Happy Hare Back in the Saddle Again

Much of my material gushes from my own pristine wellspring. The rest is shamelessly lifted from gifted friends and colleagues, but I always give public credit to those from whom I have purloined those baubles that dazzle me.

There is solace in knowing that all of the great thinkers – I’m not one of them - usually give birth to one great insight, then miscarry for the rest of their lives.

Freud proclaimed that everyone’s life is rooted in sexual fantasy. I could have told him that. He spent the rest of his life trying to come up with another one, and wound up with intellectual E.D.

Howard Stern shamelessly stole his concept, and ran with it.

Einstein conceived the theory of Relativity. He expressed it in the formula E = MC 2.

I stole that one, and adapted it to radio.

My E = MC squared translated into radioese was………….

Entertainment equals Music x Commercials squared.

The “commercials squared “ end of the formula ordained that one should double spot at most between songs, but that formula got slimed.

My recent Sinatra offerings created an eruption of e-mails, mainly from jocks who, until now, had regarded their snap shot encounters with him as unworthy of the big picture.

They were UFO’s, Unofficial Frank Offerings, witnessed by these e-mailers, hesitant to make them public, fearing that they might be derided. Not by me. I enjoyed them.

Scott St James, formerly of KMOX and KMPC, sent me such an offering that, I believe, reveals the Frank whom I knew. Scott writes…..

I had been recruited by the Gene Autry people to come to KMPC here in Los Angeles from KMOX in St. Louis.

Shortly after my arrival, they tasked me to do a radio special on Gene Autry and, to this day, I don't know why they asked "the new guy" (me) to do it, but I accepted without even thinking about it.

It was a labor of love, lasting several months, that ended up being a 7 hour special that would run on many stations.

I contacted everyone whom Mr. Autry used to hang with or drink with: all the living Presidents, Lady Bird, Reagan, who was about to be elected, famous baseball stars, Billy Graham, the biggest names in Country music, Cowboy movie stars, other famous singers, other famous actors, other famous celebrities, everyone in Mr. Autry’s life, and they all agreed to participate the first time I called them.

Except one……Frank Sinatra.

No, he didn't turn me down. I simply couldn't make contact with him.

The pilot of our traffic helicopter flew me to the desert where one of Sinatra's homes (supposedly, the main one) was located , and I remember walking to the front door where a sign above the buzzer read, "There better be a damn good reason for ringing this bell".

No one answered the door. I wrote him a note, and left.

There came a time when I had to "give up". I needed to begin the editing and narrating process for a show that (at that point) I didn't realize would be a 7 hour show!

On the day that I was going to begin editing conversations including musical selections, KMPC's receptionist, Sher, called me in my office.

"Scott, there's a guy up here who has a package for you that needs to be signed for."

I said, "Sher, tell him you're authorized to sign for it." She said, "He insists that you come here and sign for it yourself."

When I got there, a guy asked, "Are you Scott St. James?" I said, "Yes I am." and reached out to shake his hand.

He said, "I need to see some identification, please. I showed him my driver's license. He thanked me, and handed me a package.

I went back to my office, opened the package. There was a tape, but no note.

When I put the tape into my tape player, the first words I heard were, "This is Frank Sinatra!"

He had produced his own interview for me and it was terrific!!!

That business about Frank Sinatra doing things "My Way" wasn't an urban legend. It was, in fact, the essence of the man.

Note from Hare: Good show, Scott. Thanks. That was the best Sinatra sighting I received, though you didn’t actually sight him.

What began as a romp for me, my involvement in “Kings Of The Evening, ” a movie project, is now a happening venture.

The film was produced and written by my long time great friend and colleague, Robert Page Jones, co- written and directed by his son, Andrew P Jones. The company is called “Picture Palace Films.”

This haunting film is creating major buzz in film festivals. Next stop, Phoenix, for a one night stand on March 27th at the AMC Theaters-Arizona Center in downtown Phoenix. The event is the 2008 Arizona Black Film Showcase. Log on to www.azblackfilm.com

“Kings” is scheduled for opening festivities in The Atlanta Film Festival on April 17th at 7:10 pm and again April 18th at the 4 pm matinee. http://atlantafilmfestival.com/


If there is one theme that keeps arising in this Radio Daily News series, it is that I have somehow been blessed with the constant company of a Spirit Guide, who watches over me, and plucks me out of danger just in time to avoid being thrown off the spring board to Gehenna.

I call these last minutes saves in my life, “Divine Interventions.” My Spirit Guide works in mysterious way His miracles to perform.

Let me explain in the Biblical parable form.

The sole survivor of a shipwreck was washed ashore on a desert island. Every day he scanned the horizon, praying for a rescue, but no one came. Eventually, he despaired of looking and built a crude little hut to protect him and his few things from the fierce tropical storms. But, he lost even that when a random bolt of lightening engulfed the hut in flames and left him with nothing at all.

"God, how could you do this to me?" he cried, throwing himself on the beach in despair. Early next morning, he was awakened by the sound of a boat coming to rescue him.

“How did you know I was here,?" he asked.

A sailor replied: "We saw your smoke signal."

My humor seldom strays to the cynical but sometimes, I unearth an acorn of truth that is too good to be true, certainly too good to throw away. Goes like this:

Who's your best friend? Just try this experiment.
Put your dog and your wife in the trunk of the car for an hour.
When you open the trunk, who is really happy to see you!

My internet radio show on SignOnRadio.com is thriving. The station is owned by the San Diego Union-Tribune, a benevolent owner, who leaves me alone to break all of the rules.

I may get my comeuppance in April. Mark Ramsey. the guru du jour of all high tech, has agreed to enter my studio and tell me all of the things that I should be doing to take advantage of this newfangled medium. The inference is that there is a lot I am not doing.

I say “comeuppance” because I have navigated my career often without causing a ripple, but, often leaving a tsunami in my wake. Now, here is a man who can pilot me into shoals that I have never braved.

This is a heads-up. I am sure that Mark will give us all insights into how to harness this fascinating new toy, internet radio. Bring pad and pencil. Take notes.

Wednesday March 12th, Wink Martindale will be my guest at 2p PST. He is one of the brightest, most charming personalities ever to grace both radio and television.

The show is heard on SignOnRadio.com Wednesdays from 1-3p PST.

Scott St James’s non-Sinatra story about the time that he was at KMPC, assigned to write a bio of his boss, Gene Autry is a perfect rewind to a story I related to you a couple of years ago in this series, back to the first time I met Frank.

I had just arrived at KLAC, from Galveston, and put on afternoon drive.

Al Jarvis had occupied that slot, but they were moving him to KLAC television which resulted in his giving up 4-6 p, half of his radio show.

I spun his records and ran his talk tracks from 2-4p. 4-6p was mine, The Harry Martin Show on the log.

Looking back on it, hundreds of local jocks must have been driven mad by this move, that a bumpkin from Texas would be inserted into a plum job that many of them, doubtless, deserved, They had waited for it, jockeyed for it, and kissed ass for it, and now here I was, out of nowhere, bestowed with this golden slot.

Next week, I will spin a story that is fraught with frustration, and decked in despair, At least that is how it started out.

How Gene Autry is involved, and how Frank Sinatra appeared out of nowhere, and entered my life is Divine Intervention at its divinest.

By the way, the story winds up trapped in triumph.