And because he spanned KLIF and "Sump'n Else" to KVIL -- he WAS the history of Dallas radio . 1 radio show . Everyones going to do a 50-mile hike. But what me and Tom Murphy did was put together a morning show for teens, Murphy and Harrigan. The rest, as they say, is history. Theyll still be talking about that twenty years from now. Legendary Dallas DJ Ron . Ralph Frederick "Ron" Chapman (1936-2021) - Find a Grave By KLTV Digital Media Staff. Ronald Edward Chapman. We had to beg them to stop sending checks. Here are a few other stories about Chapmans career, told by those who knew and worked with the legend. Ron, how come my offer to buy KVIL never worked out? Chapman targeted that audience for several reasons, and he lists them the way he says almost everything, with unflappable confidence: a) they are the purse strings; b) there are a lot of them; c) they tend to be very faithful and build an allegiance; and d) they were underserved in this market, and nobody was paying them any respect. Chapman is an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist, Selden says. Chapman thought that was funny. Ralph Chapman Obituary (1936 - 2021) - Dallas, TX - Dallas Morning News From 1965 to 1968, he became Dallas rarefied answer to Dick Clark and American Bandstand, as host of the wildly popular Sumpn Else, a teen dance show carried live from NorthPark Center on WFAA-TV (Channel 8). There was some serious speculation for a while in Haverhill about the Ghost Tuba Player. Born October 11, 1942 in Ashland, KY, he was the son of the late Otis Guy and . WATCH: Steve Eberhart reminisces about late radio legend Ron Chapman - KLTV But the thing about it is, ten minutes later, its like it never happened.. Next to it is a portable telephone, complementing cellular phones in his and Nances cars. Chapman is a perfectionist in every way, Nance says. Dallas radio legend Ron Chapman passes away at 85 Chapman began his career in Dallas radio in 1959 at KLIF as a member of the "Charlie and Harrigan" team. Especially this woman right here., And Brad says, Well, how about if we start the play and say, The quarterback comes up to the line of scrimmage. Because shes gonna move up. Hes now a program director for ABC Dallas radio and an adjunct professor of TV production at the University of North Texas.We did Sumpn Else at NorthPark. Chapman had done the Charley and Harrigan show on KLIF during the Sixties (Chapman went by Irving Harrigan then) and had hosted Sumpn Else, a low-budget local version of American Bandstand on Channel 8. Ironically, Chapman so dominates the KVIL lineup that the DJs around him seem unremittingly unmemorable. anyway? And Ron said, Why, I am in charge of the talent show, of which there wasnt one at the time. Now, its someone I found out of Kim Dawson headshots. He ended up following Chapman at KLUV in 2005. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and it serves the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in North Texas. Legendary Dallas DJ Ron Chapman dies at 85 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram Dallas-Fort Worth radio legend Ron Chapman has died, officials with his former station KLUV-FM confirmed. But it was impossible to replicate a station that made a growing big city feel like a small town. According to the Texas Radio Hall of Fame, no public service is happening, but there will be a public gathering of friends and colleagues which is being planned at this time. Suite 2100 "In so many ways around here, Chapman was the pioneer, the seer," Rhyner said. Suzie Humphreys was Chapmans on-air sidekick on KVIL from 1975 to 1995. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. You realize we dont play the same things for a thirty-five-year-old female that youd play on the Zoo. But his desire was for you to get the best out of yourself. In 1969, he teamed up with local radio men Hugh Lampman and Jack Shell at the newly born KVIL. April 26, 2021 / 11:54 AM That was his job to make that station great. Passing by the cage, he would surreptitiously slip the mouthpiece through the wire into the neck of the tuba and blow. Hell suddenly realize he needs to talk to everybody he knows.. We did that to our audience constantly. They had no bathtub, no phone, no family car. It would be rude not to let Ron Chapman give it a proper send-off. During his 31 years at KVIL, Chapman became famous for his upbeat humor and his participation in outrageous stunts and giveaways. And Id walk a mile for an impression., Part of the magic of KVIL is that it is positive and upbeat, even when its poking fun at the news, the politicians, or the Cowboys. Nance prayed for her. Dallas, Texas 75201. It was, after all, the city's top radio station for years, throughout the 1970s and '80s and even into the '90s, when it was finally capsized by country radio. Robert Bird Brown Obituary - Dead | Robert Bird Brown Cause of Death April 26, 2021 Son of Mercy 0. We edited it out. Dallas Radio Icon Ron Chapman Dies at 85 | KLIF-AM We put them on constantly.. And now. For two weeks, while everyone else painted and scraped, he sat in a deck chair and interviewed people to see what their talent was., After Chapman had been in Korea for about a month, he got a parchment scroll commending him for lifting the morale of the troops. An announcement in this newspaper heralded his arrival, along with the promise that KVIL would play music that was "always in good taste, but contemporary in all ways" -- a rather unwieldy slogan. Trust me, Chapman didnt laugh at all. Forty-five years in one market. Or we could go KVIL.. It was Chapman who gave KVIL its sound in 1969: music foryoung adults who'd grown up listening to him on KLIF. Nobodys going to build monuments or hold big memorial services. Not all of Chapmans career was limited to radio. He graduated from Samuell High School in Pleasant Grove in 1970 and from Southern Methodist University in 1974. But when the chairwoman greeted Chapman in the ballroom, she says, he lit into her. Our Campaigns - Candidate - Ron Chapman But KVIL saw a huge, underserved demographic: women listeners between the ages of twenty-five and forty-four account for some 22 percent of the Dallas/Fort Worth radio market. Meet Jody Dean: A man for this season: Lost job leads to a better life Obituaries Search for Ron Chapman - Dignity Memorial A little egotistical, perhaps. Chapman was 85 years old. Robert Wilonsky on Twitter: "I once wrote Ron Chapman meant more to Shes now a motivational speaker and lives in Fredericksburg, Texas.From the first moment we ever opened our mouths, we clicked. Hes now an announcer and does several shows for ABC radio. DALLAS (CBSDFW) - The Texas Radio Hall of Fame shared the news of the passing of Dallas radio icon Ron Chapman. And we walked around the corner and stopped. I tell people this story, and they think its one of those urban legends. Its a small industry. Theyre gone. 750 North St.Paul St. Since Chapman is not only essential to ratings but is a key figure in all promotions, contests, personnel matters, etc., he is a general managers worst nightmare. Hes now retired and owns a winery called Orangewoods near San Diego.In, Im going to say 62 or 63, Jack Kennedy, I think, did a 50-mile hike. Fort Worth was the butt of all the jokes by DJs sitting in Dallas talking about people over in Fort Worth. KVIL - Wikiwand In honor of his life, we reproduce this 1989 profile of Chapman. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. In the service, Chapman was the Fifties equivalent of Robin Williams, doing a sort of Good Morning, Korea. On the troop ship the first night out, his sister recalls, it came time for the sergeant to hand out assignments. She said, How do you expect me to do a good job after all Ive been through? I said, Thats it, weve been talking too long. Nobody. 'A North Texas legend': Dallas radio icon Ron Chapman dies at age 85 And, you know, Im an easy-going guy. In order for us to match the standard, the three of us guys on the floor crew went out and bought blazers. And we ran an electric cord out to the van, and while Im on the air with Ron, Im having my hair done. And its also a public service if you use it right.. This is a first, he admits. In 1968, Chapman joined a team that purchased KVIL-FM, a station known for pioneering the Adult Contemporary (AC) format. So if anyone were to remember me. Im talking to a thirty-year-old female. A unique soul with a great personality has an amazing sense of humour, diligent and caring. Then the man loaned him enough money to buy a ticket. And the guy was the typical model. His family is asking for time right now to process the loss and thanks the community for . It would dance on kids shoulders. Ron Chapman, former radio host at KVIL, KLUV, dies at 85 - WFAA Both of which I left, unconsumed, somewhere in Rons car. April 26, 2021. And thats the way Ron was. At one point, Chapman broadcast live while skydiving from a plane . Chapman liked to say he was a poor kid who grew up behind a grocery store, which his father owned in his native Haverhill, Mass. Ron was a longtime morning host at our sister station KVIL 103.7, where he worked with KRLD's Mitch Carr. Name another program director or air person of any type anywhere in the country who would come in at 11 oclock and cut a promo thats going to run overnight. Walton and Johnson. You had left "Sump'n Else" and you're still at WFAA directing the church remotes. Updated: Apr. Also, his people say that his expectations for others are not nearly as high as those he imposes on himself. And I was going to run faster, work harder, get street-smarter. All great relationships are built on trust . For full obituary please visit. Ron Chapmans the only one that talks to her that first hour, and in that hour, 1 can mold her frame of mind. Catch up on the day's news you need to know. He spent more than three decades at KVIL, toiling as a morning deejay, music director and program director, transforming the adult contemporary format into a major success on the FM band. What followed was story after story about Chapman, who started as a DJ in 1953, and his more infamous bits. In 2000, as radio began to change once again, Chapman moved to KLUV, a Dallas oldies station where he stayed until announcing his retirement in 2005. I was off the wall, and he loved it. As The News noted in a story: When the terrified producer charged into his room to say the ghost had just hugged her, Chapman had only a one-sentence response: Did you get it on the air?. In a 1985 issue ofBillboard, the music industry's trade publication, a radio consultant called it "dominant" -- "the best-run radio station in Dallas" among a pile of worthy contenders, including K104. Fifteen years later, this newspaper called it "the800-pound gorilla of Dallas radio," describing Chapman as "not only one of the top DJs in Dallas, but one of the most respected and feared in the country.". He had this real, real long tongue, and it could get into the bottle. Ron Chapman Death - Obituary, - InsideEko.com News Media | In one infamous stunt, notes his Hall of Fame bio, Chapman told his listeners to each send $20 to the station; within three days, the station had received $200,000. Some estimates put the final amount even higher. HE IS AN EAST TEXAN: Judge Ron Chapman is a native Texan, an experienced public servant and a dedicated member of his community. Hes like the man who juggles chain saws while singing Verdi. Chapmans cohorts speak of having to walk a very fine line; remaining clever and at least half-witty without ever being more clever than Ron. Jody Dean was Chapman's producer at KVIL from 1987 to 1994. He was the Dean of Dallas/Fort Worth Radio spending 31 years hosting the morning show at KVIL, most of those in the number one position. Shes divorced, and may have a kid at home that shes sole support for. Barack O-blame-a. The Man Dallas LUVed: Radio Great Ron Chapman Dies If someone leaves KVIL and wants, a year later, to work for Y-95, and theyve just been in the Dallas Observer calling me a, uh, you -fill- in-the-blanks, well, they know better than to call me for references.. He knows what people want to hear. Bring walking sticks. I never brought it up with him, either. The station is branded as "Alt 103.7" and airs an alternative rock radio format. And I do have a good memory. Ron Chapman Was a Warm and Fuzzy Tyrant - D Magazine RIP Ron pic.twitter.com . Thirty-two of them at the same station. We had several meetings in which we hoped to gain her attention about things we didnt feel were happening correctly on the nighttime show. what happened to archie in monarch of the glen; funeral poem our father kept a garden. Michael Selden, a DJ at KVIL from 1974 to 1979, has gone full circle with Chapman emotionally, from admiration to loathing and back again. 'And with honor I return' - The Northwest Florida Daily News People just trusted him, Dean said Monday. Its a trap: if you are situated in Dallas, you look at things from the Dallas perspective, even unconsciously. But she was the problem., Chapman, who says he agonizes over every firing and tries to help the departed financially, told Haley to find another gig by the end of the year, while challenging her to do better: I told her. @RGreggHart : A giant of Dallas-Fort Worth radio, Ron Chapman, has died at 85. Ron Chapman Obituary KVIL - - InsideEko.com News Media | Facebook It was just ambition. I once wrote Ron Chapman meant more to Dallas radio than electricity. 1 forever. The piece coincided with Chapmans 20th anniversary at KVIL, where, The News noted, His hyper, happy-talk Ron Chapman and the Morning Group has been the almost-constant No. Among the passengers on a March 4 flight out of Hanoi 45 years ago Sunday at the end of the Vietnam War were three Air Force officers who would eventually settle in Northwest Florida. He directed his in more positive directions, into the station and into work.. He wants to control that station twenty-four hours a day, hotlining jocks in the middle of the night for mispronouncing some street name, says Tom Tradup, now general manager of a Chicago station and, until last July, the general manager at KRLD. Ron Chapman was born on 25 January 1936 in Newton, Massachusetts, USA. When the drawer becomes filled with bills and change, he bundles it up and sends it to the man. From 1965 to 1968, Chapman hosted a television dance show for teens called "Sump'N Else." In 1969, he moved to KVIL, where he spent 32 years. Garrett remembers Chapmans blowing up at him for reading the same filler story at several news slots. And even then they didnt get it. Ron Chapman Was a Warm and Fuzzy Tyrant. But off-mike, in what employees call his little Come to Jesus talks, that mouth can get hot enough to melt pig iron. There will be no service, however a "public gathering for friends and colleagues" is being planned at this time. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. I hand it to Ron, and the little guy hops on Rons shoulder, and when the lights come up, you know, animals react. Part of Audacy. When we first went to KVIL to do the Cowboys games, Ron brings Brad Sham and me into his office and starts giving us this big speech on how we should broadcast a football game. Ron Chapman, DFW radio legend, dies at age 85 - Blogger Ron Chapman's legendary $20 announcement from March, 1988. Okay, so were in a commercial break. Brings new meaning to the phrase Sunday Funday. Baby, it's cold outside. April 26, 2021 - TOP INFO GUIDE Chapman, fifty-three, fell over laughing. I know something the others havent figured out.. Some 12,000 did, and KVIL donated $240,000 to charity. Catch up on the day's news you need to know. KVIL tried to take on powerhouse KLIF-AM in the late 1960s; on 4/17/1967, they changed to a Top 40, "solid rock sound" format (formerly a talk/music format,) and renamed all of their jocks "Dave" to emphasize their 'David . Between his junior and senior years, he interned at The Washington Post during "the Watergate summer" of 1973. / CBS Texas. of course. [2] But you could hear this blow-dryer. Warmth, a man who seems to genuinely feel that his biggest contribution to the world is sending his listeners off to work happy and chipper, so that each in her own little way can help make a kinder, gentler Dallas. There is no way that Vince Lombardi could coach football in todays world. Dale Hansen broadcasted Cowboys games on KVIL. On the mike, butter wouldnt melt in his mouth. In honor of his life, we reproduce this 1989 profile of Chapman. 750 North St.Paul St. Into the breach jumped Ron, who offered to loan me his brand-new Cadillac Seville. The man had to be on the air at 5:30 in the morning. Nance Chapman Wiki: Ron Chapman Wife, Age, Job - Stars Offline I froze. Chapman said. But the youngsters came to understand their poverty., I liked applause early on, said Chapman, who took on Ron as his radio first name in 1965. Ron Chapman's radio career began in 1953the day he graduated from high schoolwhen he became a disc jockey at station WHAV/Haverhill, MA. It was a woman who had a pink sweater wrapped around her neck. Longtime North Texas disc jockey Ron Chapman, who spent more than four decades on the air in Dallas-Fort Worth, died Monday. And she looks so good by the time she gets to the office, she had to be up by 5:30. He killed the competition. You understand that? Boom! I cannot say I will miss KVIL, mostly because I haven't listened to it in years -- couldn't tell you its format since, oh, 1985? (A whole lot better, wife Nance is quick to observe, than the other way around.) Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, a man-made creek meanders past a resistance pool and a hot tub on its way to the pump. So we hit the air, and Ron got it. Blonde, voluptuous, impeccably well-mannered, and gracious, she smiles through a mouthful of sharp teeth. Thats reflective of some pretty strong public service. Chapman says. It was Chapman who convinced owners to ditch their paltry AM signal and go with its powerful 100,000-watt signal. We used a two-way radio. Everywhere 1 go, the broadcasters are asking me how to do that. We just knew where the other one was headed. Chapman died Monday at the age of 85, the Texas Radio Hall of Fame announced on its Facebook page. . In the meantime, you play every night like it was opening night, kick ass, and prove me wrong. No spam, ever. Ron Chapman has passed away. I told her so. One infamous incident occurred during last years gala for the National Craniofacial Foundation. By now, everyone knows the story about how, in 1988, Chapman asked his KVIL listeners to send in $20 each, without ever saying why, and took in $240,000. Even in a social setting, conversation revolves around radio and the show and the things that are, for other people, rather peripheral., Chapman says he has always had to be aggressive because back in the early days, the ratings were so low that they didnt even show up on Arbitron. But later, using his real surname, Chapman became an even bigger personality. To the multitudes who wake up with him every weekday, hes Mr. So he and a couple of radio buds ( Hugh Lampman and Jack Schell) got some backers and found a little building on Mockingbird across from the Dallas Country Club, where they launched a station called KVIL. (The money was later distributed to local charities.) So we all lined up, and we said, Okay, hoooo! And we started to walk. I noticed that they would feature me dancing a lot on the show. He always brought light to every room entered. It wont work for you.. Ron Chapman, a Dallas - Fort Worth radio legend, has died at the age of 85, according to CBS 11 KTVT in DFW. Its mascot was an incontinent kinkajou. There will be NO service, but a public gathering of friends and colleagues is being planned.". Im absolutely realistic in believing that nobody remembers you, Chapman says. Nance likens her life with Ron to living with P.T. Beneath that rasp, he's still very much the manwho once broadcast while skydiving and whoin April 1988 asked listeners to send $20 without explaining why and wound up collecting $240,000 he dispensed to charity. Barnum. More than one KVILite also remarked that they wouldnt have had jobs at all if Chapman hadnt heard that they were down on their luck and called to offer them gigs. Theyll still be telling that story when Chapmans grandkids have carpool duty. Photos: Chapman Today: Dan Sellers; Chapman on TV: Courtesy of ABC Radio Networks. Ron would fairly often show up while I was on the air to go in a studio and record a promo that might run overnight, only to plug something that was going to be on his show. He is very perfectionist about his personal things. Ron Chapman: Final Sign-Off and Song on 98.7 KLUV - YouTube But, quite frankly, we werent real excited about learning it at the time.. Chapman had already carved out a legend as one-half of Charlie & Harrigan on KLIF. Jack Woods partnered with Chapman in the early 60s on Gordon McLendons KLIF. But would he be really pissed if we never played it at all?. Enjoy unlimited access to all of our incredible journalism, in print and digital. "His family asks for time to . I used to do the 11 to 2 a.m. shift, during college. He claims more listeners than any DJ in Texas. Id never been in a Cadillac Seville. Chapman was known for doing the unexpected, once airing his show from a haunted house and another time while skydiving. Trusted friend and colleague Jody Dean does not disagree, comparing Chapman to 1960s coaching legend Vince Lombardi, who led the Green Bay Packers to multiple championships as an unyielding taskmaster. Skip to content. His rages and abuse must be swallowed whole. His older sister, Florence Littauer, now a motivational speaker, used her seniority to motivate Ralph, teaching him tongue twisters and then persuading him to repeat them for amazed visitors at the store-for a small fee. DALLAS - Three-time Texas Radio Hall-of-Famer and Dallas radio legend Ron Chapman died on Monday. And yet, as he prepares to send his message radiating into those hundreds of thousands of receptive minds, he is more aware of them than perhaps anyone has ever been in the history of this city. So, Chapman can afford to surprise his wife with a 4.9-carat diamond, keep houses in town and country, and fly to Madrid on a whim., Born in January 1936, Ralph Frederick Chapman was the youngest of three children raised in the back rooms of his dads store during the Depression. I hear it., I said, Yes. Within three days listeners had sent in more that $240,000. Then it became Jane Fonda for a while. KVIL-FM, born in Highland Park on August 25, 1961,died, officially, on Jan. 18, 2017. Radio Hall of Famer Ron Chapman Dies at 85 - People Newspapers The Texas Radio Hall of Fame shared the news of the passing of Dallas radio icon Ron Chapman. He is best known as the morning drive anchor of radio station KVIL, on the 103.7 frequency. Im rough to work for. "Ron Chapman is a dazzlingly . And now, it is no longer.". Our ears are in mourning. The center is the guy who is bending over with the football.. And brother, let me tell you something: It was a different age., In 1989, The Dallas Morning News devoted a High Profile cover story to Chapman, noting that peers described him variously as a genius, tyrant and hero. But Ive wondered ever since., Herb Kelleher has known Chapman for years. In terms of logistics and creativity, hes a towering genius. The Story of Ron Chapman, Sharon Carr Travel & the KVIL World Tour
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