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I got some lousy news this week along with the rest of you.
We have all heard and read of the death of Dr. Don Rose. He
was the comedic morning personality…..no make that STAR….in
Philadelphia or San Francisco for decades. And guess
what….he was morning man at WQXI in Atlanta working for me
as GM and Paul Drew as PD (I think it was Paul). As a matter
of fact he developed his comic routine to entertain in
Philly and San Francisco while working in Atlanta.
This is how it happened. I was looking for a warm mid-day
personality for WQXI. I called Janet Gavin, of the weekly
music Gavin publication, and asked her if she knew of a
mid-day talent. “You should call Don Rose. Here is his
number. He is in the Midwest….Duluth I think”. I did, and
liked what he said about radio as a profession.. I asked for
an air check. I liked his on air presentation….A LOT!!! I
flew him to Atlanta for an interview. I liked him in
person…. his smile and honesty. What’s not to like with this
guy??? All those of you who were fortunate to meet him know
what I mean.
I hired him. He took to Atlanta immediately. He loved it.
Atlanta loved him. Very shortly after arriving he was asked
to do substitute for the morning man who was either going on
vacation or was ill (don’t remember who that was, but it
could have been Sam Hale). One morning Don had some
technical problems…the on air cart machines malfunctioned
for about a minute. Don had to break the TOP 40 more music
format and ad-lib…AND DID HE. I wish I had a tape of it…he
just started saying funny things. I always wanted a funny
guy in the morning and this guy was a natural comic, but had
not used those skills in his previous jobs. When he got off
the air at nine, I was there, and handed him twenty bucks. I
said, “Don, you are a natural comedian. Go buy some joke
books, and tomorrow morning use four or five an hour”. He
did, and he was great. We kept working on his program to
refine it to many more one liners which he delivered at
every commercial break. The feedback from listeners was
fabulous. It was instant listener love with Don who took
over the morning show fulltime. The ratings followed
immediately. I don’t remember the exact rating increases,
but it was something like from an 8 to a twenty share in
three months.
A Philadelphia PD heard about his success, and offered him a
job. Don told me of the offer, and I said, “I’ll match it”.
They counter offered, and I matched it again. Again
Philadelphia matched it. I was out of budget so I called my
boss at Fox, Wells, and Rogers in New England. I asked for
more money. Jim Rogers said, “28 thousand is the top number
you have to play with”. I found Don in the men’s room
washing his hands. I said, “Don, I’m authorized to take you
to 28”. Philadelphia came back with more, and I lost
Don….and the ratings went back to eight. I know Because I
WAS THERE!!!!
The last time I saw Don was 5 years ago in San Francisco.
Gary Owens, Casey Kasem, Don, Lee Abrams (my former
consulting partner), and I were on the NAB LEGENDS PANEL.
Before we were introduced to the attendees, I found Don
outside in the hall with a son, and some friends. We shook
hands, and talked for a few minutes, and then we were all
called on stage. During the two hour panel Dan Vallie, the
consultant moderator, asked me, “Kent, how did you convince
talent (such as Don) to follow the format?” I responded,
“Vodka”. Don said, “Well, I don’t know whether you will
remember this, but after our initial rating surge you sent
Kaye and I do the Coach and Six for dinner, coffee and
desert. That was very kind, and we will never forget that”.
I looked at Kaye seated on the second row, and we smiled at
each other. I didn’t remember doing that but Don did…..and
that is what is important. Don always had a great memory,
and for some reason that dinner had meant a lot to him. The
dinner was a “thank you” not just from me, but from the
entire WQXI staff.
After the panel, we talked for five minutes or so, and Don
said, “You know, I left for Philadelphia because of market
size. I loved Atlanta. And it certainly wasn’t about money.
You tried your best. Atlanta was then a city of only a
million, and Philadelphia was three million. I would have
moved to Philadelphia even if the station there offered less
money than you did in Atlanta. I knew I had to get to a
larger market to have the success I wanted”. I said,
“Obviously, I did not want to lose you, but I certainly did
understand”. We then shook hands….unfortunately for the last
time….and we left the podium.
Don had his share of physical problems. He lost a leg in a
freak accident, and had a heart attack in a California
control room while on the air (so the story goes). But he
never lost his humor, or lust for life.
Don did have a lot of success. Not only with his fabulous on
the air gags and one liners, but as a husband to Kaye, and a
great father to his kids. Check out “google” and find some
of his air checks. You will learn something new. You will
enjoy!!!
e-mail Kent
kent@kentburkhart.com
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