Wednesday, October 24, 2012

KFXM TigerRadio Brad Edwards

From the missing TigerRadio website Brad Edwards.
Click on each page to enlarge and read.
 

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great to read his bio.
All these guys should write a book.
Al Anthony was in the process of
writing one 5 years ago.
Haven't seen it.
Come on, Al, fill in those
tidbits we all love.

Lord Darth Rageous said...

Forty-four years ago today, Brad Edwards was one of the Tullis and Hearne employees who walked off the job at 6:00 A.M. on Friday, October 25, 1968, during the infamous AFTRA union strike against KFXM/KDUO-FM.
Included in the strikers were the newsmen along with the disk jockeys, staff announcers, and production staff.


Noted air personalities who walked the picket line included Jim Conniff, Charlie Walters, Dick Lyons, Don McCoy, Jonny Bruce, and Sherman Mason, some of whom showed up at a publicized event (the Custom Car & Hot Rod Show held on the National Orange Show grounds) where they handed out flyers to attendees which explained the reasons for their striking the then-highly popular media outlet.

For the next eight months or so, AFTRA published a public advertisement in the San Bernardino Sun-Telegram newspaper extolling how many
days had passed since the initial walk-out -- as a reminder about the stations being on union strike.

Unfailingly, Almondo Fiori saved the day by introducing the now legendary "Jones Boys" (i.e., Just Plain, John Paul, Davy, Unsinkable, Tom, Lonesome, Casey, Anonymous, Chief How-Now-Dow, Pappy, Boss Rotten) who
carried on throughout the difficult ensuing months until July 4, 1969, when KFXM began a new era with the official
unveiling of the Jones Boys identities, as follows:

"John Paul Jones" was Dan Daly

"Just Plain Jones" was Kim Terry

"Davy Jones" was Danny Dare

"Unsinkable Jones" was Bob b. Blue

"Lonesome Jones" was Gary Evans

"Tom Jones" was Dave McKay

"Casey Jones" was Al Anthony AKA "Boss Rotten Jones"

"Anonymous Jones" was Al Barnett


The original AFTRA union-sanctioned strike issues were never really offically settled on record with the stations' management. As a result, some striking workers later returned to their previous employ while others were never heard from again.

Anonymous said...

Some of us who were only in high school either knew then or later that there was a strike but don't really know any of the specifics, the "real dirt". How did the strike happen at KFXM and not elsewhere? Was KMEN already unionized? Who was the instigator, rabble rouser, leader of the strike? What were the main ideas that "sold" the idea of a strike to the KFXM employees? Does anyone have any impressions about how the KMEN felt about the strike effort by their radio brothers? Looking back to those times it seems like it took a lot of "balls" to start a strike in what was definately a secondary media market. Can anyone fill in the gaps?

Anonymous said...

If memory serves me well, it was AFTRA who pusued KFXM. Howard Tullis was "cheap". He paid the jocks slightly more than minimum wage. (I'm NOT kidding). AFTRA presented their case to the on air personal, they in turn voted to strike.
K/men was not unionized, but they paid their jocks well.
Bottom line: If Mr. Tullis had paid his on-air talent a fair wage, the strike would have never happened.

Anonymous said...

So how come not one of the original strikers has ever identified themselves publically by stating their actual reasons for supporting the AFTRA strike?

Where are McCoy, Walters, Bruce, Conniff, Lyons, etc.???

Hiding "anonymously" behind union balarney is tantamount to cowardice even after 4 decades!!!

Anonymous said...

Don McCoy would not walk the picket
line. It was 'beneath' his dignity.

There were interesting times on the
line. Cold and rainy.
One morning, one of the strikers
put up an 8x10 picture of one of
the station manager's sons on the
driveway. When he drove up I think
he went over it. Harrassment that's
all.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I remember something about one of the striking workers (a DJ ititials JC band leader father) had somehow managed to take KFXM off the air by fiddling around over at the transmitter building on the golf course. Does anyone else remember this happening?

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, Don McCoy "would not walk the picket line. It was 'beneath' his dignity."
Always the gentleman The Magic Mystery Guy!!!

Anonymous said...

Fiddling with the xmtr is an understatement. There was a major
fire there. Station went non
directional and lower power with
spare xmtr.

After the strike, there were
a few names Al would not have back.
Never to be in the building again.
Misbehavior on line.

Anonymous said...

Yikes, never knew it got THAT serious with a fire and all!!
So that's why the toupee wearing DJ called "JC bandleader" never returned for "Misbehavior on line".

Does anyone else out there have any more revealing stories and anecdotes about the '68 AFTRA strike??? This topic posted by that Darth guy really opened up an interesting page in local radio history. Now I am learning about a famous event i barely heard about and had forgotten.

Anonymous said...

A little background on wages those days. In the summer of 1968 when I was discussing radio careers with one of the KMEN he proudly told me that none of the DJ's there was making less then $800 a month.

Anonymous said...

Hey, my dad was a plumber making five bills a month and we all thought he was really making it with the dough. But it seems he shoulda been one of you radio guys instead!!

Johnny Helm said...

"THE FIRE"
The night of the fire I was working midnight to six at K/men. At that time I was living in Riverside. Around 6:15 as I was driving home, I noticed a fire coming from a small building on the golf course. Since I had jocked at KFXM I was pretty certain it was the transmitter room. I took the closest off-ramp and called the police and gave the location of the fire.
KFXM was knocked off the air for most of the day. All the Chief Engineer's from the local area were summoned to get the station back on the air.
The station returned on-air in the evening with 100 watts of power. The main transmitter was destroyed. KFXM ran on 100 watts for several weeks, until a new transmitter could be installed.
Later I learned that the fire was arson. I later heard that Craig Denny, (now deceased), was the culprit.

Unknown said...

I worked for KFXM KDUO as Chief Engineer for 3 short months and if it wasn't Lee McGowan, one of my best friends and a damm good CE too, I would have gone crazy with Howard Tullis- The absolute cheapest station owner in the world. Ray Perriguey had just left and was fed up with him after 2 yrs. I quit and Hung my first phone up at KUOR where broadcasting was still fun
To Do a Tullis Voice impersonation was always easy I say , I say you just havta sound like Jimmy aaa Jimmy Stewart from Frostbite Falls//A shout out to all the old KMEN family And to Al Anthony. be sure to visit
youtube search MARK DENNIS KEZY for a great tribute and KMEN air check at the end 73s