During an actors strike in Hollywood I took a job as a DJ at a Grass Valley, California radio station. (How I got to Grass Valley is a story for another time) I had been a DJ and newsman back in Minneapolis before my show biz career so it wasn't like I was embarking on a new adventure.
KNCO was probably the best 500-kilowatt station in America...the on-air personalities were top-notch talent who just loved the business. The format was reminiscent of WCCO in my home town and offered an abundance of freedom in content. I did a morning helicopter traffic report. One day I reported gridlock...a large number of cars at a standstill. That turned out to be a parking lot. And there was the inauguration of the Alta Hill cable car that lost its brakes and crashed. There was an Alta Hill, but no cable car.
And, of course, my birthday party with food, balloons, a band and a rented hall to which no one showed up. There was the First Annual Dickie Awards that included best football field reporter who announced that the field was 100 yards long and half rye, half fescue.
And there were old-time radio productions a la the 30's and 40's. A weekly soap opera called "Days of Our Daze" inspired by the talents of Lohman and Barkley and a soap opera they did on Los Angeles radio.
And there was a ten-part serial adventure "Jessica Wild, Woman Reporter" that led to an unfinished novel. And a half-hour production called "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" that combined the ambience of "Saturday Night Fever" with "Jack in the Beanstalk."
And, of course, my birthday party with food, balloons, a band and a rented hall to which no one showed up. There was the First Annual Dickie Awards that included best football field reporter who announced that the field was 100 yards long and half rye, half fescue.
And there were old-time radio productions a la the 30's and 40's. A weekly soap opera called "Days of Our Daze" inspired by the talents of Lohman and Barkley and a soap opera they did on Los Angeles radio.
And there was a ten-part serial adventure "Jessica Wild, Woman Reporter" that led to an unfinished novel. And a half-hour production called "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" that combined the ambience of "Saturday Night Fever" with "Jack in the Beanstalk."