|
|
Nov. 2001 - Dec. 2002 Guestbook Entries These pages contain some of the earier submissions we've received for inclusion in the Monitor Guestbook. To see the latest entries, return to the regular guestbook.
Comments: Hi. Just discovered your site. What great memories it brought back. I had the pleasure of running Monitor in Lubbock, Texas during 1973 at the station I was working for there. Best, Ron Harper December 2, 2002 Comments: Hello. Thanks for the wonderful website. Monitor was a fixture in our home when I was coming up. We always listened to it while doing our chores around the house during the weekend, and I especially remember hearing the Beacon while on car trips we always took as a family. Hearing these great clips took me down memory lane, and made me feel like a kid again, if only for the 7 minutes of the audio file. At the end of your clip of the jingle compilation, the sound of the last jingle, Gene Rayburn's last announcement, followed by the NBC (GEC) chimes brought a tear to my eye....oh how I wanted to clip to play on..... I really hope that someday NBC replays these broadcasts on the weekend, or better yet, bring back Monitor. Live. I believe it would take flight and revitalize weekend talkradio. Keep up the great work...I wish I could contribute to the site, but all I have are memories.... Thanks again. William Tomlinson Jacksonville, Florida December 1, 2002 Comments: Thank you for your wonderful web site on Monitor. I work for WDOD AM in Chattanooga. I was a board operator for Monitor in 1968 at WDEF Radio. So many fond memories. Keep up the good work. Earl Freudenberg, WDOD AM Chattanooga, Tenn. November 29, 2002 Comments: I remember sitting on my front porch on weekends listening to Monitor and reading books. I often wondered where it would take me next. Radio has certainly has changed for the worst. Paul L. Secic San Lorenzo, CA November 16, 2002 Comments: Thank you so much for the great web site and the fun "Monitor Memories." I grew up listening to "Monitor" with my father...and it's probably one of the reasons why I had a 30-year career in radio news (recently ended by Clear Channel, as many of us have). So anyway..thanks again, and keep it up. John Remy Columbus, Ohio November 3, 2002 Comments: Gene Garnes and I talked on the train into New York City today and he put me on to this site, a site that I will want to explore more fully. It was a real pleasure to sit and talk with him and hear about his dad and many of the other people I knew during the years I was part of the NBC family! Monitor News was my first network assignment in a nearly twenty year career with NBC News, almost all of it at the Radio Network. I still remember Gene Rayburn standing in 5-B, doing his sewing between on-air items! I now do consulting for nonprofit organizations (four months this past summer directing Lutheran World Relief’s communications was the latest assignment) and occasional video narrations, and spend the rest of my time in various volunteer activities here in the hills of northwestern Connecticut. Our two sons are grown and married and we have two grandsons. All the best, Mike Maus Kent, Connecticut November 1, 2002 Comments: As a child I remember listening to Monitor especially while riding in my parents' car. I found it entertaining even as a five year old. I later went into the broadcasting business both as a disc jockey and an engineer partially because I was influenced by the Monitor program. In 1970 I took the NBC tour and actually visited Radio Central and Monitor and met Bill Cullen! He chatted with us briefly. He was very nice and personable. Jeff Moulton October 16, 2002 Comments: Hi, Dennis. Just wanted you to know that I ordered the book last week, it came the other day, and I began reading. Just finished the chapter on how the program was put together during the week. It is absolutely WONDERFUL! I cannot tell you how enjoyable, educational and emotional it is to read in-depth about my all-time favorite radio program. I look forward to commenting further after I finish. By the way, have you done any interviews on radio or TV? Seems like this would be a natural for the Larry King Show. Best Regards, Randy A. Krawower October 10, 2002 Comments: I was an NBC News copyboy for Monitor's first summer and I worked on the inaugural broadcast. It was my first job in broadcast news, and working on that program was a dream come true for an eighteen-year-old! I remember the redhead who broadcast the weather, even if I don't recall her voice. And I vividly remember how Bob and Ray, appearing live, would bring the newsrtoom to a halt while everyone would crack up at the routines. I also recall Bob Hope's first visit, surrounded by a number of vice presidents. Hope looked like a giant. The newsroom of "Radio Central" was located to the right in your photo of the main studio, and, all walls being of glass, we were as much on display during NBC studio tours as were the personalities broadcasting from the main studio, (whose backs were to the visitors). Even copyboys wore ties and jackets in those years, though we dispensed with the jackets while working. My stint at "Monitor" last only for that first summer. I later went to the Associated Press at both the United Nations bureau and later in Albany, NY, and then joined CBS News in 1961 where I began as a staff news writer for Bob Trout and Harry Reasoner (working with Andy Rooney on "Calendar,") and then on and up as a producer and executive news producer for WCBS-TV, with two years in the Middle East (1968-70) reporting from Jerusalem for CBS News. When TV news began the long decline into the "Eyewitness" happy-talk concept, I resigned from CBS, went into corporate communiations in LA and moved here six years ago. I currently teach broadcast news and the University of New Mexico School of Communications and Journalism and am general manager of KSFR, 90.7 FM, Santa Fe's only public radio station, where I established an all-volunteer local news department, delivering news on the hour. So, in a way, I have returned to my roots. Anthony Hatch Santa Fe, NM October 7, 2002 Comments: What a great site ! I used to listen to Monitor on 700 WLW in the 60's. My favorite announcer-story teller was Henry Morgan. Dave Michaels October 1, 2002 Comments: Dennis, Congrats on hitting the 20,000 affiliates mark! BTW, last month (August) marked the 15th anniversary of Westwood One's purchase of the NBC Radio Networks (NBC Radio, The Source, TalkNet and NBC Radio Entertainment.) I believe there are 5 years left on the license between WW1 and NBC. Let's hope GE/NBC decides to get back in the radio biz in 2007. Terry (action central) Morgan (G-E-C) September 28, 2002 Comments: Dennis, Over 20,000 served. Congratulations on reaching the 20,000th hit on September 27, 2002, at 1:25 PM CDT. And auspiciously so close to the second anniversary of the site. It still amazes me that the “Last Great Radio Show” generates as much interest as it does nearly 28 years after it went off the air and that so many people have such fond memories. It was a great idea Sylvester “Pat” Weaver, Jr. had 48 years ago. Louis Castaing Metairie, Louisiana September 27, 2002 Editor's note: Thank you, Louis. It is wonderful to know that there are so many of us Monitor devotees out there. I loved that program -- and it is quite clear that many of you did, too. As for Pat Weaver -- to put it simply, he was a genius. Comments: I seem to be on a journey to relive my childhood..and Monitor takes a major role. It was my first radio my folks bought me for Christmas in 1955 or 56....an Admiral brown bakelite clock radio...and I immediately started listening to Monitor...that unusual beacon sound and the soothing and cheerful announcers. I also remember the short comedy bits by Fibber McGee and Molly, Duffy's Tavern and Bob & Ray. Why can't it come back to network radio? Thanks for the great clips!! Evan J. Chase Toledo, Ohio September 24, 2002 Comments: Dennis ,I just finished reading (make that, devouring) your book about Monitor. The only thing I didn't like about it was that it wasn't twice as long! What a great piece of radio history! Thanks for the book and this website! Scott Marinoff, San Diego CA September 22, 2002 Comments: What an amazing website. I am literally awash in nostalgia after reading the content and looking at the photos and other graphical exhibits (the 1973 NBC program log was an especially fun and memory-provoking addition to the site). And you're right - the Monitor "beacon" sound is unforgettable. I don't even need to listen to it on the website to remember it. I associate it, inextricably, with weekend network radio as heard on small town radio stations (I grew up in Montana) and with my childhood-to-young adult years. Thank you for a graphically beautiful website with wonderful content. Best to you, Leslie Moll Philadelphia, PA September 19, 2002 Comments: Hi -- just discovered your great site that brings back good memories. You mentioned "going places and doing things", but I also recall another catch phrase reminding us to listen to "Bob and Ray, through the day". On your Miss Monitor site, she looks sultry, etc, as I had always imagined. She did the cities in alphabetical order, always starting with Atlanta, and mentioning always other certain key cities, then interspersing in rotation other lesser places having stations that were affiliated with the show. What a show and site-keep up the good work-I'll be back (frequently). Robert H. Digby, MD Okemos, Michigan September 8, 2002 Comments: Simply fabulous!! I have been looking all over the place to find the first 25 years of my NYC broadcast career. In 1972, I was one of the youngest people ever hired for a radio staff job at NBC (net). I was only 23 years old, but I joined the writing pool, working the hourlies desk first, and then I was assigned to Monitor full time towards the very end of its run. I booked almost all of the interview segments and wrote a lot of the news copy. From there it was local radio news, on the Imus show (sorry!), then WNBC-TV as assignment editor in 1976. After that, I was the first L.I. bureau chief for News 4 in 1980 and was named correspondent in 1985. From there, in 1990, I returned to my true love, radio at WCBS-Radio as a reporter for 5 years. Then back to TV as a news director at 2 ABC stations in the South and now, like most other broadcasting drop-outs, I am teaching at Meredith College, in Raleigh: 919-760-8092. I has been a real thrill to look through the Monitor pages. When you listen to the garbage today, little did we know the treasure we had, and little did NBC know how much money they would lose, in the selling of the radio division (a license to print money). Thanks again. Would love to attend a reunion someday, if anyone is still alive?? Doug Spero August 29, 2002 Comments: I just wanted to add my story of Monitor being mentioned on television that Ken Smith brought up. I don't remember all the details too well but here is how I think the story goes. On Jack Benny's TV show, Jack was trading barbs with a guest, I think it was George Burns, about which of them was older. And Benny said to Burns(?), "You're so old, you think Monitor was a submarine instead of a radio show." Or at least that's how I remember it. Louis Castaing Metairie, Louisiana August 18, 2002 Comments: Hi Dennis! I was on Monitor on a Saturday in the spring of 1957 as the owner and operator of the World's Smallest Radio Station. It was a feature(ette) submitted by the local Charlotte, NC NBC affiliate WSOC. I was 15. That summer I stood in and watched in awe on the 5th floor of 30 Rock at Radio Central. Over to the right were the doors that led into the Control Room....I just walked in and stood there watching as the director cued the announcers...the host.... the board operator..the turntable opertaor and the tape machine operator. Thinking about it now, just getting Monitor on the air was a major accomplishment. Five years later I was riding the board and doing breaks during Monitor for WSJS in Winston-Salem (those 6 second Sinclair spots drove the engineer crazy. He was always asking me if I heard that Sinclair spot that was on the log). Monitor (in all of its incarnations) was always interesting and entertaining...including..... "Driving today? Drive with care and buy Sinclair Power X gasoline." Regards, Jerry Clegg August 15, 2002 Comments: Hi, Dennis, I was watching the Gameshow Network yesterday morning, and To Tell The Truth was on. Joe Garagiola had started hosting the show after Gary Moore retired. Barry Nelson was on the panel. At the top of the show, Joe was talking about Barry and Joe said that he was just starting out at Monitor and that he met Barry who had been working on Monitor for a while. He mentioned what a great friend and person Barry was, and that he showed Joe some of the stuff around NBC as he was just getting started. That's the first time I've heard Monitor mentioned on TV. Just thought I'd share that with ya...unless you saw it already. Have a great day. Ken Smith August 14, 2002 Editor's note: I wish I'd seen that To Tell the Truth episode. I remember seeing Monitor mentioned at least three times on TV in the '60s. On The Match Game, emcee Gene Rayburn mentioned that he hosted Monitor. On the syndicated Merv Griffin Show, guest Henry Morgan told Merv he was hosting Monitor. And on The Tonight Show one evening, Johnny was lamenting that his weekends were boring, while Ed had many things going on, including Monitor. Comments: Dennis: I finished the book back in late June and to say it's outstanding would be an understatement. Not only is it full of information on all the planning and work that went into the creation and production of Monitor, it also has some wonderfully funny behind-the-scene stories. Regards, Clay Redden August 14, 2002 Comments: Hi, Dennis, My copy of your book "Monitor" arrived three days ago and I just finished devouring it. Thank you for writing it -- this was a book that needed to be written. In case you're wondering how diverse an audience your site (and book) is reaching, I was born a year and a half before the Beacon sounded for the last time. But just because I wasn't able to hear it then doesn't mean I can't enjoy the site, or the book, or the memories any less. (Or make me any less upset that "Monitor" received such short shrift when Pat Weaver died.) Thank you for writing it -- for making me learn, for making me laugh, for making me remember a lot of people I remember fondly (albeit from different programs) and for making me want to recapture a whole different time in American radio. By the by, I worked in radio (all too briefly, alas) and am now in higher education, in the Department of Communications at Newberry College in Newberry, SC (I'm Department Chair, at the moment...I was thrilled to learn you're also an educator). Since I've taken over the department, we've begun retooling it, as well as our internet radio station (and we're still s-l-o-w-l-y awaiting our FCC license for a low-power FM station). Honesty compels me to admit that as my colleagues and I have thought about what kind of programming to put on the station, the thought of some form of "Monitor" continues to intrigue me. No reason why a college radio station can't go places and do things, too. Thank you again for a much-needed book, and for a website that continues to be a joy every time I visit. I wish you continued success, and I'll keep watching (and listening)! Jodie Peeler Assistant Professor of Communications Newberry College August 9, 2002 Comments: Stumbled onto this website purely by accident. What memories! I can recall as a kid listening to Monitor on Sunday afternoons. Sundays could be boring at times and Monitor was always a great friend. I especially liked Jim Lowe. Hans P. Bosse July 22, 2002 Comments: Hello, Dennis! I love your MONITOR tribute pages -- please keep up the good work!!!! Rodger Dillon July 10, 2002 Comments: Hello Dennis! I just stumbled upon the Monitor web site this week and find it fascinating. Rest assured that I will be visiting the site often. I always thought the NBC chimes were the be-all and end-all of broadcasting. Still do. And the Monitor beacon sounds were right behind it. I remember as a kid, listening to the radio, when I would demand that everybody around me shut up as the hour and half-hour approached so I could hear the chimes. I was a big Monitor fan from beginning to end. In fact, it used to anger my wife when I insisted on listening to Monitor in the car and not to her! It made for some interesting marital moments. It certainly was a sad day when they pulled the plug. Best regards, Dick Sutliff News Editor-Anchor, WGN Radio Chicago July 4, 2002 Comments: Greetings! What a wonderful site. I'm a 30 broadcaster who was raised on Monitor on WKBO 1230 in Harrisburg, PA. I need the help of this site to find JBT. John Bartholomew Tucker, who hosted Treasure Isle, an ABC game show from Palm Beach, Florida. I'm also looking for the announcer/producer of the show, Bill Templeton. The last I heard JBT was the Dirt Devil commercials several years ago. Hope you can help. Brian Freeman brian_freeman@metronetworks.com June 16, 2002 Comments: Mr. Hart, I stumbled across this site looking for something I know not what. A fabulous tribute to a (sadly) bygone era in American broadcasting. If only someone somewhere was still doing a program like this; I'd love to be a part of it! Robert W. Leu Leipsic, Ohio USA June 13, 2002 Comments: The audio clips sent shivers through me on one of the hottest days of the year. What a great site. Dennis Dunbar June 12, 2002 Comments: Hello Dennis! After an abortive first attempt to get a copy of your book (my order sat in limbo for more than a month), I finally acquired one and have to say that I'm tremendously impressed! There are so many wonderful anecdotes and inside stories, and it is all so well documented, I can't imagine anyone giving Monitor a more fitting or loving tribute. For my part, I was surprised to learn that so many of the interviews were recreated for broadcast using tape -- I would have thought it a pretty risky concept given the state of the art at the time, and I'm sure the example of a problem with the tape sequencing you mention in your book wasn't the only one! I was also shocked to learn that WNBC had stopped carrying the program on AM as early as 1970. How could they have expected other stations to clear it under those circumstances? In fact, after reading the later chapters, I should be thankful that, like everyone in Pittsburgh, I was spared the indignity of hearing Monitor's long, slow decline (the last broadcast to be aired there was in March 1973, when NBC's sale of its station went through). For as many years as Monitor ran on NBC, and as many listeners as it commanded, I must admit I'm surprised at the number of people who remember it so fondly today. I had always assumed that as good as it was, the program sort of fell through the cracks, between the old-line network era and the age of local format radio. Certainly the program's purpose from a network and advertising standpoint was to bridge those eras, and for a while it did so very well. It's a chapter in radio history that is worthy of documenting as you have in the book and your website, and your title "The Last Great Radio Program" says it all. All of us who remember it fondly owe you a debt of gratitude. Hoping all is well with you. Best regards, W.T. Koltek June 11, 2002 Comments: What a wonderful site! If there are any fans of The Joy Boys (Ed Walker and Willard Scott), they may remember their parody of Monitor, "NBC Janitor," and their character "Miss Janitor" in particular. You can hear those clips and many other funny things at The Joy Boys' Official Website, www.thejoyboys.com Thanks for keeping the Monitor Beacon going! Best Wishes, Lee Withers June 7, 2002 Comments: Your site is excellent; I listened to the broadcast tonight and ordered the book. More streaming of actual shows would be awesome! Thank you so much for your energy in putting together this site. I listened almost every weekend growing up and this has brought back such excellent memories. Mark St. John May 31, 2002 Comments: Dear Dennis: What a wonderful surprise it was to learn about the website for and your book about Monitor. I had the incredible good fortune to have worked as a production assistant on Monitor from 1971 to Dec. 1974. I was still in college when I started and the Monitor gang was like a second family to me. I was working on the Sunday afternoon shift with Ted Brown, Bill Malcolm (the producer) and Bill O'Connell (the writer) and when Ted left NBC to go back to WNEW , Art Fleming took over. Working with Ted was more fun than you could imagine and I was not thrilled when Art stepped in... until he and the girl he was dating at the time introduced me to the girl's brother who was visiting from Virginia. We met in Studio 5 B and have been married for 25 years. I have so many wonderful memories about my time at Monitor...I left to work in the newsroom at WNBC radio where I ended up on the morning shift with Imus and stayed there until I left for Virginia at the end of 1975...But my time at Monitor can never be matched (Durwood Kirby used to refer to the Monitor office as a huge playpen with typewriters). We argued, worked and played like a big family. I still keep in touch with some of those great friends... one even ended up here in Harrisonburg as the news director at the local TV station where I worked for many years. I am going to order a copy of your book right away and will look forward to reading it. Thank you ! Best Wishes, Suzanne Lavalle Bothamley May 20, 2002 Comments: I just stumbled across your website while doing some research on early radio. Somewhere in a closet I should still have the very last day of "Monitor" on tape airchecked from KSTR, Grand Junction, Colorado. I had my own radio commercial production company in Colorado at that time in 1975, and was always a fan of "Monitor." I remember growing up listening to "Monitor" on KSD in St. Louis in the 50's and 60's. Steve Schmidt Phoenix, Arizona May 20, 2002 Comments: What a great site! Thanks so much for all your hard work in putting it together. I remember my parents listening to Monitor while I grew up in Philadelphia. I enjoyed it right along with them. The communicators had a great impact on my career, as I now co-host the morning show on KOIT in San Francisco. Thanks again! Jack Kulp San Francisco, CA May 20, 2002 Comments: Dennis, It's a delight to discover there's a chronicle about one of the truly great shows that inspired me to get into broadcasting as a lifelong career. Listening to Jim Lowe (who's a personal friend) and Ted Brown were the basis for my technicolor dreams of getting into the studio. Unfortunately "Monitor" went off the air before I could get there. And I think I still have the tape somewhere of Don Imus' "killer line" segments. He and the Wolfman took the show to a new dimension. Anyway, should you get to do a "satellite tour" to pitch the book, or happen be vacationing in the Ozarks, get in touch! Our local Barnes & Noble said it would be a month before my order comes in. (I don't trust their on-line ordering website). So I'll have to be patient. Best regards, Steve Grant, KY3-TV News Anchor (NBC), Springfield Missouri May 20, 2002 Comments: I was an NBC Radio Network News Anchorman during the early 1970s and worked often on Monitor with Gene Rayburn, Big Wilson, Jim Lowe, Henry Morgan and all the other great hosts. It was an honor to be a small part of Monitor in the last years of the broadcast. I listened to Monitor in the mid 50s on WFLA in Tampa, Florida where I was an announcer for the CBS affiliate, WDAE. When I moved to New York City I worked first at the ABC Radio Network, and then NBC, where I become part of the "Monitor Family." It's one of my most treasured memories of broadcasting. Thanks for the Web Site and the book. John Bohannon May 12, 2002 Comments: I grew up listening to the Monitor Beacon. I was 10 years old when Monitor came on the air. I remember my parents and I listening to it on a gray plastic tube model clock radio from our home in San Antonio, Texas. It came over the NBC affiliate in San Antonio - WOAI clear channel at 1200 on the AM dial. As I grew up and loved listening to Top 40 radio I would still listen to Monitor on the weekends. I am glad I found your site because I often think of Monitor and wish we still had it today. I recently thought of how Monitor could be done today and cablecast on MSNBC at the same time it is on radio. I think it would be a hit again with some minor changes. I mentioned Monitor to President Clinton once and he remembered listening to it on stations from Hot Springs and Little Rock. He said it would give him a feeling that people all over America were sharing the events on Monitor. Sincerely, Ambassador S. Christopher Hagin Fayetteville, GA May 4, 2002 Comments: Hi Dennis, Just wanted to congratulate you on 15,000 hits which occurred at 9:54pm PDT on Sunday 4-28-2002. It proves that more than a few people are interested in my favorite radio subject - Monitor. Again, congratulations on this milestone. Don Spuhler Fontana, CA April 28, 2002 Editor's note: Don was our very first visitor to this website on Oct. 22, 2000. He also wrote us very nice notes on our 3,000th, 5,000th and 10,000th hits. For years, he listened to Monitor on KFI in Los Angeles and on other Southern California stations. Thanks, Don. Comments: Dennis, I truly miss "Monitor" and I'm grateful to you for providing this wonderful website which pays tribute to a milestone in radio programming. Thanks for the photos of Big Wilson, whom I listened to for years. After "Monitor," Big left NYC and moved south to Miami. He was very successful there on radio as well as TV, where he hosted late-night movies. He was a great talent. Did you know that "Monitor" is featured in a movie? "September 30, 1955" concerns the effect of James Dean's death on a circle of friends in a small town. In one scene, these young people are in a car where the radio's been tuned to NBC for a special report about Dean. They hear "Monitor," complete with the Beacon sounder. Just started reading your "Monitor" book. I'm enjoying it very much. Mike S. April 23, 2002 Comments: Great book. I always admired the Rayburns, Cullens, and McMahons, but now I equally admire the producers, writers, and engineers who 52 weeks a year for 20 years accomplished the impossible: putting together a first-class radio show from scratch. Bravo Monitor!!!! Radio has not been the same since 1/26/75. Ken Schwartz Voice of America April 21, 2002 Comments: I remember NBC Radio's "Monitor" which was aired in bits and pieces in 1969/70 on 700 WLW, Cincinnati. I was a teenager at the time who was very curious (and fascinated) about the field. When Gene Rayburn's segment ended with the NBC "chimes" on Saturday nights I would scurry the AM dial when 700 WLW would do local sports programming. I would then try to scout out 66 WNBC New York or 67 WMAQ Chicago to hear Murray The K interview Mick Jagger. "Monitor" just wasn't for the old folks or for "traditional middle of the road" audiences..it was for the young people of that time too. Never got to hear Wolfman Jack (God rest his soul) on Monitor but I do remember him singing along with the 66WNBC jingle late at night in the 80s before fading into memories and Top 40 pop on AM with it. NBC Radio/The Source (along with its competitor Mutual both swallowed up by Westwood One thanks to GE's arrogance and greed) will remain in my memories for NBC intoduced me to Murray The K,The Wolfman and Mutual as well who gave us Larry King and The Dick Clark National Music Survey. Jim Linthicum Piqua, OH April 19, 2002 Comments: Hi, Dennis, This is really a great effort you have undertaken in the name of Monitor Radio. I remember the service well. The audio clips are great. Many a time when I have signed on to the internet I would be reminded of the Monitor tones. Again, great job. Tom Mattrocce April 13, 2002 Comments: I've really enjoyed your website since discovering it a few months back. I was a big fan of Monitor, particularly when Gene Rayburn and Joe Garagiola hosted... but unfortunately it had left the air two years before I began my weekend career in radio with what was then the NBC Radio affiliate in Montgomery Alabama (WCOV-AM). Again, thanks for a great site. Clay Redden Prattville, Alabama April 12, 2002 Comments: I am a lawyer. In the late 50s, as a teenager I was fascinated with broadcasting and was a Monitor fan, and while on a family vacation to New York, we toured NBC and I saw Radio Central. In the early 80s, as a lawyer, I represented a new TV station going on the air and we visited NBC in New York, to work out an affiliation contract. With my client who was a veteran broadcaster, we looked around the place and came to a picture window looking in on a DJ show. We went inside and visited with a newscaster who did newscasts for the NBC radio network. I looked around the studio, filled with a live DJ show. I noticed the facade running across the room with clocks from various points of the world, and I realized I was in Monitor's Radio Central. The booths at the back under the facade are still there, but in front where the Communicators were, there is now controls and desks and microphones for a DJ show. Of course, even that is gone now as WNBC Radio went off the air. I eagerly await the arrival of your book from Amazon! Darrell Davis April 12, 2002 Comments: Hi, Dennis! I had thought the official book on NBC's 75th anniversary ("Brought To You In Living Color") wasn't supposed to be in bookstores until next week (April 15th-19th). However, today (April 10th), I saw copies at the Barnes & Nobles store nearest my home. I decided to briefly look through the book. The only mention of "Monitor" is in a two-paragraph portion of the article on Sylvester "Pat" Weaver. It compares "Monitor" to some of today's NPR fare. I personally think "Brought To You In Living Color" should have had two more pages, so it could have had an article on "Monitor". Perhaps the article might have been titled "The Show That Saved Radio". Joseph Gallant April 10, 2002 Comments: Dennis, this is a great website. David Firth Fresno, California April 8, 2002 Comments: Well, I'm amazed to have found this site, and, like a few others, mistakenly assumed that I was the only person cherisihing memories of "Monitor" from my childhood. I mentioned on my radio program, upon the occasion of Pat Weaver's passing, his contribution to radio, as well as the more-mentioned television inventions, but that was before I discovered this site. I have about a full hour, maybe 4-5 p.m. PT, of Dave Garroway on Sunday monitor very early, taped on a wollensak. Otherwise, just memories of Bob & Ray, and lots of live music, and being introduced to music--who chose the records for early Monitor?, some great taste--that I still love. Harry Shearer April 8, 2002 Comments: Dennis: Several years ago my wife gave me for Christmas videos of A Hard Day's Night and Help. Even though I was a great Beatles fan growing up, I somehow managed to miss seeing these when they came out. I've yet to watch them. Not because I'm not interested mind you, but because I know that when I do, it will mean the end of the Beatles for me. I will have seen and heard all that they'll ever have done. I got that same feeling half way through your wonderful book--I knew how it was going to end and I didn't want it to end. But finish it I did and I want to express my appreciation for your giving Monitor some measure of immortality. You didn't have to quote me in it, but I'm honored to be included in some small way. You really made the story come alive and vividly reminded me why I spent so many of my weekend hours listening to Monitor. My only regret is not having listened more. I found it especially poignant that the crew tried and failed to let managment allow them to do one last old style Monitor program there near the end. That would have been a fitting send-off to the great program--going places and doing things again! I never heard Red Barber host a Monitor segment but you may know that he retired to Tallahassee, FL--right down the road from where I live. Towards the end of his life he contributed bits to NPR on a weekly basis. I ran into him a time or two at the Publix supermarket, but never had the nerve to actually speak to him. Had I known of his Monitor connection, I would have loved to have sat down to hear his recollections. Such a lost opportunity! Anyway, thanks again for Monitor the book. It sure was a great program. Thomas J. Frieling Bainbridge College April 8, 2002 Comments: Dennis, Congratulations on the publication of "Monitor." I just finished the book this afternoon, and it brought back many wonderful memories. For those of us who remember the broadcast both as listeners and as local station staffers, you have provided a complete picture of the Monitor experience. I thought I knew a lot about the show already. Your book, however, has filled in many gaps and provided a real sense of what it was like to get the whole thing on the air weekend after weekend. Thanks for pulling it all together for the rest of us. I'm sure it was a labor of love. Best wishes, Dan Everett Arlington, Massachusetts March 31, 2002 Comments: Good Morning! I came upon your website as I was searching for references to my father, Frank Blair. As you know, dad passed away in 1995. Your site brought back so many memories for me. As kids we all appeared on the TODAY Show many times and traveled with the show to places like Disneyland and Atlantic City. I also accompanied my dad to work many times through the years. I can remember the Monitor studio so well and will never forget getting off the elevator and wondering who would be on the air as we passed by the window.
March 29, 2002 Editor's note: Thank YOU for writing, Ms. Grisham. Your father was one of the giants in broadcast journalism, and a fine, fine Monitor host for many years. Comments: Dennis, you may remember an earlier post, not long after the website first went up. I've been checking in periodically since then and always like going through it. I'm especially glad that WALN has started airing "Monitor" highlights on Fridays. I don't know how long they've been doing it, but I found it for the first time this past week. I especially liked Jim Lowe's 1963 salute to Groucho Marx. I haven't heard so much of "Monitor" in years--it was almost like going back in time. I have two questions: In the montage of "Monitor" themes, just after one of my favorites, the "Gallop", Frank McGee introduces a segment as "a half-hour that will no doubt stir the memories of hundreds of thousands of 'Monitor' listeners". It ended there. I'm curious. Does anyone know what he was referring to? I haven't had a chance to read the book yet, but I will look for it. As I said in my previous post, I'm glad "Monitor" is finally getting its due. Will Burpee, Springfield IL March 26, 2002 Editor's note: Will is referring to Monitor rebroadcasts now airing on the Internet via WALN Radio in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Friday nights from 10 to 11 p.m. ET. You can hear those broadcasts by clicking on the link on the front page of this website. Frank McGee's introduction is to a half-hour segment with that great radio newscaster Raymond Gram Swing. As for the Kennedy assassination (on Friday, Nov. 22, 1963), Monitor produced a multi-hour special on his life and death that weekend. Comments: Dennis, I saw that the book was out a couple of weeks ago....ordered one from Amazon. It arrived yesterday and I read it cover to cover. Its hard to believe that I used to run it 35 years ago now. Good job. Ralph Gould March 21, 2002 Comments: Dennis, I just got finished reading Monitor. Fantastic job. An exceptionally easy read and well-documented. Told me things I didn’t know, such as having two hosts in the beginning. I’m sorry I don’t remember that. There actually is something I’m not old enough to remember. Your assessment of the later years of Monitor was right on the money. Bud Drake’s and Charles Garment’s assessments were also sadly true: NBC did cut the heart out of it, especially cutting back to 12 hours with repeats. I have to agree with Mr. Weaver: NBC should have called him. He’s right about something else: the aural medium has its place that television can’t substitute for. I’ve been meaning to say something about the Updates but I see you’ve covered it very well. Thanks for devoting so much space to my favorite Henry Morgan in the communicators chapter. And, I’m certain he could be a pain at times, as obviously was my other idol Mr. Garroway. Even the click got mentioned. I could never understand why we heard the click. I thought maybe it was the sound of a cough-switch near the microphone, but you suggest that the microphone was activated inside the control room. I heard it every weekend for years both before and after the host said something. Didn’t anybody else notice it besides us? I never heard it on any other program. Seems like they finally cured it in the 70s; but why did it take so long? Metairie, Louisiana March 20, 2002 Comments: Stupendous, Exquisite, Marvelous, Outstanding, in plain words, "Damn Good!" I finished your book yesterday. I recalled much of the contents as I read on and there was much I did not know. Gene Garnes Sr. March 20, 2002 Editor's note: Mr. Garnes had a long association with Monitor as a studio engineer. Comments: Dennis: Congratulations on the publication of your history of Monitor! I just ordered my copy from Amazon and look forward to reading it this weekend. If only I could be listening to Monitor then as well. And sorry to learn of the death of the great Pat Weaver, but thanks to your efforts, I'm sure he will be fondly remembered by all of our fellow Monitor fans. Thomas J. Frieling Bainbridge College March 18, 2002 Comments: Dennis, I was saddened by the death of a true radio genius, Pat Weaver. Upon hearing of his death this past weekend, I immediately paid tribute to him on my Saturday radio show on WALN Cable FM. A memorial tribute was posted on WALN's digital cable TV channel, where it will continue to be displayed for the rest of this week. NBC will NEVER be the same! However, Monitor will continue to live on the internet, through your exquisite web site and Friday nights at 10 PM E.T. on WALN Cable FM. Thanks for all your support in this new endeavor and lasting tribute to the Last Great Radio Network Show, "Monitor". This was the program that was instrumental and a guidance to my radio career, which began in the mid 60's at WSAN 1470 AM in Allentown, PA. Jack Burns Owner, WALN Cable FM Allentown, PA March 18, 2002 Comments: When I heard of Mr. Weaver's passing, I watched "Today" expecting hear of all of his accomplishments in their tribute, but to my surprise, "Monitor" was not mentioned. I thought it deserved at least a mention, especially in this, the year of NBC's 75th anniversary. "Monitor" is just as much a part of their history as "Today", "Tonight", "Cosby", and "Seinfeld"...and deserves much more recognition. That is why your website is so great and once again, thank you for creating it. I will be buying your book...you can count on that. I'm looking forward to reading it. Lewis A. Bode Cana, VA. March 18, 2002 Comments: I want to add my condolences to all Monitor personnel and fans concerning the death of it's founder, Pat Weaver. I have visited this site every month since it's inception. What wonderful memories!! Eric Cooper March 18, 2002 Comments: Dennis, I was saddened to hear about the death of Mr. Weaver, a true innovator and what a legacy he leaves. I was listening to NBC Nightly News on Sunday evening and they did mention his passing and the fact that he was behind "Today" and "Tonight" -- but no mention of "Monitor." So much for tradition and history. My condolences to his family and friends. I finished your book on Sunday and it is fantastic! More than just a history (although that in itself would have been great), your "behind the scenes" stories from the people that were there adds another dimension to your book. Congrats once again for a job well done!! terry morgan (G-E-C) March 18, 2002 Comments: Dennis, I went to the Monitor Site today to check for a tribute to Pat Weaver after hearing of his passing on this afternoon's "All Things Considered". The NPR story included nary a mention of "Monitor", which immediately drew a good-natured protest e-mail from me. I was happy to see the notice of your new book. Congratulations -- I am off to the local Borders to see if it is yet in stock and am very much looking forward to reading it. I downloaded the "More Monitor Themes" and occasionally play it when I need a "pick-me-up" during the day. Thanks again for your efforts. Roger Easton Scottsville, NY (used to listen to Monitor on WRC-AM 980 in Washington DC) March 17, 2002 Comments: Dennis, I was sorry to hear that Pat Weaver had died Friday. I don’t think his genius is recognized as much as it should be. He revolutionized broadcasting. His trick was simple: let content rather than the clock determine programming, make programming fit the audience’s needs rather than the other way around. And to put it all together, he gave us communicators who talked to us at home personally, one-to-one. There were others who were making broadcasting less formal and more personal, the Chicago School, Dave Garroway, Steve Allen, Henry Morgan, Gene Rayburn, but Pat Weaver was the godfather nationally. It’s too bad that his obituary on the Today show and MSNBC only mentioned Today and Tonight. Louis Castaing Metairie, Louisiana March 17, 2002 Comments: I would assume that you've heard that Pat Weaver died last night, apparently peacefully in his sleep. Your book is now a tribute to his memory. Jim Wilson Fresno, California March 17, 2002 Comments: I was saddened to hear last night (March 16th) that Sylvester "Pat" Weaver has passed away. He was perhaps the most innovative executive in the history of American broadcasting. I don't think anyone else could have gotten something like "Monitor" on the air. At least he did leave a memoir, which I have had the chance to read. And, appparantly, he did sit down with you to remininsce about "Monitor" before he passed away, which is in your upcoming book about "Monitor". I hope the success of book and the website will lead to a "Monitor"-type show coming back to radio. I think there would be many talk-formatted stations who might prefer a "Monitor"-type show to either re-running shows aired live during the previous week or the second-string syndicated talk shows now available on weekends. I hope that when NBC-TV airs the "NBC 75th Anbiversary Special" in May that the program will be dedicated to Pat Weaver. There is no person more deserving of such an honor. Joseph Gallant Norwood, Massachusetts (where, as a small child, I would occassionally hear "Monitor" on WEZE, later on WCOP, both from Boston) March 17th, 2002 Comments: To all who read this, A giant in this business said farewell this day. Pat Weaver has passed away at the age of 93. What a visionary! What can you say about a gentleman who created so much that lives to this day, either on the air, or in our memories like Monitor. He and his genius will be missed by all. Gary Walters Buffalo March 17, 2002 Comments: I just discovered your site and I immediately sought out and listened to the "Monitor Beacon." I swear the hair (what's left of it!) stood up on the back of my neck. As a kid in upstate NY, I used to listen to Monitor during the mid-60s -- mostly when my father and I were on our way to the Adirondacks and we tuned in WGY. Even as a kid, this show seemed so different. Instead of screaming jocks, there was actual news, information, conversation -- and a sense of continuity. What a concept! Many thanks for rounding up all this great stuff and letting people have a chance to hear it again. Ron Dylewski Pittsburgh March 16, 2002 Comments: Dennis, thank you for all the time, research and hard work you put in to write the Monitor book. With this book it's my hope that someone at NBC will bring back Monitor in some form. Charles Gossett Jr. Nashville March 16, 2002 Comments: Your Monitor site was a real memory flogger for me. Growing up in Southern California and with family trips throughout the West, it's strange how the sounds of Monitor evoke memories often of specific locations. Monitor actually was a very good radio program and they tried to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. After 30-35 years the personalities and features most memorable were the quirky beacon still etched in my mind in the exact pitch and rhythm, Gene Rayburn, Ed McMahon and Henry Morgan but none others for some reason, the remarkable Nichols and May and Al Capp stuff plus various news features. I may be wrong but it seems that NBC intended to replace Monitor with the way-ahead-of-its-time News & Information Service. NIS's problem was their scheduling was too rigid to allow CNN type breakaways and coverage. Too bad. They had a lot of fine talent which still pops up now and then. Thanks again for your efforts with this site. Bob Elliott Meridian, MS March 14, 2002 Comments: Dennis, Congrats on reaching the lucky 13K mark!!! The website keeps getting better and better. You are not only commemorating Monitor, but the great NBC Radio Network and the people who made it great. terry morgan (G-E-C) March 11, 2002 Comments: Thank you, thank you, thank you. I grew up listening to Monitor on NBC Radio. And from its earliest days in 1955 to the very last, I remained a fan. The first hour, if I recall correctly, was simulcast on Dave Garroway's "Wide Wide World," on the NBC Television Network. I have had a wonderful career on the air over the years and consider myself very fortunate. I had always wanted to be on the radio but Monitor gave me a big push in that direction. Just a year or so after Monitor premiered, I was part of "The NBC Teen Workshop," a Junior Achievement project in which executives taught us about broadcasting. We would meet at 30 Rock on Friday nights and would often sit in with Sandy Becker as he hosted Friday Night Monitor in Studio 5B, Radio Central. As part of the workshop, I met the men who would give me my first job in radio at the age of 16. Mel Leads and the legendary Rick Sklar hired me to be "The Teenage Disk Jockey" on New York's WINS after doing a "monitor-style" interview with them in NBC Studio 8B. I went on to work at New York stations, WCBS, WRFM, WPIX-FM, WQCD, WLTW, WWRL and presently at WBBR. But nothing can ever match the thrill of being hired at NBC, where as an NBC News correspondent in the mid-70's, just after Monitor's demise, I did broadcasts from Studios 5B, 5A and 5C, so much a part of Monitor's illustrious past. I remained at the NBC Radio Network and New York o&o's WNBC and WNWS, later WYNY for 15 terrific years. But I can remember sitting in my attic bedroom as a teenager on Long Island taping Monitor segments on weekend mornings, typing out verbatim's of the scripts and taping them on my new Webcor tape recording with it's geen eye level indicator, making believe I was a Monitor communicator. That practice helped me perfect reading out loud and gave me some of the skills I still use on the air each day. The pictures on your site of Radio Central bring back such wonderful memories as I stood before the glass "fishbowl" on the 5th Floor at 30 Rock listening to the magic from within. And the sound files on the website get take me back to the days of Gene Rayburn, Don Russell, Wayne Howell, Dave Garroway, Bob & Ray, Tedi Thurman and most of all, Pat Weaver. Thank you, thank you, thank you. So from a broadcaster who is as much in love in radio as I was in 1955..."You're on the Monitor beacon, on the NBC Radio Network." Sincerely, Mitch Lebe March 2, 2002 Comments: Dennis, I’m glad to see that you’re pushing ahead with your plans for the new (secret) project. I’m eager to see what you’ll come up with. You’re site is one that I visit almost every weekend. You’re to be commended for keeping it constantly updated. It still amazes me that a radio program that went off the air almost 30 years ago has such an avid following. I used to think I was the only one listening. But, I guess that’s the way radio is Louis Castaing March 1, 2002 Comments: Just wanted to say how much I enjoy the Monitor website. It brings back great memories of my teen years in the 1960s when I spent weekends listening to Monitor instead of doing homework. Roger Easton February 28, 2002 Comments: I don't have speakers on my computer so I can't listen to the aural history, but just reading the text and looking at the pictures helps bring back memories. My grandparents in Ashland, Oregon, didn't own a TV and when we visited, Monitor would be played at least one day of the visit from a station in Medford, OR. I also remember listening in 1974(?) to I believe it was KUGN in Eugene to Monitor one Sunday afternoon and from the host, got the impression that Monitor was nearing the end of its run. But I don't think it was JBT that was the host, it was a "sub." Do you have any lists of the hosts that filled in? It seems like he was a DJ, but had also done some TV work. Any ideas? Steve Bruce February 20, 2002 Comments: Thanks for the program listings. Your webpage brings back so many memories. Weekends meant "Monitor" in my parents home and if we traveled anywhere, the car radio was tuned in. I visit your outstanding website often. Keep up the good work! Dave Eads February 9, 2002 Comments: Just wanted you to know I've spent the last hour perusing the website..after finally getting speakers back with the computer from another part of the house. Boy! Did the memories start perking. I produced the short-lived weeknight MONITOR in 1960...then directed EMPHASIS for the next eight years. Then in '68 was Manager of Program Ops and kind of renewed the connection with MONITOR when the AD'S and directors reported to me. Then in '72 as Program Director for the Radio Network it was during my watch that two years later, MONITOR left the air. (Not one of my best memories.) Anyway...listening to some of the great excerpts you've included was a treat. Hearing the promos by the staff announcers like Radcliffe Hall, Jerry Damon...and the News on the Hour guys like Morgan Beatty and Dean Mell. Living in the New York area we listened to local stations like WNEW...and it was on that station we could hear Ted Brown. He was an absolute kick...and when he joined the MONITOR family of "communicators"...the scripts always left plenty of time for him to just run free with an ad lib discourse...which sure was obvious as one listened to the excerpts you have. And I vividly remember the expletive moment that Gene Rayburn had to deal with coming out of a hourly news. And, of course, hearing the beepers sure brought it all back. OH!...and I was the director in the announce booth with Frank McGee and Martin Luther King, Jr. during that wonderful interview. I had a few minutes alone with Rev. King when Frank had to go back to his office for something, and will never forget our exchange. It was an emotional moment for me because I admired him so much, and what he was doing. I asked him if he thought people's hearts would ever change enough for the country to really become color blind and he responded by saying changing and instituting laws has to be the first priority, and though we probably wouldn't see it in our lifetime, hearts and minds would ultimately follow. Then Frank returned and continued the interview. Incidentally, I always thought Frank was one of the best news correspondents, if not the best at one time, on the network. His untimely death after a relatively short battle with cancer was a shock to us all. That's enough...congratulations on a great effort. Keep it going!! Peter Flynn February 8, 2002 Comments: Thanks for recalling Monitor. I was "on the board" and doing network fills in Monitor on weekends in 1957 and 1958 at WDEL in Wilmington, Delaware. It was great radio, and clearly the precursor and model for NPR's All Things Considered and Morning (Weekend) Edition. Thanks again. Frank Kelly (now at WDUQ Pittsburgh) February 3, 2002 Comments: Dennis, congrats on reaching the 12K mark on the website. Well done!! terry morgan (G-E-C) February 1, 2002 Comments: In responses to Don, Louis and Ed's comments about the tone used at the top of the hour for Monitor's news: WSM had a tone at the top of each hour which sounded with NBC's tone at the top of each hour. Sometimes WSM's tone was a second before the NBC tone. During the 50's though sometime in the early 80's, most of the 50,000 watt stations in the East used their own tones along with NBC's tone at the top of the hour. Charles Gossett Jr Nashville TN January 28, 2002 Comments: As Ed Ryba mentions, there was a tone to mark the top of the hour that came before the actual news sounder. Ed’s got well-tuned ears to know it was 400 Hz. Does anyone know when the news was expanded an extra 30 seconds and when the announcer was dropped? Also, at sometime in the 60’s, the format changed slightly to provide two minutes and 10 seconds of fill after the news for locals to do news and weather. My understanding is that, when Monitor cut back to 15 hours, those time slots coincided with what was called “network option” time, time the network could claim from affiliates by contract. It wasn’t until somewhat later that the Sunday 2-3 hour was added. Am I wrong? It’s amazing to me that there is a site like this and that so many other people remember Pat Weaver’s other baby (not Sigourney, Today, Tonight, and Home). Keep up the good work. Louis Castaing January 27, 2002 Editor's note: News on the Hour was reduced from a running time of 5:30 to 5 minutes in late 1973. The "annnouncer" who introduced both it and the newscaster had been eliminated a bit earlier, leaving the newscaster to intro himself and the news. Yes, it was in the '60s when Monitor's start time was "delayed" for 2-minutes, 10-seconds after NOTH so that local stations could insert local commercials, news, weather, etc. And, yes, Monitor's weekend schedule was reduced from about 32 to 15 hours in early 1961. Those hours coincided with network option time. Later, a 16th hour was added, from 2 to 3 p.m. ET on Sundays. Comments: RE: Ed Ryba January 23 Post The sound you are describing sounds like the NBC News on the hour sounder for Mon.-Friday weekday news. I'm fairly sure Monitor News always had the Beacon Sounder until the 70's (was it 73 or 74 when news on the hour did away with the beacon sounder, Dennis???) when stations started deserting Monitor in favor of local programming. Don Spuhler Fontana, CA January 26, 2002 Editor's note: The Monitor Beacon was on weekend News on the Hour until November 3, 1973, when NBC bowed to affiliates that were not clearing Monitor and gave weekend NOTH the same sounder the weekday versions had. Comments: WOW! A very cool site. I haven't even gotten all the way through it yet, but I'm already bowled over. One question. Wasn't there another Monitor News Noise besides the one made from Telco tones? I think it may have been used in the early- to mid-1960's. As I recall, coming up on the top of the hour, the Telco-tone Noise would fade out. There would be a network ID with announcer and chimes. Then NBC's "top of the hour" tone for .5 seconds (analogous to the 1KHz beep the ABC Information Radio Network used before their newscast...I think NBC's was 400 Hz). Then a different news noise made from a low-tuned tympani hit and what sounded like sped-up sonar came up and the newscaster would jump in with "NBC Monitor News!" and start his lead story. To me, the sound conjured up a mental image of a hyperactive lighthouse beacon with a powerful beam. Am I hallucinating, or did this other News Noise exist? Is there a recording? Ed Ryba January 23, 2002 Comments: Greetings from Ithaca, NY. From 1970 to 1971 I worked at Fred A Niles Communications on West End Avenue, specifically assisting Helen Hall for her Helen Hall radio productions. During that time she shared with me and our production engineer David Faulkner, stories about her days at NBC Monitor. She had a very good friend named Mimi (can't remember the last name) who was still at Monitor in the early 70's, whom she would frequently meet for lunch. In exploring your website, I could not find anything about her, but the picture of "Miss Monitor" Tedi Thurman bore a very striking resemblance, especially the eyes. Are they one and the same? She told us during her years there she had covered Queen Elizabeth's coronation in the 1950's for Monitor, a very memorable event for her. One funny story was about doing a live remote from Coney Island riding the infamous Cyclone. She had a "nemo" with her in the same car, and throughout the ride found herself alternately fainting and coming to again. To watch and listen to her tell this tale was a total scream! The sound engineer was fine but Helen was a wreck. Do you know if Helen is still around and if so what is she doing? She was a wonderful person to work with and for. Sincerely, Patricia A. Janovsky January 23, 2002 Editor's note: The "Mimi" that Patricia mentions is not Tedi Thurman. We do not know if Helen Hall is still around, and we'd love someone to tell us. But you can hear her famous Monitor remote from that wild Coney Island ride on the Sounds of Monitor page, starting in February. Comments: I started listening to NBC radio's Monitor as a child living in a small town in southwestern Virginia in the early 1960's. At the time, I thought it was amazing that I could listen to a broadcast from New York City (most of what I otherwise heard was on a local station). It seemed that we always had a radio turned on, and I distinctly remember listening in my bedroom as the snow came down on winter Saturdays. We didn't have a legendary Philco or Emerson of my parents and grandparents' eras, but there was this magnificent multi-band radio receiver that captivated me for hours trying to pick up a far away signal late at night; however, on Saturdays it was always Monitor. I was eleven when we moved to Los Angeles in 1963 and I continued to listen to Monitor - now on radio station KFI - as it gave me a sense of continuity and something familiar while I adjusted to life in southern California, and then throughout my high school years. Later, when I went to college in Iowa, Monitor provided a second broadcast anchor, a comfort zone that helped me once again adjust to my new surroundings, especially on those wintry Saturdays in Ames when home was so far away. Henry Morgan, Mel Allen, Gene Rayburn, Bill Cullen, and the rest of the hosts were all a part of my weekend listening routine for years. I'm sure that to some degree my fond remembrance of Monitor is the inevitable nostalgic longing for a prior time (I'm beginning to sound like my parents), but I also know that something has been lost in today's radio. The music and news are still there, as is a discussion of current topics for talk radio fans, but there was something about having someone talk to you as though you were their guest or a friend that came to visit that somehow made it more enduring in my memory. Radio programs and hosts of that era cannot be found today. Many thanks for your web site and the obvious great amount of work that you put into it. Best wishes for continued success. Dennis Ramsey Mission Viejo, CA. January 13, 2002 Comments: Aaaah, we can only dream....!!!! What happened to all the great creative radio programs??? Thankfully we can still remember and access great web sites like this Monitor site. Thanks. Tony Runfalo Carencro, LA. January 1, 2002 Comments: Merry Christmas from Webster City,Iowa! I am visitor number 11,000 (on 12/24/01 )to your website for Monitor. What a great show it was in the 1960's. Too bad there is not a show of that caliber in the 21st century. Keep up the great work with all the wonderful memories of Monitor! Happy 2002! Sincerely, Pat Powers December 24, 2001 Comments: This is one of the best websites I have ever come across, and it has brought back so many pleasant memories. As a boy growing up, I followed my Dad around on weekends as he puttered about the house and yard; it seemed that he always had "Monitor" on his transitor radio which he carried everywhere. I only wish that he were still alive to share in the memories stirred up by your website. Jonah B. December 18, 2001 Comments: I was only 11 years old back in 1969 when I first started listening to Monitor at my Grandparents' house where it was never unusual for them to be listening to Monitor. I was interested in getting on audio tape or a record LP an entire Ted Brown show that was on Sunday afternoons. I liked the Monitor theme you had on the webpage that I think was called, "On The Go". It was the fast theme song (played like you were riding down the highway at 75 miles an hour). That is the way I described how fast the music went. I wonder if anyone out there has en entire weekend show from the 1970's Monitor. Write back if you have information on available Monitor programs on cassette tape or LP. An avid Monitor fan, Bobby December 17, 2001 Comments: Hi! Just wanted you to know what a terrific site this is. I'm 50 years old and can remember the point in the mid-sixties where "Monitor" would not fade away east of the Mississippi day or night as I drove around the eastern US with my father-- the coverage was so extensive that as one station faded, another took it's place. Of course at night several 50KW clear channel stations covered everything. BTW--you could take the NBC Tour in the 1960's and watch Monitor being produced! Evan Torch, MD Atlanta November 27, 2001 Comments: Just a note to say thanks to whoever maintains these pages. My own experience with Monitor was very brief. After all, I was born in the year when Monitor premiered, 1955. But for a while when I was in junior high school, I used to tune in now and then on Saturdays when Monitor was on KHQ AM in Spokane, Washington, where my family lived for a couple of years in the late 1960s. Monitor became a special thing for me, at age 13 & 14--I associated the program with the fun and relaxation of a Saturday afternoon. Cruising these pages brings back those wonderful Saturday afternoons of my early teens. Thanks again! Kelley Dupuis Baltimore, Maryland November 24, 2001 Comments: Dennis, Congratulations in breaking the 10,100 mark!! The site is terrific. BTW, NBC celebrated its 75th year the other day. I didn't hear anything about it on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC or, for that matter WW1/"NBC Radio". Take care, Terry Morgan (G-E-C) November 20, 2001 Comments: A nice website. I first heard Monitor in October, 1955, when riding to the Ohio State-Illinois football game in Columbus. We had WLW Radio - Cincinnati on the car radio. With its great signal, we heard the show all the way up. I listened to Monitor into the late 1960's when WLW finally began running local programming. (I never understood why they replaced it with a D.J. playing rock 'n roll 45's). I enjoyed hearing Mel Allen on Monitor. Not only did he give sports news, but on Saturday mornings in the early 60's, he hosted the show. Of course, I fondly recall hearing Dave Garroway. His low-key, easly-going style is something that I truly miss. There were others: Gene Rayburn, Brad Crandall, Frank McGee. Those comedy segments, too. Fibber McGee and Molly were on with little five-minute bits until Marian Jordan (Molly McGee) died in 1961. It's nice to hear the Monitor Beacon again. Thanks for including it. John Perin - Cincinnati November 19, 2001 Comments: Perhaps I'm the 10,001st contributor to the Monitor Guest Book?? If so, I'm honored to be in such great company!! Thank you for this wonderful web site filled with terrific, Monitor memories..and...a Happy 75th Anniversary to NBC. I was an NBC Page at The Merchandise Mart in Chicago (WMAQ) when "Monitor" was a weekend feature in the late-1950's. The staff announcers like Tom Mercein, Jim Hamilton, Gus Chan, Gregg Donovan and others would stroll into the announce booth to push the mic button after the NBC system cue to say "This is NBC, Chicago ...WMAQ" then, casually leave for the announcer's lounge until the next break. But I distinctly remember one time when Tom Mercein was walking very, very slowly through the lobby to the booth while the Monitor segment was concluding at the half-hour. He smiled as he walked by and said that he would be there, not to worry, he was "counting the number of steps" to time his exact moment of pushing the mic button. He always made it! The WMAQ studios were exceptionally quiet on Monitor weekends. There was an occasional program insert from Chicago in the Monitor schedule, a taped segement from Master Control, usually it was just the local station ID or local news brief that was the only "live" radio. The NBC experience was one of the first in my 40+ year career in broadcasting. I'll never forget those misfitting, Page uniforms, starched white shirt, a black tie and wearing the proud, NBC logo on the uniform shoulder badge. I'd enjoy hearing from others at NBC in The Mart in the late-1950's, former Pages, Operations, etc. or anyone who listened to Chicago radio stations from 1959-1962. Thanks for the reply. Russ Butler November 17, 2001 Comments: Hi Dennis, It looks like I am the 10,000th visitor to your Monitor Website. (3:09pm 11-15-01) It is truly a privilege to have been your 1st visitor and now your 10,000th. It was just around a year ago that you launched this site and I am proud to be a small part of it. Keep up the great Monitor work. Don Spuhler November 15, 2001 Editor's note: Yes, Don was our very first visitor on Oct. 22, 2000, when this site premiered. He wrote us very kind notes like the one above after our 3,000th and 5,000th hits this year. We are extremely gratified about the wonderful response to this site. It shows that there are, indeed, many of us fans of network radio's greatest program out there. And it gives us a warm feeling that we have received our 10,000th hit on this, the 75th anniversary (to the day) of the debut of the NBC Radio Network -- America's first network, and the home, of course, of Monitor. |