Dan Ammerman
One time anchor of the Channel 13 News, before the long tenure of Dave Ward. Few in broadcasting in Houston today will remember him, perhaps, and I barely do since I was away from the area during much of the time he was lead anchor.
Roy Hofheinz was an innovator. I’ve mentioned before that he was one of two individuals I’ve discovered in the course of this research project who most interested me. He made enormous contributions to the history of radio in this city, contributions which also had an impact elsewhere. One story I’ve wanted to tell for some time is the story of the KTHT Cruising Radio Studio.
There are only a couple of paragraphs in Edgar Ray’s bio of Hofheinz and I have wanted to find a picture and more details to do the subject justice. I have found the remodeled facilities for newspaper research at the Houston Public Library very unaccommodating, with no adequate lenses for scanning newspapers on the readers whose screens are uncomfortably high. Fortunately, though, Andrew Brown has shared a clipping from his collection which provides at least one glimpse of the interior of the unit and a full description.
I’m not sure which paper the clipping is from, nor the exact date. From the typeface I’m tempted to guess the article appeared in the Houston Post but it would have been unusual for the Post to give such a glowing report on a competitor’s radio activities. The article mentions the unit was already en route to Philadelphia for the Republican convention which took place in June, 1948.
One of Hofheinz’ hobbies was woodworking; he had hired an expert cabinetmaker, Stuart Young, to design and build the cabinetry for the KTHT studios and turned to him again for the building of the unit which the article says Hofheinz personally helped out on. Also involved was architect Bailey Swenson and two of the station engineers including O.B. Johnson.
The two-piece unit, built at a cost of $25,000, consisted of a gleaming, streamlined 26-1/2 foot trailer and a one ton truck that acted as power supply. It could operate off a conventional 110 volt power source and public water hook-up but could also generate its own electricity to power the transmitting equipment and had a self-contained water supply.
There were sleeping quarters for four and dining accommodations for 10 (or 6 - both numbers in different parts of the article), including a complete galley that doubled as a photographic development studio. A powerful public address system, siren and powerful spotlights were included as well as a complete weather station with barometer, wind indicators and thermometers for use in covering hurricanes. The truck included storage facilities for remote equipment including the wire recorder and lengthy extension cords, complete parts and tube inventory, a refrigerator and freezer. Hofheinz, always known as a generous host, would treat his guests at the conventions, in New York City and Washington to ‘Houston Fat Stock Show filet mignons and Texas shrimp.’
The three compartments in the trailer included an air conditioned and sound-proofed studio, a combination control room and galley with two shortwave transmitters, two transcription recorders plus playback turntables, 3 all-wave receivers, a consolette with 6 microphone channels, and a miniature control board, plus standard kitchen equipment including stove, refrigerator, cabinets and sink. The full-size beds in the sleeping quarters folded into sofas for daytime use; there was also an on-board bathroom. Walls of the studio and control room were decorated with photographs of KTHT’s news and public affairs involvement.
According to the article en route to Philadelphia the unit would stop in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Jackson and Washington, D.C. (Ray says the stop at D.C. took place on the way home). Between the conventions, the unit was taken to New York City and parked outside Rockefeller Center; network officials, celebrities and ordinary New Yorkers were invited on board for a tour. In D.C., the unit was parked outside the FCC and shown off to the Commissioners and staff and engineers.
At the conventions, runners went in and out of Independence Hall keeping in touch with convention activities; a leased line back to Houston was ‘kept pretty hot’ according to engineer Johnson, who also noted the unit attracted great attention. Interviews with important politicians were also transcribed for later broadcast. As at the UN sessions in San Francisco with the wire recorder in 1945, it was unprecedented for a ‘little radio station to be broadcasting as well as the networks.’
Back in Houston after the conventions, the unit was used to cover community events and major news stories (it had perhaps been inspired by the station's efforts to cover the Texas City explosion the previous year and a hurricane in 1946) and sent to schools all over the area to show students how radio programs were prepared and broadcast and recordings made.
A KTHT Rate Card, published just months after the station signed on.
I am grateful to Andrew Brown for sharing this piece of memorabilia.
Photos labeled KTHT in the Bob Bailey Collection at the Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin. The personalities are Ted Nabors and Dick Gottlieb.
Photos labeled K.T.H.T. in the Bob Bailey Collection at the Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin. Roy Hofheinz.
At the time of this post those are the only photos in the collection that are online, apparently, but there are many more in the catalog.
Most of the comments I receive on the blog are on older posts. I presume most regular readers of the blog have missed them if they're not on recent articles. I intend to add a 'Recent Comments' Module to the sidebar when I figure out how but in the meantime, I wanted to call special attention to a recent comment by Dene Hofheinz Anton, daughter of Judge Roy Hofheinz. The comment is appended to the article on KTHT, the 1940s, Part II, in the AM Chronology. It adds some good information to the history.
In addition to the articles sometimes published in the BCH blog relating to broadcasting, there have been many discussions on HAIF, the Houston Architectural Information Forum, about radio, TV, and personalities. There's a link to the Historic Houston forum on the sidebar but some of the discussions have also taken place in the Houston and the Media Forum. Here are some of the threads from the last year and a half or so. In some cases relatives of the personalities or participants in the shows discussed have contributed information but mostly it's memories (and sometimes, a few facts).
Radio related threads
KIKK
Tim and Bob, KPRC morning team
Alvin Van Black, KPRC and KTRH talk show host and KTRK-TV reporter
Paul Berlin, other KNUZ jocks, and the Larry Kane show on Channel 13
A KRBE Promo Stunt from the 1970s
TV Related Threads
Don Mahoney and Jenna Clare, children's show hosts
More on Jenna Clare
Walter Cronkite
Kitirik
Past TV Anchors
Ray Miller's Passing
TV Reporters
More on Past TV Personalities
KVVV-TV, Channel 16
Vintage Houston TV Commercials
A thread about Houston TV station sign-offs
Texas - the NBC soap, 1980s
Houston College Bowl TV show
In addition to these threads which have a historical connection, there are many threads on HAIF on the Houston and the Media board about broadcasting today, format changes, personality comings and goings, and other matters.
Some Threads on Music, Artists, Venues and Concerts
Liberty Hall
Bands and Orchestras from years gone by
Rock Concerts of the 60s, 70s, 80s
Utah Carl
UPDATE BELOW AS OF 5/15/9
J.R. Gonzales' Bayou City History Blog at the Chronicle continues to fascinate and every now and then he does a feature related to radio or television in Houston.
Several readers of this blog have contacted me with advice on how to link to the individual posts so I'm editing this article to make it easier but I still encourage people to just click on the main link above - JR's blog is very enjoyable whether it's about broadcasting or not.
Check out his posts on the following:
Long-time Houston radio and TV personality and wrestling promoter Paul Boesch.
Cadet Don of KTRK-TV.
Kitirk, Channel 13's mascot.
Early Houston radio pioneer Will Horwitz of WEAY and XED.
UPDATE: JR touted a TV show that covered early TV in Houston. The show has come and gone but there are pictures in JR's article.
(Besides the devious option noted in the comments you can get a direct link to individual posts by opening the 'Comments' or, if present, clicking on 'Continue Reading,' when the article is not all published on the main page of the blog).
...of a Houston radio listener. Sunday and Monday, December 5th and 6th, 1937.
Note Frank Tilton, the blind pianist from the early days of KPRC, on KTRH at 6:15pm Monday and Vox Pop with Dr. I.Q. that evening at 9pm.
Note also Don McNeill's Breakfast Club on KXYZ, Monday morning at 8am. KXYZ had just joined the NBC Blue Network in August.
