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"KGFJ-The Original 24 Hour Station" My Latest Article

R

radiohistory

Hi all. Jim Hilliker here, in Monterey, CA. I've been very busy with my wife's health issues, mine too, and various family issues, two jobs, etc. I didn 't even know this site was back up till a week or so ago!
Sorry I didn't have a chance to take part in the KFI discussions with Mr. Landing. I knew the answer to one question was Don Wilson. I have a copy of the Stuart Blond ECA bio, too. I would guess Mr. Landing knows more overall about KFI than I do, while I have tried to learn a bit about every L.A. AM station that was licensed from 1920-1945. I wonder if he knew Newcomb Weisenberger, who died last year? He was a good friend, who was ECA's youngest engineer when hired at KFI in 1947. Newcomb was at KFI until 1980 when he retired. Also, I own a lot of old radio memorabilia, but I think our friend David Gleason is the champion!! His site has everything I would dream of owning. I see he has some Radio Doings there now, which I started collecting in 1983, and have maybe 24 issues or copies of issues in some cases.

Radio World's Blog site has written an intro on my latest article, "KGFJ-The Original 24 Hour Station" (now KYPA-1230). It is revised from my 2002 article on the same topic, but much expanded with extra graphics, etc. Here's the link to their take on my article:


http://www.radioworld.com/default.aspx?tabid=75&entryid=997


To go directly to my article, click here:


http://jeff560.tripod.com/kgfj.html



And, Jeff Milller's site has many of my other essays/articles, including my attempt to debunk the myth of the Aimee Sample McPherson telegram to Herbert Hoover in the 1920s:


http://jeff560.tripod.com/broadcasting.html


I also see my long history of KPPC-1240 AM (1924-1996) is still out there:


http://www.laradio.com/kppchistory.htm


Happy 2014 to everybody. Don't have as much time for this or radio history lately, but will try to take part now and then, as time permits.

Jim Hilliker
Monterey, CA
 
"I would guess Mr. Landing knows more overall about KFI than I do." Jim, I've printed out and saved almost everything you've ever written about Los Angeles radio: station histories, call-letter histories, biographies, and all kinds of obscure almost-forgotten details. Because of you, I've learned about the early station owners, engineers and broadcasters of the 1920s. Because of you, I've learned that Warner Brothers planned to start a station with the KWBC call letters but it wound up being KFWB and it was used to promote Warner Brothers motion pictures. Because of you, I've learned that five stations were in trouble in 1935 for advertising a phony medical device known as the Electron-O-Meter. If you think Art Landing knows more about KFI than you do, then I really want to see his book in print!

Welcome back to RadioDiscussions, Jim! I'm hoping you can deal with the health issues and family issues...and maybe consider writing a book of your own!
 
Hello Mr Hilliker - glad to meet you. I never met Newcomb Weisenberger personally but we did corresepond. He had many tales of ECA's relationship with his engineers - making them feel that the technical side of the station was what he really cared most about. Of course this compartmentalization ability was carried over to other aspects of Anthony's life - on air talent knew he was listening, his dealers for Packard knew he was looking over their shoulder etc.

As for KFWB you are correct. But did you know that there was a sister station KEWB in the Bay Area? Crowell-Collier, a publishing firm with both a famous magazine and an encyclopedia, owned both stations for a time. One source told me that there was also an earlier KEWB that was owned by a member of the WB family but I've never seen confirmation. Either way, the Warner Brothers didn't just start talkies with the Jazz Singer -they were into radio as well. One proposal that KFI experimented with circa 1925 was matching a broadcast sound track with precision display of movies in selected Los Angeles theatres. I'm not sure that early experiment with "talking pictures" was with Warner Brothers (it didn't work out well, by the way, but Anthony was friendly to the studios and willing to try) but it may have been. I believe the Warner Studios headquarters (and KFWB studios) at the time was the building on Sunset later used by Golden West broadcasters for KTLA and KMPC.

Update: a little modern day Internet research clarified the bay area situation. There was a bay area Warner Brothers in early bay area radio- but not related to the Warner brothers in Hollywood. See http://www.oldradio.com/archives/stations/sf/others.htm for the story. Their station had several sets of call letters, including KWBR, but never KEWB. The latter was a tie-in to the joint ownership by Crowell-Collier.
 
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Steve, thanks for the nice words. I realize I've learned a lot since the 1980s and '90s about Los Angeles radio history, and I'm always learning more each year it seems. I am however insecure and not self-confident too often. I've procrastinated on doing a book for over 20 years. Now that I've put so much information out there on the internet for free, it makes me wonder if anybody would want to buy a book I write. But I'd still like to put something out there to save for posterity.

Mr. Landing, thanks for sharing your knowledge, too. Yes, the original KFWB studio site and transmitter was on Sunset where KMPC/channel 5 later were located. I believe Crowell-Collier also owned KDWB in Minneapolis. I looked up the Warner 1920s station in the Bay Area, and yes, it was not related to the Movie Studio Warner Brothers, I recall it was possibly a radio store, but not real sure.

Been doing some research on David's site and in Variety magazine on radio. Finally found out last year that KMCS call letters on 1120 in 1931 were chosen for Metropolitan Christie Studios. That did not last, as it was sold and became KRKD in 1932. More later when I have time, possibly on Sunday. Bye for now.

Jim
 
Yes, Crowell-Collier owned three "WB" stations. In 1959 they bought WISK in Minneapolis-St. Paul and changed it to top-40 KDWB. Chuck Blore programmed all three stations. KEWB had several DJs who would later work in Los Angeles: Robert W. Morgan, Don Steele, Gary Owens, Michael Jackson, Don McKinnon, Art Nelson, Bobby Dale and Casey Kasem. Dale was also at KDWB for a while. I think he was the only DJ to work at all three Crowell-Collier stations. Jim will tell me if I'm wrong. KDWB is now Spanish-language WREY, KEWB is now news-talk KKSF, and KFWB is now...umm...KFWB.
 
Steve, if you have a copy of my article on the March 1938 So. Calif. flood and how radio reported the disaster, could you please email me a copy? I seem to have lost or misplaced it after changing PCs in December. Thanks.

Jim
 
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