVY,,,, rahh ta ta tumm SARGENTS,,,, rahh ta ta tumm LIEUTENANTS,,,,, rahh ta ta tumm THE CORP-O-RALES.... The department de sanitaire,,,, ( beating his stomach) ba-boom ba - boom !!!" The cartoon is hilarious as well as strange,,, I have seen a few websites which readers have also referred to this cartoon,,All of them,,just like myself,, were blown away by this only "once seen" cartoon,,and many, like myself are trying to find out more about it,, A gentleman I spoke to from Surrey,U.K Has told me that it was a HARVEY TOON cartoon Does anyone else remember or know ANYTHING about this cartoon ?? (January 21, 2004)

I'm still trying to locate any of the people who were associated with the TV show "The Place", which aired on WQED from 1966 to 1970. It was a locally produced magazine format show aimed at teenagers that used actual high school kids as "student producers" to put the show together and appear on air. The Student Produce roster included local newsman Bob Mayo and Tim Hayes. The original host was Bill Hillgrove. He was later replaced by Dennis Benson. The program featured panel discussions, interviews, and performances by local garage bands and folk singers. The setting was an imaginary coffee house called "The Place". It was produced in conjunction with The Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania. There were two spin-offs of the TV show. There was a half-hour Sunday Morning public affairs program on KQV called "The Place-KQV" and a real coffee house on Market Street also called "The Place". I've been trying to get WQED to sponsor some sort of reunion show for the aging Baby Boomers who worked on the Place, with no luck so far. If anyone reading this was ever on either the WQED or KQV shows, I'd love to hear from them. They can e-mail me at gerdner@msn.com. (January 21, 2004)

Just a quick update for you: Bob Dearborn was let go by AM740 CHWO just at the beginning of January, 2004. From what I have read on the stations newsgroup (I am not in the industry and have absolutely no insider knowledge at all), it was due to economic issues at the station (their advertising revenue last year was not what they had anticipated). Sincerely Eric C. Tweed, ON (January 21, 2004)

First I wanted to let you know that WGRP 940AM is back on the air after being silent for a LONG time. Apparently it is no longer owned by Greenville broadcasting. Instead it has been purchased by Vilkie Communications a father/son operation based in Linesville/Meadville. This brings them to two stations owned. WGRP is now simulcasting the WMVL 101.7FM oldies format (COOL 101.7) and now covers all of western crawford, western mercer county, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties. Next the morning anchor of WKBN 27 news has resigned her position and its attraching national attention. On Dec. 26 she approached management of a personal issue that was quickly becoming a public one. About a year ago she celebrated like after overcoming some major health problems. While in Florida she stripped naked and was caught videotaped and photographed. Now she is in the "Girls gone wild" video and her pictures are scattered across the internet. This month the station decided to accept her reputation which has the Youngstown market extra chatty. Many of WKBN-TV viewers have asked for her to stay on the air and our mad at the management of WKBN-TV. This promoted a letter from the news director http://www.wkbn.com/Global/story.asp?S=1600221 who says that he won't have his news department turn into a tabloid show "and I will not have one of my main anchors the feature attraction at bachelor parties" This morning she spoke to Diane Sawyer at "Good Morning America" and is scheduled to be on "The View" this morning. Lastly, I noticed that you have the Youngstown FOX stations as 31/62. A few years ago they moved 31 to Mercer PA and changed to channel 17 but kept the same callsign WFXI. Hope you can use this information on the site Mark (January 20, 2004)

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