STLMHF

Rex Davis – Legacy

​Rex Davis began his career in Cincinnati as Frank Zwygart (his real name), but management there awarded him the nom de air of Rex Davis, and that’s how he came to St. Louis in 1946. He was immediately thrown into action here as an aggressive newsman at KMOX.

His biggest success, in terms of ratings, came in 1974 when station manager Robert Hyland teamed Davis up with Bob Hardy for a two-person morning drive program called “Total Information AM,” a show that, during its peak, pulled a 33 average share of the listening audience.

He was the consummate newsman, felt by many listeners to be the true “Voice of St. Louis,” which was the motto associated with the station since its inception.

Davis also had a humorous side, which began to come out in 1973 with his regular appearances on the Jack Carney Show, another KMOX ratings phenomenon. Carney would regularly set up Davis, alternately giving him the punch lines or making him the target of jokes. Listeners responded with delight, hearing their authoritative newsman as a human being.
Rex Davis retired from KMOX in 1981.

Russ David – Legacy

​Russ David will always be associated with his long-running music show, “Playhouse Party,” which was heard on KSD for 16 years and WEW an additional 10 years.

​But his career spanned much more. He worked briefly in the music department at KMOX and was a studio musician and program host on KSD prior to Playhouse Party. His live network music show on NBC originated from the KSD studios.

​Russ attended the St. Louis University School of Commerce for a couple years at the insistence of his parents but then left to become a professional musician.

​During his stint at KSD he hosted Alpen Brau Time, and he wrote all the scores and conducted the orchestra for the acclaimed Land We Live In program. He also served as music director for KSD even after most of the live music shows were dropped.

Mort Crowley – Legacy

Mort Crowley spent 14 years in St. Louis radio with stops at KWK, KXOK, KSD, KMOX and KMOX-FM. As with many disc jockeys, he moved around a lot, working first in Philadelphia.

After his job at KWK in 1958, Crowley was on stations in Cleveland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Detroit, Flint and Chicago before returning to St. Louis.

His on-air creativity and sometimes acerbic wit endeared him to many of his listeners as he zeroed in on newsmakers with lampooning and mimicry. He was on the air on all five stations but also served as program director, operations manager and morning drive announcer. ​

Bud Connell – Legacy

​Bud Connell’s name is not well-known among St. Louis radio listeners, but his influence was certainly felt. He came to KXOK in July 1961after working in other major markets. Storz Broadcasting brought him in to program its largest property, which was drawing only 4% of the market’s listeners.

Within three months he had changed the sound of KXOK with new announcers and a completely new image. By the time the November-December 1961 ratings were published, KXOK was tops in the market. In the mid-1960s, Pulse, Inc. placed KXOK in the top five stations in the country for its high ratings.

His influence was felt throughout the station, from his creation of the “Johnny Rabbitt” character popularized by deejay Don Pietromonaco, to his conception and organization of the station’s many contests and promotions. In 1966 the station was host for the Beatles’ concert at Busch Stadium.

It is a tribute to Connell that his staffers all credit him for the station’s success through the decade of the 60s.

Leo Chears – Legacy

​Leo Chears was affectionately known to his listeners as “the man in the red vest,” a nickname given him by one of his main sponsors, Anheuser-Busch. They were looking for an identifying phrase, and Chears showed up at a client meeting wearing a vest he “didn’t even like because it was red,” he said. But they liked it, so he ended up filling his closet with the vests.

Chears’ name has always been associated with jazz on St. Louis radio, on WBBR, KADI, KSD, WMRY and WSIE, usually holding down a nighttime slot. As was the case in the 1960s, radio managers paid a pittance to many announcers, especially Negro announcers.

Chears held down a full-time job during the day in a lab at Barnes Hospital and then did a six-hour air shift at night.

When Leo Chears went to work for a radio station, management got more than just an announcer. He used his record library, which consisted of thousands of jazz albums, to supplement the station’s library.

Ed Ceries – Legacy

​Ed Ceries was a man who followed his dream. After working as an engineer for 20 years with the Pulitzer stations, KSD and KSD-TV, he invested his life savings and his considerable engineering efforts in building his own FM station, which he called KSHE.

​He literally built some of the equipment himself, and on February 11, 1961, the station signed on from the basement of the Ceries’ home in suburban Crestwood. The station called itself “The Lady of FM,” and had a classical music format. For awhile, all the announcers were women.

​Most of the basement was used for the station operations, with the Associated Press teletype installed next to the clothes washer. The record library room doubled as an administrative office where Mrs. Ceries also did her ironing.

​Listener loyalty was strong. At times they would come to the station with copies of classical selections they thought were better than the ones being played on KSHE. Unfortunately for Ed Ceries, advertisers were not convinced FM radio, particularly classical music on FM radio, had much of an audience.

​After a year-and-a-half, the format was adjusted to contain about 90% middle-of-the-road music and 10% classical, with nine daily news broadcasts. In 1964, the station was sold to Century Broadcasting.