In commenting about the passing of the co-founder of the Drake format it dug up a lot of names of people I worked with in Summer 1970 at CJME in Regina. Are any of these dudes still in the business 40 years later...perhaps you know. Here's the line-up I worked with... Hart Kirsch, Mornings. I think my Afternoon Drive Newsman Glen Gary Darling moved to Mornings when Bruce Northrum moved to my shift. Then I think Johnny Onn was still mid-days. Can't remember the early afternoon guy (as we had 3 hour shifts) then I, Scott Shannon (thanks to Hart for the name) from 3-6... then it was William Beigh Bell (Gary Bell) from 6-12 and Colin Sanders All Nights.
Gary (William Beigh Bell) had the coolest St. Bernard. I was initially hired to replace Randy Seabrook 6-9p, and then moved into Brian Laing's 3-6 show when he left for Wpg. about a month later. Gary followed me at 6. Can't remembeer if there was a 9-12 show or who did it but I do know Colin Sanders did all nights. He was good enough to do an earlier shift, but he wanted to be an all-night guy. He's the one that showed me the board. I distinctly remember riding shotgun for a couple of hours on his all night show for one night and he intentionally didn't come back in time for the next song. We were sweeping so I did a cart ID and rolled the next song. Then he popped in and admitted he did that on purpose to see what I would do. So I guess I passed. I did the show live from 4am-6 when the morning crew came in...my one and only all night show...2 hours.
Must have just missed you Granny .. got to CJME '71-72'ish . Did afternoon drive . Hart was mornings/pd. Johnny Onn was still around . In my time there , which was 2 different stays , the magnificent Bros.Blonde,Gord and Doug "Rawlco" asylum , featured Wm.Beigh(Gary)Bell and his aforementioned St.Bernard(Robbie), Pat Morgan,Scott Miller,Mel Corey,Phil MacKasey,Al Dylan,A short lived Talk show (9 a.m.-Noon) with Tony Merchant,Daryl Holien,Robert John Gentry,Peter Sommers,and others whose names escape me in a smoke filled haze !
I left in '76 for mornings at CKDA. Last I heard,Hart was in Vegas doing talk radio. Scott Miller is doing mornings at 104.9 FUN(Vcr.) Mel Corey is "Beau" of Beau,Tom and Frazier at BOB FM (Wpg.) Been there 20 years . Pat Morgan is 'Jo Evans' of GROOVE FM (Wpg.). Daryl Holien is with Harvard and had been programming Lite 92 Regina for the past several years. He has recently been appointed GM/PD of Harvard's new Red Deer station. Tony Merchant's talk show aspirations died an abrupt death,but,he continues to talk his clients out of a similar fate as one of Regina's high profile criminal lawyers. He did the Colin Thatcher case .
And,of course the 'Bros.Blonde' continue to add to their stable of radio holdings . As for me ... keep listening to PSR !!!
Peter came to 'ME in Regina from CFTR - Trawna.He'd been Duke Roberts poducer as well as Big Jim Brady's op/prod. Did Noon-3 while I was there . When I left the coast and CKDA for CFCN-Cgy. Peter showed up there in about '82-3 ... was messed up . Went through marital troubles , was looking for something in radio . Didn't last long ... as he had too many extra curricular activities that mgmt. did not tolerate . Lost track of him after that .
Oh .. back to CJME daze ... Jerry Michaels and I crossed paths there .Jerry is the Jerry Agar,recently hiored by CFRB to take over Bill Carroll's talk spot . Jerry had been talking at WABC (New York) and WLS ( Chicago) . At CJME , he did mid days only for a while , and was also into marketting and promotions . Who knew he has all this superstar ability ??? Apparently Hart Kirch !
Hart wasn't the most popualr of PD's , however , he had an ear for air skills . And hired some of the best talent .
Hart wasn't the most popualr of PD's , however , he had an ear for air skills . And hired some of the best talent .
as much as I liked Hart when I worked for him at CKDA, he had an annoying habit of calling people 'dummies'. One day one of the newsies in the newsroom had about all he could handle with the dummy comment, when he picked up one of the underwood typewritters and heaved it through one pane glass window separating master control from the newsroom... fortunatly for Hart, there was still another pane of glass standing. Chief engineer Fred Cole tells me they never did replace the missing glass.
then Fred added this goodie, one day a brazen Hart entered the newsroom for another dummie name attack, this time the victim knocked him out cold as Kirch hit the floor...
Hart was a piece of work...one day he'd haul you in to his office and tell you to say "It's 3-20... not 20 after 3. Then the next day he'd call me in and say "I thought I told you to say it's 20 after 3, not 3-20." So you see the wrting was on the wall,... and I knew he'd eventually nit-pick my ass right outta there, which is what happened. So I played dumb until he fired me. Took my serverance cheque, went to a store, bought an 22 automatic rifle with a scope....I know what you're thinking....naw didn't go postal on a roof on Rose St.....I drove out to a field with some empty cans and shot them up just for the hell of it. Never did work for a PD like that in the remaining 39 years that I've been on the air. I got so disillusioned with radio under him, that I quit for a year and worked in a coal mine in Northern Alberta and made some huge money. Paid off all my bills...bought a new motorcycle for cash in Edmonton and went back home with about $8,000 in my jeans, which was a nice chunk of change in 1971. Threw it into a house down payment, got offered my old job back in radio and away we went....still doing it. Nobody even close to Hart Kirsch....well maybe Mel Gordon in Red Deer...he came close.
Peter rarely operated for Jimbo, Carl Rampershad was Jimmy's op.(Peter may have done it when Carl was on vacation.) Peter worked afternoons and early evenings so Duker, Red Knight, Bill Edwards. No wonder his marriage failed, he would park in front of the station daily and receive a ticket daily. Cops came to his apartment and took the owner of the car to jail for the weekend, car was in his wife's name.
He was a fantastic op could do lay unders that were phenomenal.
Top hour ID would hit a post in the previous record ending, ID then would hit a couple more on the lay under of the next record.
Hart was a piece of work...one day he'd haul you in to his office and tell you to say "It's 3-20... not 20 after 3. Then the next day he'd call me in and say "I thought I told you to say it's 20 after 3, not 3-20."
Reminds me of Len Theusen at K-Lite Edmonton. He would piss you off so much in an air check session with crap like that.
A specific example, he made a comment once to make the weather more relatable like saying it's a beautiful day to go flying. (Because most of our listeners had their own plane?!).
So next day you could make a comment like great day to go biking, and he'd give you crap because listeners don't like to be told what to do.
A specific example, he made a comment once to make the weather more relatable like saying it's a beautiful day to go flying. (Because most of our listeners had their own plane?!).
So next day you could make a comment like great day to go biking, and he'd give you crap because listeners don't like to be told what to do.
That's too funny.....believable as hell...but too funny. Some PD's just don't get it...it's like they've got a remote controlled mouth (the GM has the switch) and he just randomly flicks it on and ...wt* was that that just came out of the PD's mouth. I was a PD at 2 stations and the biggest complaint the GM had of me, was that I was too much like one of the guys....maybe that's why I only got a gig as PD at 2 stations.
Hart's favorite line after "dummies' seemed to be his oft said "Do what I say,not what I do". I did my best in that regard for six months of six day weeks that I spent starving ($625 a month ) and freezing in Regina. I can honestly say that Kirsch was more than occasionally brutal on air,expecially during the days without Dan Wilmott to operate his board. But hey, the guy DID give me a gig..so thanks for that Hart, and happy trails.
Btw..John Oliver (Johnny Onn?) was teaching at BCIT last I heard, and Gerry Thom is out of the biz and living in Wash. state. Anyone know where Dan Willmott ended up? Last in Calgary I believe.
I remember in high school and when I was in Regina with the Regina Rams in the late 60's, we used to go to Emil's House of Shishkabob on Albert a lot. I used to listen to 'Beatle' Johnny Onn and go to on-locations just to meet the DJ's. I always wanted to be in the business and when I finally got to work with guys like Beatle Johnny at CJME in 1970 it was a treat. Hart never impressed me at all with his on-air show. I think he had to get out of the business because of back trouble...from constantly putting himself up on a pedestal.
Btw..John Oliver (Johnny Onn?) was teaching at BCIT last I heard, and Gerry Thom is out of the biz and living in Wash. state. Anyone know where Dan Willmott ended up? Last in Calgary I believe.
John Oliver and Johnny Onn -- 2 different beings . John Oliver was at BCIT. Don't know if he still is . Johnny Onn -- no idea . Dan Wilmott is acting . Have seen him in TV commercials,especially Home Hardware . Has a brother Mike who does stand up .
Would this be the Johnny Onn (John Aune) you're looking for:
From the CFRY/Portage la Prairie, MB website:
John is the veteran on CFRY. He began his broadcasting career at CFRY in October 1960. Except for a 10 year stint in the mid 60's with a station in Regina, he's been a regular voice to CFRY listeners. You'll hear John weekends in the morning and filling in from time to time during the week. He's probably most recognized as host of the Sunday Request Show for over 20 years. Other than broadcast, his interests are family, cycling, watching curling, reading and giant jigsaw puzzles (saving an 8000 piece puzzle for retirement years).
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