Howard Kemper - KXYZ - 1940

Howard Kemper was an announcer on KXYZ in 1940.  He was also an amateur photographer.  Recently his son John discovered some old negatives and with the assistance of grandson Michael Kemper restored them and shared them with me. 

John Kemper supplied biographical and career information about his dad which I am copying here as submitted since it needs no editing.

"Howard, my dad, was from Abilene, Texas and his very early interest in radio inspired him to pursue radio broadcasting.  As there were no schools for this, he was self-taught mimicking other announcers and practicing before a mirror.  At age 17, after graduating from high school, he took his first job as an announcer with KLAH in Carlsbad, New Mexico.  A year later, he was hired as an announcer with KBST in Big Spring.  Later, he worked at KRBC in Abilene and in early 1940 KXYZ in Houston.  His time at KXYZ was brief as his young wife and new daughter had remained in Big Spring. The distance was a strain on family life and he eventually returned to KBST in Big Spring.

 

During his broadcasting career, Dad announced the news, sports, and weather, did much on location reporting, announced live dance band performances, hosted talent shows, and as "Uncle Gus" even read the funny papers to kids. He also interviewed many local celebrities and movie stars including Bill Elliott, Jeannie Porter, and Spanky MacFarland.  

 

He is probably best remembered for his "Man On the Street" or "Curbstone Reporter" program interviewing people of all walks. He also participated in the Texas 1943 War Bond Tour traveling with Wild Bill Elliott, Anne Jeffreys, Gale Storm, and Gaby Hayes. He was later recognized for his fine efforts and contribution to the tour's success by the State of Texas and Republic Pictures.

 

Eventually, Dad entered the life insurance business and enjoyed a successful career for a good many years."

So Howard Kemper's time in Houston radio was brief but these pictures are priceless.  Thanks again John and Michael.

Howard Kemper was from Abilene.  He wrote to his younger brother in college there about his job at KXYZ.

Howard Kemper reading the news and making an announcement.  KXYZ was an NBC Blue affiliate, perhaps explaining the pretty blue stationery.  Notice what appears to be a pass-through along the bottom of the window.  Perhaps the headphones were handed through?

Getting ready for that 15 minute news review at 2 am?   Looks like teletype machines didn't change much over the years.

An unidentified individual at a control board in a very tight space.  No microphone so is this an engineer?  Did engineers have to show up in suit and tie in those days?  I cannot tell if the second board looks out over another studio (or indeed, the one the man is sitting at).  Any information that anyone can supply, including the identity of this individual, will be appreciated.

There isn't much evidence of soundproofing in any of these pictures.

The next three pictures are of the equipment room.

Close-up of one the transmitter tubes from the preceding photo.

Up on the roof of the Gulf Building, tallest building in town at 37 stories.

Looking south along Main Street from the roof of the Gulf building.

Looking north from the Gulf Building roof along Main Street toward the bridge over Buffalo Bayou and out over the North side.  

The Gulf Building was completed in 1929 at 712 Main Street @ Rusk.  At 37 stories it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi at the time and the tallest building in Houston until 1963 when the Humble Oil and Refining Company/Exxon building was completed.  It is now known as the JP Morgan Chase Building.

The 18 story Rice Hotel was completed in 1913 at the corner of Main and Texas, 2 blocks north of Rusk, on the site of a former capitol of Texas.  It housed the studios of KTRH for many years and now houses the Rice Apartments.

KXYZ had been operating on the 1440 frequency with 250 watts of power since 1932 when the operations of KXYZ & KTLC were consolidated and KTLC ceased to operate.  By 1935, power increased to 1 kilowatt.  The transmitter had moved to the Chronicle building, Texas at Travis, in 1928 and in 1930 to the Gulf building.  The main studios moved from the Texas State Hotel on Fannin at Rusk to the Gulf Building in 1935.  Thus, the studios pictured above were still quite new.  Just when Harris County Broadcast Co. took over the station from William John Uhalt is missing in the FCC data I have located so far, but the company retained ownership of the station until December, 1948, when it was taken over by Glenn McCarthy’s Shamrock Broadcasting.  The Uhalt Electric Company had been the original licensee (call letters KTUE) on August 24, 1926.

As a result of the North American Radio Broadcast Agreement in March 1941, KXYZ moved to the 1470 frequency and a couple of years later to 1320, where it still operates.  In 1943, KXYZ was authorized to relocate its transmitter facilities to Deepwater, Texas, subsequently identified in FCC records as ‘southwest of the intersection of Route 225 and South Avenue, Pasadena, Texas” and again as 2800 Powers Drive, Pasadena.  This was the site of the joint KTRH/KPRC transmitter facility, originally the location of KTRH when it first moved to Houston from Austin.  KTRH was exiting the facility.  Completion of all the construction needed took a couple of years and KXYZ wound up on the 1320 frequency with 5 KW daytime, 1 KW nighttime power.

The former main transmitter at the Gulf Building was licensed as an auxiliary transmitter, limited to 1 KW power, and was activated for use during the construction delays.

KXYZ moved its operations (studios, offices) out of the Gulf Building to the 16th floor of the Fannin Bank Building at Holcombe and Main in October, 1963.  

The longtime transmitter location on Texas 225 southeast of Houston, used by several local operators since 1930, became too valuable for industrial purposes and was sold in the last few years.  KXYZ now transmits from a triplex set-up with sister stations KBME (790) and KPRC (950), all owned by IHeart media.

A KLVL Gallery

Morales Radio Hall - toward the rear of the parking lot for the funeral home at 2901 Canal on the east side.  Built in 1970 to house the radio station, this structure replaced an earlier building right on the street in front of it that housed the radio station before.  The older building has been demolished to make room for more parking for the funeral home.  This building has been remodeled to be used as a community meeting hall.  The studios themselves were not restored.

The walls of the meeting room are lined with photos depicting some of the history of the station over the years, a small sample, I am told, of the hundreds of pictures that have been preserved.  The pennants in the background identify this photo as the 6th anniversary of the station which would have been in 1956 (May 5th, Cinco de Mayo),  They also wish Happy Birthday to Felix Morales, owner.  Mr. Morales wife, Angie, celebrated her birthday on May 5th, Morales himself was born on May 27.

The announcer Carlos Conde is on the left, with the cane (and apparently extending a hand held mic in from of the person in the center).  The person adjusting the microphone stand is Joe (Jose) Morales, I believe, son of Felix and longtime announcer and manager of KLVL. Felix Morales is on the right with his arms folded.  

Any help in identifying other participants will be appreciated.  Please refer to Picture # 2.

Felix Hessbrook Morales - 1907-1988

Morales and his wife, Angeline "Angie" Vera Morales

Joe Morales, son of the owner.

Felix Morales played guitar and used his talent to entertain listeners to his radio programs in San Antonio and Houston before he got his own station, filling time when a scheduled guest failed to show or was late or ran short.  He also loved to join musical guests on air and afterwards, in sessions conducted both at the station and at his home as I understand.  Recordings were made of many of these sessions and thousands are said to have survived.  A large collection has been given to the (Harris County) Heritage Society, along with many photographs, and others are still held by the family, which has done a good job over the years of documenting and preserving the history of their enterprises.  This is one of the photos on the wall of the Radio Hall showing Morales, his wife I believe, and possibly a visiting film or musical star on the right.  The microphone boom and clock on the wall suggest this was in a studio at the station although the decor (lamp, seating, curtains) may indicate a private residence.  The sleeved discs on the table might be samples of the recordings released by the guest or recordings made during his visit.  Any help in identifying the man and the occasion will be appreciated.  Please refer to Picture # 6.

A group picture with the same gentleman pictured above.  The others may be part of the celebrity's entourage or KLVL staff.  Whether the picture was taken in a studio or at the Morales home I don't know.  Any help in identifying those pictured or the occasion will be appreciated.  Please refer to Picture # 7.

Any help in identifying those pictured with Felix Morales will be appreciated.  Please refer to Picture # 8.

The two seated gentlemen have familiar faces but I cannot come up with names.  The one on the right may be Felix Tijerina, the well-known Houston restauranteur, but I have not been able to locate a good  likeness for comparison.  Any help will be appreciated.  Please refer to Picture # 9.

The Morales Funeral Home was established almost 20 years before the radio station was launched.  This 1938 LaSalle Carved Panel hearse was used by the funeral home for years and is currently garaged elsewhere.  It was brought to the parking lot for the Heritage Society tour to see.  It still runs and appears to be in very good shape.  The tires look practically new and from what I could make out through the very dirty windows, the upholstery is in good shape.  In addition to the Radio Hall, the Funeral Home has been completely restored in recent years and plans were spoken of to fully restore this vehicle to be shown off at community events and used in parades.

The above photos were snapped by me during a Heritage Society See Interesting Places tour in March of 2017 when we also listened to a presentation by Christina Morales, granddaughter of Felix and current head of the Morales operations, on her family's history and achievements.  She currently serves as Representative to the Texas House of Representatives from District 145.  I neglected to take a recorder or note pad but have consulted other sources in writing this post.  Any corrections to any of the above information will be appreciated.

This story from the Houston Chronicle in 2015 tells of the grand opening of Morales Hall. Pictured is Christina Morales in the Hall looking over a large scrapbook which includes may newspaper clippings and photographs of the history of the station.  Excerpts from the scrapbook may be found online by searching for images of the Morales Radio Hall or KLVL.

Maria del Carmen Garcia, nee Aleman, first female radio announcer on KLVL.  Obituary.  There are several other pictures of her in the studio in the Tribute Video, most of them in the first few minutes, and the stills are in the From the Family section (scroll down through all the Memories).

This post from the East Aldine Management District deals with Houston Press columnist and novelist Sig Byrd, Felix Morales, a $20 funeral, cold beer, warm tortillas and butter, and listening to Maria Del Carmen Aleman, 'glamorous girl disc jockey' who reportedly received a thousand pieces of fan mail a week, and how Byrd wound up being buried in Morales Cemetery.

I sure hope to uncover an air check of Maria someday.

Photos and comments are welcome from other readers of this blog.

Archived Photos of KPRC-TV (Post Oak Road Studios)

These photos (published in the Chronicle) show the facility on Post Oak Rd., about where the Williams Waterwall is now, when the building was new.  One shot of the radio studio is included.  Though the photos are dated 1954 the station moved into the facility in March, 1953, and the open house was held that month.

The feature was occasioned by an article showing an artists rendering of the newest facility, being built in the parking lot of the present building at 8181 Southwest Freeway.

An earlier KPRC-TV gallery on this blog.

A KNUZ-TV Gallery

Mark Whitehead of KWHI and KTTX, Brenham, has sent along these pictures of KNUZ-TV, taken in 1953 by his dad, Tom Whitehead, Jr.  Mark's mom, Bonnie Whitehead, is shown in a couple of the photos.  His uncle, Bailey A. Swenson, designed the studios.

Obviously this was a very new facility at the time.  I believe the orientation would be such that Cullen Blvd. was to the right of the picture.

Bonnie Whitehead, Mark's mom, in the lobby.

Checking out one of the DuMont cameras.  Behind Bonnie are the collapsible bleachers that were used for live audience shows.

Mark believes this is Bailey Swenson, his uncle and the architect who designed the studios.

I will appreciate any engineers who can offer some comments on the equipment.

See the KNUZ-TV Station Profile here.

Much thanks to Mark for sharing these photos.  He has promised to forward some more about his family's radio stations in the near future and I'm really looking forward to that.

KULF Production Studio, ca. late 1970s

Phil Konstantin sent along this picture taken in the KULF Production Studio in the late 1970s (later than 1976).  That's Phil on the left and the man beside him is Stan Barber from KTRU.

At the time the KULF studios were located in the Central National Bank building.  The air studio was right next door.

This picture shows the production of a Public Affairs program called Overview for the Jaycees.  The program aired on both KULF and sister station KYND.  Phil also later produced Dan Lucas' evening talk show.  He works in San Diego TV now.

Sam Putney, Dan Ammerman, Jim Young, Bill Leslie and Galen Grimes are some of the people from the KULF Newsroom at that time.  Kay (no last name on-air) Henderson worked on the ground and Dave Hale worked in the air doing traffic reports.  Jim Tate, Gary Ryder, Vashti Henderson, Joe Bauer, Roger St. John and Nick Rice were some of the other people he remembers working with there in that time frame.  He and Bauer also did some things together in San Diego.

My thanks to Phil for sending this picture and his recollections along to share on the blog.

More KTRH Transmitter Pictures

John Robertson writes:


"My uncle by marriage was T.L. Hinner, he was Chief Engineer at the KTRH Cedar Bayou transmitter facility during this period. I came across your "Houston Radio History" web site and remembered I had these photos.

I remember staying with my aunt and uncle at the transmitter as a young child. My favorite thing was being allowed to switch on the tower lights at dusk.

I remember Bob Sutton, that worked at the transmitter at the ame time as my uncle.  He went on to become Chief Engineer for the KTRK  TV transmitter facility near DeWalt Texas.

Thanks for your informative web site,

John Robertson"

Great pictures, John.  Thanks for sharing them and for the additional information.

See the original post on this transmitter installation here.

KYOK Mobile Studio

These pictures are from March, 1978.

Don Nash, Chief Engineer of KYOK in the 70s, built the studio which was in use frequently.  The turntables and cart machines were DC because AC wasn't stable enough back then.  Don reports there were frequent breakdowns of equipment which necessitated rebuilding the whole studio including the console within about 2 years.

The studio could be taken out cruising around Loop 610 and never lose a signal (the receiver was on One Shell, the tallest building in town at the time), but if they got too far west they had to pull over and raise the antenna.

When Don started at KYOK in 1971 he had a staff of four, necessary to operate the station at night.  By the time he left in 1980 he was the only person on the engineering staff.  He had designed and built a totally automated system which he wound up selling to Potomac Instruments of Silver Spring, MD.  He then left KYOK and went to work for Potomac for 10 years where he developed their RC-16 Remote Control System as Chief Digital Design Engineer.

As a side note, he was into computers early.  He bought one of the first Altair computers (serial # 26) which he took time off from KYOK to drive to Albuquerque to pick up.

KYOK was the last station Don worked at.  Previously he had been at WTOC (now WTKS), Savannah, GA, WRIP (now WYDN) Chattanooga, WEAM (now WZHF) Arlington, VA, WOKO (now WOPG), Albany, NY, KTLK (now KKZN) Denver, and WINQ, Tampa, before getting the offer from KYOK which was owned by the Starr Brothers at the time.  He served as either Chief or Assistant Chief at all those stations except the first one.  After he got into design work he let his license lapse.  He's retired now, living overseas, and maintains this website.  I am grateful to him for sharing these pictures and history.

Early KTRH and KTLC Performers

I just stumbled on this source by accident.  Story Sloane writes a feature article for the emag Houston Lifestyles and Homes using photos from his great collection and a year ago published this one about early radio performers.

There was a Guy Savage who worked at KXYZ in the 1950s and later was sports director of Channel 13 in the 60s.  I have wondered before what the connection was to the earlier Guy Savage on KTRH; I don't see a physical resemblance.

The KTLC studios were in the old Houston Post building at Texas and Travis, catty-corner from the Chronicle.

There was a time in radio when not only were the announcers always live but all music had to be performed live also.

FOLLOWUP:  In addition to providing the ID in the comments, Dave Westheimer sent along this picture of Guy Savage (left) and Gus Mancuso (right), broadcast team of the Houston Buffs in the 1950s.  Dave says the square-cut, dimpled chin is the give-away.  Okay, so I never was very good at faces.  This is the same man who was the first morning man on KTRH and I can confirm that's the man I remember doing sports on KTRK-TV in the 60s.

KUHT History in Pictures

From the University of Houston Digital Library, 346 pictures and videos of the history of Channel 8 over the decades, including people, buildings, equipment, etc.  There are numerous video clips; I saw only 2 pictures of KUHF.  Several entries indicate the archivists have no idea what they're looking at.

Click on the Library Blog link at the bottom of the page for a very brief introduction to the collection.

A Trove of 70s Memorabilia

Here is an extensive collection of material relating to the cultural situation in Houston during the 1970s consisting mostly ads from counter culture publications. 

The material was originally posted on HAIF's Historic Houston forum but was moved to Picasa.  The original post spawned a discussion which can be found here with additional material of interest.

Although this is not really about radio it does illustrate some of the culture of the day which influenced the programming of numerous stations.  This will appear as a link on the sidebar under History Links.

Galleries - Archives of African American Music and Culture

I had discovered this material several years ago but when I went to post about it on the blog, it had been taken off the web.  I went looking for it and found it again.  These archives are maintained by Indiana University.  On the side-bar on the right, click on the sub-galleries for Rick Roberts, George Nelson, Skipper Lee Frazier and Travis Gardner for collections of photos relating to KCOH and KYOK.  There is one photo in the Rick Roberts collection relating to KGBC, Galveston.  There are only a few shots of the studios and personalities but it's great stuff.

Photos of KPRC-TV on Post Oak Road

J.R. Gonzales' blog, Bayou City History, has just published a series of photos from the Post archives of the KPRC-TV studio facility on Post Oak Road, which they occupied from 1953 to 1972. More are to come.

Enjoy.

A Tim and Bob Gallery

Often referred to as Houston's first morning duo, Tim and Bob were together on KPRC for over a decade. For more on the duo on this blog, click on the label at the end of this post; for other mentions of either individual enter the words 'Byron' or 'Nolan' in the search box.

The St. Patrick's Day Parade was one of their biggest promotions. According to a history on the St. Patrick's Parade Commission website, Tim and Bob resurrected the long-dormant Houston St. Patrick's Day parade in 1960 but I don't have dates for these pictures.

Bob Byron, left, and Tim Nolan. Judging by the decorations on the cake, this had something to do with St. Patrick's Day, too.

KPRC carried the syndicated 1960s comedy feature Chickenman and the Fearless Feathered Fighter came to town to promote the series.

And now for something a little different:


Judy Bonham, Byron's oldest daughter, to whom I am indebted for these pictures, notes the guys seem to be enjoying themselves.

Miscellaneous clippings and shots:

This clipping was from the Houston Post on a Friday in August but unfortunately the date and year is cut. It appeared top left, right under the masthead and above a story about heart surgery for a Cuban boy.

And a couple of personal mementos from Byron:

My thanks to Judy Bonham for providing all these shots and my apologies for taking so long to get them online. My thanks also to all the children of Tim and Bob I have corresponded with over the last year or so for their help.

One of the reasons I delayed publishing these pics was to try and identify the football player in the third from the last picture. I wasn't in Houston during most of the 60s and have no idea who it is, but have a suspicion that he was rather famous for some reason. I will appreciate it if anyone can identify him or add any information about any of these photos such as dates or names. For instance, if anyone can hazard a guess about the name of the movie on the marquee in picture # 1, we can probably date that picture but since Glenn McCarthy appears in two different shots in two different vehicles, the pictures probably do not all date from the same year.