GONE , BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
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very year , I write a piece about the people that we lost in the Chicago media world the previous year . We lost some great talent in 2024 .
Bob Newhart ( July ) If you ’ re my age or younger , you don ’ t remember a time when Bob Newhart was not famous . Bob was an ordinary Chicagoan when WCFL morning man Dan Sorkin discovered him . Dan told me that story back in 2010 .
“ Playhouse 90 writer Jim Gallagher and I were friends . Jim and Bob had put together and were selling to radio stations a 5-minute taped comedy ‘ Man on the Street Show ’ for $ 5 a show . It cost them $ 7 a show to produce . The more successful the sale , the more money they lost . I loved the comedy routines and asked Jim to bring Bob to the WCFL studios for a live interview . He did . Bob performed several of his routines on air . When Warner Bros . President Jim Conkling came to Chicago , I performed Bob ' s routines for him and suggested a contract . Conkling had Bob booked into the Tides Hotel in Dallas and recorded live , The Button Down Mind Of Bob Newhart .”
Paul Brian ( June ) For the last twenty-plus years of his life , Paul was best known in the auto-racing world , but his years at WGN Radio were probably the highlight of his career . I asked Paul about that time when I got a chance to interview him in 2008 .
“ I got the chance to work with some awesome people : Wally ( Phillips ), Bob ( Collins ), Roy ( Leonard ), Orion ( Samuelson ), Dr . Milt ( Rosenberg ), Harry ( Caray ), Brick ( Jack Brickhouse ), the list goes on and on . I was a bit in awe of being there and they were all gentlemen , giving mentors and good friends . Dan Fabian was the PD then and gave me two orders : Don ' t lose the license and have fun . I remember the Bears championship season vividly . I did all the pre-game shows from Gate O at Soldier Field for those years and had a ball . The coldest I ' ve ever been in my life was sitting on a concrete slab for the Superbowl Championship celebration in Grant Park doing the remote on what had to be the coldest day of the year . I got to interview some awesome people , as many of us in this business get to do and sometimes minimize . Perhaps my grandchildren will read about that in my notes someday and think that Grandpa had a few moments .”
J . J . Jeffrey ( October ) In his later years , Jeffrey became a radio station owner , but he ’ s best remembered in Chicago for his time as a disc jockey at WLS-AM 890 in the 1970s . John Records Landecker wrote about his old colleague in his book “ Records Truly Is My Middle Name ” ( 2013 , Eckhartz Press ).
“ Bob Sirott , J . J . Jeffrey , and I had our own little language when we spoke to each other — code words and phrases that meant things only to ourselves . ( For instance , a ‘ W . A .’ was a ‘ weak anecdote ,’ an ‘ S . A .’ was a ‘ strong anecdote ,’ and watch out that you don ’ t get ‘ T . T . F . O .’ or ‘ thrown the fuck out .’) J . J . was one of the most unique characters I ever worked with in radio . He had this unbelievably great laugh , and that was all we ever wanted to do — get him to laugh on the air . J . J . was also a bit eccentric . For instance , he had nothing but blow-up furniture in his apartment , he walked to and from work even though he lived at Belmont Ave , quite a long way from Michigan and Wacker , and he smoked cigarettes in a cigarette holder . There was no one else like him .”
Doug Dahlgren ( November ) Doug worked all over the country in radio , but he ’ s best remembered in Chicago for his time at WCFL and WIND when they were Top 40 powerhouses . I interviewed Doug back in 2012 about those heady times , especially his days with Dick Sainte ( Dick and Doug ) at WCFL .
Doug Dahlgren
By Rick Kaempfer
“ Dick was working in mornings with Tom Murphy , and I replaced Tom , and I still don ' t know the story of why - of what happened there with him . But Dick and I hit it off right away , our timing was immediately perfect . We never stepped on each other . We became almost like brothers . Every day was fun . We had a good time on the air , but we probably had even more fun off the air . When WCFL changed formats , we read about it in the paper in Gary Deeb ' s column . The next morning , they held a staff meeting and said , “ Sorry , it wasn ' t supposed to leak out yet , but that ' s the way it goes .’ Dick and I asked if we could have one more show together , and they said yes . Though , in the middle of that last show , they came in and yanked us off the air because we were talking about the format change . That was considered a big no-no . Later , Dick lived in Oregon when I did , too , so we ' d see him all the time . He had a huge career after WCFL , too . ”
Those are just a few of the people we lost in 2024 . There were other big stars , notably Phil Donahue ( August ), former Cubs and Blackhawks play-by-play man Jim West ( July ), former Loop night-time talker Liz Wilde ( October ), and former WLS-jock Tom Kent ( July ).
May their memories and the dozens of other media pros who passed away last year be a blessing . january 2025 illinoisentertainer . com 19