Radio

Ray Otis – 2007

​Shortly after Ray Otis took over as host of the KXOK morning show, it became the top morning show in the market. Another one of the deep-voiced guys on the Big 630’s airwaves during the heyday of the 60s, Otis began his eight-year stint here in 1962. His affable on-air approach led to regular appearances on his show by St. Louis Mayor A.J. Cervantes and many others.

​Schooled in programming by Myron Jones and the famed Storz men, Jack Thayer and Harvey Glasscock, Ray Otis became KXOK’s program director.

​Otis left St. Louis for a job at WNEW-AM in New York. He also hosted a network show.

Richard J. Miller – 2005

Miller began his work in St. Louis radio when he acquired KXLW in 1958. The station brought music and personality to the R&B/gospel audience in the area. In 1969 he added KADI-FM to his local operations and subsequently bought stations in two other cities.

His local stations provided a career springboard for talented people he hired like Gary “Records” Brown, Jim Doyle, Al “Scoop” Sanders, “Radio” Rich Dalton and Ed Goodman.

Miller established the concept of weekly oldies shows on Sunday nights, and the program spanned three decades. He was one of the first to promote his stations using posters, which have since become collectors’ items.

Miller’s St. Louis stations became regular stops for national talent, including Harry Chapin and Wolfman Jack, who would stop in to do DJ shows when they were in the area.

Richard Miller had sold all his radio properties by the mid ‘90s when he became chairman of Truman Bank.​

Steven B. Stevens – 2007

Steven B. Stevens was one of the deep-voiced news personalities at KXOK during its legendary run as one of St. Louis’ and the nation’s top stations.

He joined the staff there just prior to turning 20. In addition to his news duties, he was often called upon to act as a straight man in humorous bits with KXOK’s Johnny Rabbitt and Bruno J. Grunyon characters during the 7 – midnight slot, the station’s heavy listening time. He worked at KXOK for 7 years as one of master programmer Bud Connell’s “Voice of god” men, moving on to television news in Cincinnati.​

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. ​