Bill Brown, Longtime NYC DJ, 69

[A Friend]

From mediabistro.com:

Longtime WCBS-FM Midday Jock, 'Consummate Pro' Bill Brown Dies at 69

By Jerry Barmash on October 12, 2011 12:04 PM

A mainstay of WCBS-FM has died. Spanning two generations, Bill Brown
was on the air for parts of five decades at CBS-FM, predating the famed
Oldies format.

Brown died Sunday after a long illness. He was 69.

When CBS-FM launched a freeform rock format in 1969, Brown with his
signature deep voice was hired. In 1972, when the station flipped to
Oldies, Brown adjusted. He would remain a constant at CBS-FM until the
bitter end in 2005 when the "Jack" format took over, making the jocks
obsolete.

Brown was the final jock on the air prior to the transition on June 3.
Instead of a typical "Good day, Good bye" sign-off, Brown combined wit
and foreshadowing with: "Do you ever feel the urge to scream Rescue
Me?! I'm beginning to get that feeling; here's Fontella Bass." (The
"Jack" era ended two years later with a new version of CBS-FM).

"He was a consummate pro," former CBS-FM program director Joe McCoy
recalls.

But before McCoy would take over the station in 1981, he was still a
jock.

"He was actually the guy that hired me at CBS-FM as a disc jockey back
in 1975," McCoy remembers.

In those early days of CBS-FM, Brown had the dual role of air
personality and program director.

However, much for his tenure at CBS-FM, Brown was the midday DJ, which
included a lunch time "Brown Bag," usually featuring listener-themed
requests.

"He was always a great jock, one of those guys like myself and Max
Kinkel who came up through the [Bill] Drake system," McCoy says. "He
really knew how to be a good format jock. He really knew what Što say
in the least amount of words possible."

McCoy says, despite a measured wit, Brown knew how to have a good time
on the air.

"I think when Ron Lundy joined the radio station, he and Ron really got
into it, and had a lot of fun together," McCoy says.

Brown first showcased his rock roots for New York listeners at the
Drake-owned WOR-FM in 1967.

The radio veteran also worked in several California stations, before
leaving for the Navy. Brown returned stateside in 1964, but his radio
dreams were not washed away at sea. KGB in San Diego came calling,
putting Brown on the market's top-rated station for the next three
years.

An obituary in the Daily Record.com states Brown, a native of
Lawrenceville, Georgia, called Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey home for more
than 30 years.

Brown is survived by his wife of 35 years, Debbie, a one-time CBS-FM
music director; a son, Bill Brown; daughter-in-law; and two
grandchildren.

Incidentally, the junior Brown is an accomplisher composer/scorer,
among his credits is CSI: New York.

"You never had to worry about Bill Brown as a jock" McCoy says. "He was
always there‹no matter what, and did a great job. I just couldn't ask
for anything more!

"Probably the only time I had to worry about him was when it was a
snowstorm," McCoy joked.

<http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/?p=44658>

[Hyfler/Rosner]

>
> "He was a consummate pro," former CBS-FM program director Joe McCoy
> recalls.

These words and "saddened" are words only used in the stories of
recently dead people.

I don't think people who are still alive can be consummate
professionals. I don't even know what a consummate professional is.

I am saddened.

[Louis Epstein]

Hyfler/Rosner <rel...@rcn.com> wrote:
:
:>
:> "He was a consummate pro," former CBS-FM program director Joe McCoy

Perhaps one can only consummate one's profession by dying?

: I am saddened.

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

[Roy Blows]

On Oct 15, 2:53 pm, Louis Epstein <l...@main.put.com> wrote:
.
>
> Perhaps one can only consummate one's profession by dying?
>

How about you becoming the consumate poster?

[Charlene]

It's a fine euphemism, is what it is.

wd47

[Charlene]

On Oct 15, 8:04 pm, silas <silascalh...@aol.com> wrote:
> shirt off his back
>
> never met a stranger
>
> lit up a room

"he lit up a room" - brought the booze
"he would give you the shirt off his back" - frequently naked in
public
"he never met a stranger he didn't like" - hid in his house most of
the time

wd47

[Louis Epstein]

Charlene <charlene...@gmail.com> wrote:

: On Oct 15, 8:04?pm, silas <silascalh...@aol.com> wrote:
:> shirt off his back
:>
:> never met a stranger
:>
:> lit up a room
:
: "he lit up a room" - brought the booze
: "he would give you the shirt off his back" - frequently naked in
: public

I think he was the guy whose bare back appeared in an ad,
marked "xxxx Brown's Back!" (one page),and then another page
of his front marked "on [radio station]".

: "he never met a stranger he didn't like" - hid in his house most of
: the time
:
: wd47

[Brad Ferguson]

In article <j8fa09$i3f$6...@reader1.panix.com>, Louis Epstein

<l...@main.put.com> wrote:

> Charlene <charlene...@gmail.com> wrote:
> : On Oct 15, 8:04?pm, silas <silascalh...@aol.com> wrote:
> :> shirt off his back
> :>
> :> never met a stranger
> :>
> :> lit up a room
> :
> : "he lit up a room" - brought the booze
> : "he would give you the shirt off his back" - frequently naked in
> : public
>
> I think he was the guy whose bare back appeared in an ad,
> marked "xxxx Brown's Back!" (one page),and then another page
> of his front marked "on [radio station]".

No, that was Ted Brown. The ad you're thinking of marked Ted's return
to WNEW from WNBC after six years or so. 1972, I think.