LEAP OF FAITH RADIO PRODUCTION with Bobby Ocean
I was fortunate enough to be at KFRC in San Francisco when certain prominent players arrived – General manager Pat Norman, who began work at RKO in San Francisco by overseeing the then overlooked FM’s duties, but was quickly promoted to the KFRC side (then, later headed up KHJ in Los Angeles); the Duke, Dave Sholin, who has worked within both radio AND record industries with seamless success; the entire Texas contingent of Micheal Spears, Beau Weaver, news greats Jo Interante and Dave Cook and many more; glad I get more than one shot here in Dan’s Blog, I’ll need it.
And, of course, fate had me at KFRC when, just as we desperately needed help with our ailing mornings, in came the fun Doctor.
Dr. Don Rose
Disc jockies who worked at KFRC get asked quite a bit about Doctor Don Rose. People want to now “Did you know him?, Was he that funny all the time?, What was he REALLY like?”, and anything else that pops into their heads.
Yeah, I really knew him. My memories of DDR start when he walked through the door. He rolled in, he exploded in all directions at once like a hand grenade, he conquered. He knew what he was doing and he was seasoned well.
He played a Rip Taylor kind of looney who sprayed wild tracks all over the place like seltzer water. I started out in Monterey at KMBY using those little drops, wild tracks, or recorded cartoony voices and sfx so I loved the concept, just wondered if it would work in a “sophisticated city” like San Francisco. It killed.
He had one of the longest, funniest, most successful runs at that station. His clever wife, Kay, often made light of in morning show jokes was his best negotiator. It is my understandng DDR was being paid both for his DJ work AND a percentage of his morning program’s sponsorship profits.
He really was simultaneously fun and a man of strong character. He really loved life and, to the point of near-corny, adored his wife and family. He was an extremely compelling guy to listen to in the morning, changed everything, made it fun. Never been another like him; he was the last.
Went to his last rites, too, where he seemed to put the “fun” back in funeral. Best of all the DJ interments I have ever attended; not maudlin, distinctly celebrative. (Preacher: “I told the younger children, who were confused about what happens when people die, that the “shell” of their grandfather is still here, but the NUT is away at the moment.” – Huge laugh) He left us with his heart’s fondest fulfillment – an absolutely wonderful family.
BTW, that squeaky little cartoon voice you heard – for YEARS both on his TV cartoon show and on his KFRC morning wake-up show -that said, “ha-ha-ha, that’s right, Doctor Don!” …was me. An out-take that, early on, he and his flawless board operator, George Zema, immediately claimed as their own.
As we look around at the business today, and begin thinking of ways to rebuild, re-think, restructure our radio dream, remember DDR, and “have fun.” Doctor’s orders.
