B
berniek
Guest
I understand Tim lost his battle with cancer earlier today. This according to some staffers at WNEP.
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
I was so sorry to hear the news about Tim. I was Tim's newscaster at WARM from 75-79 and followed him from evenings to afternoon drive. From the day I arrived, Tim made me feel welcome and part of his show. He was a true broadcast professional who made the transition from radio to television seamlessly. I remember the days before TV when Tim had the tightest "fro" I had ever seem. (If anyone has the '77 WARM Christmas Album, there's a great photo on the back cover.) It was something we joked about years later. "At least I have hair," he would say. LOL. Tim was a great talented guy who will be missed. I'd like to thank his colleagues at WNEP for their wonderful tribute at 6:00. Well done. RIP dear friend.
First thing in the door at WARM in 1978 it was Timmy "Karlson" Kidwell who made me feel so very much at home. This was a guy who'd go above and beyond to make you comfortable, like you belonged there, like he'd known you for years. Those were the days when going to lunch with George, Harry, and Ron happened a couple days a week. It was usually lunch at Aldino's Manor, for those who remember it. WARM had what seemed to be an endless trade with Aldino's, lunch there was a regular feature of my first year or two at WARM. I look back at it as Lunch with The Giants.
Tim's life had more than its share of trouble. Without getting into particulars, I can tell you that there were as many, if not more, downs than ups. Despite each and every setback, Tim smiled and kept on going. I last saw him a little over a year ago while visiting WNEP on behalf of the SPCA. There were hugs and laughs and quick remembrances of times gone by. He looked well, and told me was indeed just that.
Professionally, he had a considerable measure of success, in time becoming sports director at WNEP, which was a dream come true for Tim. It was a dream deserved. Tim knew sports inside out. Coupling that with his smooth delivery, great pipes, and welcoming face made him a natural for the job.
During his first year or so at WNEP, we lived in the same building. We'd both been through divorces recently at the time. Oddly, we seldom saw one another, but when we did it was the usual; we'd laugh ourselves senseless over something silly or another. Come to think of it, it was often enough The Three Stooges. Both of us were fans. Hey, it's a guy thing, right?
My heartfelt condolences to his family. Your son, your father, your brother, your husband, was a great guy.
Tim's life had more than its share of trouble. Without getting into particulars, I can tell you that there were as many, if not more, downs than ups. Despite each and every setback, Tim smiled and kept on going. I last saw him a little over a year ago while visiting WNEP on behalf of the SPCA. There were hugs and laughs and quick remembrances of times gone by. He looked well, and told me was indeed just that.
Professionally, he had a considerable measure of success, in time becoming sports director at WNEP, which was a dream come true for Tim. It was a dream deserved. Tim knew sports inside out. Coupling that with his smooth delivery, great pipes, and welcoming face made him a natural for the job.
During his first year or so at WNEP, we lived in the same building. We'd both been through divorces recently at the time. Oddly, we seldom saw one another, but when we did it was the usual; we'd laugh ourselves senseless over something silly or another. Come to think of it, it was often enough The Three Stooges. Both of us were fans. Hey, it's a guy thing, right?
My heartfelt condolences to his family. Your son, your father, your brother, your husband, was a great guy.
Y
yonkstur
Guest
W
WKSBTHESUPERK
Guest
In my many years in Broadcasting I have come to know and work with some of the finest people in the business, and Tim was one of them. What a great guy. Even when I would speak to him on the phone I could hear the smile in his voice, even in some of the toughest times for him. I don’t think I ever remember Timmy sound down,
He was a strong, talented and kind person who will be missed by all that knew him.
My condolences to his family. Goodbye my friend and RIP.
From: Daniel J. DeMuro and Family
He was a strong, talented and kind person who will be missed by all that knew him.
My condolences to his family. Goodbye my friend and RIP.
From: Daniel J. DeMuro and Family
I First Met Tim While He Was Working At WSCR In The 70's. I Was On The Staff Of A Teen Center Called "The Back Door Coffee House" At The Time. A Group Of Us Went To The Station One Evening To Cut A Series Of PSA's. Tim Worked With Us For A Few Hours, Then Edited And Added Effects To Them On His Own Time, Creating A Nice Series Of Spots. On His Advice I Enrolled In The Broadcasting School That He Had Attended, Career Academy In Washington, D.C. ... Thanks Tim, It Was A Great Experience. Tim Was Warm, Genuine, Kind And Funny ... The World Is A Little Less Friendly With The Passing Of Timothy R. Kidwell.
I had the pleasure of meeting Tim in June of 1980,I was a 21 year old kid trying to get my first break in the buisness,
through my cousin Pete Erikson ,who at the time was working on the "Sportsline" program I got to meet Tim,and he
let me record a demo tape at WARM. I remember going down to the old WARM building in Avoca, with a friend one Saturday
evening. I will always remember Tim going out of his way to help someone starting out in radio.
I always enjoyed Tim's style on the air on WSCR,AND WARM.
through my cousin Pete Erikson ,who at the time was working on the "Sportsline" program I got to meet Tim,and he
let me record a demo tape at WARM. I remember going down to the old WARM building in Avoca, with a friend one Saturday
evening. I will always remember Tim going out of his way to help someone starting out in radio.
I always enjoyed Tim's style on the air on WSCR,AND WARM.
Re: Tim Karlson
I first met Tim when I was working at Stanton Lanes, and Channel 16 covered the finals of the '94 Senior PBA Open live... was very nice and a pleasure to talk with. He and I emailed each other a few times while he still sports director.
What a TV sports anchor lineup we had in the early 90s in this area... Karlson & Zone on 16, Jim & Sid on 28, and Nugent & Terry Gurn on 22.
Tim was great on the Radio Greats Reunion Weekend in '92... he and Vince did about an hour on that Saturday with Bill Kelly and Ric Herrold. That was a fun show, especially when they busted on Paul Ciliberto.
Eternal blessings to Tim's family.
I first met Tim when I was working at Stanton Lanes, and Channel 16 covered the finals of the '94 Senior PBA Open live... was very nice and a pleasure to talk with. He and I emailed each other a few times while he still sports director.
What a TV sports anchor lineup we had in the early 90s in this area... Karlson & Zone on 16, Jim & Sid on 28, and Nugent & Terry Gurn on 22.
Tim was great on the Radio Greats Reunion Weekend in '92... he and Vince did about an hour on that Saturday with Bill Kelly and Ric Herrold. That was a fun show, especially when they busted on Paul Ciliberto.
Eternal blessings to Tim's family.
B
berniek
Guest
Tim and I first met at WARM in 1984 when I started doing the news in the evenings. At this point Tim was already working at WBRE, but hung around the radio station at nights because WARM was home. These were tough times around WARM as KRZ was cutting into ratings and Susquehanna was looking to trim costs, so rumors were always flying around about cuts.
I get a note from Jerry Heller that I have to see him Friday morning and I tell Tim I am afraid that my time at WARM will be short lived. Tim tells me not to worry, the Phillies schedule is about to start, I am doing a good job and he is sure that the meeting is only about my new schedule because of baseball.
Well I show up and the next morning only to find out I am out the door, along with several other staffers, including Jim Gannon and Guy Randell. Later that night at a bar in Moosic we are all trying to comfort each other, Vince was there along with a few others when who walks in but Tim. He comes right over and says how sorry he was about what had happened and I could tell he really felt bad about the turn of events.
Of course I went on to recover, was hired back at WARM about three years later and finally moved on to TV for nearly 20 years. But everytime I saw Tim, he would always remember that night in the WARM that he offered comfort to support to a 24 year old just trying to find his way in a crazy business. He was a very special man.
I get a note from Jerry Heller that I have to see him Friday morning and I tell Tim I am afraid that my time at WARM will be short lived. Tim tells me not to worry, the Phillies schedule is about to start, I am doing a good job and he is sure that the meeting is only about my new schedule because of baseball.
Well I show up and the next morning only to find out I am out the door, along with several other staffers, including Jim Gannon and Guy Randell. Later that night at a bar in Moosic we are all trying to comfort each other, Vince was there along with a few others when who walks in but Tim. He comes right over and says how sorry he was about what had happened and I could tell he really felt bad about the turn of events.
Of course I went on to recover, was hired back at WARM about three years later and finally moved on to TV for nearly 20 years. But everytime I saw Tim, he would always remember that night in the WARM that he offered comfort to support to a 24 year old just trying to find his way in a crazy business. He was a very special man.
Vince Sweeney said:
Vince, you are correct. Tim was a great guy and I liked working and knowing him at WARM. I was shocked to heart he news of his passing.
I knew Tim always wanted to return to Baltimore to work at one of the stations there, but he made NEPA his new home and I think he made the right choice.
RIP Tim, we will miss you.
The Radio Greats Reunion was one of the most memorable events in my entire thirty-three years in broadcasting - kind of hard to believe it was sixteen years ago. Tim and I had a ball talking about the good old days at WARM. Tim, Bill Kelly, Ric, Tom Woods, RJ Harkins, Mike Stevens, we were all former WARMies by that time. Sorry for missing anyone here, please freely correct me.
Tim and I, along with plenty of others, had suffered our share of indignities over the years at WARM and it was quite the release to bounce them around in an open forum, especially since most of our stories had everyone losing their breath to laughter, and every single one of those stories was true. A couple times Tim and I laughed so hard we couldn't talk...and that was live on the air.
I managed to convince WBRE's news director at the time, Larry Stirewalt, to let me do weather that Friday evening from the reunion. He was skeptical at first, but immediately saw the merit of it once we popped up live; it was fun, it was contagious, and it was genuine.
We had such a ball on Friday night at the reunion, they asked us to come back on Saturday, which we both did. By sheer coincidence, Ric Herrold was in from Ohio visiting me and joined us, his appearance wasn't planned but he was welcomed with open arms. Ric, along with more than a few of us, were good friends with Tim.
I saw Bob VanDerheyden recently and we both agreed that Paul's pulling together that reunion was spectacular. And I am certain that Bob would agree that Tim played a huge role in it being such. It's worth noting here that Paul and Timmy were very close friends, going back to the '70s.
All the nice things that can be said about Tim should and will be said, and they are all deserved. Tim was a man who helped countless people, and from someone who knew him for nearly thirty years to the day, he never harmed a soul.
T
Tommy Grimes
Guest
We have truly lost one of the "Good Guy's". My memory of meeting him was in '92 or '93 at the Villa Foglia Rest in Exeter. It was early in my broadcasting days (1992 or 1993) and my friend Paul Ciliberto and I were having dinner and in comes Tim. Paul introduces us and after the perverbial hand shake Tim said to me "you really sound great on Magic", Paul (never losing an opportunity to go for the laugh) says to me you look like your star struck ..... Heck I was, this was Tim Karlson, that guy from WARM & WNEP and he actually knows my name, and actually listens to me.
Over the years I would often run into him at the Villa, he always had that smile on....and the conversation always interesting.
To me, Tim was and will always be a broadcasting legend.........RIP my friend.
Over the years I would often run into him at the Villa, he always had that smile on....and the conversation always interesting.
To me, Tim was and will always be a broadcasting legend.........RIP my friend.
B
Bill Keen
Guest
I was lucky enough to have worked with Tim on both his Sports Star of the Week committee and as an advisor on the best teams in District Four for his Super 16 rankings. I was one of the few to whom he told his real name, and I knew all about his fight against cancer because I was literally the very first person who knew he was in trouble when he had his first seizure -- I was talking to him on the phone. His voice wandered off and I heard the phone drop -- I yelled his name just as somebody in the newsroom called for help.
Cut to the day months later when he returned to the office for the first time. By the wildest stroke of luck I called to see when he was returning and Bob Absher said, "He's here now. He just got in about 10 minutes ago for the first time."
I had Bob put me on hold and without telling Tim who it was, just tell him he had a call.
He answered, "Tim Karlson..." and I picked up the SAME CONVERSATION we were having months before, at exactly the same spot! I hoped he hadn't forgotten -- he hadn't and he knew who it was. 20 seconds later he stopped laughing and asked, "How did you know I was back?" and I said, "Pure luck, buddy!"
I know there will be a day when I can tell that story without tears in my eyes. I am REALLY going to miss you, Tim.
Cut to the day months later when he returned to the office for the first time. By the wildest stroke of luck I called to see when he was returning and Bob Absher said, "He's here now. He just got in about 10 minutes ago for the first time."
I had Bob put me on hold and without telling Tim who it was, just tell him he had a call.
He answered, "Tim Karlson..." and I picked up the SAME CONVERSATION we were having months before, at exactly the same spot! I hoped he hadn't forgotten -- he hadn't and he knew who it was. 20 seconds later he stopped laughing and asked, "How did you know I was back?" and I said, "Pure luck, buddy!"
I know there will be a day when I can tell that story without tears in my eyes. I am REALLY going to miss you, Tim.
- Status