Halls of Fame

Charlie Stanley – 2005

​Stanley’s first radio job was at KXOK, and his general manager told him he’d never make it in radio. He worked at KATZ before going to a sales job at WEW. He moved up to sales manager and bought the station in 1964, selling it 28 years later.

​Under Stanley’s ownership, WEW gained a following as a middle-of-the-road music station. He bought a 1945 Mack fire engine, painted the call letters on the side, and showed up at just about every parade in the region.

​Charlie Stanley often described himself as a hustler and he admitted there were many times over the years when he was on the verge of losing the station when debts piled up.

​He was affectionately dubbed the “trade-out king” by his colleagues in the radio sales business who marveled at his abilities to get accounts on the air.

Ben Abell – 2006

A professor of meteorology at St. Louis University’s Parks College in 1962 and later the College of Arts and Sciences, Ben Abell is known to the general public for his unique approach to weather forecasts on several St. Louis radio stations.

He volunteered his services for the local radio service for the blind on a continuous basis beginning in 1973.

His broadcast weather reports were heard on KWMU, KFUO-FM, KMOX, KHTR and KCFM. An experienced forensic meteorologist with a folksy approach to his broadcast work, Ben endeared himself to listeners with an acknowledgement that forecasting was an inexact science, using his catchphrase “I can’t rule out…”​.

Emil Wilde – 2005

Emil’s voice was heard on St. Louis radio stations from 1939 to the late 1980s. An accomplished singer, he began working on KFUO in 1939, leaving for the military service for three years during World War II.

He came back to the Lutheran Church-owned station in 1944 and remained for 11 years, and he was the announcer on The Lutheran Hour on the Mutual Network for over 10 years.

There followed a brief stint on WIL, where he was known as Alan Scott.

Wilde continued as a radio newsman on KWK for four years, then on KSD for eight years and KMOX for nine years.

His experience during his many years on the air served him well when, in 1986, he became manager of the student broadcast operation at Lindenwood College in St. Charles. ​

Gene Chase – 2006

​Those listeners who remember Gene Chase from his years of beautiful music station KCFM may have trouble thinking of him in terms of anything but a deep-voiced, classy announcer filled with musical knowledge. But his alter ego had been at the forefront for awhile on WIL, where he was known as “Big Daddy-O from All-Night Raddio.”

​Chase went the extra mile to hook up with virtually every musical act that came through St. Louis, interviewing them at the Chase Club or Municipal Opera, then playing the tapes on his shows to share those moments with listeners.

​After leaving the air he continued in the business selling advertising.

Listen to Gene Chase on WIL, from 1958

Ed Bench- 2004

​Anyone who worked with Ed Bench describes him as the best radio engineer they’ve ever known.

He served as chief engineer for KSTL, KATZ and KCFM and as an independent contractor for Heritage Media and Clear Channel. Ed Bench was responsible for developing the market’s first stereophonic broadcasts at KCFM, whose initial stereo broadcast was coordinated to begin at the same time as those at WSYR (Syracuse) and WEFM (Chicago), midnight, June 1, 1961.

He received the first Type Approval for a stereo broadcasting system issued by the FCC on January 2, 1961 and operated the first multi-station circular polarized panel antenna in the nation. During his work building KCFM, Bench developed many of the testing techniques that are still being used to test stereo broadcast systems.

He has been honored with lifetime memberships in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.

Lee Coffee – 2006

​Employed at various times at six different radio stations – some more than once – Lee Coffee was flexible enough to handle any format. He was nicknamed “The Musical Pumpkin” at KSHE after someone found a photo of him dressed in costume.

​Rotund, loved by his co-workers, with a laid back style and deep voice, Coffee once left radio briefly to become a TV news director, but he returned as a part-timer at KSD before leaving television completely for his first love.

​He had also worked at WIBV, KWK and WRTH before retiring from WEW in 1991.