I was inducted into the Radio Television Broadcasters Hall of Fame of Ohio on October 9th. The setting was the plush Hilton Hotel in Akron where several hundred of Ohio’s media royalty gathered to celebrate my induction with 11 other honorees. Specs Howard should have been there with me, because he was my vital partner at KYW, but the Jewish High Holy Days conflicted, he had to bow out of being elected to the Hall of Fame. So there I was, standing alone on the stage, missing him, and speaking with a case of laryngitis. That evening after my induction, I spoke to the heavies who vote on inductees and made an impassioned speech in his behalf, that he be inducted next year. He is, after all, a media great. And beloved in Ohio.

MY HALL OF FAME SPEECH IN OHIO

Thank you and hi there, I want to thank the Radio/Television Broadcasters Hall of Fame of Ohio for honoring me in such an elegant way, and my daughter Melanie (My Presenter) for getting me off to such a good start this evening. Well……..the rest is up to me….

I got into radio because I was born in Galveston Texas where the only escape in this small home town was to leave, or…get into something glamorous, like radio. I was poor, so I got into radio at KGBC where I learned everything that I was ever going to need, in this small radio station. And…get this, I was heard by a big time Houston radio station PD at KXYZ who asked me to emcee a network big band dance remote twice a week from the beautiful Balinese Room because, I guess, they didn’t want to pay bus fare to one of their guys to come down on the bus from Houston to do it.

I also emceed another big band show from the Municipal Pier, with the shows often broadcasting only 30 minutes apart from each other. So I would do one show in my one and only suit, run out to the street, hop on my bike, adjust my pant peg, peddle a mile up the beach to the next show, run onto the stage, do the warm-up and host the show, all big name bands: Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Stan Kenton….

Stan Kenton…… Before the scheduled Kenton broadcast, which was to go out over Mutual, I was told there was line trouble so… no broadcast.

Well, it happened to be April 1st so I set up a confidential pass it on joke with my audience, 2000 hometown chums, and let the phony off the air show kick off as usual, including the warm-up, then, Stan’s opening theme, “Artistry in Rhythm,” rang out, then I proclaimed, “From the Beautiful Municipal Pier in Galveston, it’s the music of Stan…uh…what’s that? You’re kidding. Wait a minute. Hold it. Hold it. Ladies and Gentlemen, I regret to announce that we can’t go on with the show because. well.. San Kenton is drunk.”

Kenton was apoplectic. He rose from his piano stool, all six feet six of him, and ran toward me just as the crowd shouted. “April Fool!” He actually stopped in his tracks and roared with laughter, this man with a reputation for having a thunderous temper.

Pretty heady for a 19 year old kid. Stan cooled off, and was so amused that he called a friend, Don Fedderson the V.P. G.M. of KLAC Radio and Television in Hollywood and told him about me. Jan Garber was playing in Galveston at the Balinese Room at that time where I also hosted his band on the net, and he joined Stan in recommending me to Fedderson, also a friend of his..

Imagine. Stan and Jan, two opposites, but apparently agreeing about me. Fedderson listened to me on the big band national hook-up, and liked what he heard and gave me afternoon drive at KLAC in Hollywood, the biggest station in LA at the time. It was like going from Pop Warner to the National Football League.

I’ve had a fun career, but nothing was more fulfilling than going to Cleveland in 1962, and co-hosting a morning show on KYW with the great Specs Howard. Incidentally, I miss Specs tonight. He is observing one of his many high holy days, and couldn’t make it, but sends his respects.

He and I made it more than a rock and roll show. Jim Brown announced his retirement on our show. I know there are many sports commentators here tonight, but if you are irked that Brown would announce on our rock and roll show, imagine how people like Red Smith, the dean of Sports Editors at the New York Times felt. He called us and raised Cain.

“Why did he call you guys, instead of me?. He demanded. “I don’t know” I said half apologetically. “Ask him.”.

We raised millions of dollars for charity and managed to make Cleveland laugh for five years. Making Cleveland laugh is not easy, it is as hard as persuading a Westsider to take an Eastsider to lunch, but we managed.

After the Stan Kenton episode, I experienced an epiphany. I decided not to ever ever embarrass anyone again…(pause) unless you count the time that Specs and I stole the Beatle concert from WHK. We copped a couple of tickets and decided to see the Beatles and when we got there, the place was rioting.12,000 screaming little girls had lost control and were charging the stage, breaking through the arm-locked policemen standing guard on the stage apron.

The Chief of Police was canceling the concert when we happened to pass him by. “Get these little bastards outa here”, he shouted. Specs and I overheard him and asked him to give us a chance to restore order…no sign of the WHK guys. They were hiding backstage. The Chief readily agreed, anything to avoid further riot.

Well, we went up on stage and announced that we were Martin and Howard from KYW and that the Chief had said he was going to cancel the show unless they went back to their seats. That did it. There was the panicked rumbling of 12,000 kids running to their seats, and the concert went on.. Specs and I became known as the guys who saved the Beatle concert. We were number (echo effect) one one ONE in the next ratings book and never looked back.

We broke the rules of radio….. strict format and all that hooey, and in doing so, I believe, made a lot people laugh so they could get a good start on the day.

I discovered what is apparently a big secret, that people would rather laugh than go around angry……..and bored

Heart trouble is not the nation’s #1 killer. Its boredom.

I have found that there is a secret button inside everybody and if you push it, they forget their troubles, they’re better to be around, they’re better lovers, get ahead in life, live longer

People want to wake up each day with a smile. They want to get out of themselves, be energized. Energy, the secret of life. Apparently, I succeeded or I wouldn’t be standing here tonight.

.Actually, I wasn’t particularly funny. I just thought I was, and because I was trying so hard to make people laugh, they gave me a pass and pretended, even to themselves, that I was funny. Although, some of my jokes were funny.

“Man found dead in a bath tub full of milk with a banana stuck in his mouth. Police are on the lookout for a cereal killer.”…..

In the audience tonight is my wife of 39 years. My heart and soul, Carol, and my amazing family. My daughter, Melanie, I thank her for her magical speech presenting me this evening, my amazing daughter, Melissa, my son in law Patrick, Jenna Patch my precious granddaughter and son, Nick who helped kick things off with Melanie’s introduction. And also, in the audience is someone whom I consider vital to this demanding art….you, the gifted talents of this great state. and thank you, Todd Taylor for this class event and again, Thank you, thank you everyone for this unforgettable honor.

Bye and bless us all.

Bulletin! Bulletin! The Ohio Hall of Fame brass told me this week that Specs Howard would be inducted next year. There is a God, something Specs has always insisted on.