Chuck Dunaway

Chuck and Kendall visit with the Bush family in Houston (click photos for larger views)

 The Way I Remember It (Episode 17)

I was on the radio for over 45 years, and in all that time my voice was
recognized only once. In Oklahoma City, I couldn't keep count of the times
I was recognized, thanks to the TV show. It was amazing, and I'm sure the
television exposure was part of the reason for my huge ratings on the
radio.

WKY finally got competition, in the form of a 50,000 watt station on the
other side of town. KOMA was owned by Todd Storz, one of the acknowledged
creators of "Top 40" radio along with Gordon McLendon. We thought with
KOMA gunning for us we'd have a battle on our hands, but the battle never
happened. WKY was dominant and became even more dominant. Danny owned the
mornings and I owned the afternoons.

L to R: Steve Powell (Foreman Scotty), Chuck Dunaway (Hog Waller), WKY-TV Director George Dolney and Ron Pitts (Nobeard the Pirate) rehearse a Circle 4 Ranch adventure segment

KOMA paid Danny and I the ultimate compliment by naming one of their jocks
Chuck Dann. The KOMA crew sounded great, and was perceived as the
number-one station in Oklahoma City by people many miles away who could
hear it clear as a bell.

At WKY we were having fun with wild promotions and contests, and the fun
lasted for years. One day, Chuck Boyle spontaneously decided to hold a
hula-hoop contest on the front lawn of the studios. Within a few minutes,
the lawn was covered with hundreds of hula-hoopers trying to win some
records. In those days, at that radio station, it was easy to draw a crowd
just by mentioning something on the air.

One year the jocks decided to order some silly hats with "WKY" printed on
them, and sell the ugly hats at the Oklahoma State Fair. Of course,we
advertised them on the air as the "WIKY-WACKY" hats, adorned with the rare
toucan bird feather. The management allowed us to do things like that in
order to protect the franchise: our numbers were that hot. The guys took
turns selling the hats, and we all wore many-pocketed carpenter's aprons,
in which we kept change. We wore coveralls decorated with the station's
call letters, and we made a lot of cash at the fair. We even used station
vehicles to transport the hats to the fair, so essentially the radio
station was putting us in business.

The same year we sold hats at the Oklahoma State Fair, the movie
production of "State Fair," starring my old friend Pat Boone, and Ann-Margaret, came to
Oklahoma City to film car-racing scenes at the fairgrounds. WKY was asked
to drum up a crowd for shots of the grandstand. In return the DJs were
allowed to walk in front of the cameras as they shot the crowded stands.
We all took part, but Howard Clark must have walked in front of the cameras a
dozen times and all of Howard's passes made the final cut.

Foreman Scotty, Cowboy Bob and two young fans say goodbye to Hog  Waller who doesn't look too happy about leaving WKY and the Circle 4 Ranch

One day Pat Boone was scheduled to be interviewed on WKY-TV, so I decided
to surprise him in the dressing room. I opened the door and Pat said
"Don't I know you?" I guess I expected him to run up and hug me after the
adventures we'd shared in Fort Worth and Milwaukee.

Ann-Margaret had a record contract with RCA. She came to the WKY radio
studios and was one of the nicest people you'd ever meet. We danced a
little -- even though I don't dance -- and I was surprised at her petite
size. The motion picture screen shows everyone larger than life, which
ain't necessarily so, as I would learn many times in the years that
followed.

Another celebrity I met in Oklahoma City was embittered about the way his
career turned out. One night, Howard Clark and I offered Jerry Lee Lewis a
ride to a small club where he was performing. At the club, Jerry Lee became
very drunk, and while standing on a desk in the dressing room complained
that he should have been bigger than Elvis. He seemed too drunk to
perform, but perform he did, and broke everything in sight. Howard and I decided to
allow someone else the privilege of carrying Mr. Lewis back to his hotel.

-------

Being the star of a children's TV show was special, because your own
children could enjoy your fame. WKY-TV would air the kiddie program's
adventure segments tied into a one-hour package at 9:00 on Saturday
mornings. Usually I would have done a hop on Friday night, which meant I'd
sleep in on Saturday morning, waking up just in time to watch the Circle 4
Ranch adventures from bed. After the program, I'd be summoned to the front
yard by my children, who were holding court with dozens of other children.
Word of where "Hog Waller" lived was passed around quickly. My son would
give out the "Hog Waller" publicity pictures the TV station prepared for
distribution. The kids would ask me to "talk like Hog." I would, and my
children would be extra proud of their father. Most of my career I worked
day and night to provide, and I felt guilty for not spending more time
with my children, so those Saturday mornings were special.

WKY Radio DJ Chuck Dunaway dressed in his Hog Waller TV costume

Everything was going my way, and I couldn't imagine ever leaving Oklahoma
City. I had long since disposed of the Fiat Bianchino and the Ford, in
favor of a sports car and a Cadillac. I remember coming home from a hop
one night, stopping the car in the middle of nowhere, getting out and saying
to myself, "If I die right now, I've done it all." How untrue, as it turned
out.

The ratings for my radio show were super. On one occasion, 76 percent of
all radios turned on during my time slot were tuned to my program. Those
numbers soon resulted in a call from WABC in New York. Mike Joseph was on
the phone, and said because of my huge ratings they had been listening to
my program, and wanted me to come to New York and be a part of the new
WABC, in the 7:15 to 10:00 p.m. time slot. They told me that because drive
time in New York was so long, the shift they were offering was considered
part of drive time. I don't know if that's true or not and I don't really
care. The point is that, although I was happy where I was, I said, "That
sounds good, let's talk."

Insecure as most disc jockeys have always been, I let it be known that
WABC in New York had offered me a job. I said it loud and many times, then
thought nothing of it.

The amplifier for the headphones was located downstairs from the WKY
on-air studio. I had never known that, but I was about to find out.

One day I was running late taping the "Hog Waller" bits for TV, and had to
go on the air in costume, and hot from the television lights. It was the
wrong day to deal with a prank. When I reached the studio, my first record
had almost finished. I quickly sat down, put my earphones on my head,
opened the mike . . . and there was no sound in my earphones. I messed up
the first intro on my show. I called for an engineer and was forced to do
a couple of sets without earphones. Out of frustration, I messed up a couple
of more times. The engineer let me know that someone had turned down the
volume to the earphones at the amplifier downstairs.

Chuck Dunaway, Ron Pitts and Steve Powell getting ready for a TV taping of the Circle 4 Ranch

I put on a record and went to Danny Williams' office to complain, partly
because I knew WABC was listening, but mostly because I took pride in
doing a fluff-free and smooth program. Those years were by far my best years as
a DJ, and I seldom screwed up. When I got to Danny's office, I was mad as
hell, and wanted to know why anyone would turn down the earphone volume. I
stormed in and said, "Someone has turned down my cans!" Jerry Kunkle was
sitting in front of Danny's desk and began to get up while saying, "I did
it." I exploded, and hit Jerry in the face as hard as I could. I then
turned and went back to the control room. I saw Jerry pass the control room
window that looked onto the hall as he headed for Ken Bagwell's office.

I was relieved of my show an hour early by Chuck Boyles, who told me to
meet Danny in Bagwell's office. Danny said, "I'm sorry, Chuck, but you
can't do things like that. I'm going to let you go effective now." There
was no further discussion, and I left the best job I ever had, working
with people I truly had affection for. It was the saddest day of my career.
Danny later told me on many occasions, "I fired the wrong guy."

On the bright side, WABC was right around the corner . . . or so I
thought.

But one big hitch remained, and it involved Todd Storz. We'll talk about
that next week.

Thanks for reading.