KMPC 710: The Day I Met Dick Whittinghill

    I had just landed a job in the newsroom of KMPC Radio in Los Angeles, at 20 years of age.
    It was 1964, and the news lineup was legendary:  Hugh Brundage was the News Director, along with Donn Reed "nightside,"--who loved to hang around the Hollywood police booking station---there was Scott Shurian and his demonstrative voice, Bob Steinbrink, Tom Wayman, Val Clenard, Paul "Panther" Pierce, Max Schumacher(Helicopter traffic and Sigalerts) Andy Park, Fred Hessler---"Sports at 6," and many others.

    The AP and UPI teletype machines, pounded out the latest stories in the backroom, and the police radio's were turned up loud.

    Cigarette smoke and coffee cups were always present.

    The environment was fast, moving, and professional.

    Once in a while, in the early morning, the news team would have to break into regularly scheduled programming, of Dick Whittinghill, the AM DJ, funny man, who hated to be interrupted.

    I was pretty naive at 20--being a middle class kid, brought up on the Westside of Los Angeles and I was  shocked when the intercom hung above the "live" news microphone with the voice of Whittinghill, trying to break-up the seriousness of the newsroom, shouted out seconds before going live with news....."Hey...F---U!....you S-O-B" (This is as close as I can get to a quote...from a 43 year old memory)....then Tom Wayman or one of the other guys would laugh aloud..then gain composure and deliver the bulletin.

    This was a month or so before I actually met  Whittinghill---it gets even better.

    Someone got the brilliant idea that I should deliver the "Surf Report" live in the DJ booth.  I became the perfect "sacrifice" for Dick Whittinghill.

    I walked into his den, with script in hand, and the first thing Whittinghill said was, "Here is Bob Kholos, the nut from the newsroom, with the Surf Report."

    Being very serious, and somewhat nervous, I started reading such things as "there is a two foot southern swell in Santa Monica...." 

    While I was reading....Whittinghill started unzipping my pants...trying to throw my concentration.  Then, that was not enough...he started throwing doughnuts at me.

    I did keep my composure....mostly out of dark fear...and my Surf Report became a joke among the talented DJ staff, including Gary Owens, and Roger Carroll.

    I owe a lot to the "guys" in the newsroom and people like L. Sigman and F. Hessler.....who taught me how to grow up in a professional environment.

    I will always be grateful.

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos

   

Comments

[Andy Park]

Great memories, Bob. One thing you may be too modest to mention is how well the public has been served because you DID survive that KMPC newsroom. Keep remembering, old friend.

Andy Park