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KFI Studios With A Window
- Thread starter HLeae
- Start date
I'm confused. Are you stating a fact (you know) -- or posing a question?
Anybody can pose a question: Like, during the 1990s, did KIIS-- owned by Gannett-- have a pulsing billboard on the 605 Freeway so listeners could watch the beat of the music?
Not trying to be snarky, but you pose such an oddly factually-specific question. And, if true, an interesting fact I didn't know.
Anybody can pose a question: Like, during the 1990s, did KIIS-- owned by Gannett-- have a pulsing billboard on the 605 Freeway so listeners could watch the beat of the music?
Not trying to be snarky, but you pose such an oddly factually-specific question. And, if true, an interesting fact I didn't know.
It's obviously a question. Perhaps there are some KFI photos online which can answer the question.
Many station had "fishbowl" studios back then.
No. The windows fronting Vermont were office space.
Studios were on the inside of the building, for both noise considerations and security.
I was not aware the Earl C. Anthony owned KECA, predecessor to KABC on 790. Did he? (There also was a KECA-FM, predecessor to KLOS and a KECA-TV.)
Were there any Los Angeles stations with "fishbowl" studios?
The ECA in KECA stood for Earl C. Anthony.
Dates back to when NBC had two networks, “Red” and “Blue”. Anthony divested KECA when Blue spun off to become ABC.
He owned KECA until 1944, when a new FCC law prohibited one person from owning two radio stations in the same market. Anthony sold the station to the NBC Blue Network, which became ABC. ABC added KECA-FM in 1947. They changed the call letters of the two stations to KABC and KABC-FM in 1954.
The closest one I can recall is suburban---KEZY, when their studios were in the Disneyland Hotel lobby from 1959-1968.
The thing about the L.A. stations is that a lot of them were built for network broadcasting---so the ability to isolate performers was a consideration---these weren't local celebrities, they were national (or global) stars.
Besides KFI (discussed above), KMPC was in what had been KNX's home at 5939 Sunset before moving to Columbia Square. In '68, KMPC moved to an even more impressive facility---the original Warner Bros. Pictures administration building on Sunset. KABC was in network broadcasting facilities on Vine Street before moving to new studios (very isolated from the outside) on La Cienega.
KHJ was in former network studios, too--NBC owned 5515 Melrose before opening its new facility at Sunset and Vine. And KHJ spent a few years at 1313 Vine, which was also a network-style studio. KFWB was upstairs on Hollywood Blvd. KGBS/KTNQ inside an old mortuary on Western---neither accessible to passers-by.
Smaller stations were often at the transmitter sites, and not designed for an audience.
KRLA might have been the most visitor-friendly---in the carriage house at the Huntington Hotel in Pasadena. During KRLA's heyday, kids would gather on the porch to get autographs and the DJs would stop to talk on the way in or out. I believe there was a window that you could look in and see the air studio beyond the engineer, but it wasn't designed to be a showcase for the DJ.
Last edited:
Yes until the sale of the NBC Blue network to Edward Noble who soon after, bought KECA from Anthony
And that was because the "you can't own two networks" ruling was accompanied by the "and you can't own two AM stations in the same market, either" ruling.
Had some time to go looking, and I found a shot of the KEZY studios in the Disneyland Hotel:
Disneyland Hotel - KEZY radio
What's funny about the shot is that the family standing in front of the window is Mr. and Mrs. Dick Whittinghill and their daughters. Dick was the morning man at KMPC from 1949 to 1979. Whoever found and posted the shot most likely had no idea.
That made me wonder about the connection between the hotel and the radio station. The hotel at that time was owned by Jack Wrather, whose company produced a number of TV shows, including Lassie. Lassie's owner was an investor in the radio station and the hotel. Wrather owned some radio & TV stations, including KFMB in San Diego. I guess he or his business partner Maria Alvarez also owned shares of the radio station. Walt Disney asked Wrather to build the hotel because Walt was short on money at the time. Not sure why the morning man at a competing radio station would drop by the Disneyland Hotel.
Well, in the early days, KEZY was 1,000 watts at 1190. Anaheim's 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles. So they weren't much of a factor in L.A. until they boosted to 5kw daytime in 1966.
As for why Whittinghill would be at the Disneyland Hotel...it's him, his wife and his kids. Whit's younger daughter is my age...she looks maybe 5 or 6 in that shot, so it's 1961 or '62. They probably went to Disneyland---maybe spent the night at the hotel.
Even with KEZY in the Disneyland Hotel beginning in 1959, Walt did other media deals---in fact, in 1960, a year after KEZY debuted, Walt did a deal with Gene Autry (KMPC's owner) to have Jerry Dexter do his Friday and Saturday evening KMPC shows live from Disneyland all that summer:
1960 KMPC Radio News Release Walt Disney authorizes Radio Show at Disneyland | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1960 KMPC Radio News Release Walt Disney authorizes Radio Show at Disneyland at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
And a further connection---Whittinghill was in a "Lassie" episode in 1960:
Dick Whittinghill | Actor
Known for: Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, Calypso Heat Wave, Jamboree!
www.imdb.com
This was the beginning of a long relationship between Disney and radio. In 1989, when they built the Disney-MGM Studios in Florida, they actually built a radio studio that employed a media relations person who booked the studio with radio stations around the country. They would get free passes, free stay in a Disney hotel, in exchange from saying they're broadcasting from Disney World.
BTW KEZY moved out of the hotel by the end of the decade. It was probably taking up valuable square footage.
Yeah, that and KEZY's staff was growing. The move to 5kw had them showing up in the top 20 in the L.A. book between '68 and '72.
The new place at 1190 Ball Road (about a mile and a half from Disneyland, east of the 5 freeway) was much larger:
Been thinking about it, and I can't think of any San Francisco stations that had street-level or "fishbowl" studios, either.
And in San Diego, I can only think of one---KCBQ at 5th and Ash, before the move to the transmitter in Santee. The studios were upstairs, but with so much glass and a wide enough sidewalk, that you could see in. And that stretch is on a hill, so the view from across the street would have been pretty good.
Would you be talking about Rud Weatherwax?
How many people know that the CBQ in KCBQ originally
Well, in the early days, KEZY was 1,000 watts at 1190. Anaheim's 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles. So they weren't much of a factor in L.A. until they boosted to 5kw daytime in 1966.
As for why Whittinghill would be at the Disneyland Hotel...it's him, his wife and his kids. Whit's younger daughter is my age...she looks maybe 5 or 6 in that shot, so it's 1961 or '62. They probably went to Disneyland---maybe spent the night at the hotel.
Even with KEZY in the Disneyland Hotel beginning in 1959, Walt did other media deals---in fact, in 1960, a year after KEZY debuted, Walt did a deal with Gene Autry (KMPC's owner) to have Jerry Dexter do his Friday and Saturday evening KMPC shows live from Disneyland all that summer:
1960 KMPC Radio News Release Walt Disney authorizes Radio Show at Disneyland | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1960 KMPC Radio News Release Walt Disney authorizes Radio Show at Disneyland at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!www.ebay.com
And a further connection---Whittinghill was in a "Lassie" episode in 1960:
Dick Whittinghill | Actor
Known for: Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, Calypso Heat Wave, Jamboree!
stood for CBS Quality?
Well, in the early days, KEZY was 1,000 watts at 1190. Anaheim's 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles. So they weren't much of a factor in L.A. until they boosted to 5kw daytime in 1966.
As for why Whittinghill would be at the Disneyland Hotel...it's him, his wife and his kids. Whit's younger daughter is my age...she looks maybe 5 or 6 in that shot, so it's 1961 or '62. They probably went to Disneyland---maybe spent the night at the hotel.
Even with KEZY in the Disneyland Hotel beginning in 1959, Walt did other media deals---in fact, in 1960, a year after KEZY debuted, Walt did a deal with Gene Autry (KMPC's owner) to have Jerry Dexter do his Friday and Saturday evening KMPC shows live from Disneyland all that summer:
1960 KMPC Radio News Release Walt Disney authorizes Radio Show at Disneyland | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1960 KMPC Radio News Release Walt Disney authorizes Radio Show at Disneyland at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!www.ebay.com
And a further connection---Whittinghill was in a "Lassie" episode in 1960:
KEZY was 1000 W directional day and night which made no sense as the pattern was only intended to protect KEX. It was a big deal when they went 5 kW ND-D, because previously their ERP toward LA was probably less than 250 wDick Whittinghill | Actor
Known for: Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, Calypso Heat Wave, Jamboree!
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