020 was a rough year everywhere , but we lost some of our all-time greatest broadcasters in Chicago . Television greats like Sheldon Cooper ( WGN-TV general manager ), Lee Phillip Bell ( The Lee Phillip Show ), Bob Petty ( Channel 7 / ABC anchor / reporter ), Dick Johnson ( anchor at Channel 5 / NBC ), Jerry Taft ( longtime Channel 7 / ABC weatherman ), and Joel Daly ( iconic Channel 7 / ABC anchorman ) passed away . We also lost two of the most important radio voices in Chicago history , Clark Weber ( WLS , WCFL , WIND ) and Ron Britain ( WCFL , WIND , WJMK ).

I write this column because the people who work in this crazy business have some of the greatest stories , and I ’ m determined to

By Rick Kaempfer

Ron Britain

make sure those stories live on . Of the greats that passed this year , I was lucky enough to interview three of them . As it turns out , all three had stories about meeting the Beatles during their heyday . As you read their Beatles stories , imagine the spark and twinkle in their eyes as their audience ( me ) sits spellbound listening .

Clark Weber passed away in March , at the age of 89 . I interviewed him in 2010 , and he told me about the day the Beatles played at Comiskey Park .

“ Capitol Records threw a luncheon that afternoon for WLS and the Beatles at the Saddle & Cycle Club on Lake Shore Drive . A good friend of mine , Jim Feeley , was dating a model named Winkie , and I invited them to

come along . Well , Winkie showed up in a two-piece tennis outfit , and she looked incredible . I sat her next to George Harrison , and his eyes almost popped out of his head . She made nice with him for a little while , and George really thought she would be staying with him all day . When Winkie got up to leave a few minutes later to go to a modeling audition , George was wounded . ‘ You ’ re not going anywhere ,’ he said . Winkie replied : ‘ Oh yeah ? Well , watch me .’ Later that night , Feeley called me and asked if she could come to the concert , and I said —‘ You ’ re really pushing it ’, but I did get her in . So , flash forward twenty years later . A photographer from the Sun- Times called me up to say he had a photograph he wanted me to see . It was the Beatles on stage at Comiskey Park . I ’ m standing to the side of the stage , and so is Winkie , and George Harrison is on stage looking right at Winkie , giving her the dirtiest look imaginable . Winkie later married a pro football player , moved down to Texas , and had five kids , but George never got near her .”

Ron Britain passed away in October at the age of 86 . I interviewed him in 2008 , and he shared this story about the Beatles .

“ I did a few shows with the Beatles and hung out with them a few times . I introduced them on stage . After the show , I was looking for something of theirs to sell — remember they were selling everything they touched in those days — even the sheets they slept on , so I went on stage and thanked the audience for coming out ... and I saw that Ringo had left his drumsticks on the stage . I put them in my pocket and gave them away on the air the next night . Hanging out with them was a strange experience . When you were with them , it was like being in prison . They had a whole floor in the hotel , and security was everywhere . One time I talked to Ringo for about three hours about pirate radio in England , which we both thought was very

cool . I also told him that I called everybody ‘ Tulu ’ and asked if he would say ‘ Hi Tulu Baby ’ on tape for me . He wouldn ' t do it because he said it was too commercial . So I asked John , and he said ‘ Sure .’ Well , after John agreed , they all did , and they went in their usual pecking order ; John , Paul , George , and then Ringo agreed too .”

Joel Daly passed away in October at the age of 86 . My publishing company , Eckhartz Press , published his memoir in 2014 . It included this story about meeting the Beatles when he was still working in Cleveland .

“ I went to Public Square after the 11:00 O ' Clock News to watch the screaming crowd , awaiting the group ’ s arrival at the Sheraton Cleveland Hotel . Somehow another reporter and I got swept up by the security detail guarding the rear entrance and wound up in the Beatles ’ suite . I spent most of the night in casual conversation with the Fab Four . I didn ’ t realize until years later what a big deal it was ! The Beatles were on the last stop of a month-long tour and were bone-tired . Acknowledging the groupies who besieged them everywhere they went , Ringo complained : ‘ My ‘ peter ’ hurts .’ While I was there , a young boy hid in a packing case being delivered ; another tried to get into the Kon Tiki bar , pretending to have a reservation ; and another pretended to faint outside , only to request that she be given first aid inside the hotel . Later , the Beatles were spirited by the police to the Public Auditorium for their show . During the third song (“ All My Loving ”), about a hundred fans stormed the stage . Police stopped the show and forced the Beatles to take refuge in their trailer . When peace was restored , it became a ‘ Long Day ’ s Night .’”

Clark , Ron , and Joel may be gone , but their stories will live on forever . May they and the other greats who passed away in 2020 rest in peace .