KISN's Crazy Dick Simms passed away on October 28, 2005 -- two years ago today. To most of the rest of the world, he was known as Bwana Johnny, though he also did all nights at KJR Seattle as Father Duffy for a time. The rest of the time he was Bwana Johnny, at KJR and an amazing number of other great Top 40 stations.

WWDJ in Hacksensack, New Jersey, made a valiant attempt to crack the New York City Top 40 market at the beginning of the 1970s, and Bwana Johnny was their star. They did everything right, but they just didn't have the signal needed to cover the area. Kind of like one of the stations in Aberdeen/Hoquiam trying to go head to head with KEX.

The following make interesting reading (and, in some cases, listening):

http://members.aol.com/porcarocpu/bwanab.html

http://www.440.com/namesj.html#_bjohnn

http://radiowest.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2440

http://www.reelradio.com/wwdj

That's just about what happened at KARO: They had Bwana Johnny but not the signal.

Cool!

Bwana Johnny gave me my first-ever on-air gig over the phone, without a tape and/or resume. Right place, right time for me, that's for sure. Perhaps not the easiest guy to get close too, but an outstanding air talent and someone I'll always remember fondly for giving me my start.

All together now, let's sing:

"Bwana Johnny in the morning........"

I found another great aircheck of Bwana from 1975 at WFUN Miami, I believe shortly before he came to Portland.

WFUNradio.com

I found him a very difficult guy to work FOR, but a great guy to work with....we all miss him.
He's probably looking down now and wondering if he can play one more round of "Sim City". He used to spend hours on the computer at work with Sim City.

Mr. Walker..shoot me a note..I lost your email address in CC webmail...danm356@yahoo.com

Adiant said: To most of the rest of the world, he was known as Bwana Johnny, though he also did all nights at KJR Seattle as Father Duffy for a time.
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Bwana was doing MORNING DRIVE on 'JR when O'Day gave him the name of Father Duffy. That didn't last long as Bwana was seriously injured when hit by a train on his way to the station one morning. KJR was located on West Waterway in the Seattle industrial area near the waterfront and adjacent to Harbor Island where KOL was. There was a lot of railroad activity in the early morning hours and Bwana tangled with a flatcar. Bwana recovered from the mishap but left 'JR shortly thereafter.

wish I could remember the name he used when he worked, god forbid, COUNTRY in MontanaI think) He, the Rick man, was an amazing guy.

Didn't Bwana replace Lan Roberts and then left for awhile and came back later as Father Duffy?

When he died, some Seattle reports referenced him as Father Duffy.

Stan, never heard that railroad story. Amazing.

I don't remember his first stint, but I do remember "Father Duffy" around '74 or '75 on KJR. As Adiant said, he was on nights for awhile.

What an amazing talent, especially at his peak. He truely epitimizes what radio was all about during the top40 heyday.

Also, Stan, did you ever hear the Bwana story from the top of the Hilton in Eugene? I'm not going to repeat it here because I don't remember the exact details, but perhaps somebody does. Hilarious.

Quite a few bits and pieces of numerous airchecks of Dick Sims at KISN in 1976 (including KISN's last day on the air) here:

http://www.live365.com/stations/skeptical2

Bwana/Crazy Dick Sims was quite a character. Here's the late Mike Phillips take on his good buddy:

Mike Phillips remembers Bwana Johnny

I first met Bwana when I was doing a radio show at KISN in Portland. We had street level studios with all glass windows surrounding us. One afternoon I noticed a little chubby guy standing outside the window when I was on the air. Whenever I would say something, he would give me a look of disapproval.

Occasionally, he would write something in his loose notebook. This was quite intimidating for someone who was new at KISN. Later we became good friends and worked together at KJR and WWDJ in Hackensack.

One Sunday afternoon in Hackensack, my wife sent us to the supermarket to pick up some groceries.

I told Bwana, "let's do a bit while we're there." Like the Legend, we both liked practical jokes.

So I grabbed one of the cords from one of those old cassette recording devices with a plug on one end of the wire and a suction cup on the other. We summoned the produce manager in the market to announce that all of the avocados were bad. Bwana proceeded to put the jack in his ear and the suction cup on the avocado. I said: "it is our understanding that if you put this device to the avocado and can't hear anything, the avocado is definitely bad." I said, "listen for yourself ... do you hear anything?" After putting the jack in his ear, he said no. And we said something such as "we'll you'd better have these things checked out ... they may be a health hazard."

Another Hackensack story: Same supermarket, different date. I was doing some routine shopping. Bwana bought only one product that day. Donned with his trademark pith helmet ... but this time with a slight variation: He had glued Mickey Mouse ears onto it. Quite a sight. We walked up to the cash register, Bwana carrying a large hunk of Swiss Cheese, uttered in a very loud and dramatic voice:

"I AM BWANA MOUSE ... AND I HAVE COME TO BUY CHEESE!"

Fortunately, there were no arrests.

Bwana and I got to be really good friends. I first met him in '76 during the final days of KISN. Sam was the PD and Bwana was the MD. KISN did not mean much in Portland at the time because KGW under Mike Phillips was dominating and KISN had lost their license and the FCC gave them 90 days to get things cleaned up. But KISN still reported to R&R, Gavin, Billboard, all the trades, and therefore to the record community they were still important. Bwana was not taking calls from promo folks, at least not people he didn't know well and I could never get thru to him. Finally I showed up at KISN on afternoon with a dozen roses for the receptionist and asked her how could I find Bwana. She whispered "Bwana is at the Fish Grotto everyday from 1pm to 3pm to prepare for his show and watch all his fav daytime game shows.". So I walked across the street to the Fish Grotto and there at the bar sat the legendary Bwana Johnny. I introduced myself and bought us a drink. About 17 gin and tonics later we both staggered back across the street to KISN. Bwana hit the air at 3pm with a Capitol hit (McCartney's Let 'em In) and proceeded to play almost every work record I had...now I did have some good stuff....Steve Miller, Little River Band, all became hits and Bwana played 'em first. From that day on we always kept in touch. I loved Bwana...after I retired I always would meet him for lunch at least once or twice a year in Seattle when Bwana was working for Jones Broadcasting. I really miss him.

As a high school kid, I first met Dick Johnson on the KISN Corner...10th & Burnside...as we both peered in the picture window at the jocks.

Dick Johnson & Bobby Rich both worked in Corvallis before I landed at my first full-time radio gig at K-GAL in Lebanon.

Sometime later Jim Liniger (Laid Back Lenny) visited me at K-GAL, and told me Dick Johnson had become Bwana Johnny at 1-2-3 Double-U BEE
(WUBE)...then KJR & KXL's sister station in Cincinnati.

I ran into Bwana at an R&R convention in the 70's. It was always a joy to spend time with another true "radio rat."

I hired Bwana for KB101 in '82 following KARO. After his stint as Bronco Johnny in Cheyenne, Wyoming...I brought him to Denver to work at Malrite's Y108 & KLAC.

We both grew up loving the "theater of the mind" that was great Top 40 Radio.

It still works. It's just that consolidated operations don't do it anymore. It takes more than a template. It takes inspiration.

Bwana Johnny, Mike Phillips, Lan Roberts, Bobby Simon...some of the pros we've lost over the few years that have no current counter-parts.

By nature, radio is ruled by dogma. Too many programmers do what everyone else is doing...because "that's the way it's always been done" (in recent memory). However, cutting across the grain is what gets noticed.

Wanna win? Accent your differences & hide your similarities in your presentation. Play the music that is potent highly desirable with the target audience...determined by various means:
sales, downloads, internet feedback, call-out,
auditorium test, music monitors...and your studied opinion as a pro.

Be consistent, but make the audience feel you're playing the game "...without a net." Make 'em fear if they don't listen...they're going to miss something remarkable.

Will somebody please do that again?

PULEEEZE!!!

Amen, Robin!!

Too many memories getting in the way, but I want to say that I think I remember Bwana Johnny as an independent record promoter for a few months... I was working in Oregon taking music calls...I just can't remember which station!!

(Sage advice: Don't get old!)

Stan mentioned Sam Lee as KISN PD & (Bwana) Dick Simms as MD. I didn't know Bwana was MD but I also thought Bill Stevens was the last KISN PD and Sam Lee was MD. This was current to December 1975, in the 1976 Broadcasting Yearbook. Did Bill Stevens leave before the end or did he continue middays or was that Sam Lee?

Here's what I thought was the last KISN line up:
Chuck Webber, Midnight-6
Don Wright, 6-10am
Bill Stevens, 10-3pm
Dick Simms 3-7pm
Dave Record Stone 7-Midnight

I believe Sam had left for Seattle before "the end," with things shaking out as above, with Bwana handling KISN music.

Remember, by this time "the clock was ticking."