Im sitting there, and Im cracking up. The man who sat at the top of the hill, a legend in broadcasting. "Dallas radio legend Ron Chapman dies at 85. They thought we were going 50 miles. As The News noted in a story: When the terrified producer charged into his room to say the ghost had just hugged her, Chapman had only a one-sentence response: Did you get it on the air?. Chapman had a . He remained at KVIL-FM for 32 years, serving as program director, music director, promotion director and morning personality. (Her cohort, Ron Chapman, who clocked more than 45 successful years on local radio and television [including WFAA-TV,] died in 2021.) I told her so. The station's studios are located along North Central Expressway in Uptown Dallas. The Man Dallas LUVed: Radio Great Ron Chapman Dies He was always very, very kind. Chapman thought that was funny. He likes to say he lost two-thirds of his voice then, but every so often you can hear peeks and hints of that booming voice that used to wake up Dallas every weekday morning. Chapman began his career in Dallas radio in 1959 at KLIF as a member of the "Charlie and Harrigan" team. I know something the others havent figured out.. Chapman says he and Nancy were in excellent health at that point but age was a factor for him wanting to retire. Paul: Okay, so let's go back to Bud's career. Dallas radio legend Ron Chapman passes away at the age of 85 - Audacy Robert Wilonsky, Special Contributor. Thanks a lot, everybody! They were pissed off, and they loved it. Yeah, he would. From Haverhill, Mass (also Ed McMahon's first rad - 2 years ago. And because I drove the yellow van, I could go wherever I wanted to go. No one would do that.. Chapman was on his way to becoming, twenty years later, a small industry unto himself. . And yet, he would never ask me to be one of the [featured] dancers. of course. Legendary Dallas DJ Ron . Remembering Ron Chapman. He had spent his last few years on 98.7 KLUV in Dallas/Forth Worth. After working for two years with the Voice of the United Nations Command in Korea , Chapman moved to Connecticut and station WHNC/New Haven. The money was donated to charity. 1 forever. RADIO: Thank You, Ron - D Magazine Said a Dallas radio newsman with nearly twenty years in the market, When I left KVIL, my blood pressure dropped by forty points. But back then, you prayed for Vince Lombardi. Dallas Radio Icon Ron Chapman Dies at 85 | KLIF-AM Dallas Radio Legend Ron Chapman Recovering From A Stroke - Blogger Ive always tried to make my sportscast understandable to the non-sports fan. To Chapman, a working divorced mother with two kids was the woman of his dreams. Ron Chapman Was a Warm and Fuzzy Tyrant - D Magazine And Ill tell you who finds it difficult to work for me. We tell them, Heres the concept. I would carpool my son to school, pick up kids. That was the power of Ron Chapman. They were gonna change owners and he knew the new owner. I hand it to Ron, and the little guy hops on Rons shoulder, and when the lights come up, you know, animals react. Nance Chapman Wiki: Ron Chapman Wife, Age, Job - Stars Offline But what me and Tom Murphy did was put together a morning show for teens, Murphy and Harrigan. The rest, as they say, is history. He also hosted a televised series from Northpark Center in the 1960's for a three-year stint. Chapman, fifty-three, fell over laughing. 26, 2021 at 1:34 PM PDT. So we all lined up, and we said, Okay, hoooo! And we started to walk. Like a handful of other stations in town, at least until they all change formats again. Even after he retired, he would call and ask for help, and I was always happy to do it. Why Ron Chapman Was An All-Time Great - Radio Ink But, of course, its demise was inevitable, yet another casualty of shifting tastes and platforms; it's sign-off came just two months after Clear Channel dulled The Edge by making it, too, a dull shade of Maroon 5. "Well, they had to do something," the National Radio Hall of Famer said. But they werent really buying the station. There was dead air for, like, 10 seconds. One infamous incident occurred during last years gala for the National Craniofacial Foundation. A 1989 profile in D magazine described him as The Emperor in his tower, whose duality is a big part of Ron Chapmans magic. He is, the writer opined, an amalgamation of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.. Ron was one of those guys who made this a better place to live.. During his 31 years at KVIL, Chapman became famous for his upbeat humor and his participation in outrageous stunts and giveaways. There was some serious speculation for a while in Haverhill about the Ghost Tuba Player. During his 31 years at KVIL, Chapman became famous for his upbeat humor and his participation in outrageous stunts and giveaways. Its a tribute to Chapman that the call letters of what is, after all, just a radio station, have entered the argot of the trade. Next to the picture, the new kid on the block had penned, Dont buy a house here. He killed the competition. Blonde, voluptuous, impeccably well-mannered, and gracious, she smiles through a mouthful of sharp teeth. But the thing about it is, ten minutes later, its like it never happened.. After 45 years in radio, Ron Chapman retired from his morning show on June 24, 2005. While many have attempted to imitate his formula, nobodyat least locallyis likely to remotely approach his mastery of it. Ron Chapman made Vocal Majority . The Right Hand of God is Dallas. I never brought it up with him, either. Woods was Charlie Brown. Trust me, Chapman didnt laugh at all. By KLTV Digital Media Staff. KVIL wasso named for its original HQ in the Highland Park Village, after Charles Meeks acquired a broadcast license from the feds to open up shop in 1958. And I want you to know that Leonard jerked the plug out from the wall. Photos: Chapman Today: Dan Sellers; Chapman on TV: Courtesy of ABC Radio Networks. Some 12,000 did, and KVIL donated $240,000 to charity. But Ive wondered ever since., Herb Kelleher has known Chapman for years. In one infamous stunt, notes his Hall of Fame bio, Chapman told his listeners to each send $20 to the station; within three days, the station had received $200,000. Some estimates put the final amount even higher. We never worked in the studio together, for 20 years. He died Monday at age 85. Shes divorced, and may have a kid at home that shes sole support for. He is, he admits, a control freak. He moved to Dallas in 1959 a year before the Dallas Cowboys became a team and was known for a decade as Irving Harrigan, who shared a microphone with Charlie Brown. His co-hosts real name was Jack Woods, and together the two became a radio juggernaut at KLIF, known then as The Mighty 1190. Their rise coincided with the Top 40 dynamism of the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones. Ron Chapman, a Dallas - Fort Worth radio legend, has died at the age of 85, according to CBS 11 KTVT in DFW. Do you understand this? And you were supposed to live up to them. When he started hosting SumpN Else, I was a kid, and we loved to dance, and I would go over there to dance. When Ron met Nance twenty years ago at a charity telethon, he was immediately struck by her good looks, he says, recalling that he trotted out a bunch of glib compliments before saying, By the way, Im Ron Chapman. Her reply: Oh. Skip to content. Three Time Texas Radio Hall Of Famer, Ron Chapman Has Died He was always very warm and sweet with me and very welcoming, as he was to all the kids. A D Magazine feature on Chapman from December 1989, reproduced this week in honour of his life, stated that he had a wife called Nance (pronounced Nancy) Murray, for three years at that point. According to the Texas Radio Hall of Fame, no public service is happening, but there will be a public gathering of friends and colleagues which is being planned at this time. A computerized Young Chang Grand Piano is playing Gershwin via floppy disk over near the bar. Long before the KLUV World Tour, our travel program began as the KVIL World Tour, pioneered by my parents and Dallas Radio legend Ron Chapman. To a person, everyone interviewed for this story believed that Chapman, if riled, could end his career. The Morning Guys on Y-95. His wife says the best way to get him frantic is to put him in a car without a phone. And thats the way Ron was. Ralph Chapman Obituary - Death Notice and Service Information I was driving an older beat-up Nissan, and my alternator went out one night while on the way to work. 2023 Audacy, Inc. All rights reserved. In terms of logistics and creativity, hes a towering genius. So Charlie and Harrigan came on and said, Were going to do our hike. Ron Chapman Obituary - Death: Ron Chapman Obituary Kvil | Ron Chapman Cause Of Death Ron Chapman Obituary: In the loving memory of Ron Chapman, we are saddened to inform you that Ron Chapman, a. But would he be really pissed if we never played it at all?. Ive done this in many ways in my sportscast. Thousands showed up. Chapman has seen twenty years worth of six-month wonders come and then go. It would be rude not to let Ron Chapman give it a proper send-off. The station would cycle through many owners, all of whom readily admittedthey were really buying Chapman-- "a warm and fuzzy tyrant," D called him in 1989, which he took as compliment. We were in the groove together. At the haunted house, Chapman took along a producer and equipped her with a microphone. Ron Chapman and Mitch Carr Photo credit Courtesy Mitch Carr. I figure we have her ears, and were the only ones shell let talk to her for the first hour of the day. The winning name was Chief Rain in the Pants.. A very happy one. When the show aired its final broadcast, Chapman played as its swan song Turn! Info. Ron Chapman - Press Club of Dallas Catch up on the day's news you need to know. Ron.. Within three days listeners had sent in more that $240,000. Chapman knows how to be reassuring to women who are fighting an uphill battle day after day. And because he spanned KLIF and "Sump'n Else" to KVIL -- he WAS the history of Dallas radio . Copyright 2023, D Magazine Partners, Inc. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. When we first went to KVIL to do the Cowboys games, Ron brings Brad Sham and me into his office and starts giving us this big speech on how we should broadcast a football game. But she was the problem., Chapman, who says he agonizes over every firing and tries to help the departed financially, told Haley to find another gig by the end of the year, while challenging her to do better: I told her. Each year, I am more and more aware of the power we have in that room, Chapman confides. That was, perhaps, the last Most Meaningful Moment on local radio. By Casey Carr. Wednesday's announcement just made it official, finally. Weve become Kleenex. I prayed for her to have a lot of success, and I prayed that she get a wonderful starring part-and stay in New York forever.. Its a small industry. I noticed that they would feature me dancing a lot on the show. He is a walking contradiction, a Type A masquerading as a Type B. Though Chapman is generally regarded, on the civic circuit, as something of a First Citizen, he has not been above exporting that inflammatory temper outside the station walls. Posted Mon, Apr 26, 2021 at 8:33 pm CT. Dallasites are grieving the death today of deejay Ron Chapman, a man whose voice was a constant companion throughout the Metroplex for more than five . And this was totally not intended. I'm saddened to tell you that legendary Dallas DJ Ron Chapman has passed away at 85. Ron Chapman began his radio career the DAY he graduated high school, hitting the airwaves in his hometown of Haverhill, Massachusetts. Ron Chapman's radio career began in 1953the day he graduated from high schoolwhen he became a disc jockey at station WHAV/Haverhill, MA. Menu. Nobodys going to build monuments or hold big memorial services. And she looks so good by the time she gets to the office, she had to be up by 5:30. But the precise age, her birthday, and zodiac remain unknown. Hes now a program director for ABC Dallas radio and an adjunct professor of TV production at the University of North Texas.We did Sumpn Else at NorthPark. RIP to a #NTX legend," wrote Dallas County judge Clay Jenkins, in a tweet on April 26. Chapman targeted that audience for several reasons, and he lists them the way he says almost everything, with unflappable confidence: a) they are the purse strings; b) there are a lot of them; c) they tend to be very faithful and build an allegiance; and d) they were underserved in this market, and nobody was paying them any respect. Suite 2100 DALLAS - Three-time Texas Radio Hall-of-Famer and Dallas radio legend Ron Chapman died on Monday. Everybody that works here eventually comes back around, and Im going to be here when they come round again. In a 1985 issue ofBillboard, the music industry's trade publication, a radio consultant called it "dominant" -- "the best-run radio station in Dallas" among a pile of worthy contenders, including K104. (The money was later distributed to local charities.) He spent more than three decades at KVIL, toiling as a morning deejay, music director and program director, transforming the adult contemporary format into a major success on the FM band.
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