V

Erin Vermeulen worked morning drive sports at KFI with Bill Handel. She left in the spring of 2016 and she moved to Detroit because her mom was ailing.

In July 2017, she joined mornings at WCSX in the Motor City. Vermeulen began her career at the former 1310 WYUR in Detroit and before that was heard in South Africa, Dubai, Cairo, Denver and Phoenix.

Tom is a reporter for KTVU/Channel 2 in Oakland.

He was born and raised in the small industrial town of Salem, Ohio. One of its famous citizens was Allan Freed. Growing up he worked in a steel processing mill and for a railway as a fireman. “I am a child of the television era from when it was in black and white to the cutting edges of today’s digital world,” he said on the KTVU website. “I am the first in my family to earn a college degree. I graduated from law school, passed the Bar Exam and practice for a year before going into my true interest, journalism. Being the son of a single mom in the 1950s and 60s, when that was taboo, and later a lawyer, I am keenly aware of what “being different” from others is about. I dislike discrimination in any form. Being a child from a low income family, I always dreamed of big opportunities and faraway places. I was one of the first “Nader’s Raiders” who helped craft some of the first true automobile consumer protection laws by establishing the Auto Safety Research Center at my alma mater, Case Western Reserve University in the turbulent 1960’s.

“My long investigation into auto insurance prices is considered by many experts as the basis for the passage of California Proposition 103 which, for the first time, forced auto, home and business insurers to justify price increases; a law that has saved Californians billions of dollars. I was the first reporter to the intersection of L.A.’s Florence and Normandie during the Rodney King Riots where I was attacked but, fortunately, not injured. I haven’t called in sick for work since 1981, because I don’t want to miss anything.”

Anthony joined KROQ in the spring of 2020 to bring some flavor to the weekends at the Alternative station.

Valadez, who was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, has been on the air in Los Angeles for 20 years., as profiled by the Whittier Daily News. In May 2020 he brought a Latin Alternative-focused show, Alternalido, to KROQ. “I’m a perfectionist and I wanted it to be right, but I also want it to matter. Latin Alternative music is so wide and I’m trying to make everyone happy, but really, the first show was amazing,” he told the Whittier newspaper. Valadez is spinning songs in English and Spanish by a variety of Latin artists, from up-and-coming acts to award-winning bands.

Valadez, who lives in Venice, grew up an avid radio listener, cranking the dial from the far left to the far right, his interest piqued by on-air personalities like Rick Dees and Jay Thomas. It was through KROQ that he discovered Morrissey, The Smiths and The Cure. Valadez’s music taste has only broadened with experience and he’s currently listening to all kinds of hip-hop collaborations and singer-songwriters.”

Emily is a news anchor at KNXNewsRadio. She was a longtime tv reporter and anchor at KGTV in San Diego, after previously working in Cleveland at Fox 8 (WJW/tv).

Her stories have led to significant changes in the legal system. She once did a story on a paroled sex offender who went off his GPS monitoring device and had the run of the community, yet the public was never notified. Because of Emily’s report, then-California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, took action. He issued an order to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, mandating they create a public alert system with photos of the wanted predators.

Emily was in the eye of the storm, covering hurricane Katrina in 2005 while living out of a car for a week. She gathered news during the day and reported live via satellite in the evening, as the city of New Orleans lay submerged under the deadly toxic water and crime in the streets ran rampant.

She also finds time to report on really important stories, such as the ransom kidnapping of a Bob’s Big Boy statue. Luckily, Big Boy was returned with only minor scratches. Emily also spent ten years in Bakersfield television.

She grew up in Los Angeles and Orange County, earning a B.A. from Cal State Northridge in Broadcast Journalism and an M.S. from University of Maryland in Life Sciences.

Emily started her broadcast reporting career in 1999 at News 21 in Rockville, Maryland. She has been won two regional news Emmy Awards and been nominated seven times.

Tony suffered a series of strokes prior to his death.

Tony began his broadcast career in Columbus, Ohio at WBNS, WOSU and WTVN. Prior to returning home to the Columbus area, Tony was an on-air personality in California with Stevie Wonder’s radio station, KJLH and also at KGFJ and KAGB, all in Los Angeles.

Angelica joined Meruelo Media’s “Cali 93.9 #1 for Reggaeton y mas” (KLLI) in the fall of 2019. Angelica is a Mexican Superstar. She (known as “La Vale”) brings a 40-year career in theater, film, tv and radio that includes the starring role in the wildly popular Spanish language version of Ugly Betty, which became one of the highest-rated tv series in the United States.

She has voiced many animated films, including the Oscar winning Spanish language version of Disney’s animated theatrical film Coco. Angelica is currently the leading star of Univision’s midday drama series, “Y Manana Sera Otro Dia Mejor” (Tomorrow is a New Day) and co-stars in the new Netflix anime series, Seis Manos. Angelica was born in Mexico City and is the daughter of legendary actress and “La Novia de Mexico” (Mexico’s Sweetheart) Angelica Maria.

“I’m thrilled to host middays on Cali 93.9. In addition to loving this music, I can’t wait to connect with listeners. I am a working mother, wife and daughter. I understand the challenges of juggling schedules, car pools and family obligations. This is a passion project for me; I love radio, I love LA.”

After a year in Oregon, Nicole returned to the Southland in 2011.

She has narrated 20 audiobooks.

In the summer of 2013, Nicole became apd/md and middays at Morris Desert Media’s KDGL “The Eagle” 106.9 in Palm Springs. Her website is ThatVoiceWorks.com.

She went on to co-host the morning show at KDAY.

Scott is the program director at “The Fish” and does weekends.

He grew up in Lewiston, Idaho and started his radio career in Spokane. In 2000, Scott joined KCMS-Seattle and in 2005 was named Personality of the Year and PD of the Year by Radio & Records.

Sean moved from STAR 98.7 to “104.3MYfm” in September 2007. Valentine and Lisa Foxx replaced the Jamie, Jack & Stench Show at STAR. While at STAR he hosted syndicated morning radio show “Valentine in the Morning,” heard in 15 cities including Cleveland and Cincinnati. Within the year he moved to morning drive at KBIG (MY/fm).

Prior to Los Angeles, Valentine had top-rated shows in Boston and Dallas. He’s also a regular at The World Famous Laugh Factory in Hollywood, and a dedicated USO entertainer for ten years, traveling to Bosnia, Bahrain, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Turkey and the Persian Gulf to entertain US Armed Forces. He comes from a military family.

In the spring of 2022, Valentine’s contract with iHeart was extended. “MY/fm and Valentine are synonymous- he is a true pro who is the cornerstone of MYFM and I am thrilled that he’ll continue to host the morning show for many more years,” said John Peake, svp of VP of programming for iHeart. “Each day thousands of SoCal listeners wake up to a fun, energetic and authentic show where they learn, laugh, shed a tear and never get bored. I am thrilled to have Valentine continue to anchor the MY/fm morning show.”

In 2011 he moved to Dubai and started the world’s first FM Farsi Hit Music station. In 2014, Shaun was held captive in Dubai. He has since returned after a harrowing escape.

For over two years, Shaun hosted “Angels in Waiting,” a show dealing with the spirits who have crossed over on KBIG. This unique radio program opened doors to the spirit world. “We’re all curious to know where we’ll end up after crossing over,” said Shaun. “Is there really an ‘other side’ or does our existence come to an end?” The interactive talk show attracted a large following until a conflict with management resulted in the show being cancelled. “There is so much more to the spirit world than just talking with the dead,” Shaun told me one recent afternoon from his twin studios located in his Santa Clarita home. Every week Shaun and a guest medium field calls from interested callers from all over the United States and world wide who would like to contact family members who have died and crossed over.

Jose was appointed general manager of KTNQ and KLVE in 1011. Most recently he served as president/gm at Telemundo’s flagship station, KVEA, as well as overseeing operations for Spanish-language independent KWHY/TV station in Los Angeles. Prior to that he was in Dallas as vp/gm of KXTX. Before that he served as vp/gm of various radio stations, including Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation’s (HBC) Las Vegas three-station cluster; Dallas-Fort Worth’s seven-station.

He began his broadcast career at KTNQ & KLVE, and was making a return.

In 2012, Jose was reassigned and named president of political & advocacy sales for the company. He was no longer involved in its radio division.

During his tenure at Univision Radio, Valle was a proponent of leveraging radio efforts with Univision’s other platforms. The number of nationwide radio premieres on the network increased substantially. Valle also launched Univision Radio’s very successful Uforia app, which allows streaming of all its stations from smartphones.

Susan was the Orange County reporter for KPCC. Susan left KPCC to do a reporting fellowship in Europe. During Valot’s time in L.A. radio, she has won numerous awards, including being named in June 2011 as the Los Angeles Press Club’s Radio Journalist of the Year. The judges called Valot’s work “some of the best we’ve heard.” They described her reporting as “well-rounded reports with authoritative, informed tone. Great use of sound.”

Valot also has experience covering international issues. She’s participated in several international exchange programs, including the RIAS Berlin Kommission Fellowship (Germany) in 2005, the U.S.-Austria Journalism Exchange in 2010 and the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship (Germany) in 2011. Those programs resulted in several international stories for Southern California’s airwaves.

In 2012, Valot was honored with the 2nd place international radio prize in the RIAS Berlin Kommission’s annual awards ceremony, honoring broadcast work that fosters understanding between the U.S. and Germany. Her story aired on KPCC and was about Los Angeles artists who traded the Southern California art scene for Berlin. Valot and a fellow public radio colleague are currently working on launching “Detour: The Radio Show with a Travel Problem,” a public radio show/podcast about the people, cultures and stories that make places special.

Tommy, long-time VH-1 personality in London, died March 6, 2005. He was 63. Tommy was a British dj who rode on the coattails of the Beatles British invasion, working at Boss Radio/KHJ from 1965-66. With the British music invasion explosion in the mid-1960s, it seemed that every Contemporary station had to have an English jock. Tommy was just that at KHJ.

His gravelly delivery made him a household name in London. Born in Oxford, Vance started working in Seattle before joining KHJ and then moving to Radio Caroline and Radio One, where he worked for years, using the catch phrase “TV on the radio” and interviewing more than 10,000 guests including Prince Charles. He also presented BBC1’s Top of the Pops.

Vance suffered a fatal stroke.

Peter worked overnights at Classical “K-Mozart.” His show was syndicated by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Peter was born on November 9, 1961. He is best known as the host of the Beethoven Satellite Network (BSN) overnight Classical music service, which is carried over approximately 150 radio stations across the USA. Van de Graaff is a native of Chicago and he grew up in Glencoe, Illinois. He attended BYU, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Vocal Performance. While there, he began working as an announcer on KBYU/fm, the university’s classical-music fm radio station. He was also announcer for the Utah Symphony live broadcasts. Following his graduation he remained with the station, rising to the post of Senior Producer.

He has hosted other nationwide broadcast series, including the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Van Cliburn Piano Series, Opera from the European Broadcasting Union, Music of the Baroque and the Vermeer Quartet. Van de Graaff sings in the bass-baritone range, and has performed throughout the world.

John works early morning drive at the Classical radio station.

He was born and raised in Edmonton Alberta, the youngest of six who immigrated from the Netherlands. “As a student I had some rather unusual summer jobs working on a pig farm, a sheep farm and a cattle ranch in the Rockies.

At KUSC John is the chief content officer.

Charlie was the quintessential morning man throughout the 1960s – 80s. He started his on-air career at the legendary Gordon McLendon flagship station, KLIF-Dallas, at the age of 14. Remarkably, by his 21st birthday, Charlie was appointed program director.

Before arriving in Los Angeles, Charlie was on-air at CKLW-Detroit, KFRC-San Francisco and KGB-San Diego. Charlie’s first stop in Southern California was at KHJ in 1972 to work nine to noon, sandwiched between Robert W. Morgan in the morning and Mark Elliott at noon. He moved to morning drive in 1973 and was made pd in 1975.

When he left the RKO outlet, Charlie Van Dyke said, “Charlie Tuna was right. It’s difficult to be a pd and on-air at the same time.” Tuna eventually replaced Van Dyke in the morning slot.

In 1977, Van Dyke returned to KLIF-Dallas, then in 1979 he went to the Northeast to work at WRKO-Boston. In 1980, he guided the transition of WRKO from Top 40 to Talk as the station’s pd. In 1982, Charlie landed in Phoenix as pd of KOY, before moving up the dial in 1984 to work at KTAR-Phoenix.

About this time, Charlie built his own recording studio in Scottsdale, becoming the voice for dozens of tv and radio stations, an assignment which he continues doing today. He personifies the voice that lends a unique identity to a radio station. In addition to his voiceover career, Charlie took over mornings at KRTH from 1998 – 2000.

After success at ‘ARROW 93 where he was general manager,’ Dave established Bridge Ratings media consumption research company for much of the 2000s. In 2007, he joined ABC Radio Network in Dallas as VP/Affiliate Relations until 2009. “Managing a radio station or two is like flying a private plane at 2,000 feet. Overseeing affiliations, program content, people and network budgets/planning for 4,400 affiliate stations is like piloting a 757 at 30,000 feet. The view is more encompassing, response time is a bit longer, but the wake [impact] is considerably larger. The fact that there is a ton more moving parts to this part of the radio business make it even more interesting to me with a very steep learning curve.”

Dave went on to be vp/broadcast affiliations for Radiate Media in Los Angeles, the company provides commuter traffic, news, weather & digital content services for audio & video clients (broadcast & Internet). He oversaw over 2000 radio & tv clients. He continues as head of Bridge Ratings.

The veteran sports broadcaster for over three decades, died November 7, 2009, from complications associated with his three-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 61.

Locally, Rod worked at KFWB, KSPN, Sports USA Radio, and 710/KMPC. In 1995 he won a Golden Mike for best sportscast and an AP award. Rod was the recipient of three L.A. Press Club awards. At his most recent job, Sports USA Radio, Rod was a studio host for NFL and NCAA broadcasts.

The veteran Los Angeles broadcaster covered all major sporting events including four Super Bowls, the BCS title game, the World Series, UCLA and USC football, and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Rod was a graduate of UCLA with a Bachelor of Science in English and U.S. History.

Chuck died May 15, 2017, at the age of 69.

Chuck was bitten by the radio “bug” while serving overseas with the U.S. Air Force. When he left the military, Chuck enrolled in the Don Martin School of Radio and Television Arts and Sciences in Hollywood. He started his first radio job on November 12, 1972.

In less than two years Chuck had worked at KTOT-Big Bear, KICO-Calexico, KPTL-Carson City, KTHO-So. Lake Tahoe and KONE-Reno. A network of radio friends began to pay off for Chuck with assignments at KDES-Palm Springs, KSTN-Stockton, KSOM-Ontario, KFXM and KUDO-San Bernardino/Riverside. “While attending P.C.C. I met Chuck Van Horne, a.k.a. “The Flying Dutchman” in one of my classes,” emailed Jeff McNeal.

“Chuck had already been a success in radio, working in San Bernardino at KMEN, among many other stations,” Jeff continued. “I was in awe of having a guy in class who had actually been ‘on the air’ somewhere. Chuck had just come back to finish up his degree. Chuck was also teaching at Don Martin School of Communications in Hollywood.”

Larry worked morning drive at Oldies K-SURF until the summer of 2019.

He was a news anchor at KNX Newsradio until downsizing in the summer of 2009. For a time in 2011, he delivered the news on the KABC Peter Tilden Show. He did mornings at KSFO-San Francisco from L.A. He left KSFO in late 2016. Larry has an active voiceover career.

Born in 1941 in Providence, Larry has spent his radio and tv career in California. Larry worked in the oil fields of Long Beach where his early interest in jazz music led him to KBCA. He did the morning show at the “Jazz Knob” for “Sleepy” Stein. “I clearly remember my first day on KGFJ as the day President Kennedy was shot.”

Larry has been very visible over the decades, hosting KTLA/Channel 5’s Help Thy Neighbor, game shows, and the Arthritis Telethon, for which he has helped raise millions of dollars.

“It’s hard to separate parts of my career, since they’ve overlapped.” Larry did weekend mornings on KABC and fill-in for “Ken & Bob” and was also the booth announcer for KTLA. He got weary of “format changes” and gave up radio in the mid-1980s, only to return. His voiceover career includes imaging for tv stations all over the country.

We think of longevity in terms of hours in LA Radio as the norm. In fact, if one should be able to piece together some years, let alone a decade or two, it’d be spectacular. But what about someone who has been doing morning drive consecutively for 43 years? Would that qualify as record-setting? “I recorded about 16 songs but it was very difficult for a singer in those days to get radio play unless you recorded for one of the big record companies like RCA. There were only four Spanish-speaking stations at the time – KWKW, KALI, XPRS and an Orange County station,” said Damian by phone from his Corona home. One day Damian was listening to the radio and thought he could do better than the announcer he heard. . One day in 1965 I had the chance to work for a small 250-watt fm station in Ontario, KOYA [93.5/fm].

In 1985, Damian recorded a very successful album of mariachi music. “I didn’t want to get into the record business because I know the problems in the business, but I just wanted to do something for self-satisfaction,” Damian said proudly.

He was born in the state of Michoacán, Mexico. “I came to the United States in 1955. I was a little bambino.” Damian laughs and says he was actually 15 when he came here speaking no English. His English today is very good, despite the fact he only went to school for three months.

David hosts the Dodger post-game show. Sports has been in his blood since he was a kid. When he was growing up, David listened to most Dodgers and Lakers home games on the radio, then he stay tuned for the post-game shows. “It’s full circle hosting ‘Dodger Talk’ for me since I loved listening and would often call in to Ross Porter when he hosted the show for many years. I actually won a Lakers bag by answering a trivia question when Chick Hearn hosted the pre-game ‘Lakers Line’ show before Lakers home games.”

“I was raised by my single mother, Bianca, and have a brother seven years older than me,” said Dave. “While my mom was at work, I would be very involved in keeping up with the local sports teams.”

David joined KLAC in 2004 beginning as a field reporter and producing the Petros and Money Show until he started with his current role with the Dodger broadcasts.

David was born in Santa Monica in October 1976, growing up in Woodland Hills. He attended Our Lady of the Valley until 8th grade, then graduated from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks in 1994 followed by Cal State Northridge. David attributes much of his success to his mentoring by Joe McDonnell. Joe was working at KWNK (670AM) in 1998 when it had a sports format. “That’s how I got my start in radio. Joe taught me so much that I still apply today.”

David concluded: “Chick Hearn, Vin Scully, Don Drysdale, Ross Porter, and Bob Miller were the soundtrack of my childhood.” In another thirty years, perhaps David Vassegh will be remembered as being part of the soundtrack to a new generation of sports fans.

Julian was chief engineer for both all-News stations. He was nominated in the yearly Best of LARP voting and one colleague praised him: “Julian keeps two complicated stations with lots of systems sounding good and running smooth.”

Yvonne worked middays at KYSR / STAR 98.7 succeeding Lisa Foxx. In the summer of 2008 she returned to Florida to be with family.

She was a trailblazer at MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon for four years in the early 90’s, but her dream was always to be in radio. She began her radio journey at B97-New Orleans, where she was hired to do overnights and eventually moved to morning drive. Her next stop was mornings in Myrtle Beach, then a short stint in internet radio. She then went back to MTV to start their satellite radio station, moved on to nights on WNEW-New York, then middays on KYSR and finally to her current radio home, mornings on WEJZ- Jacksonville, where she’s been since 2010.

Pat is a real estate analyst and was a regular contributor to KNX in real estate-related news and features.

Pat was born in Orange County and raised in Anaheim. He graduated from Fullerton College with a degree in radio and television. “I got my first radio job as a news writer at KWIZ as a 17-year old fresh out of high school.” His first full-time on-air job was at all-News KNUU-Las Vegas. Pat worked evenings at KWIZ.

“I have been a real estate analyst and consultant to the real estate industry since 1990. I own Real Data Strategies, Inc., in Brea. My firm is the leading provider of real estate market share and market performance statistics to the industry.” In 1998 he began making real-estate story contributions to KNX. For much of the 1990s, Pat was a popular and controversial real estate and opinion columnist for the Orange County Register. “I miss broadcasting enough to want to be on its periphery, but prefer self-employment to a staff position.”

Josh joined STAR 98.7/fm in late 2007 from ‘The Edge’ in Dallas. He was promoted to 98-7fm in early fall of 2009.

Josh left during a Clear Channel downsizing in late 2012.

He’s now program director at KMYZ-Tulsa. In early 2021, he was made format captain of the Stephens Media Group.

V. Yo! The ubiquitous Billy Vera decided early on to have many projects going on at the same time. “If you can do one thing well, then there’s no reason that you can’t apply that talent to other areas. Interests and abilities overlap.”

Born in Riverside, he grew up in Westchester County in New York. His father, Bill McCord, was one of the premier game show announcers (21 and Tic Tac Dough) and was a staff announcer with NBC for 35 years. His mother sang with the Ray Charles Singers on the Perry Como Show. Billy loved music and at 16 he was performing with his own band. “A friend suggested that I change my name so it wouldn’t be confused with my father. I had a school friend named Guadeloupe Vera and took her last name. It was cool and a total accident. And besides ‘Vera’ would look big on a marquee.”

During the 1970s Billy picked up gigs wherever he could and continued to write songs. His song writing successes included compositions recorded by Fats Domino, Nancy Sinatra, the Shirelles, Crystal Gayle, Robert Plant and George Benson. In 1979, Dolly Parton recorded one of his songs, I Really Got The Feeling, and based on that success, he moved to Southern California.

The 1980s were good to Billy. The Beaters were born, an opportunity for his personal love affair with r&b to flourish. Hardly unpacked in L.A. his song At This Moment appeared on the highly successful Family Ties tv show and the song shot to #1 and stayed at the top for two weeks. Billy and the Beaters was the in-house band for ABC/TV’s Rick Dees Into the Night show.

Another of his songs appeared on Bonny Raitt’s 5-million selling album, Luck of the Draw. Billy produced three successful albums for Lou Rawls. His diversity was reflected on screen. Billy’s acting adventures included roles in films such as Buckaroo Bonzai, Blind Date and Oliver Stone’s The Doors.

On tv he appeared in Wiseguy, Alice and the recurring role of Duke on Beverly Hills 90210. He was the voice you hear singing the theme on the successful series, Empty Nest. In 1988 he received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For six years Billy hosted a Saturday show on KCRW playing oldies from his 35,000 record collection (singles, albums and photographs pack two bedrooms).

In 1989, a casting agent heard his radio show and thought Billy would be perfect for commercials. “He heard a sincerity in my voice. I’m not sure what he heard, but I’m not about to change it. I’ve been doing voiceover work since then.” Billy has taught the history of American black music at UCLA and has produced over 100 compilation CDs. Every Thursday night since 1993, Billy carries a box of records from his own collection to a non-descript strip mall in Sunland and in a basement studio broadcasts two hours of the “Rock ‘n Roll Party” on CRN (Cable Radio Network). “I get calls from all over the country.” Billy regales his audience with stories of artists, record company owners and the colorful characters who make up the world of his special music.

Gary is with public radio KXJZ-Sacramento.

Gary knew at an early age that jazz was his passion. “In high school, there was a 24-hour jazz station in Los Angeles, when commercial radio and jazz were not the oxymoron they are today,” says Gary. “I used to listen to that station and think, one day, I’d like to work there.” Eventually, he did. While attending college at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Gary launched his radio career.

“After graduating, I worked at KCRW, an NPR affiliate in Santa Monica,” he recalls. “While I was there, I coordinated 70 hours of weekly jazz programming and produced a pilot for NPR’s Jazz Alive! series.” Gary then accepted a job at KBCA, the commercial jazz station of his high school days. During this time, he also served as the L.A. correspondent for Down Beat magazine and wrote liner notes for leading jazz record labels.

In 1980, Gary moved to Sacramento to serve as Jazz Music Director at KXPR, Capital Public Radio’s original, multi-format station. For the next 11 years, in addition to supervising the station’s jazz programming and concert activity, he produced and hosted Jazz International, a popular nightly jazz program. When CapRadio added its second station, KXJZ, with a jazz and news format in 1991, Gary easily assumed the role of music director.

Before the station celebrated its fourth anniversary, Gary was named “Jazz Broadcaster of the Year” by the Gavin Report, a respected, national music industry chart. Gary was recognized by Jazz Week with the prestigious Duke Dubois Humanitarian Award, acknowledging his lifetime of achievement and service to the community.

Bruce worked morning drive at KELT (“92.7 Lite FM”)-Riverside until the spring of 2002. He died December 13, 2002. Bruce was 54. Bruce had been suffering in recent years with diabetes-related problems.

Bruce arrived at KIIS in the fall of 1982 from K101-San Francisco, replacing Laurie Allen who eventually became his wife. In 1984 he was going head-to-head against his wife who was on KMGG. Their rivalry was chronicled in People magazine and an appearance on -Good Morning America . The media was fascinated with the fact that the husband/wife team was on competing radio stations, at times in the same slot.

In the mid-1980s, parked in the duo’s San Fernando Valley driveway was two cars: a sleek, brand-new red Corvette and a not-so-sleek dented Dodge Aries. His then-wife explained, “Whoever got the highest ratings got to drive the Corvette.” Bruce moved to swing at KIIS in late 1996 following an ownership change from Gannett to Jacor. In the spring of 1997 he joined KNJO.

Sylvia has been the go-to young lady in Spanish and English radio in Los Angeles for many years. During her first assignment at KLVE, she was co-host and producer of the Pepe Barretto morning drive show. When she returned a year later she was the midday personality.

She worked mornings at KJLH. At KXOL, Sylvia was the first female LA morning drive host. At 710/KMPC, she was the midday news anchor and was fill- talk show host for Tavis Smiley.

Born and raised in LA, she loved the magic of radio and the art of storytelling. “I discovered voiceover while working in radio. I didn’t realize there was an entire industry that would pay you for doing something you did for free at the radio station. I took a lot of VO classes simultaneously while working at the station and worked hard to make the transition. Today voice over is my full time gig.”

Sylvia is a two time Voice Arts Award® winner and one of the top female voices for tv network promos, live award shows, national commercial campaigns and narration. She has broken the glass ceiling for women in promos for decades and currently lends her promo voice to NBC, CBS, TCM, the CW and the Disney Channel. Sylvia is the voice for some of the most iconic award shows, including the 95th Oscar telecastCritics Choice Awards, MTV VMAs, Teen Choice Awards, AFI tributes, Writer’s Guild Awards and the historic 2012 and 2016 Democratic National Convention. Sylvia has also narrated Emmy Award winning and critically acclaimed shows on, ABC TBS, TNT, AMC and E! Most recently narrating the historic tv bio of Prince Harry and Meghan Markel. Her national commercial campaigns include Samsung, Verizon, Colgate and Payless. Sylvia also does all this in Spanish.

The native Angelino grew up with the “only Spanish spoken in the home” rule. After years of therapy, she can now thank her parents for her serious bilingual skills. She has a very active voice career and the fact she can switch her voice from sophisticated to urban hip has given her a distinct advantage in the bi-lingual market. Her website is at: sylviavillagran.com.

Mike has an active voiceover career (voice of DiTec Finance) and is an actor. He is the on-camera game show host on digital tv “Sports Trivia.” He lives in Costa Mesa.

“Since leaving my last full time radio position as production director at KEZY AM/FM in Anaheim in 1981, I have made a very comfortable living as a ‘free lancer.’ My ten years as the spokesman for mortgage company DiTech.com were very profitable. I had many clients that I did voiceover and on-camera productions for.

“In the last couple of years things started slowing down and ’08, except for one month working in China at the Olympics as the venue announcer for Indoor Volleyball, was the slowest of them all. So my wife Patti and I have tightened our belts, reigned in our dining out and weekend road trips. I’m not playing as much golf and when I do I look for courses that have more reasonable green fees. Thank God gas prices have dropped, it makes driving to my auditions less expensive. Things have slowed so much, I am going to start calling around town to radio friends in hopes of finding a couple of weekend shifts to fill the void.”

LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva,began a Sunday night Talk show. He promised to talk about homelessness, crime, corruption and politics. Villanueva will also feature guests who will explain the inner workings of the various bureaus in his department.

Villanueva joined the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department in 1986 and after more than three decades of law enforcement experience was sworn in as the 33rd Sheriff of Los Angeles County.

“I’m happy to have this ability to connect with residents and business owners to share ideas and discuss public safety,” said Sheriff Villanueva.

KFI pd Robin Bertolucci added, “Sheriff Alex Villanueva is a straight talker and KFI has always welcomed bold talk.”

Todd was KIIS’s youngest air personality.

Born on Christmas day, Todd grew up in Rialto. He started as a board op at KOST. His first on-air job was KPSI-Palm Springs and then KGGI, KDES-Palm Springs and then KKBT.

“Radio to me is like the air you breathe, and I can’t live without it.” Todd worked weekends and fill-in at KIIS while doing afternoons at KRUZ-Santa Barbara. He left KIIS in late 1996 and followed by mornings at KRUZ-Santa Barbara until early 1998 when he became part of the morning team at KHTE-Little Rock.

Todd worked afternoons at KZZO-Sacramento and then a pd slot at KBBY-Oxnard in the fall of 2008. Todd left WSGX-St Louis in late March 2012 and joined iHeart’s Indianapolis cluster. As part of a major downsizing, Todd left Indy in late 2020.

Michelle joined Sinbad for the “Hot 92.3fm” morning show beginning February 11 and then became part of morning show with Diana Steele and Mario Lopez.

Michelle, real name Michelle Lynn Shupack, is an American singer, television host, radio DJ, author, and television personality. Her career began when she auditioned for and won a place in Seduction, an r&b dance vocal trio in 1990.

In 1996 Visage became the co-host of the VH1 talk show with RuPaul. She also co-hosted RuPaul on New York’s WKTU in the late 90s and early aughts. She has also hosted such television programming as VH1’s red carpet coverage of the 1998 Grammys and, in 2002, Grease’s 25th-anniversary re-release party.

In 2005, she returned to New York City where she served as co-host of The Morning Mix on WNEW/fm. She left MIX 102.7/fm in New York in late 2006. She went on to work mornings at WMIA-Miami and left in late 2011.

She lives in Southern California.

Monica conducted a report on the Arts for Classical KUSC. She is now program director at CPR Classical and cofounder of El Sistema Colorado.

Monika earned a bachelor’s degree, journalism and mass communications and minor in music at the University of Northern Colorado. She has been with Colorado Public Radio for nearly three decades, starting as a music host and news reporter in 1990 and serving as program director of CPR Classical since 2013. Prior to coming to CPR, she worked for KUNC. She is co-founder and board chair of El Sistema Colorado, a non-profit serving low-income children through ensemble music.

Monika grew up studying flute and at age 13 joined the Denver Young Artists Orchestra. As a student at the University of Northern Colorado, she played under Kenneth Singleton in the university’s wind ensemble and sang in the Grammy Award-nominated vocal jazz sextet The Axidentals, headlining clinics and festivals in the U.S. and Canada.

Monika won a Silver World Medal from the New York Festivals Awards for the day-long special, “Sound of America,” and the National Clarion Award for her five-part radio documentary series, “A Voice for the Silenced: Re-discovering Music Lost in the Holocaust,” co-hosted by LA Opera Music Director James Conlon.

David (“Let-me-tell-you-this-my-friend”) Viscott started as a substitute for radio psychologist Toni Grant and eventually got his own full-time shift. He provided diagnoses and “tough love” therapy. His locally produced show became syndicated for a time.

Born in Boston in 1938, son of a pharmacist, David became a psychiatrist and created a mini-empire unto himself. He wrote over 13 books, ran the David Viscott Center for Natural Therapy and created a line of greeting cards.

David lived a life of privilege through his schooling. He went to medical school at Tufts University after graduating from Dartmouth in 1959. David taught at University Hospital in Boston, set up private practice in 1968 and moved to Los Angeles in 1979 where he was a professor psychiatry at UCLA. Later in the 1980s he had his own tv show.

He was passionate about music all his life and regretted not devoting more of his life to that love, though that’s not what he would have advised others.

David died alone on October 14, 1996, at the age of 58. A cleaning crew found him in bed. A friend of David’s said: “He died of a broken heart.”

Richard Gonzalez hosts a weekend show at “Power 106.” He was born on May 24, 1969 and is a Canadian house music producer, remixer and dj.

He was raised in Highland Park and graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in 1987. On the airwaves, Richard is host of the longest-running mix show in the US, Power Tools, which airs every Sunday morning from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. on KPWR (Power 106 FM), as well as other syndicated markets.

Bob was appointed general manger at Amaturo’s JILL stations in Thousand Oaks and Orange Country in late spring 2009 and left in early fall of the same year.

In November 2010, he became the market manager for the Cumulus group in Ventura/Santa Barbara. He then became the DOS for KABC/KLOS and left in the summer of 2013. In October 2018, Bob was appointed market manager for West Virginia Radio’s Charleston cluster.

Bob is now associate publisher at the San Diego Business Journal.

Dominic runs a video production company, VIDEOComm Productions, in Rancho Mission Viejo. Dominic, a native of Croatia, married the KNOB owner’s daughter, Madelaine and they became the morning drive team at KNOB in the mid-1980s.

“I currently narrate audio books for Amazon.com, Audible.com and iTunes,” emailed Dominic. He also produces a comedy podcast called Angry Old Man podcast on iTunes and all podcast platforms.