Capacity Crowd Cheers BARHOF Class Of 2008

An overflow crowd of fans, friends and colleagues was on hand to welcome the latest group of inductees into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame on October 1 at the Doubletree Inn on the Berkeley Marina.

Sixteen of the seventeen members of BARHOF's Class of 2008 were represented at the gala luncheon, including Broadcast Legends Red Blanchard and Don Klein.

New inductees Rosie Allen, Alex Bennett, Renel Brooks-Moon, Bob Fouts, Mickey Luckoff, Terry McGovern and Dave Sholin were all present for the ceremony.

(That's me between Messrs. McGovern and Bennett après the ceremony.)

Roy Storey, who could not be present, was represented by his sister Marcia Johnson, while Bill Gavin, Hap Harper, Mikel Hunter Herrington, Russ Hodges, Dude Martin, Doug Pledger and Russ "The Moose" Syracuse, inducted posthumously, were represented by friends or family members.

Presented under the auspices of the Broadcast Legends, the BARHOF 2008 program was emceed by David Jackson, executive director of the Bay Area Radio Museum. Joe Starkey, radio voice of 49ers and Cal football, inducted the four legendary local sportscasters -- Hodges, Storey, Klein and Fouts -- into the Hall of Fame.

NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts, a successful sportscaster in his own right, presented his father, Bob Fouts, with a funny and heart-warming speech. "We've all worked for a variety of stations with a variety of call letters -- KFRC, KCBS, KPIX," Dan Fouts commented. "But this is one set of call letters that's for life -- BARHOF."

The senior Fouts, early voice of the 49ers on radio and television as well as a longtime sportscaster on KSFO and KCBS, regaled the audience with tales of his the Niners ... and pro wrestling!

Other presenters included Bill Faust (for his step-father, Doug Pledger), Bob Matheson (for Red Blanchard), Ed Baxter (for Rosie Allen), Ronn Owens (for Mickey Luckoff), Dana Jang (for Mikel Hunter), Mike Preston (for Dave Sholin), Ted "Hezzie" Johnson (for Dude Martin) and Al Newman (for Terry McGovern).

Ben Fong-Torres and Tommy Saunders presented their memories and an audio montage of their friend, Russ Syracuse. New Hall of Famer Dave Sholin presented his former boss, Bill Gavin, for induction.

More than 6,000 votes were cast in the BARHOF 2008 balloting. Renel Brooks-Moon, host of 98.1 Kiss FM's morning show and voice of the Giants at AT&T Park, was named on more than 25% of all ballots -- most of any nominee -- and, along with KGO's Rosie Allen, was one of only two women to be inducted this year.

Other notable guests in the capacity crowd included sportscaster Barry Tompkins, KGO production superstar Mike Amatori, popular KYA disc jockey Chris Edwards (now an account exec with KFRC), legendary R&B disc jockey John "Bouncin' Bill" Doubleday, longtime radio personality Ward Glenn and voice artist Gary Mora (now hosting Classic KYA Radio).

But it was Celeste Perry, Dave Sholin's partner on KFRC's morning show, who got off the line of the day. During his acceptance speech, Sholin introduced Perry, noting that she, too, will someday be inducted into BARHOF.

Perry quickly replied "I'm not old enough!" and was met with raucous laughter and applause from the multitude.

Photograph by courtesy of Robert Mohr.

"Radio Day By The Bay" Set For July 5

The California Historical Radio Society (CHRS) will open the doors to its museum on Saturday, July 5, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. for its annual "Live! At KRE" celebration.

The event will take place at the historic KRE radio building in Berkeley, under the giant radio tower on Ashby Avenue near Highway 80.

CHRS has been refurbishing the KRE building into a world-class broadcasting museum, filled with classic radios and equipment, working studios and an authentic ham radio "shack," as well as the home of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.

The July 5 celebration is the perfect event for families seeking a day of entertainment close to home. "Live! At KRE" will feature a variety of entertainment -- including music and an old-time radio performance by the Broadcast Legends -- and a flea market and auction of great old radios, ham radio equipment, phonographs and test equipment.

Carter B. Smith, a member of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame (Class of 2007), will serve as master of ceremonies for the event. Carter worked at KRE early in his radio career, before moving on to great success at KSFO, KNBR, Magic 61 and KABL.

Another special guest will be popular Oldies disc jockey Herbie Hancock (http://qmproductions.com), one of the most renowned Wolfman Jack impersonators in the industry. Herbie will spin 45s in the KRE studio -- the same studio used in the radio station scenes featuring Wolfman Jack in "American Graffiti."

Admission to the event is $5 for adults. Children are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.

For more information, please visit www.BayRadioDay.com.

"Night Of Radio Stars" On June 10

Five of the Bay Area's greatest broadcasters -- Frank Dill, Al Hart, Jim Lange, Mike Cleary and Carter B. Smith (all members of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame) -- will be on stage together on Tuesday, June 10, for a special evening of memories, sponsored by the San Francisco Museum & Historical Society.

The program is part of SFMHS's current series of lectures on the "Golden Age of Entertainment" in the Bay Area.

The June 10 program "will cover the radio years from the 1960s to 1990s and will feature radio stars who dominated the air waves in the intervening years, people who became daily companions, especially to commuters bogged down in traffic."

The SFMHS "Early Radio" event this past Tuesday was a near sell-out in the nearly 500-seat Kanbar Hall at the magnificent Jewish Community Center in San Francisco, and was a roaring success.

Admission is only $5 (free for members of SFMHS). There will be a "pre-show" reception at 7 p.m. Curtain is at 7:30 p.m.

Kanbar Hall at JCC/SF is located at 3200 California Street. (For detailed directions, please click here or view the Google Map of the location.)

For more information, please visit:
http://www.sfhistory.org/index.php?pageid=118