LA Radio People writer Don Barrett is reporting the passing of legendary personality and program director Mike Phillips (NOT the Mike currently at KEX). He has been ill for some time and recently moved back to Portland.

I only met him once, but thought he was an incredible person and I feel lucky to have had the honor. He understood what makes radio great, was passionate about his craft, and was an inspiration.

My heart goes out to those who knew him better than I.

What a radio career he had. This list from 440:

KAYO, KJR, KISN(noon-3), KNBR, KFRC, WXLO, KGW, KYUU(VP), KIOI, KOIT, WTMX(VP) & KTRH. Some stations were multiple times.

Sorry to here about this. Most of you I'm guessing have heard the great air check of him on KISN.

He had a great sense of humor and an even better sense of radio. I had the pleasure of working with him and for him for several years at KGW. He was one of those rare individuals who really knew what we were trying to do...make great radio.
He was a pro and a friend and he will always be remembered.

wow...I'm so sad about this. What a legend. He WAS radio. From the time I was a kid, I was a big fan.

Craig - most of them have a great aircheck BECAUSE of him. Many of the biggest and most successful jocks (and not a few newsfolk) worked and learned from Mike. He led 62KGW to greatness, and he took all of us along with him for the ride.

I'm in Paris right now, so I think I'll wander over to Notre Dame.

See you guys soon.

I listened to Mike years ago on KJR and can honestly say he was one who inspired me to get into the business. Years later it was Mike who gave me the opportunity to come to Portland and work at the legendary KGW. I owe my career to Mike and will cherish the few years we worked together at The Super 62. You are right Terry, we all had a great ride. Mike was a great P.D. but more importantly a great friend. God Bless you Flipper!

Mike made sure radio was fun - and done well at the same time.

There is no tribute appropriate to the influence of this man on all who worked with him. This is the guy who gave so many of us a shot e.g. he was the PD who moved Craig Walker from middays to mornings. He was also great at giving the kind of tangible direction that you could incorporate into your airwork.

Who else would have filled in on 62/KGW as Peter Galore?? No wonder they had a 15 share when he was PD.

Here's a true story about the broadcaster & human being Mike was:
At an undisclosed station, one of Mike's valued employees was made an offer from across the street. When he went to bat for them with the undisclosed GM, the GM said "Match the offer, then wait 3 months and terminate them!"
Mike went back to the staff member and said "Take the job!"

A loss too big to be contained. Funny, kind and loyal. We'll miss you, Chief Inspector.

I never got to work with Mike as an on air person but he was the first person to hire me for a radio job as request line operator at KGW back when I was a junior in high school.

About 10 years later when I was doing afternoon drive at 1410 KCNR he was out in our lobby waiting for a meeting. As I passed by him he called me by name. I was impressed that he even remembered this old skinny high school kid. That was the last time I actually talked to him. However when Tom Parker and I worked at K-Lite 97.1 in the mid 80s he kept me up to date on Mike from time to time. And as I recall Mr. Tom you and Mike enjoyed playing some practical jokes on each other. The one with the pregnant woman at the airport comes to mind.

Mike simply was Da’ Man!!

Ah yes, once when Mike flew into Portland I had a listener who was 8 months pregnant with twins meet him at the gate holding a "Happy Father's Day Mike Phillips" sign.

Here's a great article that NY Consultant Walter Sabo wrote about Mike today:
Mike Phillips died at 3:05 PM in his hometown of Portland on October 16, 2006
MANAGE YOUR CAREER LIKE MIKE. BY WALTER SABO
Mike Phillips died under most unusual circumstances for a radio programmer: He had voluntarily retired with money in the bank and a paid-off house. KRTH, his last station had dominant adult shares in Los Angeles, a 3.6 overall 12+. His life was filled with friends and professional admirers. He won.

His work place was the majors: Top 5 cities almost exclusively since 1964. (*Summary of his resume at end of article.) Since this seems like a good way to wrap-up any career---a long time from now—I thought I’d try to sum up what I learned from watching him up close for the past 33 years.

1. He wanted to be a successful program director and thought programming work was of the highest importance. He had no aspirations to be General Manager or Group Head. Although he was VP of Programming for NBC FM Corporate, he was the quintessential local PD and loved his work.

2. It’s all the details. Every nano second of his radio station was mapped in his brain and nothing was left to chance. Therefore if the ratings went up he knew why, if they went down, he knew why.

3. All that matters is what’s on the air. He insisted on making great shows, 24/7. That required lots of promotion, marketing and research dollars. When he worked for companies that did not support their stations with those resources; his stations had them. Why? Because it was his job to tap those dollars, not to sit back and accept certain failure. His clear, rational, calm arguments persuaded the toughest businessmen to back his programming with sizable funds. Mike’s goal was audience share, not comfort in the chair.

4. Loyalty. If an executive or production staffer supported his goal of winning audience share, he would be loyal to them for life. Friends like star Tom Parker, researcher Terry Danner, Production ace Tim Jordan, Creative innovator Keith Teicher, Jack Friday, programmer Tom Rounds, on-air talent Howard Clark and music impressario Johnny Mann.

5. Failure is fine as long as you’ve tried something. Corny as that sounds, he lived it.
His greatest success and failure came from his endless willingness to try new ideas. He didn’t copy, he cooked from scratch. Whatever the result, his response was humble and self-effacing. If something didn’t work, he wasn’t too concerned, so no one else was.

His humility kept him away from the podium, the panels and the guest columns which is why you may be reading about his work for the first time.



6. Ok, radio is fun, why get drunk? In 33 years I never saw him drink alcohol or smoke a cigarette, although he was obsessed with Tab and soft ice cream.

7.A few years ago he called and said he should write down all of the “rotation” arguments he’s developed so future programmers could save time and trouble explaining “tight rotations” to the sales manager and general manager. He also decided that he personally was never going to have the “rotation” conversation with a non-programmer again. He didn’t.

8.The bigger the air talent, the bigger the PD. Throughout his career, he pushed his employers to hire the biggest name talent appropriate to the format. He would have been delighted if every talent working for him deserved more money than he did. Mike hired stars such as The Real Don Steele, Robert W. Morgan, Huggy Boy, Johnny Hayes, The True Don Bleu, Shotgun Tom Kelly, Rick Shaw, Tom Parker, Greg Brown plus many more, and then he CELEBRATED their accomplishments.

Most of his conversations with friends revealed his sheer joy at the work of these gifted stars, he loved them. He never competed with their stardom. That’s probably because he was one of the best CHR jocks who ever lived but when he decided to go off the air---in 1973, he shifted the spotlight to the station’s audience share.

Mike Phillips, a real program director, is dead and his friends and broadcasting are poorer for it.

Short hand resume:
Air Talent at
KISN Portland,
KJR Seattle (in a line up that included Pat O’Day, Tom Murphy and
Larry Lujack.)
KFRC San Francisco, Drake’s first morning man.
WWDJ New York
99X New York

Programming Executive:
KGW Portland
KYUU San Francisco
NBC Corporate
WCLR Chicago
KFRC San Francisco
KOIT San Francisco
KIOI San Francisco
KRTH Los Angeles

I only had the opportunity to meet and talk with Mike once. It was a few years ago at the KING Broadcasting Portland reunion. It was fascinating listening to his stories about programming some great radio stations and the huge talents he worked with. I have always been struck by the fact that Mike was one of those rare individuals who everybody really liked. His competitors may not have liked the fact Mike was programming rings around them...but they liked and respected the man he was. My condolences to his friends and family. Our industry has lost another giant.

I never worked with Mike, but really liked him a lot. Years ago, when I was P.D. at KINK down the hall from KGW, he always treated me like a real person, rather than the high monkey of the then bastard form FM and the then KING Broadcasting bastard son, KINK. My fondest memory was, upon entering the KGW program/production side of the building one winter day, finding Mike and a good portion of the gee-dub staff leaning with their backs into the hallway walls. This, Mike explained as his eyebrows danced, was to keep the building from collapsing. I joined in too, leaning my back into the wall in this valiant effort. We were all rewarded by the fact that the building remained upright. Mike was brilliantly fun, as well as brilliant.

Mike B
K103

Robin Mitchell's site has a photo of Mike Phillips from a survey in 1962. I remember him from the 1960 and 1961 years at KISN. There are sure a lot of former deejays who have passed on. He started as "M.J. Phillips."

Mike loved radio. I loved listening to Mike on-air, and later to all the great radio he programmed.

http://www.rma1.com/MikePhillipsKISN61.rm
http://www.rma1.com/Chronology/1959%20to%201961/PhillipsKAYO.rm
http://www.rma1.com/MikePHillipsKISN62.rm

Thanks Robin! That first one is Mike as an 18 year old!

Just what the Doctor ordered on the day after.

KISN Jock Lineup September 11, 1961 Hal Raymond 6-9am, Bob Stevens 9-noon, MIKE PHILLIPS noon-3, Jack Par 3-7pm, Tom Murphy 7-1am & Johnny Dark 1-6am.

Mike Phillips was simply the BEST radio programmer of his time.No one did it better.

If Mike Phillips was 18 in May of '61, that means he died at 63. Why so young? What got him?

This from the curator of reelradio.com:
I'm sad to report that Mike Phillips passed away Monday, October 16th, 2006, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 64. He had most recently worked with the Sirius satellite network, and in addition to his highly successful years as PD at KRTH in Los Angeles, Phillips spent time at KFRC, WXLO (99X)/NEW YORK, KJR, KISN and KGW, among others.

Steve Naganuma sent me a Mike Phillips aircheck from KGW/1975. Mike was such a great on-air talent. And, that station was so incredible...I appreciate the reminder that there truly was a time when the #1 priority was what came out of the speakers. Thanks Steve.

When did Hal leave for Seattle? Wasn't that in September? Mike left at the same time as I remember and was replaced by Ken Chase who I think is still in town. I bet Tiger Tom Murphy remembers Mike.

Sorry gang. Here's a corrected link for MIKE PHILLIPS KISN audio from Summer '62:

http://www.rma1.com/MikePhillipsKISN62.rm

Here's the link covering KISN's start. I researched the jock lineups with those who were there: The late Hal Raymond, Tom Murphy, etc.

http://www.rma1.com/Chrono/1959-61/index.html

By the way, Wayne: I spoke with Tom Murphy today. He mentioned he had tried e-mailing you via the e-mail address registered with this website...but got a message that you would not accept e-mails. I assume you're trying to keep the riff-raff out.

P.C.C. radio student. Heard Mike come on the air at KGW and immediately became one of his biggest fans. Had this image of a big, strapping scandehouvian lookin' fella with the big voice. Forward a couple of months. Got an internship at sixtytwokaygeedoubleyou. Day one. Out of a saturating rain storm, a rather diminuitive man in a trenchcoat and fogged glasses came into the music room where I was under the care of Sidney Coker M.D., and Alan Mason P.D. That was the last time I allowed myself to "picture" a personality before meeting them. What I did get to know was a brilliant air talent, an incredible programmer with a true sense of what radio could be, a mentor, and most importantly, a wonderful man. He always had time for this "rookie". Came back and worked under him a few years later too. Mike had an influence on me I'm sure he was not aware of. I know there are many that would echo my reflection of him at this sad time. My condolences to those close to him. I've never been one for eulogies. It's always better to let people know their importance in the here and now. It was an honor Mike. Thanks.
cb

For about six months before I went to Spokane to do my first morning show at KREM I did 10P-2A on KGW.

One night I came in to find a memo asking me to let a new hire come in at midnight to get familiar with the studio.

That hire was Mike Phillips. It took nearly no time for him to figure out the quirks of Emmett's control room and I got my first (not the last) radio lesson from a master of the art.

During the winter I was in Spokane, Mike replaced Al Mason as PD at KGW and in the spring when KGW's wildly successful morning guy decided to head across the street "to beat our brains out" Mike brought me back to Portland to be his brand new 21 year old morning guy. The station never missed a beat.

I thought he was crazy for hiring me, but the man knew what he was doing. His experience, his attitude of confidence made all of us believe we were special and that our radio station was exceptional. So we were and it was.

Let me talk story.

He had a "Phillips" way to do everything - I kidded him about all his systems once by saying that with all these rules he didn't need us young punk DJ's getting in the way. His response to that was "I build the stage, YOU guys are the stars".

In one aircheck session Erickson and I had gone long on some tangent or another - it must have been pretty funny cause Mike was in tears. I apologized for letting fun get in the way of the format and he set me straight. "Cousin Brucie - our format IS fun! If you aren't having fun with the listener nothing else matters."

He always called me Cousin Brucie. Lots of people did, some still do - but Phillips knew the real Cousin Brucie and when he did it, I got chills. Mike told me once that I reminded him of Morrow and I never ever forgot that moment.

He was never happier than when he could loosen his tie, stick that one ear headphone over his deaf-from-too-many-loud-shifts-ear and go be on the air again.

Every once in awhile he'd come into studio and look at me for a long moment. Then he'd suck in a breath loudly through his teeth, mimicing our engineer Emmett and say "I've got an idea". A ton of them wound up on the air with no credit. Mike Phillips all the way.

When King transferred me to Seattle he had already figured out what to do. "Midday guy is pretty good when you're on vacation." was how I first heard that Craig Walker was going to be KGW's new morning jock.

When we lost our morning anchor/news director Phillips hired a long-haired hippie looking guy from Denver and said "You guys will be good together". And so we were. And so we are. My broadcast brother John Erickson will be on here pretty soon to share some story. As soon as he can remember his password.

Mike demanded excellence from himself, so none of us would dream of bringing any less. Humble, funny, talented Mike Phillips. He touched so many of us and made us all better for having been around him.

One of the best. We'll miss him. We need more like him.

Wow. I hope when I am called, I have 1/2 as many people singing my praises.

I yearn for the days past when radio people still could do ply their craft.

"Tiger" Tom Murphy...now "World Famous" Tom Murphy sent me this to pass on the PDX Radio:

I wanted to share a few stories about my friend Mike Phillips.

Mike and I met at KISN in 1960 when he was hired to do weekends.
Mike already displayed radio “smarts” by going to the KISN Transmitter and getting some old jingle “disks” and using them in his demo tape so he would sound like he was actually on the station. I’m sure Mike’s tape would have impressed PD Hal Raymond without the “jingles” but it showed Mike already had a sense of programming. Mike did weekends and some vacation fill-in and then started full time Noon to Three.

Mike and I were pretty close in those days. When Mike bought a new 1961 black Impala with “four on the floor” I had to have a black Impala with four on the floor, which led to some rather unfortunate encounters with Portland’s Finest in the Traffic Division and ultimately the Oregon DMV.

One Saturday afternoon Mike and I were having lunch at The Jolly Joan (Remember that place?) and he commented that his goal was to do a “Perfect Show.” Mike always wanted what came out of the speaker to be “perfect” whether as a DJ or later as a programmer.

Besides Mike’s obvious ability he also had a wonderful sense of humor.

Mike had returned to KISN, after his first stint in Seattle, in the fall of 1962.
Mike was on the air, not for long since one of the towers blew over at the transmitter, when the Columbus Day storm hit. Steve Brown was in town and so Steve, Mike and I decided to see “first hand” what was going on. We got into Steve’s Cadillac and started driving around, probably not the brightest move but then none of us were all that “bright” in those days.
We drove by a restaurant supply company that had blown out windows and some big kettles were rolling around in the street. Mike thought we should grab a couple of them, claiming a person could always use a 20 + gallon kettle. Upon further thought we decided maybe that might not be the case. One of Mike’s “few” judgement lapses.

In Seattle one night he and a friend went to a Pizza Place and flashed some phony badges and claimed to be “Pizza Inspectors.” They were in the kitchen “checking and inspecting” when the owner finally realized what these two “buffoons” were doing and chased them out brandishing a huge knife or meat cleaver. Mike was always imprecise as to which utensil it was.

In San Francisco Mike became a huge fan of Otis Redding and on occasion he would call me in Seattle in the middle of the night and just say, “Otis is my life” and hang up. My wife Connie would say, “Was that Mike and is Otis still his life?”

Mike and I were having lunch when he first arrived in LA to program KRTH.
During the course of the conversation I mentioned I had quit smoking.
Mike said he had, too. I remembered he never smoked. He said he had waited to start smoking only after the Surgeon General had proved how bad it was for you.

There are more stories but perhaps I should wind this up.
Mike was talented, delightful company, a loyal friend, and most importantly, a good person.

I was privileged to know him and I shall miss him.

Tom Murphy

Love these stories! What A Great Tribute!

Thank you everyone for sharing your stories and rememberances of Mike Phillips. I've been mostly on the other side of the speaker in Portland since the early '70s, but dabbled in radio production in my college days (KMHD Class of '83). This is the kind of history and understanding of Portland radio that I'm looking for when I read and comment on this board. It's always a treat to hear from the people who have been making it happen on the PDX airwaves for the last 30+ years - please keep the stories and anecdotes coming! And one more thing: these stories make me feel like I knew Mike, though I never met him. And, from my experiences people like Mike are not hard to find in radio, even today. Many of those I've met personally, and those I've come to know on this board clearly share his passion and friendliness. Those seeds that Mike planted while he was here, many of you today continue to sow. Thanks.

Another thing about Mike that we laughed about a lot in those days...As serious as Mike was about programming, he was even more serious and intense when it came to ratings. Fortunately for him, Arbitron only released Portland numbers a couple of times a year back then. Whenever the big day was approaching, Mike's bald head would break out in large red blotches..I guess it was some sort of nervous anticipation. We always new that if "Flipper" was breaking out, the numbers couldn't be far behind. Of course, he didn't have much to worry about...the station was a Monster and the numbers reflected that fact.

I read these and just want to comment in general.

You broadcast people are cool. It's a tough gig you do. The rewards appear to be thin and rare for all but a small segment of you.

Yet, you do what you do with passion and take the time to learn from one another in a way that is not often seen in other industries. I can relate because the line of work I am in is very similar. It has a family aspect to it --or club aspect of it that others outside don't get. Also, some people just never get it and can't fit in either.

That's it really. Just know that's appreciated when the "radio is doomed", "everything sucks" negative posts are at their higher points.

Hope you all have a hell of a ride.

I just reread my last contribution. The word is, of course, "knew". I was typing faster than I was thinking. Or, maybe it was the other way around. God, I hate it when that happens.

Go to Airchexx if you want to hear Mike on KFRC (1966), WXLO (1974) and KJR (1964).

http://www.airchexx.com/category/featured-jocks/mike-phillips/

I understand that it was Mikes idea to put Craig Walker on in the early morning! That sure proved to be a great idea. KGW sure had great ratings back then.

By Robin_mitchell on Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - 11:40 pm:
Here's the link covering KISN's start. I researched the jock lineups with those who were there: The late Hal Raymond, Tom Murphy, etc.

http://www.rma1.com/Chrono/1959-61/index.html

By the way, Wayne: I spoke with Tom Murphy today. He mentioned he had tried e-mailing you via the e-mail address registered with this website...but got a message that you would not accept e-mails. I assume you're trying to keep the riff-raff out.


I changed my e-mail but here it is:
wayne230@comcast.net

By the way Robin are you going to put more surveys and updates on that site? Its ral cool!

will be doing a tribute this Saturday on our show.

I got a nice e-mail from Tiger Tom! And the word is real cool not ral. I know Sean Hannity's site has a way you can edit your posts after they have been posted in case we misspell a word but don't notice it until its too late.

Stoner that's a nice touch and classy move.

Les Parsons joined KISN as Production Director, & became PD upon Hal Raymond's departure for KAYO in Seattle...where he joined Mike Phillips.
I e-mailed Les asking permission to post his OFC remembrances regarding a young Mike Phillips.

Les,

Enjoyed your OFC input on "MJ Phillips," Les. Never had the pleasure of working with you, but enjoyed your body of work through the years.

I'm part of the OFC. I won't be able to make it to Seattle for the Memorial either. However, Tom Parker is organizing one here in Portland.

Les, there is a Portland Radio website, www.pdxradio.com , and they feature a message board with much input from those who knew and worked with Mike through the years. If it's alright with you, I'd like to share e-mail to the OFC with the Portland radio community by pasting it on the messaage board.

Wanted your permission, first.

Warmest regards,
Robin Mitchell


Response from Les Parsons:


Hi Robin –

Thanks for the kind words. Speaking of “body of work”, yours in archiving and making available much radio memorabilia is certainly impressive and appreciated by many.

You have my permission to use my OFC post in any way you deem appropriate.

Here’s a little trivia tidbit from memory: as a public service, Mike and Jerry Kay used to help supermarket customers. They cobbled together a stethoscope and some fake electronic gadgetry and would take this into a store’s produce department and “test” the watermelons for optimum ripeness. More than a few customers would then ask their help in selecting that perfect melon. Pure insane genius.

I’ll check that Portland website. There’s also a KOIL site with a lot of Don Burden/Star Stations history. What a bizarre operation!

Best regards,
Les


Original Les Parsons e-mail to the OFC (Old Farts Club), founded by the late Lan Roberts. 60’s/70’s KOL/KJR DJ’s are the primary members:


A rare (exceedingly rare) OFC post from Les Parsons: Just this afternoon I learned of the death of my friend Mike Phillips. The delay in receiving this sad news was due to the fact that my computer was fried as a result of the Hawaii earthquake and the ensuing state-wide power outage which created a powerful, damaging AC power surge. Just this past Saturday I called Mike and had a very enjoyable, though brief conversation with him. He was aware that the end was near. But Mike didn’t wish to talk about his suffering. Of course we talked radio, and among various other topics about our many, many trips together out to a famous Portland steak house. Mike reminded me that it was my turn to buy. And I told him how impressed I was that despite his very serious health issues he decided to take on a challenging new hobby – to master computer video editing, and we all know and appreciate the result. I showed that impressive and memorable DVD to a friend here about two weeks ago. I will not be able to attend the wake at Andy’s, but wish to write a paragraph here in remembrance of Mike: I met him shortly after walking though the door at 10th & Burnside in Portland – the “KISN Korner.” That was in late 1961. He was just a kid. Literally. And he was amazing!! This “kid”, who was a student at Benson High School, had obtained a number of acetate discs of KISN programming elements; jingles, promos, news intro, etc. Those were in the days before cart machines! At the school student radio station he cut an audition tape using various Burdenish one-liners, talked up to song vocals, and cleverly inserted appropriate cuts from those semi-scratchy discs – they were discards which he somehow, resourcefully, acquired. Mike had the admirable chutzpah to take his tape to Hal Raymond, the PD at the time, and shortly thereafter young Mike became the “Luncheon-Munchin’ Swingin’ Gentleman!” Hal told me that tape sounded as though it was an actual KISN air-check – it was that good. Like I wrote above, he was “amazing.” It’s my belief that only “World” among the Old Farts would be aware of that particular and pretty astonishing Mike Phillips story. Chutzpah anyone? He did indeed have an incredible career, as has been noted. Mike’s suffering has ended, but for all of us his memory will be long-lasting. I very much appreciated Pat’s writing on this sad subject – eloquent and thoughtful as always. Aloha to all, Les Parsons

As I said earlier, John Erickson has spaced out his pdxradio password, but wants to weigh in on Mike's passing. This syndrome of having something to say and being scorned by supposedly faithful servant computers is a regular part of Erickson's life.

The following is from John.


My apologies for not contributing sooner to this richly deserved homage to one of America's greatest radio people. I worked with Mike Phillips for four years at KGW, and it was pivotal in my life and career.

Mike Phillips is the one who gave me the keys to the candy store of the KGW news department in 1976. I'd been the cocky young news guy at KING in Seattle and KIMN in Denver, but KGW was my dream station, and with his towering reputation from the likes of KFRC and WXLO, Phillips' confidence in the 24-year old me was downright daunting. But we clicked from the start. His mandate to me was to get in there and kick some ass and have a lot of fun, and he'd stay out of my way unless he saw something really bad. We became close; he and I'd spend hours bombing around Portland in my VW, talking radio philosophy, listening to our station and scouting the competition. He mentored me. His style was never to dictate, but rather, to look around inside your head, and let you look around inside his--which contained a huge, huge radio brain.

We started with two newspeople. Three years later we had a dedicated, motivated cast of seven, people like George Harris, Mike Beard, Dave Paull, Lyle Arthur, Lew Frederick, and my future wife Cheryl Marshall, with a 24-hour shop, a killer traffic image, and an unbeatable track record of big-story coverage. It all happened with the beaming, twinkle-eyed blessing of Mike Phillips. A time or two, during the ice storms of the late 70's, we took over the radio station with extended coverage that completely blew out the format, while other stations were off the air. Mike called on the hotline in the middle of it and said, that's the best news coverage I've ever heard. Go for it. No restrictions. How many other PD's would react like that to a news department takeover of the radio station? That's how it felt at KGW in those golden days; the sense of support and encouragement extended to every department. Morale was on the moon.

Mike was a brilliant judge of talent; I watched him as we'd drive around town in my Bug, punching around, scouting the dial. He'd spot who had it and who didn't, and articulate why. Glynn Shannon got hired that way. The staff he assembled is the staff he wanted, and his judgments were bang-on. Nowhere was this clearer than in his choices for morning drive. To replace Uncle Don Wright with a baby Bruce Murdock seemed like a leap of faith, but not to Mike. He knew Bruce had an unmatchable combination of flawless radio skills, razor-sharp humor, and the mental gymnastic ability to pull together the kind of morning show that does far more than execute a format, but establishes itself as a habit in the city, just like some of Mike's colleagues in New York and San Francisco. I was greatly honored and hugely challenged to be brought into that situation, and with the Mike's cheerful and constructive support, we woke up 16.8% of Portland with a fun, information-driven morning show that beat anyone else by six points.

Then Bruce was called to Seattle, an internal reality at King Broadcasting, and Mike's challenge was to find someone to continue that momentum. But how? Well, our midday jock filled in for Bruce and did super; we clicked, had fun, and he sure was smooth. Really smooth. Almost too smooth, said Mike, but let's do it, and he put Craig Walker on mornings in January, 1977. And man, did Craig take off. 18.2. 18.8. I have no idea what Mike told Craig, but what he told me was to find the Real Craig. Throw him something unexpected. Interact with him. Tap into his eloquent wit, his strong opinions, his star power. Piss him off. So I did. A 28-year partnership was born. When the Portland Radio Hall of Fame is built, Craig will be the first inductee.

Craig's career, and Bruce's, Tom's, mine, Jim Donovan's, and many others were not only touched by Mike Phillips; they were ignited by him. He brought the credibility of a big-time track record to his home town, and by believing in us, and teaching us, and being a huge source of support and wisdom, he enabled each of us to become whatever we wanted. I never saw him beat anyone up; I heard him say, during our last lunch, that no matter how tough an aircheck session it may be, a jock must always leave with his dignity intact. Mike was a teacher, a mentor, a guide and a guru. Never a bully. Never a jerk, like radio seems these days to attract. And yet he always got exactly what he wanted from his air people. Which makes him one of the greatest managers ever..

The last time I saw Mike Phillips was at the Hillsdale McMenamins with Terry Danner, Alan Lawson, John Williams, and Tom Parker, who vanished for awhile to fetch some pain meds for Mike. Tom was a very close Christian brother to Mike, and I'll leave it to him to share whatever he'd like about Mike's final day, but it's a powerful story indeed, in what it says about faith and friendship.

During that last lunch at McMenamins, I had to cut out early, and as I was leaving Mike kind of struggled to his feet, and gave me a hug. All I could think of to say was, "Thank you, Mike." I've never said anything more sincerely.

Folks, I've been on this board for a while, and this is the best, most heartfelt, informative, sincere writing I've seen. These stories describe the kind of experiences that inspired many of us to at least try, and many of the writers here to keep on excelling in, the magical field of radio. Thanks to you all, and thanks to great people like Mike.

Another TOM MURPHY memory of MIKE PHILLIPS follows. It's a TM e-mail I got via my OFC mailbox.

Hello Robin and Eric:
I am e-mailing you two because you are good about responding.
Did I not receive the Les Parsons e-mail regarding Mike Phillips?
It appears it was sent to the OFC and I didn't get it.
To say I am upset and visibly shaken would be an understatement.
"World"

Les: I am sending this to you because you originated the Mike Phillips comments which were very nice, indeed.

Hey Les:
Do you remember when you and Mike took my Sonya The Weather Girl
cart and Mike substituted his goofy girl voice for Sonya ( I don't remember the name of the girl he used but I do remember what he said ) "Hello, Tiger, I'm_____The Girl You Forgot. The girl you never call. I'm the girl you used to take roller-skating at the Imperial Roller Rink. I just want you to know my number is still BEECHWOOD 4 -5789 you call up and have a SKATE any old time."

God that was funny bit. Weren't you and Mike in one of your cars down the street listening for me to do the weather with ( or in this case without ) Sonya?

Anyway your Mike Phillips bit was very nice.
I spoke with him a couple of weeks ago and we had a very nice conversation.
He was pretty upbeat all things considered.
I got a kick out of this:
His dad answered the phone and I asked to speak with Mike and told him this was Tom Murphy calling. He said, "Oh, TM in the PM." I really enjoyed that.

TM

I wonder if the song Beechwood 4-5789 came from that story! That was by the Marvalettes I think.

The types of comments in this thread are the reason I have continued to read this board for the last decade. I'm just sorry that it only really becomes this great during a sad occasion. While I have you all together, I thought I'd relay that original WIFE Goodguy Tom Mathis has passed on. Some of you may want to know.

For those of us in our 40s and younger...whats the chances of long term relationships, high standards and anything similiar to what I reading on these posts happening to us......Think the medium has slipped a bit.....

I certainly didn't mean to offend anybody. That wasn't at all the point of what I said!

From Reel Radio:

G2/5.0 COMPATIBLE TOP STREAM 20.7Kbps (10Khz)http://www.reelradio.com/ram/beg2.ram?mpkjr0164.rm~0:00.0~15:36.5
Mike Phillips, KJR Seattle, January 11, 1964 (15:36)

. . . Seattle's most frequently frequented frequency . . .

[Description by Uncle Ricky]

Mike Phillips joined KJR/Seattle in 1962, after his first two years in radio at KISN, Portland. Here, Phillips is heard hosting a light-hearted midday show complete with time-tone and classic PAMS featuring the KJR Seattle Channel 95 logo. Listen also for the very unusual news underscoring - it's cut off during the first news break at 6:16, but continues throughout the news headlines at 14:50.

Phillips boasts a resume which in addition to stops at WXLO/New York and KGW/Portland, includes Morning Drive at KFRC in San Francisco. According to former NBC radio chief Walter Sabo, "He also held the Program Director position at KYUU-FM where he helped create — from scratch — Adult Contemporary. Because of his success at KYUU, I made him VP of Programming for NBC FM."

His greatest success came in the '90's at KRTH in Los Angeles, where he worked with consultant Bill Drake and hired Robert W. Morgan and The Real Don Steele. Mike Phillips was programming KRTH when it fetched $116,000,000 — at that time, the highest price ever paid for a single radio license.

Mike Phillips died of pancreatic cancer on October 16, 2006. He was 64.

[From California Aircheck Classic Issue C-76 (January 1988)]

Sorry about that link for subscribers. You can get to the KJR aircheck this way:

Open this site & scroll down to page two.

http://www.reelradio.com/ca/index.html

With the blessing of Mike Phillips' family, a memorial fund in Mike's name is being put together. The fund will provide an annual scholarship to a graduating senior in the Benson High School broadcast program and provide support for KBPS. For those who don't know, Mike was a 1960 graduate of Benson and was part of the KBPS airstaff during his years at the school. The details of the fund are still being worked out. Information on how to donate to the Mike Phillips Memorial Fund will be posted here very soon. I want to thank Mike's brother, Gene, and his family for their support and encouragement of this effort.

Bill- I am so glad to hear about this fund. What a great legacy to keep Mike's love and passion for radio alive.

When I was a student at San Jose State in the mid sixties I remember listening to Mike on KFRC. He was awesome and was an inspiration.

I just received the following note from Leslie Nelsen, "The Slim One",...a former KFRC personality hired by Mike. She asked me to pass her comments on..

---

Mike and I met when he hired me at KFRC, waaay back in '84. Long story short, it was the best gig of MY LIFE!!! But - the rest of the story: I was up in Washington state (out of work, staying with my folks, after traveling from Chicago, after a proposed KGW gig had fallen thru!) when Mike & I finally connected.

He said he was flying up to Seattle, and could I meet him at the airport. Of course I said yes...not knowing that he was coming up
SPECIFICALLY to interview me. We met, and went across the street to a restaurant, had lunch, talked, and then he asked me to take him back
to the airport...at that point I KNEW he'd come up to see ME. BUT - he wasn't talking!!! I said - wait a minute!!! you mean you're LEAVING, and you're not going to tell me if I've got the gig??!! I was crazed!!!! It was pretty funny. He just smiled that little smile, and said, "I'll be in touch".....He called about a week or so later, offering me the 5p - 9p slot on the World's Greatest Radio Station.

Our air check meetings: I think we had one, maybe two. I'd go in, sit down, he'd smile and say, 'How's it goin'?" I said couldn't be
better, it's the greatest, I'm loving every minute, etc etc etc. Then he said something like, 'well you sound good, keep it up', there'd be a little small talk, and that was it. That's called the perfect pd.

At that time, he'd also brought in Chuck Browning to do afternoons, and seemed to shepherd him along, in the twilight of Chuck's radio career. I remember Mike being very happy when the winner of the 50K we gave away was on Chuck's show.

It ended in '85, and we lost touch, but we had lunch years later when he worked at the research group in Seattle. Then we ran into each other again at K-Earth, in 2000 or 2001, right
before he retired.

We had re-connected a little over the summer, and he'd asked me for my phone number (which I gave) but I didn't hear from him. I think he
had probably gotten too sick by then.

Anyway, he played a huge part in my 'radio years'... that short time on KFRC was the best time of my radio life, and that was not only
because it was a 'dream' station for any serious Top 40 jock, but because Mike just let me be...me. I listen to those old airchecks
today, and just shake my head...I doubt ANY station today would let me get away with what I got away with with Mike...but he WANTED us to
have fun, that was the deal. And, really, I wasn't 'getting away' with anything - he encouraged you to stretch, simply by letting you
'be'...what an amazing thing. Micro-managing was something he NEVER did. The dream pd, for sure.

I still have his note, welcoming me to San Francisco, "where you have climbed halfway to the stars".....

It is such a blessing to read all the positive comments here, about him. I know he'd LOVE it, too! Thanks for the opportunity to share mine.

The Slim One
sagecoach@bnswest.net

reelradio.com has added two Mike Phillips' airchecks, featured on their front page this week. 1975 KGW from Bill Cooper, plus nearly an hour composite donated by Seattle's Bruce Portzer from 1961 to 1974, covering KISN-KAYO-KISN-KJR-KNBR-KFRC-WXLO-FM.

One thing I have noticed reading through this thread was the number of pros in this industry that have written about Mike Phillips.

It shows that many of the real radio talent does read this forum from time to time and also they communicate with others that don't.

One thing that is evident from reading these that you should all take note of is that, for the most part, their spelling is correct, their choice of the proper spelling/word (their instead of there for the personal pronoun, for instance) and their grammer and punctuation is spot on.

Something for most of the posters to take notice of.

They are in the communication business and good grammar and use of the english language is important.

Remembering Mike Phillips
Oct. 23, 2006
By The R&R Staff



Legendary programmer and air personality Mike Phillips passed away Oct. 16 in Portland, Ore., after an extended battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 64.

Sabo Media CEO Walter Sabo recently wrote his remembrances of his longtime friend and shared them with R&R:

Manage Your Career Like Mike

Mike Phillips died under most unusual circumstances for a radio programmer: He had voluntarily retired with money in the bank and a paid-off house. KRTH, his last station, had dominant adult shares in Los Angeles, a 3.6 overall 12+. His life was filled with friends and professional admirers. He won.

His workplace was the majors: Top 5 cities almost exclusively since 1964. (*Summary of his resume at end of article.) Since this seems like a good way to wrap-up any career -- a long time from now -- I thought I’d try to sum up what I learned from watching him up close for the past 33 years.

1. He wanted to be a successful program director and thought programming work was of the highest importance. He had no aspirations to be General Manager or Group Head. Although he was VP of programming for NBC FM corporate, he was the quintessential local PD and loved his work.

2. It’s all in the details. Every nano-second of his radio station's day was mapped in his brain and nothing was left to chance. Therefore if the ratings went up he knew why, if they went down, he knew why.

3. All that matters is what’s on the air. He insisted on making great shows, 24/7. That required lots of promotion, marketing and research dollars. When he worked for companies that did not support their stations with those resources, his stations had him. Why? Because it was his job to tap those dollars, not to sit back and accept certain failure. His clear, rational, calm arguments persuaded the toughest businessmen to back his programming with sizeable funds. Mike’s goal was audience share, not comfort in the chair.

4. Loyalty. If an executive or production staffer supported his goal of winning audience share, he would be loyal to them for life. He had friends like star Tom Parker, researcher Terry Danner, production ace Tim Jordan, creative innovator Keith Teicher, Jack Friday, programmer Tom Rounds and music impresario Johnny Mann.

5. Failure is fine as long as you’ve tried something. Corny as that sounds, he lived it. His greatest success and failure came from his endless willingness to try new ideas. He didn’t copy, he cooked from scratch. Whatever the result, his response was humble and self-effacing. If something didn’t work, he wasn’t too concerned, so no one else was.

His humility kept him away from the podium, the panels and the guest columns -- which is why you may be reading about his work for the first time.

6. Radio is fun, so why get drunk? In 33 years I never saw him drink alcohol or smoke a cigarette, although he was obsessed with Tab and soft ice cream.

7. A few years ago he called and said he should write down all of the “rotation” arguments he’s developed so future programmers could save time and trouble explaining “tight rotations” to the sales manager and general manager. He also decided that he personally was never going to have the “rotation” conversation with a non-programmer again. He didn’t.

8. The bigger the air talent, the bigger the PD. Throughout his career, he pushed his employers to hire the biggest name talent appropriate to the format. He would have been delighted if every talent working for him deserved more money than he did. Mike hired stars such as The Real Don Steele, Robert W. Morgan, Huggy Boy, Johnny Hayes, The True Don Bleu, Shotgun Tom Kelly, Rick Shaw, Tom Parker, Greg Brown plus many more, and then he celebrated their accomplishments.

Most of his conversations with friends revealed his sheer joy at the work of these gifted stars; he loved them. He never competed with their stardom. That’s probably because he was one of the best CHR jocks who ever lived but when he decided to go off the air -- in 1973, he shifted the spotlight to the station’s audience share.

Mike Phillips, a real program director, is dead and his friends and broadcasting are poorer for it.

Short-hand resume:

Air talent at KISN/Portland, KJR/Seattle (in a line-up that included Pat O’Day, Tom Murphy and Larry Lujack), KFRC/San Francisco (Drake’s first morning man), WWDJ/New York and WPIX (99X)/New York.

Programming executive at KGW/Portland, KYUU/San Francisco, NBC corporate, WCLR/Chicago, KFRC/San Francisco, KOIT/San Francisco, KIOI/San Francisco and KRTH/Los Angeles.

Mike at the beginning of the Big 610/KFRC May 3,1966
http://www.airchexx.com/category/featured-jocks/mike-phillips/

Tom-

Great Stuff!! I am stealing loads of ideas to modify for our little show.

He insisted on making great shows, 24/7. That required lots of promotion, marketing and research dollars. When he worked for companies that did not support their stations with those resources; his stations had them. Why? Because it was his job to tap those dollars, not to sit back and accept certain failure. His clear, rational, calm arguments persuaded the toughest businessmen to back his programming with sizable funds. Mike’s goal was audience share, not comfort in the chair......

And so much of this one paragraph is lacking in todays radio environment.....

And why the latest Movin'/Alice/Bob/whatever always seems to fail. research is fine, but the programming needs $$$ support too..........

So long you will be missed............

Well, the details have finally been worked out for the Mike Phillips Memorial Fund. You can contribute by sending a check to the Mike Phillips Memorial Fund, KBPS-AM, 515 NE 15th, Portland, OR, 97232. If possible please note on the check memo that its for account S-0205.
60% of the money we collect will be put toward building an annual scholarship for a student graduating from the Benson High School broadcast program who is going on to a college broadcast communications program. 40% of the money will be used for capitol projects for KBPS.

Thank you to the many people who have contacted me in recent days encouraging our efforts to create this memorial to Mike. I want to thank Mike's brother, Gene, and his family for their support and encouragement of this effort.

Some background for those who don't know: Mike was a 1960 graduate of Benson and was part of the KBPS airstaff during his years at the school.

If anyone has any questions about the Mike Phillips Memorial Fund, you can get hold of me at 503-916-5828 ext 426...or by email at bcooper@pps.k12.or.us

Thanks!

Quoting us -- quoting them....

A wonderful Seattle website remembering Mike..
www.cfmm.com/sites/mikep

Terry: Thanks for the link. Great Tribute Site!

Yes, Seattle's Eric Dawes has a tremendous respect for the recent history of our biz. Eric: I still remember your eastside parties!
KFRC (and KVI) lives!

This weekend we held one of Mike Phillips' memorials here in Portland. There were also events in Los Angeles and Seattle. We had folks who traveled here from New York, San Francisco, San Diego and other cities.

What sort of a man was he?

The recurring theme was simple: Outstanding human being, unmatched programming genius, undaunted work ethic, kind, self-effacing, inspirational mentor and a man with an irrepressible sense of humor. A radio giant who always put people ahead of the company.

A tremendous success in several formats: Top 40, AC (which he developed from scratch), Soft AC- his creation at KOIT in SF that still dominates to this day, and the ratings juggernaut that was KRTH's Oldies format throughout the 1990s.

The fact that most of his programming staff from the hey day of KGW made the service is just a small example of the mark he left on us. From Craig Walker on, the testimony was similar: Not one person from those airstaffs would have accomplished anywhere near what they did in their careers without working for and with Mike Phillips. One of those things we all knew, yet were still blown away by.

"It's A Wonderful Life" will soon air for the holiday season. The hole that would have been left in our lives without the life of Mike Phillips would have been unimaginable.

Well said Tom. I felt honored and humbled to have been included as a guest at the Memorial. I'm saddened I didn't have the chance to work for him or to get to know him better.

Nice tribute Tom. I only wish my schedule would have allowed me to be there.

I remember coming across an old early 60's KJR aircheck someone had sent in to Pat O'Day at KYYX Seattle. I heard this official sounding guy named Mike Phillips on it and I was amazed at how good the music selection sounded. Someone said he was the KJR music director at the time. He had a great ear for the tunes – and all the little parts, that make up a whole giant sounding radio confabulation. Another incredible broadcaster silenced. However, his legacy lives on.

some years ago I volunteered at The Library for the Blind in SEATTLE. I did an interview program for air on the sub carrier of KUOW and SAP of ch9. Mike was doing consulting work in Seattle. I asked him to come on my program, it was great. Talked about radio music his career ect. When the interview was over he stuck around to see the facility and to just chat. Great guy I didn't see a big ego,he showed a keen interest in my work there. I heard him on KISN KAYO KJR KNBR KFRC. I never heard any of his east coast stints.He was happy I was going to visit my folks who at that time were living in the Bay Area. He told me that he's sure they'd be happy to see me.Made me feel good to hear that from him I did'nt expect to hear him say that.Ive heard him on and off since a kid and will never forget him. Peace Mike and thanks for great radio and being who you are

As nice a tribute as has ever been written. Many times the mark of a great man is not what he knows, it's how he treats others. Thanks for sharing Daveyboy1.

Here's the Mike Phillips KGW aircheck mentioned above by Craig Walker. Mike was filling in for Bob Anthony on this aircheck from 1975. As we are still remembering Mike, I just wanted to share the aircheck with anyone who wants it.

http://www.divshare.com/download/14557-d93