1-Craig Walker
2-Barney Keep
3-Tom Micheals

also noted: Ted Rogers-Les-McAnulty-Sammy Taylor-
Obrien-Williams-TigerTom-Sam Holman-The whole Kex line up in it's hey day....Dick Novack....Ray Horn...Russ Conrad for sure! So many.

Is Ray Horn still with us. I worked with him once.

Les Sarnoff. RIP

also the Stoner!

1- Barney Keep -"sweet lovable old Barn.."

2- Craig Walker - The red sweater bit will live forever - The Guy was a class act too.

3 - Ron "ugly" Thompson - Although not the longest running he was the most talked about in my day.

Should The Real Don Steele at least get honorable mention here?

Bob Swanson
Inessa
Tom Parker

Ron Ugly is on the list, but I'm thinking stoner's pick Tom Michaels pretty much has to be on a top 3 list.

For my third choice, I'm going with somebody current -- KNRK's long time jock Gustav. Is he not smooth material?

1. Craig Walker
2. Tom Michaels
3. Bob Swanson

But of course any short list is VERY subjective. There have been so many great "smooth" talents to grace Portland's airwaves over the years. With the state of radio today its nice just to think back on all of them and smile a little bit.

I'm told Ray Horn is no longer with us.

The Real Don ranks as one of the greatest jocks ever...period.
But not in the smooth conversational category like Swanson, Michaels, Craig.....Two different animals!

Mike Phillips
Hal Raymond
Bob Miller (How could he be left out on this list?)
Craig would have to rank #1 tied with Ol Barn

Smoothest I ever heard on the air in Portland, and probably anywhere was a guy named Ed Hopkins. He did PM drive on K-103 for a very short time. A month or two I believe.

George Johns brought him to Portland briefly to do some fill-in work prior to sending him to another market he consulted.

Ed now works in Los Angeles doing voice overs. Here is a link if you want to hear him.

http://www.sbvtalentagency.com/vo_talent_detail.php?id=81

Others that certainly should make the list and deserve mention are Mike Bailey, Cindy Hanson and Sean Martin.

All very smooth IMHO.

Bob Miller
Dick Novak
Jim Liniger

Craig Walker, hands down.

He could be standing in the middle of a studio on fire and he'd be unflappable.

Its hard to pin it down to 3 people, almost impossible. And then, looking back on all those of yesteryear, going back 50+ years in some cases !

There are so many talented radio people who have appeared or been refered to on this forum, and those who spent a lot of time in the Portland Radio Market.

I will never forget Craig's " Days of our indifference" or was it " Desire", I think he did both. Before I was in Radio, I used to time my lunch hour just right so I was in the car by myself, no customers or work associates with me, so I could hear the sarcastic melodrama on 62 KGW. It was great.

Then some years later , after I had been in radio and then returned to my previous vocation. I knew how radio stations worked and KEX did that " Find the KEX wooden Key' thing in the spring of 1980. I even spent some hookey time looking for it myself. Bob came on here talking about it once. People tore up OMSI, the ZOO and other places they though it was. At the end, they kept giving out easy and obvious clues and NO one could find it. Miller got on the air one lunchtime repeated the clues and said " FIND IT" Please FIND IT ! in an exasperated golden toned voice ...I was on the Ross Island Bridge on the way to a call and I just about drove into bridge railing laughing so hard !

Then there was Liniger with his "scratch and sniff" bits. Totally straight, like his old KYXI/KYMN back announces on the B.M formats but now on the AC KYXI, " The only station you'll ever need" .

Yeah, it'd have to be Craig. I miked him in pre-op just before his liver transplant to get his thoughts and he delivered a flawless philosophical soliloquy with wisecracks and wit, not a fluff in the bunch. Did it again the next morning, post-op. Dude's bulletproof.

I can think of other real smoothies, and not all in the jock realm. I think of Mike Beard's word-picture adlibs from the KGW plane directly over Mt. St. Helens when it burped up its initial eruption on March 27, 1980. Of course there's Michael Bailey, who's doing his show just as warmly as ever from a hospital room while undergoing chemo. And mostly, I think of Gordy Miller.

Like sands through the hourglass so are the days of our desire. The program that asks the question: is it true that if you cross a mink with a gorilla you get a fur coat with long sleeves?

Mike Bailey doing Chemo ? Now , that is one thing I wish I hadnt learned today !

http://www.k103.com/pages/michael_bailey.html

Good man. Great broadcaster, strong guy.

This is very sad news indeed. Get well Michael.

The Big BA

Hey Michael. I know you are keeping tabs on this site. Know too that we are all thinking positive thoughts for you. I wish you the very best and am sorry you have to endure this. I know I speak for many. Hang in.
Charlie

I am sorry to hear about that too. I went through that myself.

What about Keith Todd from KUPL early 90's?

Roger W. Morgan,
Roger Hart,
Tom Michaels
is that a team??

Michael Bailey...pulling for your strong recovery. Robin Mitchell

Michael Bailey,

It takes real guts to go through what you're going through. You are in my prayers, and I'm sure in those of thousands of others.

Hal Widsten

I'll nominate 4 guys, but I'll also say there were a lot of smooth guys working in Portland Radio when I was involved in the market. These guys just seemed to be the smoothest.

Craig Walker
Phil Harper
Mike Phillips
Gordon Miller

Tom Murphy needs to be added...Be looking this weekend for an exclusive interview with Tiger and the history of Kisn....which would be celebrating 50 Years on April 30th....If that schmuck owner of Entercom would not of blown up the #2 station in the market. Huge Mistake......Now look what they have...a station with zero mojo. Shameful.
http://stumptownblogger.typepad.com/stumptownblogger/

"COMMANDER SCOTT LANDER"

TOP3 ROUGHEST,MOST IRRITATING, MOST GRAVELY=??

MOST IRRITATING


YOU!!!!!!

Why did Tiger Tom leave KISN? was he unhappy with Don Burden? a big part of me left with him.

Tiger Tom:

Wasn't this because KISN had taken you off Mornings? They were holding you back from growing as a jock, so you knew you had to moved on?

Craig
__________________________________________________________

Hello Craig and Wayne:

Often a move like my leaving KISN after so long is an accumulation of things.

Actually you both are correct. I was upset that they put me back on evenings. In retrospect I think that I suffered from "type casting." When Don Steele left for San Francisco, he was the one that engineered my move into mornings, management decided I wasn't "right" for mornings and now I didn't have Don to back me. The second problem was one of ratings. The evening ratings had decreased and after so many years with me on that shift they thought I could stop the slide. I think the last Pulse with me back in the evenings did come up some.

I was also well into my 6th year at the station and was, in effect, back where I started and I knew I would probably never get off the evening show. I do realize the irony in that the one big reason I was successful at KISN was BECAUSE I did evenings and yet it became one reason why I felt I had to leave.

There were a couple of other annoyances but the proverbial last straw was an irrational "Hot-Line" phone call from Burden raving on and on. I knew Don could be, and I'm being kind here, a bit "difficult", but over the years he had always been quite reasonable with me. This time, however, it was beyond the pale. I decided after almost 6 years of top ratings, never causing any real problems and rarely ever missing the show that I shouldn't have to put up with that kind of treatment and I wouldn't. I decided that it was over and time to move on.

I have always treasured my time at KISN and truly appreciated the popularity I enjoyed. I don't know how anybody could have asked for more that I received from the audience.

Anyway, that is pretty much the story. After reading it over, I kind of wish it was more "Dramatic."

Steve Brown did offer me a "return ticket" to come back and do the "evenings" again about 6 months after I had left. He said Burden told him he had really screwed up with Tom and get him back here where he belongs. He probably did say something to that effect because I doubt Steve would have approached me of his own volition. I gave going back some thought but by that time I was on my way to KJR and Pat O'Day make a valid point. He said you'd just be going back to what you left. I pointed out that I was coming to KJR to do "EVENINGS" but he said we won't keep you on evenings forever and we'll pay you more, which they did. He was right. I did evenings. mid-days and afternoon drive. I was offered mornings but refused because things were going so well in the afternoon and I didn't have to get up early.

Thanks Wayne for the kind thoughts. I still miss the old days at KISN and think about them and the listeners often.

Tiger Tom Murphy

It was fun to hear the Classics Party they had every Saturday night and its where I first realized how great the oldies were. I thought the higher pay might have been one of the reasons you went to KJR. Although I wish you had gone to KOMO am 1000 so we could hear you in Portland. One evening I heard you on KOL 1300

TRIX,I AM NOT A D.J., NEWS-READER,TRAFFIC REPORTER, NOR TALK HOST!!!!

I think if I were Don Burden I would have put Tom in drive time and put a better evening host. I didn't care much for Peter Huntington May. I might have put Roger Hart in evenings. he was a popular dj.

What am I?(sorry, couldn't resist)

Don Burden? ha ha

TRIX,I AM NOT A D.J., NEWS-READER,TRAFFIC REPORTER, NOR TALK HOST!!!!


Your still irritating!!!!

If a certain someone was Don Burden, there'd be a CLERGYMAN OF THE DAY seven days a week, not just on Sundays. He'd go broke having to buy a "beautiful bouquet of flowers" for Mrs. Clergyman every day of the week.




I'm wondering if anyone is going to figure just what the heck I'm talking about. If you're not over 50, don't bother.

It used to be the "businessman of the day" and a beautiful bouquet of flowers was always sent to Mrs. ---. Also mentioned were their 4 children(by name)and the street address! Those were the days. KGW had something similar, the "career girl" and later, "career woman".

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers. I've been lucky to see not only great doctorage from OHSU on the liver transplant back when Craig had his, but now again with this darned Leukemia thing. Wonderful people. I really want to say hats off to the local CC people...PD Tommy Austin and Manager Robert Dove for their firm-footed support and their humanity. I haven't posted until now because I've been in the dark heart of Leukemia Chemo and not felt up to it. I hope to by back on the air come Monday, May 4. Thank you all and thanks to Bruce Murdock, Dana Jeffries and John Erickson. One could not possibly hope for a better group of people and pros to work with.

Michael Bailey

> If a certain someone was Don Burden, there'd be a CLERGYMAN OF THE DAY

I have an old aircheck with a KISN Businessman of the Day spot on it. That was certainly a different time, as they would announce the winner's home address on the air!!! I'm at a loss as to who would do Clergyman of the Day--Pamplin? Salem? Crawford? EMF? The idea of the clergyman's wife getting flowers would narrow this down to Protestants, so we know it couldn't be KBVM.

I have an old aircheck with a KISN Businessman of the Day spot on it.

Taking a wild guess here, these spots were discontinued around 1968 or so. Some of the older folks here might remember better than I since I didn't full control of the radio dial until the next year, but I know there is a spot that went: "blah blah blah, and on the 7th day . . ." then an announcement who it was for that day.

Following up on Semoochie's comments, as late as 1968, KISN was naming potential contest winners names and ADDRESSES on the air, urging them to call to win their prize.

From "Tommy Luke Flowers"
We would announce their ages & names of children & give the home address!!!!!!!!
(Biz man of the day)

The Oregonian & Journal would do the same thing after printing letters in their editorial sections or in "Behind The Mike".

how about this team of interesting voices:
Mel Blanc,
Roger Hart,
Victor Boc???
Programming format= TBD!!!!!

Behind the Mike huh? I sure have seen a lot of anti KISN articles there from Francis Murphy! I remember he hated the Beatles too,

sdd:The Clapper Greg Clapper!!!
a.a. the Clap-miester!!!!
62!!???

STAY AWAY FROM THE METH 62!!!!!!!!!!!!

Clergyman of the day was Burden...and weekends only for time. Come on guys. Obviously, Tommy Luke was a trade for mentions, so this gambit extended the concept from weekdays to a full 7 days a week.

They may not have done this for more than 3-4 months. It didn't have the "legs" that the businessman of the day did.

As for names/addresses of contest winners and potential contest winners...it was primarily because of Burden's penchant for a contest called
"We've got your number."

Personally, I never like this mechanic, because it had far too few winners...and the odds seemed exceedinly long to get a winner. However, Burden powered through those mechanics by hyping huge jackpots like, "KISN's $50,000 thank you for making us #1." I still believe a "set of tires," while targeting adults didn't seem to have a lot of sizzle.

Ed Hepp
Steve O'Shea
Inese (Inessa)/ Cindy Hanson (tie)

Not necessarily in that order. Numerous others would get honorable mention--there have been many silver tongued devils to pass through these airwaves at one time or another. I just jotted down the first three (approximately) that came to mind.

Bob Brooks isn't too bad.