A few celebrities with various microphones
When asked about joining this page, D. J. Bailey replied, “Here I am behind an RE20 in the control room at WGRR-FM, Cincinnati in 2005. I don’t know about ‘celebrity,’ just a hard-working broadcaster with a checkered career. Included with the attached photo (amazingly, the only one I have of me behind a mic), I started thinking about the mics used in the many control rooms I’ve worked over the past few decades and thought that would not only provide a resume of sorts, but might be fun, so here goes…
“WFOR-AM Hattiesburg, Mississippi—first job riding board on NBC Monitor—control room mic—RCA 44-BX.
“WRKO-AM Boston—an amazing radio station with an incredible sound—control room mic—Sennheiser MD 421. This surprises some but the 421 was a perfect match for the station’s audio chain—a full rack for the mic alone.
“Satellite Music Network, Chicago—I worked in the Mokena complex before ABC bought it and moved everything to Dallas. Control room mic—Shure SM5-B (if memory serves).
“WNAP-FM Indianapolis—The original Buzzard—Control room mic—EV RE20, but for a time when it was oldies WKLR-FM in the 80s, a Neumann U 87.
“WENS-FM Indianapolis—The Emmis flagship at the time—control room mic—Shure SM-7—another perfect match for the station’s audio chain.
“There are others, of course, but those are the mics I remember most fondly. I currently do voice work from home. Among my clients is Jones Radio Networks where I’m the national signature voice for their 24/7 Hot AC format, which puts me on about 80 stations. I use an EV RE20.”
—Dennis Jon Bailey
Listen to Mr. Bailey at WRKO Boston in 1979
and at WCMC Raleigh, NC in 2007
Lowell Thomas, circa 1930.
Margaret O’Brien, circa 1947
In April 2006, O’Brien was presented with one of the first two Lifetime Achievement
Awards ever awarded by the SunDeis Film Festival at Brandeis University.
(Celeste Holm received the other.)
Eugene Harold “Buddy” Weed, taken in 1947 for Downbeat Magazine.
Buddy Weed (1918-1997)—Buddy Weed’s piano styles were ingenious and extraordinarily refined. His imagination and interpretations of the popular music of his time still remain as one of the most indelible contributions to music. A pianist of unquestionable technique, he was extremely efficient with his piano flourishes using them only as incidental decoration, and not as part of the basic purpose. His treatment of a song was to convey the basic melodic content in the essential blending of these two attributes. Around all of his arrangements, Buddy skillfully built upon the many subtle moods in which the two governing factors were of the personalities of the composer and those of the performer. There was never a clash between the two. The results were an incredible smoothness, which prevailed in all his arrangements. Combined with the unbelievable dexterity of his playing, Buddy’s music has endured throughout the decades.
Eugene Harold Weed’s natural dexterity of the keyboard began developing at the age of four when he first faced a piano teacher. He continued his studies throughout his scholastic career and upon graduation from high school in Ossining, New York he studied arranging in classical techniques with Herman Wasserman. His first gig was at the age of sixteen when he was hired by Jack Teagarden’s Orchestra in 1934. By early 1939, Paul “Pops” Whiteman had heard Buddy, and immediately hired him. Although World War II briefly ended his commercial career, his relationship with Whiteman continued until his death in 1957. Featured in the fifth Gershwin Memorial Concert in 1942 with a standing ovation, his Gershwin style arrangements soon became the band’s trademark.
Before the war he had played with Teddy Powell and Charlie Spivack, and continued to be heard in Paul Whiteman’s orchestra as featured solo pianist and arranger. After a three-year term in the U.S. Army he joined the staff of the American Broadcasting Co. (ABC) where he innovated and introduced the first piano Jazz Trio to America. Since that time he became very much in demand as one of the most sought after pianists and arrangers in America. His discography can still be assembled from the archives of MGM, Capitol, RCA, Coral, Decca, Repertory, and Gemini.
After his retirement in 1970 as Director of Music for ABC, he became a much sought-after soloist as well as with his trio in Arizona, and continued to appear on radio and television and in nightclubs with undiminished success.
Buddy Weed passed away in 1997, but his undeniable style and techniques have left his indelible imprint on American music.
—Gene Weed, 2005
Durward Kirby.
Library of American Broadcasting,
University of Maryland.
Bernie Zuch
Our friend Bernie Zuch says: Although I’m presently retired from the motion picture industry, I’ve been working there as a Sound Production Mixer since 1970. My work has usually kept me in the greater NY metropolitan area. I’ve worked on a few movies (Godfather 1, American Psycho, Natural Enemies… etc. etc.) I decided early in my career to stick with TV commercials. Much less stress, no crazy hours and much better pay! Working in this area has been a most gratifying experience even though Sound guys really don’t get the credit they fully deserve.
Location recording has always been a challenging event (or nightmare). Locations are generally chosen for their visual “look,” never considering sound issues or associated problems. Coming up with a good useable tracks on these locations wasn’t easy. In spite of uncontrollable ambient noise, planes, trucks, neighbors and some egotistical directors… somehow I overcame it. Now it seems that radio mics have taken over! I was often told to just “wire up everybody!” In my opinion, hiding mics under clothing and other areas of the body just isn’t the way to record natural sound. The overhead boom mic has always been my first choice. All of our classic films were recorded that way.
Being an expert electronics technician, I’ve come to love repairing and restoring vintage microphones. Pictured above are three of my “Elvis” mics. It’s the Shure 55, 51S, and 55S. Although I don’t really consider myself in the “celebrity” category, I want to thank my good friend Stan for inviting me into his terrific website. Thanks Stan. Really appreciate it!
KPCC’s Larry Mantle, host of AirTalk, celebrating his twentieth anniversary of presenting the daily program. (From the KPCC web site:) KPCC launched AirTalk on April 1, 1985, just a month after the general manager asked News Director Larry Mantle if he would like to start a daily personality-oriented issues program on the station. Interview call-in shows were rare in public radio at the time, but AirTalk quickly caught on with KPCC listeners, and gradually expanded its daily length and the size of its audience.
Great Scot! It’s Sir Harry Lauder, 1870-1950, “Laird of the music hall.”
Photo courtesy of Bruce McCausland.
Julie London in 1957.
Arthur Godfrey.
Groucho Marx.
Herbert Marshall.
Ethel Merman.
 
Walter Winchell and Jimmy Durante.
Dave Garroway hosting the Today
show on December 1, 1952.
He was the show’s first host.
Gregg Donovan
NBC staff announcer, 1947.
Willie Nelson in 1966.
Before he was “Colonel Hogan,” Bob Crane
deejayed at WLEA, WBIS, WICC, KNX, and KMPC.
Courtesy of the Library of American Broadcasting, University of Maryland.
Dr. Martin Luther King.
Drawings are of Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner.
Jack Benny, Dick Powell, Ken Murray, Bing Crosby on drums, Shirley Ross.
Courtesy of the Library of American Broadcasting, University of Maryland.
Photo taken during the first broadcast of “Arthur Godfrey Time” in
1941. Mr. Godfrey is center foreground, the band and singers are
in the background. The lead singer, Patty Clayton, is at right.
Bob Hope and Judy Garland.
Doris Day and Bob Hope.
Johnny Carson.
Brian Wilson.
Sir George Martin.
Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra.
Lana Turner.
WCKY program host Rex Dale interviews Ms. Gloria Swanson.
Photo taken by William C. Benesch (a. k. a. Bill Bradshaw).
“All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.”
Courtesy of the Library of American Broadcasting, University of Maryland.
Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, and program host Rex Dale at WCKY.
Photo taken by William C. Benesch (a. k. a. Bill Bradshaw).
Dinah Shore
in the late thirties.
Nat “King” Cole.
Hear Mr. Cole sing a phrase:
Ruby Keeler and Al Jolson.
NBC staff announcer Nelson Case.
Courtesy of the Library of American Broadcasting, University of Maryland.
Here is a wealth of information on Mr. Case.
Nikita Khrushchev and Richard Nixon.
“Kitchen debate” in model home at the American National
Exhibition in Moscow, from news summaries of July 25, 1959.
The legendary Les Paul.
DJ Tiny Markle, Mary Ford, and Les Paul.
Alan Freed.
Mel Blanc.
Mel Blanc.
Gary Owens.
Orson Welles.
Tennessee Ernie Ford circa 1950 at WOPI, Bristol, Tennessee.
Photo courtesy of William H. Mountjoy, Jr.
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