<Archive Obituaries> 'The Real' Don Steele (August 5th 1997)
Bill Schenley
He Crafted The "Boss Radio" Format That Spread To Other Stations
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FROM: The Orange County Register (August 6th 1997) ~
By Gary Lycan
"I play the hits, baby, until you bleed," The Real Don Steele was
fond of saying. For 37 years, from the old KHJ "Boss Radio" to
all-oldies KRTH/101.1 FM, he put his own fast-talking, high-energy
spin on rock 'n' roll radio and won a huge following among listeners
of all ages.
Lung cancer silenced Mr. Steele earlier this year. He did his last
afternoon drive show on "K-Earth" on May 16 and died in his sleep at
11:20 a.m. Tuesday at his home in the Hollywood Hills with his wife,
Shaune, by his side. He was 61.
"He had never been ill until this came along," Shaune Steele
said. "I grew up as a fan, listening to him on the radio. We ran
across each other at KRLA, where he was working. We knew each other
about five years before we got married five years ago," she said.
Off air, Mr. Steele was a rocker, not a talker. An intensely
private man who rarely gave interviews, he was born April Fool's
Day in 1936 and attended Hollywood High School. After stops in
Omaha, Neb., Portland, Ore., and San Francisco, he came to KHJ/930
AM in May 1965 and was the first DJ there to proclaim Boss Radio in
"Boss Angeles. "
In the book "Los Angeles Radio People," Mr. Steele recalled the
moment: "We were standing literally at ground zero, then (his radio
format) became a huge giant. It was like a mushroom cloud that went
up _ heavy on the mushroom. "
Boss Radio was truly a unique sound _ a capella jingles, fewer
commercials, a tight music playlist, plenty of promotions and DJs
such as Mr. Steele and Robert W. Morgan. KHJ, a station with poor
ratings, "went from worst to first," recalled radio
author-historian Don Barrett.
Mr. Steele was never one to analyze the evolution of rock radio.
In a 1995 interview, he insisted, "Look, you take the Motown sound
and the British Invasion and you throw in Elvis and Roy Orbison,
and you have a music mix that's hard to beat at any time or any
place. "
When he did talk, it was fast, and if it didn't always make
sense, no matter. Here's a typical Steele excerpt, which he rattled
off in 11 seconds between records, as reported by Philip Eberly in
his book, "Music In The Air":
"It's three o'clock in Boss Angelese! Hey, hey, HEY, thitz me.
The Real Don Steele! A billion-dollar weekend there, and you're
looking out of sidewalk call. I got nothing but groovy those groovy
golds. We're gonna kick it out here on a fractious Friday boy, got
to get a set outside that (sound of blowing bubbles) jumbo city.
Take a trip. When you chase 'em, daylight! "
Seven years ago, several major record companies honored Mr.
Steele, Morgan and format creator Bill Drake at a Boss Radio
Reunion Dinner. It was an immediate sellout.
"Morgan was the first one hired for Boss Radio," Drake said. "He
recommended Steele. He flew down from San Francisco. I was a little
leery because I had heard he was kind of a crazy man, but it turned
out he was very dedicated to his work. "
Mr. Steele stayed at KHJ until 1975, then moved on to KIQQ,
KTNQ/1020 AM, KRLA/94.7 FM (1985-89), KODJ, KCBS/740 AM and 93.1
FM,and arrived at KRTH in July 1992. He made his acting debut in
ABC-TV's "Bewitched," had his own weekly TV dance-party show and
appeared in such movies as "Death Race 2000," "Grand Theft Auto"
and "Eating Raoul. " He recorded commercials, and at one time had a
successful, nationally syndicated radio show. He received a star on
the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995 _ it's at Hollywood Boulevard
and La Brea Avenue.
"It must be a sad day for Tina Delgado," author Barrett said
Tuesday of Mr. Steele's death. Delgado became part of Mr. Steele's
afternoon mantra, "Tina Delgado is alive, alive! "
Who she was is a mystery he took with him. Not even his wife
knew.
"He never told me and I never asked," Shaune Steele said
Tuesday. "I felt if I had asked him that when we were dating, we
never would have gotten married. He didn't like people to get too
close. We had only a very small circle of intimate friends. "
He is survived by his wife.
Private services are pending.
CORRECTION:
Los Angeles radio station KRLA's frequency is 1110 AM. The late radio
personality The Real Don Steele worked there and at KCBS/93.1 in Los
Angeles, among other stations. Because of editing errors, incorrect
frequencies appeared in an article in the Aug. 6 edition of the
Register.
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'Real' Don Steele, Style-Setting L.A. DeeJay, Dies; At 61;
A High-Decible Star On KHJ 'Boss Radio' In The 1960s,
He Was Most Recently Heard On K-EARTH
FROM: The Los Angeles Times (August 7th 1997) ~
By Myrna Oliver, Staff Writer
The death Tuesday of deejay "the Real" Don Steele evoked the
mega-decibel cries of late 1960s Top 40 radio when Steele and other
"boss jocks" ruled the airwaves and captured Los Angeles' hip
teenagers as the audience of 93-KHJ.
"It's 3 o'clock in Boss Angelese! Hey hey HEY! Thitz me. The Real Don
Steele!" he would scream through dashboard speakers and teen hangouts
during radio's afternoon drive time on a typical Friday. "A
billion-dollar weekend there. . . . I got nothing but groovy, those
groovy golds. We're gonna kick it out here on a fractious Friday, boy.
Got to get a set outside that unintelligible work resembling blowing
bubbles in a glass of water! Jumbo city! Pause Take a trip. When you
chase 'em daylight!"
Less frenetic listeners tuned out Steele's light-speed patter,
claiming they couldn't understand a word he said. More adored him and
became devoted fans, and colleagues emulated him. His tapes were
studied in broadcast schools and mimicked at other Top 40 and oldies
stations.
Steele, who had been heard on KRTH-101 (K-EARTH) until mid-May, died
in his sleep Tuesday morning at his Hollywood Hills home of lung
cancer. The entertainer, who had given up smoking 10 years ago, was
61.
Steele was on the air the first afternoon KHJ shifted to rock and,
although in recent years the music was called "oldies," he never
stopped spinning the records or spouting the shtick.
"We were standing literally at ground zero; then it became a huge
giant," he said of the station's introduction of "Boss Radio" to
Southern California. "It was like a mushroom cloud that went up--heavy
on the mushroom."
Although Steele didn't coin the "boss" terms, he was the first to
deliver the phrase "Boss Radio in Boss Angeles" on the air.
Steele's fertile mind and glib tongue were also responsible for his
personal mantra familiar for 40 years: "Tina Delgado is alive, alive!"
which was echoed knowingly by teenagers across Southern California.
"This must be a very sad day for the mythical Tina Delgado," said Don
Barrett, radio historian and author of the anthology "Los Angeles
Radio People," when he learned of Steele's death.
In 1967 and 1968, Billboard magazine named Steele the No. 1 air
personality in influencing the sales of record singles. In 1995, he
was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions
to radio.
A poll seeking the top 10 disc jockeys in Los Angeles from 1957 to
1997 rated Steele second among the 232 personalities nominated. The
ballot was printed by Barrett in his 1994 book, and results will be
published in the second volume of his book, due out Sept. 1.
"He never compromised his energy or his style," Barrett said of Steele
on Wednesday. "He was consistent from day one of Boss Radio in 1965
until a short time ago."
K-EARTH morning colleague Robert W. Morgan, who also ranked in the top
10 in Barrett's poll (the author won't reveal the rankings until the
book comes out), says of Steele in the book: "A radio animal! He's the
absolute best at what he does. Sounds better now than he did 30 years
ago . . . if that's possible."
Ironically, K-EARTH announced in May that Morgan had left the station
to undergo therapy--also for lung cancer.
Popular deejay Rick Dees, another voted among Barrett's top 10, says
of Steele in the book: "Pure, raw energy and focus. And he still has
it every day. That's amazing!"
In the 1980s, Steele broadcast a syndicated radio show, "Live from the
Sixties," which was heard in about 300 cities.
Steele was loved not only for his thunder-and-lightning speech but for
what he could say in those loud and fast phrases--if you listened
closely.
"He was so concise," Barrett said. "He said more in fewer words than
anybody in the history of Los Angeles radio."
The shtick barely tapped an incredible wit and glossed over a
considerable intellect, according to Steele's former newscaster
colleague Boyd R. Britton, now known as Doc on the Roq of KROQ radio.
"He educated me in star quality, in energy and focus," said Britton,
who worked with Steele in the late 1970s at KTNQ. "He epitomized
energy on the air."
With his high-decibel voice, the impeccably dressed Steele stood out
in popular clubs and restaurants as he did on the air.
"Very early on he was extremely hearing damaged," Britton said,
attributing the impairment to disc jockeys' habit of listening to
records at top headphone volume in order to determine the proper mix
for the air. "It was very difficult for him to hear in a group. That
made his natural speaking voice almost as loud as his on-air voice."
Although best-known for his consistent and durable radio presence,
Steele also became a fixture on television and in B movies.
From 1968 to 1975 he was on television Saturday nights with "The Real
Don Steele TV Show," a rock 'n' roll dance show with guest stars such
as the Rolling Stones and the Supremes.
As his wife, Shaune, described it Wednesday: "The Real Don Steele,
armed with a nubile dancer on either side, pranced across the screen
as the Saturday night king of TV rockdom."
In addition to his own show, Steele made guest appearances in
television movies, as a disc jockey in "The Day the Earth Moved," as
himself in "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park," as a boat coordinator
in "Anything to Survive" and as--what else--XRAY the Deejay in
"Runaway Daughters.
In motion pictures, Steele played fast-talking hipster characters in
what became cult films by Roger Corman and others.
He was Junior in "Death Race 2000," Curly Q. Brown in "Grand Theft
Auto" and Screamin' Steve Stevens in perhaps the most popular film of
its type, "Rock 'n' Roll High School." He also played the host in
"Eating Raoul," Rockin' Ricky Rialto in "Gremlins" and Charlie Caddo
in "Nowhere to Run." Just last year Steele portrayed a driver in
"Tales From the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood."
Born in Hollywood on April Fools' Day of 1936, Steele graduated from
Hollywood High School, served in the Army and then studied at a local
radio school. In the next four years, he worked at radio stations in
Beverly Hills, Glendale, Corona and Riverside, moved on to Kennewick,
Yakima and Spokane, Wash., and then to Omaha, Portland and San
Francisco. KHJ brought him home.
Playing Top 40 hits, Steele always insisted, involved personality as
much as music--preferably his personality.
"If you can make a cat in a jam on the freeway giggle, that's it," he
told The Times in 1967 as he soared toward his peak popularity. "I'm
there to be a super-entertainer, not to teach people or sway minds.
It's pressure, but it's what President Harry S. Truman said about
politics, if heat ain't for you, get out of the kitchen."
Proud of his much-lauded consistency, Steele told The Times in 1993
from his berth at K-EARTH: "I don't think I'm any different now. I've
never stopped. I've never changed. I never did anything else. This is
the music of my life."
Steele's widow, Shaune, his only survivor, said private services are
pending.
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