THE BIG ' 89 TO HOLLYWOOD
K
ris Erik Stevens ' sarrival in Chicago in the late ' 60s involved a bit of serendipity . " I was on my way from San Francisco to a gig I had just taken in Pittsburgh , and I stopped in Chicago along the way to see an old buddy of mine , Lyle Dean , who I had worked with in Omaha . I said I wanted to meet the program director . Lyle said , “ Well , he ’ s the guy you just brushedoffonthewayinhere . Youdidn ’ teven say hello .’ I thought , ‘ Oh No !’ So I ran down the hall and went into his office and said , ‘ Mr . Rook , I ’ m so sorry ; I always wanted to meet you .’ And I introduced myself . He told me that he had heard a lot of good things about me . Sure enough , after I was in Pittsburgh for about four months , he gave me a call , and before I knew it , I was on WLS .”
By Rick Kaempfer
director , and he really knew what he was doing . Then when Lujack and I both went to WCFL with John Rook , we beat WLS , so it wasn ’ t really a big issueforme .”
But after a nomadic radio career that had brought him from Michigan to Omaha to San Francisco to Pittsburgh to Miami , and Chicago twice , after his WCFL stint , Stevens finally decided it was time to “ give up the inflatable furniture .” “ When I left WCFL , I said to myself , that ’ s it . No more radio for me . I ’ m done . I want to go into movies , and I know I can do that . So I went to LA without a job , and I did put it together there . I met a lady , and settled down , and created my own business .”
That business included many high-level voice-over acting in everything from commercials
Kris Erik Stevens circa 1969
Having grown up in Michigan listening to the station , it was a dream come true . “ I used to copy those guys while I was doing an all-night show in high school . I loved Chicago . I loved the people . To me , that is where I always wanted to be . It was a big-time radio station . I was on the air at night on the best station , WLS , and the signal was carried all over the country . I mean , it covered everything . It was unbelievable the reach it had . I could hear it in California .”
Stevens has very fond memories of his three years in Chicago . “ Working with people like Larry Lujack . That was a pleasure . Larry and I got along really well . He had a lot of material to work with regarding me , I ’ m afraid . WLS had a great environment . They let you be you . I made a lot of personal appearances and met a lot of people , and of course , it opened the doors for me because people now knew who I was . It ’ s what made the rest of my career possible .”
He also had a taste of the famous WLS-WCFL rivalry , although he never really considered it contentious . “ When ( program director ) John Rookleft WLS , they brought a new clown in , and he wasn ’ t a fan of mine — I was a little too much for him , and before I knew it , I was on the outside looking in . Looking for a new job . So I went down to Miami and became a program director . And then , Rook called me again and said , ‘ I ’ m going back into Chicago at WCFL . Come join me , and let ’ s beat WLS .’ But honestly , other than that , I never really thought about the rivalry between the two stations or the ratings when I was in Chicago . When I was on WLS , we were always # 1 . We had Larry . John Rook was a great program to trailers to cartoons ( The Smurfs and Richie Rich ). But it included radio work too . “ I did a show called Entertainment Coast to Coast via satellite every Saturday night . I conceptualized it and wrote it , and movie stars came to us . We interviewed big-time celebrities for that show . It opened so many doors . I did a deal with Universal Pictures with the Rolling Stones for their movie Let ’ s Spend the Night Together . They wanted a nationwide radio special to coincide with the release . I flew to Paris to talk to Mick and Keith . Then I went to London to interview Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman , and then to New York to interview Ron Wood , and then flew back to LA to put the program together .”
Kris and the movie have remained constant companions ever since . “ For ten years , I was the voice of MovieTunes . I was partnered with Robert Kardashian . His daughter Kim used to come over to pick up the tapes from me after I recorded them . We were in every movie theater in America . That was great exposure .”
Despite going bigtime in Hollywood , does Stevens stay in touch with his old Chicago friends ? “( Former WLS colleague ) Fred Winston and I have always been close . I still talk to him all the time . He puts me on the floor — the funniest guy I know . I stay in touch with Chuck Buellfrom my WLS days . I was looking forward to seeing them — there was talk of a WLS reunion happening right before the pandemic . It ’ s just another one of those things that didn ’ t happen .”
To read more about what has happened to Kris Erik Stevens , check out his website at www . kriserikstevens . com . september 2021 illinoisentertainer . com 19