MORE FROM JIM HAWTHORNE:

KMYR [Denver CO] 1941 -- Sidebar---> Bill Ballance and I started there at the same time and have been close friends since.

KXLA [Los Angeles CA] 1943 -- KXLA is where my BIG break came---the station let me develop the NUTTY program that got me the ABC (KECA) network deal---full ABC net over KECA in LA 1948. BTW, Denver carried the show and it got major copy in the newspapers at the time -- local kid make it big, type of thing, you know.

> (from John Williams) How/why did you get from Denver (KMYR) to LA (KXLA)?
WW2 had begun and I wanted to establish myself in L.A. radio. first, I was an assistant Director on a series on movie westerns called RANGE BUSTERS then migrated to KXLA where I developed the "crazy" show that catapulted me to ethereal heights in Angeltown.

KYA [SF] 1957-1958 -- There I created and developed a new idea called Voice Your Choice that reflected a daily telephone survey of listener music preferences. Each evening I did a top 10 show based upon the (VYC) survey. We beat the hot station in town (KOBY) in a month and held number one and/or two over all SF stations until I returned to L.A. to a sister station, KDAY [LA] in 1959 where Chuck Blore heard me and offered the KFWB deejay job. Later I was PD in the BIG days of KFWB.

KFWB [LA] 1960 -- Loved every moment of my time there---UNTIL THE DISASTROUS AFTRA STRIKE that destroyed the station which was then was sold to Westinghouse and became an ALL NEWS station.

KHJ [LA] 1962 -- I NEVER WORKED AT KHJ -- I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THAT GOT ON THE LIST) At one time, I had a taped network show that ran on KHJ ONE time. I was on 3 stations ALL at one time same time slot--I was opposite myself---- I was doing a weekly NBC show -- 21 piece band, full cast -- which was THE LAST NBC NETWORK SHOW OUT OF HOLLYWOOD -- and I was also live on KECA and a pre-taped show that I did for Mutual as a guest of somebody's show was running on KHJ---that, I THINK is how the myth was born.

KGMB [Honolulu HI] 1965-1969 -- I never had a show on KGMB radio. I was there to create a TV program called Checkers & Pogo (it's on the KGMB TV web page). The only KGMB radio stuff I did was as a favor to J. AKU HEAD PUPULE, Hawaii's #1 AM guy, and a real genuine legend in Aloha Land. I did some on-the-spot news stuff (with a humorous twist) for him on a sporadic basis. BTW, Checkers & Pogo with Pogo Poge (Morgan White) ran for over 15 plus years after I left to return to L.A. in 1969. Last year KGMB did a retrospective program that told the entire C&P history. The producer flew to Denver to do an interview with me regarding the creation of the program which was included in the show.

Also, I wrote, produced, directed, voiced a few hundred TV shows -- from 260x1-minute QUICKIE QUIZ's, 260x5-minute FUNNY WORLD's and I did a flock of 1/2 hour TV shows with Sherman Grinberg --from the time I was still with KFWB in the 1960s until I scrammed for Hawaii to creat Checkers & Pogo in 1965. I used to fly from Hawaii to L.A. and back to Hawaii 3 days a week to work on the TV stuff. Double Peachy Keen fun, to coin a cliche'.!

> (jw) More on your KGMB days. Did you arrive in Honolulu before or after Tim
> Tindall?
It was I who talked Tim into anchoring the KGMB news--a post that he held for many successful years. I knew he had a talent and that was being wasted on the radio stuff he was doing, so told Cec Heftel (the owner) that I thought Tim would be great on the news--he (Tim) was immediately put on the news and the rest is history.

KOA [Denver] 1974-1985 -- I was a creative guy---started as a Sat nite radio all-nighter. for about 3 weeks, then I was elevated to create the 50th Anniversary celebration year for KOA (1974) -- after that I was promotion mgr, PD for both KOA and KOAQ-103. (now KRFX) Also, I created, wrote and hosted a daily TV newsmagazine called NOONDAY for KOA's sister station, Ch 4 -- KOA-TV. GE decided to sell KOA AM and I was asked by GE to run the 2 stations (KOA and KOAQ) until the sale was final (to Belo) I was GM until Belo was granted the license in 1981?? (not sure of the date) then I went with Belo and later Jacor where I was PD/Promotion until I "retired" in 1985. I returned to L.A. and lived there until 1998 when I came back "home" to Colorado, where I am at present.

KIEV [LA] 1991 -- It was a special project to re-create the original KXLA crazy show that I did in the 1940's---and it was one helluva show. My eldest son, Darr Hawthorne, ran the on-air tech end and we (I think) surpassed the sounds that I created for the old KXLA show -- it had really mellowed. I think we did about 26 once-a-week shows there for the Beaton Brothers who were fans of mine and even paid me "gas money" to do drive up from where I was living with my daughter and her husband (Fallbrook, CA) to do the series. The Beaton's (who sold KIEV last year) are true broadcasters who ran KIEV exceptionally well and for a good profit, I might add. The production crew at KIEV contributed MUCH to make the show a hit.

April 2007 update: From Ex-Denver radio man Hawthorne still behind the mic, by Dick Kreck, Denver Post [4/05/07]), "...[Jim] still does a local TV show in Santa Barbara four times a year. He's not done yet. [He says], 'I plan to semi-retire at 90. I might take it easy at 100.'"

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