Jocks who made it to major markets from WB/Scranton?

[masterg]

Regarding Harry's contract and move to WILK...it was brilliant on WILK's ( I heard Kirby Confer himself did the deal)

Now there's a name most here won't know, Kerby Confer(it is with an E). Kerby's a bright guy who saw a possible weakness and exploited it. Harry should have NEVER left WARM, and that he did was(sorry,Harry)the biggest mistake of his otherwise very successful career. If he hadn't left, he could have retired to great accolades, dinners in his honor, gifts, tributes, it would've been Harry West Day across NE PA. Instead, he went to WILK where he essentially got lost. One factor in his failure at WILK that is seldom mentioned is WILK's signal. Harry(and all of WARM)had one hell of an audience east, north, and northwest of Scranton, an area where WILK was weak, if you could hear it at all.

It's been mentioned here before, so this isn't revealing any dark secret, but his leaving was more about control than money. Harry wanted complete hands-off control of the morning show, some of the newer suits with the company wouldn't yield, so he walked. WARM's demise was inevitable; Harry's premature departure only hastened it.

 

[NigelWick]

You're right. Harry never should have left. There are several places to place the blame. Harry's already large ego grew out of control. There was his wife and the money factor. The suits at WARM were directionless. They knew WARM had to evolve, but they had no clue as to the direction and how to do it. Confer knew Harry wasn't the long term solution at WILK. It was a shrewd move to weaken the competition, which was already shooting itself in the foot.

 

[NEPA_radiobored]

As a recall the story. Kerby wanted revenge on WARM (and essentially Susquehanna) ever since Kerby "Scott" was treated badly by WARM. Kerby vowed that someday he would come back and make them pay. He used Harry as a pawn and it worked.

 

[arehkopf]

Just discovered the thread and thought I'd chime in.

I was literally a footnote in NEPA radio, replacing the great Jerry Heller as News Director for WARM in April of 1996. Susquehanna was still the owner at the time, and hired me from WHP in Harrisburg.

Fast forward to the fall of '96 to the announcement that Tele-media was buying the station. The management of the station was lopped off one by one, including GM Jim Loftus and OM Mike Edwards...two guys I would have walked through hell for. The new bosses and I quickly established that we had extreme "philosophical differences", and I left to help put "BOB 94.9" on the air in Harrisburg. Two years there, and then it was to WPOC in Baltimore in May of '99, where I've been ND and part of the Laurie DeYoung morning show since.

I have always regretted that my tenure at WARM wasn't longer. There were some wonderful folks in the newsroom there, and although we didn't always see eye to eye, I could never question their passion and integrity. Paula Deignan was simply the cornerstone of the newsroom (and my constant reality check). Elizabeth Field knew everyone everywhere and could work a scoop better than anyone in the market. Ellen O'Brian's voice is still one of my favorites ever on the radio. We had a great support cast too...with Man Friday Iyoob and his best gal, Carol, Pam and Brian Carey (when he wasn't doing the WOR thing). Our election coverage that year was one of the proudest accomplishments I've had in radio. (Remember Tom Stish?) And it was quite a learning experience. Some things I would have done differently, others not. But that's life.

Plus the atmosphere was great. Terry McNulty, Stan Neishel, Rob Neyhard, Bobby Day, Sam Ligouri and my very most favoritest receptionist ever, Mary Ellen. And with Kid Kelly, Danny Ocean, Billy Hammond, Frankie Warren and the rest...it made life there fulfilling.

Every once in a while, on the air on WPOC, I let slip a "Hey-na." And I smile.

To those I know up there, God bless.

Bill "Aaron" Rehkopf
WPOC Baltimore

 

[masterg]

And just whatever became of Elizabeth Field?

 

[scmidlapp]

Last I heard, Elizabeth was somewhere in Massachusetts.
She could be anywhere, though---I heard that right around the year 2000.

 

[crmc]

As to Elizabeth Field's whereabouts, she was a full time mom last time I heard of her. Remember her intonation on the " D " in Field ? " I'm Elizabeth FielDuh..WARM NeWSuh". She was excellent.Bright and tight.

And Bill Rehkopf, while his tenure was shorter than everyone hoped, was called Walter Cronkite in the building.Very strong Newsman.Good Guy,too.

 

[NigelWick]

You're kidding about Elizabeth, right?

 

[emo474]

I saw elizabeth a year ago, working in the health care industry.. the call side...on Montage Mt.

 

[radiodood]

How about Al Brock who was PD at KRZ in the 80's. He went to Norfolk right after KRZ and since then has been PD in cities like Indianapolis, Providence, and now in St.Louis as PD for a Clear Channel station.

Dood

 

[warmland]

How about Al Brock who was PD at KRZ in the 80's. He went to Norfolk right after KRZ and since then has been PD in cities like Indianapolis, Providence, and now in St.Louis as PD for a Clear Channel station.

Dood

Yo Dood, Those are "medium" at best markets, NOT major markets.

 

[twobarkstudios]

Bruce Michaels worked at WSCR in the 1970's...moved to WBLI on Long Island...and last I heard was on the air in at the Jazz station in San Francisco. Great pipes and sense of humor...visited him on Long Island once and he was wearing a Sarno & Sons T-shirt...the ones designed to look like tuxedos...so a little Northeast Pennsylvania stuck with him as he traveled the country. I don't see many posts about WSCR...it was my favorite...a little more rock leaning than the other S-W/B Top 40's. Whatever happened to some of the personalities who worked there?...Frantic Freddy, Bob Roof, owner Tom Rice and his son who did an AOL night show as Tony Richards. I know PD Vince Alberts passed some years ago. Tim Karlson (the CRAZY REDHEAD) worked there too. Bob Woody (minus the kazoo and banjo) and Chris Starr were part of the lineup in the 80's when the station became 13Q. Sure miss that little studio those 3 towers just down the street from the WACO diner in the Keyser Valley.

 

[warmland]

Bruce Michaels worked at WSCR in the 1970's...moved to WBLI on Long Island...and last I heard was on the air in at the Jazz station in San Francisco. Great pipes and sense of humor...visited him on Long Island once and he was wearing a Sarno & Sons T-shirt...the ones designed to look like tuxedos...so a little Northeast Pennsylvania stuck with him as he traveled the country. I don't see many posts about WSCR...it was my favorite...a little more rock leaning than the other S-W/B Top 40's. Whatever happened to some of the personalities who worked there?...Frantic Freddy, Bob Roof, owner Tom Rice and his son who did an AOL night show as Tony Richards. I know PD Vince Alberts passed some years ago. Tim Karlson (the CRAZY REDHEAD) worked there too. Bob Woody (minus the kazoo and banjo) and Chris Starr were part of the lineup in the 80's when the station became 13Q. Sure miss that little studio those 3 towers just down the street from the WACO diner in the Keyser Valley.

Tom Rice went to real estate school in Florida after selling WSCR. When SCR switched to 13Q, they got hold of as many old SCR jocks as possible to record a Farewell to the old SCR which included Bruce Michaels, Ron Donavon and a few others.

The original 13Q line up was

6-9a Bob Woody
9-12p Jack Griswold
12-3p Chris Starr
3-7p Big Bob Michaels
7-12p Tim Manely
12-6a Bobby Gunther Walch (who has been working in Allentown for years now)

 

[Kelly Watts]

Nancy Faye's real name was Nancy Place. I know she worked in Williamsport for a while...

Nancy worked at WMPT AM FM in South Williamsport, and helped me out for a while at WMPT's sister station WKAD-FM in Canton, Pa. Nancy was a great gal and got her start in WMPT's Explorer Post (Post 99.3). She had a lot of talent and left us far to early.

Some other names that made it to the "Bigs" out of Williamsport:
Jim Stowe I think he wound up at WIP with other WWPA (Williamsport) veteran Gordon Thomas.
Mike Sullivan to WMID Atlantic City, then on to Chicago for many yeras.
Caesar Mattioli (aka Matt Caesar) from WMPT to WMMR then on to WSB Atlanta,
Jon Paul from WMPT to KENO in Las Vegas.

 

[Pinegroves]

I did mornings for a very short time when they went to the Big X, WBAX. They gave me the name Dan Dayton, This was right after the flood in 1972. It was a very depressing area and after 2 months management reneged and asked me to do another hour in the morning. That was Bill Stuart and Jim Ward. That wasn't what was promised me when hired. I think I was looking for an excuse to get out of Wilkes-Barre. Been reading about the jocks who were there back in 1972. I'm now in Las Vegas, not a major market, #32, doing Classic Country, using the name Chuck Manning (aka) Country Chuck. Been here since 1975

 

[Stormychuck]

It also work's both ways. Not only did jocks make it to the major market's from WB/Scranton, major market jocks also came to and worked in WB/Scranton and some of the surrounding area's. For the sake of tooting my own horn, I worked for Bloomsburg's WHLM in 1981, and Scranton's KRZ-FM. 7 year's previous to that I was working in Los Angele's radio at several of LA's number #1's, KHJ, KIQQ, KRTH, all in the drive time slot's, so, sometimes it just works that way and sometimes your in and sometimes your out.

Banana Joe, yupper buddy, I worked with Banana Joe at Miami's WHYI-Y-100FM (Miami) my hometown, and shortly thereafter Banana Joe was working back in WB/Scranton, if I remember correctly, at WILK?

BIG fish in little pond's, and little fish in "BIG" pond's, as you can see it's work's both way's! Whether it was major markets or a market the size of Bloomsburg, I've worked in the smallest to some of the biggest.

Age, I'm showing it, and for dropping name's KHJ Los Angele's, my boss was "Charlie Van Dyke"!

 

[MCNDRWS]

Joe Montione Worked For A While As PD At WBQW-13Q (The Old WSCR) Before Moving Into The Same Position At WILK.

 

[GMV]

If you consider Saigon a major market, then count me in. Al Wolfe brought me from Triangle's WFBG in Altoona to WILK in 1964. Three years later I was Chief Announcer for the Armed Forces Radio Network headquarters in Saigon where I took over The Dawnbuster (better known as "Good Morning Vietnam") in late '66. I replaced Adrian Cronauer; Pat Sajak (spelled "Sadjak" back then) took over the program after I left in October of '67. The show originated in Saigon and was broadcast countrywide via repeater stations. Don Fox

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

The one exception was a guy at WKBW in Buffalo who was Polish, and used his real name on the air. GOOD GOD! It was considered groundbreaking at the time. Sorry, I cannot recall his name, but somewhere here might.
Hi MasterG,
Are you think of Casey Patrowski? He worked at KB.

Always enjoy checking in on the NEPA board and when I saw this thoroughly enjoyable thread, it struck a nerve because Casey (Kasimir) Piotrowski did indeed use his real name at KB and it wasn't all that unusual, at least for Buffalo. Legendary long time KB morning guy Dan Neaverth and guys like Casey are just a few of the many Buffalo/Western New York people (myself included, 1973-74) who worked full time, part time, all nights or summer relief back in the day.

Through the late 60s, 70s and early 80s, KB had a tradition whereby a summer-temp-all night-relief person would be hired because the regular all night guy rotated through vacation fill-ins during the day. KB was a NABET union shop at the time and it was customary for the summer-temp-all night-relief guy to make a decent buck (comparatively speaking, at the time) and then stay on as a part-time (hourly rate) weekender when the summer-temp-all-nite-relief gig was over.

So guys like Don Polec (yup, that Don Polec), Don Kobiela (first promo voice of MTV) Casey Piotrowski and many others worked for the legendary Jeff Kaye doing the summer all night relief gig using our real names. Buffalo, like NEPA, is a melting pot of Polish, Italian, Ukies, Hunkies, Slovaks, Irish and German, so using a real name isn't a big deal. After leaving KB, Casey later went to Hollywood as a writer and co-wrote a couple of episodes for WKRP in Cincinnati.

BTW, didn't Michael Sarzynski also do nights at 13Q Pittsburgh as Doctor Sarzynski after Jack Armstrong left? Sarzynski was a solid jock. Sorry to hear he's no longer with us. Now part of that great line-up at the 50 thousand watt boarder-blaster in the sky. RIP.

Really enjoyed reading this thread. Best regards from the Buffalo-Niagara Falls board.

 

[mike rufone]

How about Danny Ocean making the leap from NEPA on WBHT to San Francisco? Billy Hammond also moved up to Top Ten market status in both Philly and NYC. Mary Beth Rockwell moved to Miami from NEPA for an on-air gig at "The Planet" and then was hired by Mike Edwards (who she worked for at WMGS) to do middays at a new CHR in the City By The Bay. Also, not a jock, but Edwards didn't do too bad after leaving Magic 93/NEPA with PD stints in San Francisco, Washington D.C. and Charlotte.