But his desire was for you to get the best out of yourself. Consultants studied and copied KVIL, launching dozens of lite-rock imitations across the country. The radio industry took to social media to reflect on Chapman's life and career. Its a tribute to Chapman that the call letters of what is, after all, just a radio station, have entered the argot of the trade. He's now a news anchor for CBS Channel 11 and will replace Chapman on KLUV's morning show. April 26, 2021. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. I knew I was fired. January 20, 2023 by Jacob Pococontons. We did that to our audience constantly. Thats power. Dale Hansen broadcasted Cowboys games on KVIL. He had spent his last few years on 98.7 KLUV in Dallas/Forth Worth. Theres gotta be some point at which hes willing to pass the torch. One of his greatest talents is picking people, knowing where they fit, where they go.They gave me a little yellow van, and I drove it myself. Anyway, I was holding this animal on my shoulder, on my freshly cleaned jacket, and it got a little excited. But her memories of her tenure at the station are not pleasant. Then the man loaned him enough money to buy a ticket. He was one of the greatest radio people to ever sit behind the mic. 1 radio show . Catch up on the day's news you need to know. CBS Radio has rebranded 103.7 on Your FM Dial as the Amp, a moniker also bestowed upon energy drinksand vitamins that promise "alean, ripped physique." Ronald V. Chapman, age 80, passed away Tuesday, October 11, 2022 at Mount Carmel East Hospital in Columbus. He always has some grand scheme bubbling up to the surface, she says, and hes always looking for some way to convince the rest of us that its a good idea. He likes to say he lost two-thirds of his voice then, but every so often you can hear peeks and hints of that booming voice that used to wake up Dallas every weekday morning. 2023 Audacy, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. For full obituary please visit. Warm and fuzzy was the game plan from the very beginning. 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. We never worked in the studio together, for 20 years. About all they had were some call letters, and not very good ones at that. Dallas-Fort Worth radio legend Ron Chapman has died, officials with his former station KLUV-FM confirmed. While many have attempted to imitate his formula, nobodyat least locallyis likely to remotely approach his mastery of it. And no decision is really final until Chapman signs off on it. In fact, the jingle was the fastest 45 in the West. It was based on Rons experience with Top 40 radio. I told her so. In 2007, he returned to broadcasting part-time as a substitute for radio legend Paul Harvey. 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. Chapman was 85 years old. Everyone I knew went to college. He did not. And Ron has a brand-new sweater. Ron Chapman had this offer from KVIL. Ron Chapman Obituary KVIL - Death : DFW Radio Legend Died: Funeral - KVIL and DFW Radio legend, Ron Chapman died aged 85, on April, 26th, 2021, with loved ones left in total devastation. Do you understand this? 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. He was No. But the thing about it is, ten minutes later, its like it never happened.. 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. Id never been in a Cadillac Seville. Back then, Chapman says, wed latch on to anything. But Ive wondered ever since., Herb Kelleher has known Chapman for years. Ron Chapman Obituary - Death: Ron Chapman Obituary Kvil | Ron Chapman Cause Of Death Ron Chapman Obituary: In the loving memory of Ron Chapman, we are saddened to inform you that Ron Chapman, a. Chapman knows his audience, and he knows what they buycomfort. And it was Chapman who ran every single nutty promo in the station's stories history, among them a scavenger hunt that involved hidden tape recorders, secret messages and, eventually, a Braniff International Airways ticket to Hawaii. 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. He is very perfectionist about his personal things. And now. In 1968, Chapman joined a team that purchased KVIL-FM, a station known for pioneering the Adult Contemporary (AC) format. Chapman had a . Chapman thought that was funny. This month, after 45 years on the Dallas airwaves, Ron Chapman signs off. A lot of people on this board are so young that they have never heard of Michael Selden. Chapman had already carved out a legend as one-half of Charlie & Harrigan on KLIF. I never brought it up with him, either. "But it's a different world in radio, isn't it?" "Ron Chapman is a dazzlingly . (The money was later distributed to local charities.) Im sitting there, and Im cracking up. He moved to Dallas in 1959 a year before the Dallas Cowboys became a team and was known for a decade as Irving Harrigan, who shared a microphone with Charlie Brown. His co-hosts real name was Jack Woods, and together the two became a radio juggernaut at KLIF, known then as The Mighty 1190. Their rise coincided with the Top 40 dynamism of the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones. I hear it., I said, Yes. Ron Chapman received an obituary from the KVIL community. Ron Chapman Was a Warm and Fuzzy Tyrant. Turns out that a few years back, during a race around the world for a promotion, Chapman arrived late at the airportno ticket, no cash, no passport. Chapmans associates swear that hes a perfect friendas long as you never do anything that might make him mad. "Three time radio Hall of Famer and Dallas radio ICON Ron Chapman has passed," the organization said. Wowwwwww, Chapman warmly asserts, and Okaaaaaaay and Alllllllright and Well suuure. A secretary, yeah, sure, absolutely, but she wont be for long. No dice. Chapman says he and Nancy were in excellent health at that point but age was a factor for him wanting to retire. It would be rude not to let Ron Chapman give it a proper send-off. Even Ron Chapman was not at all shocked to hear of its demise when I called him Wednesday afternoon to tell him his beloved KVIL was now, um, the Amp. Ron Chapman's radio career began in 1953the day he graduated from high schoolwhen he became a disc jockey at station WHAV/Haverhill, MA. Rhyner, co-founder and sage of the sports-talking Ticket, spent the '70s and '80s just down the FM dial from KVIL at KZEW, where the jocks playedhard(ish) rock while Chapman and his band spun cotton candy. That was the power of Ron Chapman. Michael Granberry, Arts Writer. He knows what people want to hear. . They were buying Ron Chapmanat something like a half million dollars a pound. And because he spanned KLIF and "Sump'n Else" to KVIL -- he WAS the history of Dallas radio . 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. And I did everything. He likes certain things in certain places. Id just started with Chapman, and I did that two or three times before he slammed down the headphones and blew up. He will later say that its almost like having an extra lobe in his brain. 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. He seems completely oblivious to his subjects, the teeming thousands of Little People trapped and fuming in the traffic below. Robert Bird Brown Obituary - Dead | Robert Bird Brown Cause of Death April 26, 2021 Son of Mercy 0. 750 North St.Paul St. He claims more listeners than any DJ in Texas. Michael Granberry was born and grew up in Dallas. Our ears are in mourning. Knowing Ron over the years has been an adventure. I figure we have her ears, and were the only ones shell let talk to her for the first hour of the day. He is an amalgamation of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, a warm, fuzzy presence who intrudes benignly into the consciousness of hundreds of thousands of women every morning. Read our daily updates at 12:30, 2:30 and 4:30 p.m., and our complete obituaries in The Herald-Dispatch on Wednesday and anyway? And Ron said, Why, I am in charge of the talent show, of which there wasnt one at the time. Passing by the cage, he would surreptitiously slip the mouthpiece through the wire into the neck of the tuba and blow. Right away, you know two things about her: she has no time to waste, and you dont mess with her. Ron Chapman's radio career began in 1953the day he graduated from high schoolwhen he became a disc jockey at station WHAV/Haverhill, MA. "Well, they had to do something," the National Radio Hall of Famer said. For example, co-workers wondered about his habit of dumping all his foreign currency into a drawer when he returns from trips. of course. If he thought you had an iota of talent, and you wound up on that station, then the expectations for you were enormous. He had spent his last few years on 98.7 KLUV in Dallas/Forth Worth. They filmed it. For a while, Chapmans career in Dallas was on the stairsteps to oblivion, he recalls. But off-mike, in what employees call his little Come to Jesus talks, that mouth can get hot enough to melt pig iron. . [2] And this was totally not intended. And its not just the lower-downs, but the higher-ups who have their hands full of Chapman ego. He said, Thats the second time youve used that item and its the last! The slightly bugged eyes turn flat, focused inward. We could go AOR. We edited it out. In honor of his life, we reproduce this 1989 profile of Chapman. Shes now a motivational speaker and lives in Fredericksburg, Texas.From the first moment we ever opened our mouths, we clicked. But the most telling aspect of Ron Chapmans house may be his shower. A man in the hotel found his passport and rushed it to the airport. But you could hear this blow-dryer. But the laughter was tinged with something like pity. PART OF AUDACY NEWS. Within three days listeners had sent in more that $240,000. But it was impossible to replicate a station that made a growing big city feel like a small town. blackpool north pier fishing permit; bradley cooper parents; best prepaid debit card to avoid garnishment 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. Or, according to Alex Burton, until his recent firing the voice of KRLD, Hes a right-brained man who manages to sound left-brained.. And the little guy loved Coca-Cola. He was born in Pittsburg, in East Texas and was raised in East Dallas -- in the area that is now District 5 -- where he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. Ron Chapmans the only one that talks to her that first hour, and in that hour, 1 can mold her frame of mind. You people dont listen to me, and you are going to lose $100,000 on this auction! When she replied that the auction had never made anywhere near that much, he snapped, Thats why!. Ron Chapman announced his retirement on 98.7 KLUV at age 69 saying he was retiring from the morning program and going on vacation with his wife Nancy. Its what youd get if God had money, Nance says. Ive done this in many ways in my sportscast. CBS News Texas: Free 24/7 News; . No one would do that.. @RGreggHart : A giant of Dallas-Fort Worth radio, Ron Chapman, has died at 85. Industry critics say that while Chapman is full-tilt today, he is not really doing much to prepare his station for Life After Ron. Garrett remembers eavesdropping with Chapman on conversations at the local coffee shop or the grocery store, trying to get a feel for what people were talking about. His wife says the best way to get him frantic is to put him in a car without a phone. In 1969, Chapman joined the staff of KVIL-FM/Dallas-Fort Worth as morning disc jockey, music director, and program director, bringing the "adult contemporary" format to FM radio. So if anyone were to remember me. So we all lined up, and we said, Okay, hoooo! And we started to walk. DALLAS - Three-time Texas Radio Hall-of-Famer and Dallas radio legend Ron Chapman died on Monday. Dallas Cowboys want another playmaker on offense. Ironically, Chapman so dominates the KVIL lineup that the DJs around him seem unremittingly unmemorable. 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. Jun 16, 2005. Hes the sports anchor on ABC Channel 8. A D Magazine feature on Chapman from December 1989, reproduced this week in honour of his life, stated that he had a wife called Nance (pronounced Nancy) Murray, for three years at that point. Everywhere 1 go, the broadcasters are asking me how to do that. And thats a problem KVIL itself will have to face one of these days. CBS Radio's local market manager Brian Purdy, in announcing the format change, made just a brief nod to the station's past by insisting 103.7 is "not your mother's radio station any more," which hit a little close to home. Hollywood actress Morgan Fairchild first met the radio maestro when she was a student at Lake Highlands High School. "They should have changed the call letters the day he left," said Jody Dean, who joined KVIL in 1982 and served as Chapman's producer before replacing him on the morning show. Robert Wilonsky, Special Contributor. Each year, I am more and more aware of the power we have in that room, Chapman confides. That was, perhaps, the last Most Meaningful Moment on local radio. Enjoy unlimited access to all of our incredible journalism, in print and digital. To a person, everyone interviewed for this story believed that Chapman, if riled, could end his career. Many years later, both of their first marriages ended (Chapman divorced in 1982) and Ron and Nance began seeing each other, but again, just as friends. 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). I dont believe that any one person can be in that much control and yet allow for the station to be the living, breathing organization it has to be in order to survive. One infamous incident occurred during last years gala for the National Craniofacial Foundation. "It's a shame it's gone, but KVIL had a great history," he said. 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. Nobodys going to build monuments or hold big memorial services. The Texas Radio Hall of Fame says "his family asks for time to process this loss, and thanks you for your kindness, understanding and prayers. I would carpool my son to school, pick up kids. On the stairwell is a wall full of pictures: Ron in the midst of a million one-dollar bills. Its a small industry. He was just a wonderful, wonderful guy., And yet, on a professional level, Chapmans reputation carried with it a darker side. Ron Chapman, a Dallas - Fort Worth radio legend, has died at the age of 85, according to CBS 11 KTVT in DFW. Ron Chapman Death - Obituary, Funeral, Cause Of Death Just heard radio legend Ron Chapman has died. Chapman maintains that the station turns down huge amounts of revenue from advertisers who are dying to get at his listeners: Massengill, Preparation H, etc. The hand goes higher above his head: VEE higher now, almost pleading as it keens with the anticipation of all the wonderful, warm, cuddly, sensual things to come. Chapman remembers all the other long-gone-and-forgotten ones who came gunning for him: the Mobys in the Morning, the Stevenses and Pruetts. And thats the way Ron was. Were keeping you on the payroll through October. If shed said, I f-ed up, Im on the team, shed be here still. It was just ambition. *To hear some classic clips of Chapman from the old KLIF days, go to www.reelradio.com/se and www.historyofklif.com. I now think about retiring. The organization said no service will be held for Chapman, but a public gathering of friends and colleagues is planned. Turn! He knew exactly what he was going to do and started work reprogramming KVIL in their big studio. 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. This duality is a big part of Ron Chapmans magic. The Morning Guys on Y-95. 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 When Ron Chapman, Morning Host of KVIL in Dallas, Texas, asked his listeners back in 1998 to send $20 to the station, they did to the tune of $240,000. Yet beneath that amiable exterior lurk hints of a tyrannical ego, of a man well accustomed to his own success story. "In my own little world, the end of KVIL was something unthinkable," he said. I tell people this story, and they think its one of those urban legends. TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Longtime radio personality Ron Chapman has died at the age of 85. I was driving an older beat-up Nissan, and my alternator went out one night while on the way to work. There was some serious speculation for a while in Haverhill about the Ghost Tuba Player. You had left "Sump'n Else" and you're still at WFAA directing the church remotes. It was Chapman who convinced owners to ditch their paltry AM signal and go with its powerful 100,000-watt signal. Ron Chapman was born on 25 January 1936 in Newton, Massachusetts, USA. It wont work for you.. It was Chapman who gave KVIL its sound in 1969: music foryoung adults who'd grown up listening to him on KLIF. The following obituaries have been provided by local funeral homes. 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. Chapman moved to KVIL a decade later, after the station briefly flirted with Top 40 in an attempt to topple the mighty KLIF. EYE descending now, deeper into the warmth and coziness; the voice says Yes, my dearest, you are almost home, safe and warm here with me, with us, ELLLLLLLLLvery low and smoky-warm, like embers in the fireplace and sleeping babies in rooms with duckies on the wall, like hearth and home and cows dozing in the barn, and maybe a comforter over your legs on a winter evening, Not too long ago, Ron Chapman received a postcard. There will never be another run like his. ", China sets this year's economic growth target at 'around 5%', 20 cars of Norfolk Southern cargo train derail in Ohio, China expands defense budget 7.2%, marking slight increase, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway and husband are divorcing, Teen hikers rescued after days stuck in California snowstorm, Trump pitches a sequel, but shies away from attacking rivals, Indonesia fuel depot fire kills 19; 3 still missing, How one storm system wreaked havoc from coast to coast, Before Oscars, Everything Everywhere sweeps Spirit Awards, Californians await key decisions from reparations task force. . Enjoy unlimited access to all of our incredible journalism, in print and digital. And she looks so good by the time she gets to the office, she had to be up by 5:30. I wouldnt even park near one. RONALD E. CHAPMAN Ron passed away on Saturday, May 23, 2020, at the Scarborough Extendicare long-term care home, from pneumonia at the age of 90. Talk about a cush gig. Chapman knows that he is inextricably linked to KVIL. . When the drawer becomes filled with bills and change, he bundles it up and sends it to the man. Copyright 2023, D Magazine Partners, Inc. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. We used a two-way radio. 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. 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. Ron didnt say a word. Former Dallas Morning News columnist Robert Wilonsky contributed to this report. KVIL TIDBITS: Ron Chapman's radio show was simulcast live with video on KXAS-TV as a 30-minute daily program (mid-1970s.). Chapman is an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist, Selden says. After 45 years in radio, Ron Chapman retired from his morning show on June 24, 2005. But KVIL, four letters that decorated 100,000 Dallasites' car bumpers during one notable 1982 promotion,shouldn't be allowed to vanish without a proper eulogy. Ronald Chapman July 23, 2021 Ronald Monroe Chapman, 77, of Jordan, died peacefully in his sleep at 2:32 am on July 23, 2021 while at home surrounded by his loving family. At the end of this, the sergeant looked at Ron and said, What is your job. 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. RIP to a #NTX legend," wrote Dallas County judge Clay Jenkins, in a tweet on April 26. Would Stevie Wonder object if we took it out? That was his job to make that station great. The longtime host of KVIL died in April 2021 at the age of 85. And I do have a good memory. But, of course, its demise was inevitable, yet another casualty of shifting tastes and platforms; it's sign-off came just two months after Clear Channel dulled The Edge by making it, too, a dull shade of Maroon 5. But stories of Chapmans sentimentality and generosity are almost as abundant as the tales of his colossal ego. He also had a stint on television with the local ABC affiliate, WFAA-TV, where he was featured in the mid-60s on the "Sump'N Else" show. When it comes to his precious radio station, the man is as fiercely protective of his listeners and his formal as a mother sow is of her litter. Youd be walking down the hall, and nothing would stop him from putting you down in a very loud voice in front of anybody. He had this real, real long tongue, and it could get into the bottle. But theyll never work hard enough.. While Ron was 85 years old at the time of his death, Nance Chapman's age remains a mystery. He was huge in Dallas for decades doing mornings at KVILclick link to learn more. The magic is about to happen, the same magic thats been running nonstop for twenty years. 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. This is the story of how a chance encounter lead to a close friendship that would span four decades, and a revolutionary radio travel program that is in it's 46th year. Barack O-blame-a. Chapman first hit the Dallas airwaves in 1959 on the Mighty KLIF. The maddest he ever got at me were those times that I delivered less than the best. I love the guy. We play some stuff that cooks pretty good, but there are a lot of songs we wont play at all. He is the chairman of Southwest Airlines. Suite 2100 In 1959, as "Irving Harrigan" he joined the staff KLIF/Dallas, where he teamed up with Jack Woods (a.k.a. Oh, Lord. I grew up listening to his voice, though as many different characters, in Arlington. And the guy was the typical model. It almost looked like a squirrel. Chapman joined the staff of KVIL-FM/Dallas-Fort Worth as morning . 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. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2012. Longtime North Texas disc jockey Ron Chapman, who spent more than four decades on the air in Dallas-Fort Worth, died Monday. Theyre over. Chapman had served as emcee for a couple of years in a row and had complained both times about the sound system. Wednesday's announcement just made it official, finally.

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