[BC] Philly Radio - small world story

[Ron Castro]

Interesting stuff and a lot of coincidences!  In 1967, I was working as a summer relief engineer at KYW radio, and later in the year, I was on-air at WRTI, the Temple U station.  After dropping out, I took a job at WAMS in Wilmington, DE, but kept in touch with Philly radio.  I also, at various times, worked at WPBS, WBCB, WBUX, WBUD and WAAT.

 

"Humble" Harvey Miller was a huge inspiration for me to get into radio.  I listened to him on WIBG for years, and after he got blown out over a union squabble, I visited WAAT one Saturday when he was working.   I looked through the window, saw him turning pots, cuing records, plugging in carts, talking on the radio, and I knew right there and then that that's what I wanted to do for the rest of my life...and I did!  Harvey went on to KHJ, later shot and killed his wife and spent several years in jail, but just a few years ago, I ran across his home phone number and called him up to tell him how he changed my life that day...and he remembered me visiting the station some 40 years later!

 

The Dick Clark story as I heard it (short):  The original host was Bob Horn who had a known drinking problem and had been warned by management to stay sober, but one night, he got tossed out of a local tavern after a drunken fist fight.  Shortly thereafter he put his car in a ditch, was arrested and put in the drunk tank.  Since Annenberg owned the Inquirer, his 'City Desk' reporters informed him the next morning, and when Horn finally was released and came to work at the WFIL-TV studios, Annenberg immediately fired him.  The rest of the staff found out less than an hour before showtime.  Clark had just finished his radio show on co-located WFIL-AM and was walking down the hall when the producer jumped out, pointed at him and said words to the effect of "Hey you!  Ya' wanna be on TV?"  The rest is history.

 

My late cousin from Upper Darby was a regular on the show during the early 60's.

 

Sonny Hopson...great personality!  My friends and I loved soul music and were often the only white faces in the Uptown Theater on Broad St.  We could hear WHAT in the day in Langhorne, but the 'graveyard channels' made it impossible at night.

 

Great to reminisce!