Jan 3, 2017. Said a Dallas radio newsman with nearly twenty years in the market, When I left KVIL, my blood pressure dropped by forty points. Ron Chapman's radio career began in 1953the day he graduated from high schoolwhen he became a disc jockey at station WHAV/Haverhill, MA. 2023 Audacy, Inc. All rights reserved. I know something the others havent figured out.. And thats a problem KVIL itself will have to face one of these days. Thanks a lot, everybody! They were pissed off, and they loved it. Homepage; Contact US; About US; Ron Chapman Net Worth, Age, Height, Weight. Chapman had served as emcee for a couple of years in a row and had complained both times about the sound system. The obituary was featured in Dallas Morning News on May 16, 2021. 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. Baby, it's cold outside. He killed the competition. I'm saddened to tell you that legendary Dallas DJ Ron Chapman has passed away at 85. But certainly not unrealistic. And you were supposed to live up to them. The piece coincided with Chapman's 20th anniversary at KVIL, where, The News noted, "His hyper, happy-talk 'Ron Chapman and the Morning Group' has been the almost-constant No. "It was what it was when it was. There are no excuses in Ron Chapmans world except You screwed up. KVIL is a commercial radio station dual-licensed to Highland Park and Dallas, Texas. Its what youd get if God had money, Nance says. Everyone I knew went to college. He did not. But she was the problem., Chapman, who says he agonizes over every firing and tries to help the departed financially, told Haley to find another gig by the end of the year, while challenging her to do better: I told her. From Haverhill, Mass (also Ed McMahon's first rad - 2 years ago. RIP Ron pic.twitter.com . Paul: Okay, so let's go back to Bud's career. I figure we have her ears, and were the only ones shell let talk to her for the first hour of the day. The station would cycle through many owners, all of whom readily admittedthey were really buying Chapman-- "a warm and fuzzy tyrant," D called him in 1989, which he took as compliment. Jody Dean was Chapman's producer at KVIL from 1987 to 1994. He is a walking contradiction, a Type A masquerading as a Type B. To a person, everyone interviewed for this story believed that Chapman, if riled, could end his career. The feature says Chapman and his wife, Nance, had met at a charity telethon in the late sixties and spent decades as platonic friends before both parties . The organization said no service will be held for Chapman, but a public gathering of friends and colleagues is planned. Im absolutely realistic in believing that nobody remembers you, Chapman says. He had spent his last few years on 98.7 KLUV in Dallas/Forth Worth. Long before the KLUV World Tour, our travel program began as the KVIL World Tour, pioneered by my parents and Dallas Radio legend Ron Chapman. And one night in March 1981, KVIL radio legend Ron Chapman walked into Billy Bob's. "And I walked up to Chapman and I said, 'I'm going to come work for you,' " Dean said. When Ron met Nance twenty years ago at a charity telethon, he was immediately struck by her good looks, he says, recalling that he trotted out a bunch of glib compliments before saying, By the way, Im Ron Chapman. Her reply: Oh. The guiding light in my life, my operational phrase, was: Ill show em. It wasnt angry. Former Dallas Morning News columnist Robert Wilonsky contributed to this report. I grew up listening to his voice, though as many different characters, in Arlington. Next to it is a portable telephone, complementing cellular phones in his and Nances cars. The maddest he ever got at me were those times that I delivered less than the best. Theres gotta be some point at which hes willing to pass the torch. We edited it out. In 1959, a 23-year-old up-and-coming disc jockey from Haverhill, Mass., took on the role of morning co-host for a . And we stayed in touch over the years. Woods was Charlie Brown. Yeah, he would. Skip to content. His family is asking for time right now to process the loss and thanks the community for . Suite 2100 Jody Dean was Chapmans producer at KVIL from 1987 to 1994. He never said anything to me about it. 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. 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. There is no way that Vince Lombardi could coach football in todays world. blackpool north pier fishing permit; bradley cooper parents; best prepaid debit card to avoid garnishment The guy would give you the shirt off his back. More than one KVILite also remarked that they wouldnt have had jobs at all if Chapman hadnt heard that they were down on their luck and called to offer them gigs. This month, after 45 years on the Dallas airwaves, Ron Chapman signs off. And Ron says, When youre doing your broadcast, I want you to think that these people here are your audience. 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. It was a woman who had a pink sweater wrapped around her neck. Theyre over. Turn! And Ron has a brand-new sweater. The Emperor is in his tower . But hes been trying to play Creative Tension to the point that it became creative chaos. He knew exactly what he was going to do and started work reprogramming KVIL in their big studio. Nance (pronounced Nancy), Chapmans wife of three years, is the centerpiece of the home tour. He was No. And its also a public service if you use it right.. He began by working as a disc jockey for WHAV in Haverhill. Chapman and his morning cohortsSuzy Humphries, Jody Dean, Michael Rey, et al.are saying, in effect. KVIL was always my mom's station, hogging up most of the pre-sets in the '76 Cordoba and later the '79 LeBaron station wagon; it was either Ron Chapmanor a Helen Reddy 8-track. Shes now a motivational speaker and lives in Fredericksburg, Texas.From the first moment we ever opened our mouths, we clicked. His hard-scrabble experience inspired him to say, Ill show them. And his broadcasting career accomplished exactly that he showed them. Most of the radio folk we talked to have a love-hate relationship with the man. Chapman began his career in Dallas radio in 1959 at KLIF as a member of the "Charlie and Harrigan" team. But Chapman says that the first time Haley went on the air after the deal was struck, She was dreadful. KVIL tried to take on powerhouse KLIF-AM in the late 1960s; on 4/17/1967, they changed to a Top 40, "solid rock sound" format (formerly a talk/music format,) and renamed all of their jocks "Dave" to emphasize their 'David . Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defers comment on revival of sexual harassment lawsuit, Q and A: How MLBs streaming, TV options will impact Rangers fans ability to watch team. Fifteen years later, this newspaper called it "the800-pound gorilla of Dallas radio," describing Chapman as "not only one of the top DJs in Dallas, but one of the most respected and feared in the country.". Tags. And she looks so good by the time she gets to the office, she had to be up by 5:30. 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. He was so popular in Dallas in the 70s, 80s and 90s that his station, KVIL, sold for more than the Dallas Cowboys. Chapman is not just guessing at what his audience wants to hear He is downright methodical about it. Chapman is an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist, Selden says. PART OF AUDACY NEWS. @RGreggHart : A giant of Dallas-Fort Worth radio, Ron Chapman, has died at 85. Thats power. The next step from there would have been the street. No spam, ever. Chapman joined KVIL in 1969 where he would remain a fixture for 32 years. Born plain old Ralph Chapman in Haverhill, Massachusetts, Ron began performing at the ripe age of three. You had left "Sump'n Else" and you're still at WFAA directing the church remotes. 750 North St.Paul St. In fact, the jingle was the fastest 45 in the West. It was based on Rons experience with Top 40 radio. In the meantime, you play every night like it was opening night, kick ass, and prove me wrong. About all they had were some call letters, and not very good ones at that. His older sister, Florence Littauer, now a motivational speaker, used her seniority to motivate Ralph, teaching him tongue twisters and then persuading him to repeat them for amazed visitors at the store-for a small fee. Id never been in a Cadillac Seville. So we hit the air, and Ron got it. He is proceeded in death by his father, Fay Chapman. And he admits that, in part, it is the reason his first marriage ended after nineteen years. And yet, he would never ask me to be one of the [featured] dancers. And some who have shown too much personality, critics charge, get the ax. He is survived by his loving wife of 49 years, Deborah Chapman; mother Helen Chapman; twin sister Connie Smith; sons Eric . In terms of logistics and creativity, hes a towering genius. He claims more listeners than any DJ in Texas. RIP Ron Chapman. 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. List Of Coronavirus Testing Sites In Texas, Legendary radio host Ron Chapman has passed away, Featured Image Photo Credit: Courtesy Mitch Carr, Bankman-Fried might use flip phone under stricter bail plan, Woman accused of killing ill husband released from jail, Alaska's arduous Iditarod kicks off with ceremonial start, Snow blankets Northeast as cleanup begins from deadly storm, Civilians flee embattled town as Ukrainian pullout looms. But theyll never work hard enough.. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. But KVIL saw a huge, underserved demographic: women listeners between the ages of twenty-five and forty-four account for some 22 percent of the Dallas/Fort Worth radio market. This was 1991. Were keeping you on the payroll through October. If shed said, I f-ed up, Im on the team, shed be here still. There will be NO service, but a public gathering of friends and colleagues is being planned.". 12:02 PM on Apr 26, 2021 CDT Updated at 4:57 PM on Apr 26, 2021 CDT. 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. A very happy one. Ron Chapman passed away earlier this week at the age of 85. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Menu. He died Monday at age 85. Thats what we started doing. 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. People just trusted him, Dean said Monday. A year later, he suffered a stroke. During his 31 years at KVIL, Chapman became famous for his upbeat humor and his participation in outrageous stunts and giveaways. Ron Chapman's radio career began in 1953the day he graduated from high schoolwhen he became a disc jockey at station WHAV/Haverhill, MA. Im talking to a thirty-year-old female. Dean later called it a dream come true. It would dance on kids shoulders. Like the time when, in charge of locking away the band instruments in a wire cage, Ralph kept the mouthpiece of the tuba in his pocket. According tohia bio posted at the Radio HOF website, Ron Chapman's radio career began in 1953the day he graduated from high schoolwhen he became a disc jockey at station WHAV/Haverhill, MA. And this was totally not intended. It was just ambition. "And when he left, that was it.". Chapman was on his way to becoming, twenty years later, a small industry unto himself. If Chapman knows just what to say on the air, he also knows what not to blurt out: no jokes that have females as the butt. Born October 11, 1942 in Ashland, KY, he was the son of the late Otis Guy and . 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!. [2] I used to do the 11 to 2 a.m. shift, during college. Weve become Kleenex. Thats just the wrapper. / CBS Texas. 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. A computerized Young Chang Grand Piano is playing Gershwin via floppy disk over near the bar. Like a handful of other stations in town, at least until they all change formats again. Exact sum is $73000000. 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. There are a lot of stations right now that will say, after they read this, Oooooh, so thats what theyre doing. They still dont know it., Even the KVIL signal is altered to be pleasing to a womans naturally more sensitive ears. We tell them, Heres the concept. One infamous incident occurred during last years gala for the National Craniofacial Foundation. To Chapman, a working divorced mother with two kids was the woman of his dreams. When he started hosting SumpN Else, I was a kid, and we loved to dance, and I would go over there to dance.
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