Captain Mikey

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Captain Mikey
Born
Marion Elbridge Herrington

(1935-07-18)July 18, 1935
Florence, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedNovember 16, 1997(1997-11-16) (aged 62)
Fremont, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Radio program director, disc jockey, voice-over actor
Years activeca. 1960–1997
Spouse(s)Barbara Ann Allen (1953- )
Miss Haro
Janet Eileen Rew (1984-1997)

Marion Elbridge Herrington (July 18, 1935 – November 16, 1997) (also known as Mikel Hunter Herrington), best known as Captain Mikey (and also known by the

Top 40 radio as well as what we called progressive rock on FM."[2]

In October 2007 he was inducted into the San Jose Rocks Hall of Fame,

Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame[4] on October 1, 2008.[5]

Herrington inspired the fictional characters of program director Jeff Dugan in the 1978 movie FM, and program director Andy Travis on the 1980s television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.[6]

Herrington also managed and promoted a San Jose rock band People!, and produced a hit record for them, People!'s cover of the Zombies' "I Love You," which reached #14 on the Billboard charts in June 1968.

Despite popular misconceptions, he has no known connection to the "Captain Mikey" of

Utica College
who hosted shows regularly from 1995 to 1999, and returned to those airwaves again regularly in 2012.

Personal life

Captain Mikey was born on July 18, 1935, as Marion Elbridge Herrington in Florence, South Carolina, the son of Carl Elbridge Herrington (born July 27, 1900, in Carteret County, North Carolina; died November 3, 1950, in New Bern, North Carolina),[7] a brakeman for the Atlantic & East Carolina Railroad, who was killed after being run over by a freight car in an accident at the New Bern rail yards in November 1950,[8] and Margaret Lucile Edmondson (born April 24, 1903; died December 2, 1988, in New Bern, North Carolina),[9] and the younger brother of Robert Carl Herrington (born January 25, 1928, in South Carolina; died June 4, 2005, in St. Augustine, Florida).[10]

In 1953 Herrington married Barbara Ann Allen in Florence, South Carolina. They had three children: Jeffrey Allen Herrington (born December 27, 1954, in New Bern, North Carolina), Michael Craig Herrington (born June 27, 1958, in

San Diego, California) and Brooke M. Herrington Killian (born May 6, 1966, in Santa Clara, California).[12] On June 24, 1984, Herrington married Janet Eileen Rew (born December 2, 1954, in Whittier, California)[13] in Dublin, California,[14] with whom he had two children: Trent Elbridge Herrington, (born October 6, 1989, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Kelsey Rose Herrington (born January 25, 1993, in Vallejo, California).[15] Captain Mikey died on November 16, 1997, of leukemia at age 62 in Fremont, California.[16]

Herrington was described as "a handsome guy with a very ballsy voice that women loved. Michael was about five foot ten, with brown hair, and he wore round, wireless glasses like John Lennon. ... He was strikingly handsome, with big, warm blue eyes, and when he spoke, a rich, friendly person, took command."[17]

Career

Disc Jockey and Program Director

Under various names, Herrington worked as a disc jockey and later as a program director at radio stations in

Dallas Texas; KELP, El Paso, Texas; and KSRO, Santa Rosa, California.[18]

Herrington was described as one of those "people who made the station click" in Tucson,[19] and "a walking almanac of rock and roll".[17]

San Diego

Herrington was working in San Diego in 1963.

San Jose (1966–1969)

Herrington was both program director and a disc jockey (as Captain Mikey) at radio station

Highway 17 to the beach at Santa Cruz, and the creation of the station's mascot Norman, "a snooty surfer boy".[23]

While working at KLIV, Herrington also managed and promoted the band People!, producing their 1968 hit I Love You and the Syndicate of Sound with their hit Little Girl.[24] Both bands and Herrington himself are members of the San Jose Rocks! Hall of Fame.[25]

Los Angeles (1969–1976)

Herrington was a disc jockey on the following Los Angeles radio stations:

KMET, 1972–74; and KGBS, 1975–76.[26]

KFI (1969)

By January 1969 Herrington was recruited to radio KFI in Los Angeles by Dave Moorhead,[27] where he was on air from 6-9pm. However, Moorhead accepted a position at rival KLAC by March 1969.[28]

KLAC (1970)

Herrington was at KLAC in 1970 during the ultraconservative "chicken rock" format,[29] which was the antithesis of "hard rock" and a forerunner of the Mellow and Soft Rock stations of the 1970s.[30]

KRLA (1971–1972)

After being recruited by program director Shadoe Stevens,[31] Herrington moved to KRLA by January 1971,[32] for the progressive rock "underground" format,[32] where he called himself "Hot Rocks Hunter", (and later "Motorcycle Mikel"),[26] and worked the 9.00pm to midnight shift.[33]

KMET (1972–1974)

In late 1972 Herrington (as Mikel Hunter) became the director of operations and programming at

KMET.[37] During his stint as program director of KMET, "the Mighty Met," the environment was as irreverent as the music.[26] The KMET jocks had a wall full of "nude" pictures of listeners, and the ceiling of the studio was a mural with the moon and stars on it. The 1978 film FM, written by Ezra Sacks who had worked at KMET. about Jeff Dugan, who led the resistance to corporate takeover at a fictitious radio station, was based on Herrington and his times at KMET,[38] as was the character of program director Andy Travis on the popular 1978 sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.[6]

Among the on air talent Herrington recruited while program director at KMET was

freeform format pioneering disc jockey Jim Ladd, whom Herrington recruited in 1974 from rival KLOS. In 1991 Ladd released a semi-autobiographical book Radio Waves: Life and Revolution on the FM Dial, which featured his colleagues at KMET (disguised as KAOS), including Herrington.[40] By September 1974 Herrington had been replaced by Cathy Kenyon.[36]

Oakland, California

By September 1974 Herrington (as Mikel Hunter) was the operations director at KNEW,[41] a radio station based in Oakland, California[42] which had switched to a country music format in July 1974.

Los Angeles (1975–1976)

In 1975, Herrington moved to KGBS, then a country music radio station in Los Angeles.[43] After the station changed its name to KTNQ in September 1976, and subsequently format,[44] about Christmas 1976 Herrington left KGBS to accept a lucrative position in Iran.[45]

Iran (1977)

Herrington, along with two other American radio personalities, Ted Anthony and Claude "Hoot" Hooten (known on air as Brad Edwards), was recommended by

Savak,[47] Herrington served as both program director, and also as disc jockey who played heavy rock and roll from 5-10pm each day for a month from March 1977.[48] Despite the promise of six-figure salaries and generous housing and travel allowances,[17] "all they were promised didn't happen (their phones were bugged, etc., etc.) and they ended up having to literally escape the country".[49] Upon his return to the US, Herrington was forced to hide out in a motel in the San Fernando Valley until Hall threatened to expose the situation in Iran in Billboard.[50]

San Jose (1977–1982)

After his return from Iran Herrington was unemployed and advertised for work.

April Fool's Day he told listeners to cover up their telephone receivers because the phone company was cleaning out the lines and would be blowing dust through them. And he led his whole staff to the homes of listeners to crash their parties".[20] Herrington promised listeners "62 minutes of commercial-free music every hour".[58] Under Herrington, the format was free-form. According to West, "There were walls of albums in the station color-coded by genre, and each had a sheet of paper attached that indicated which cuts were permitted for airplay. On classic albums like the Who's "Who's Next," every song was on the list. "Roughly there were 5,000 songs at your fingertips at any time," West says. "Now you have stations with 300."[56]

While at KOME, Herrington was also known on air in the mornings as "Lefty",[59] and was responsible for creating their "Hey Lefty! What time is it?" segment, where prominent musicians (including Van Halen, Grace Slick, Hall & Oates, Ian Hunter, the Greg Kihn Band, Kip Addotta, and Chevy Chase) would ask the question that prompted the announcement of the time.[60]

By August 1981 Herrington was promoted to operations manager at KOME.[61] In 1982 Herrington was still working as a disc jockey (as Mikel Hunter) at KLIV,[62] and program director at KOME,[63] however after station owners Infinity Broadcasting Corporation tried to bring in broadcasting consultants in 1982, Herrington left KOME by November 1982 in protest.[64] According to West, "KOME's heyday came to an end in 1982".[56]

His

voiceover career included being the national voice for Sears
.

Philadelphia (1984–1989)

By November 1984 Herrington became program director at Metromedia's

Adult Contemporary station,[65] with declining ratings.[66] During his tenure, WIP transitioned initially toward light talk and music in the evening to become primarily a sports talk station.[67]

Las Vegas, Nevada

Herrington operated Mikel Hunter Broadcast Services, a radio programming consulting company from Las Vegas.[68]

Napa, California

A wine connoisseur, Herrington moved to the wine country, and hosted talk shows at KVON and KVYN[69] in Napa, California. At KVYN Herrington was program director until his resignation in September 1992.[70]

Santa Rosa, California

Herrington's last position in radio was as host of a talk show at KSRO in Santa Rosa, California.[70]

Postmortem developments

In 2008, he was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.[71][72]

References

  1. ^ "KLIV Radio 1590: The Top 40 Years: San Jose, California", http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/kliv/index.shtml Archived 2010-09-16 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Claude Hall, "Gone and Also: A Work in Progress", http://www.firststrategy.com/claudehall1.htm Archived 2009-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "2007 Inductees", http://www.sanjoserocks.org/inductees.htm
  4. ^ "Celebrating the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2008!", http://www.bayarearadio.org/hof/2008/index.shtml Archived 2010-05-15 at the Wayback Machine; "Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame", http://kavasradiosoup.blogspot.com/2008/07/great-list-of-bay-area-radio-hall-of.html Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine; Ben Fong-Torres, "Radio Waves", (7 September 2008), http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-09-07/entertainment/17161134_1_radio-waves-satellite-radio-abc-radio-s-fm
  5. ^ "Hall Of Fame 2008". Bay Area Radio. Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  6. ^ a b "Deaths", Billboard (6 December 1997):64.
  7. ^ North Carolina Death Certificates, 1909-1975 Record for Carl Elbridge Herrington
  8. ^ Ancestry.com. North Carolina Death Certificates, 1909-1975
  9. ^ Source Citation: Number: 241-48-1505; Issue State: North Carolina;Issue Date: 1951. Social Security Death Index: Source Vendor: NC Department of Health. North Carolina Deaths, 1988-92; Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997; Source Citation: Place: Alameda; Date: 16 Nov 1997
  10. ^ Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census; Census Place: Florence, Florence, South Carolina; Roll 2196; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 13; Image: 903.0; Ancestry.com. United States Obituary Collection, St. Augustine Record (9 June 2005); Social Security Death Index: Source Citation: Number: 242-32-4795; Issue State: North Carolina; Issue Date: Before 1951.
  11. ^ Ancestry.com. Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997.
  12. ^ Ancestry.com. California Birth Index, 1905-1995
  13. ^ Ancestry.com. California Birth Index, 1905-1995; http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/e/w/Scott-A-Rew/GENE6-0017.html
  14. ^ Ancestry.com. California Marriage Index, 1960-1985
  15. ^ Family Tree Maker
  16. ^ Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index; Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997; Source Citation: Place: Alameda; Date: 16 Nov 1997; Social Security: 238485188; http://www.sanjoserocks.org/i_mikel_hunter.htm San Jose Rocks bio; "Mikel Herrington (Hunter)", Variety (3 December 1997), http://www.variety.com/article/VR1116678714.html?categoryid=25&cs=1
  17. ^ a b c Claude "Hoot" Hooten, Drunk & Disorderly, Again: My Name Is Hoot, I'm an Alcoholic (Wordclay, 2009):114.
  18. ^ Duane Wadsworth, "Anyone know where Mikel Hunter a.k.a. Mikel Harrington is?", (12 September 1994), rec.radio.broadcasting; Duane Wadsworth, "Where is Mikel Hunter?", (23 January 1996), rec.radio.broadcasting
  19. ^ Claude Hall and Barbara Hall, This Business of Radio Programming: A Comprehensive Look at Modern Programming Techniques Used Throughout the Radio World (Billboard Publications, 1977):32.
  20. ^ a b Brad Kava, "Mikel Hunter Herrington", http://www.sanjoserocks.org/i_mikel_hunter.htm
  21. ^ "KLIV Radio 1590: The Top 40 Years San Jose", http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/kliv/index.shtml Archived 2010-09-16 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "Bay Area radio". Archived from the original on 2010-09-16. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  23. ^ http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/kliv/index.shtml Archived 2010-09-16 at the Wayback Machine. For view of the logo, see "KLIV's 'Norman', 1960s", (April 27, 2009), http://classicdjradioscrapbook.blogspot.com/2009/04/oldies-plus.html(
  24. ^ Discogs
  25. ^ San Jose Rock Music Hall of Fame
  26. ^ a b c Don Barrett, "Where Are They Now? Los Angeles Radio People: H", http://www.laradio.com/whereh.htm
  27. ^ Los Angeles Times (January 8, 1969):K18.
  28. ^ "Vox Jox", Billboard 1(5 March 1969):37.
  29. ^ Don Barrett, "Where Are They Now? Los Angeles Radio People: H", http://www.laradio.com/whereh.htm; Donald G. Godfrey and Frederic A. Leigh, eds., Historical Dictionary of American Radio(Greenwood Publishing Group):241.
  30. ^ Michael C. Keith, Radio Programming: Consultancy and Formatics (Focal Press, 1987):45.
  31. ^ Claude Hall, "Vox Jox", Billboard (12 February 1972):16; "KRLA Strives for Entertainment", Billboard (11 December 1971):26, 28.
  32. ^ a b Claude Hall, "Vox Jox", Billboard (23 January 1971):29.
  33. ^ "KRLA's Dave Diamond (Late 1971)", (21 October 2008), http://classicdjradioscrapbook.blogspot.com/2008/10/krlas-dave-diamond-late-1971.html; "KRLA's Mikel Hunter (1972)", (October 19, 2008), http://classicdjradioscrapbook.blogspot.com/2008/10/krlas-mikel-hunter-1972.html
  34. ^ Billboard (11 August 1973):43; Broadcasting Yearbook (Broadcasting Publications, 1974):B-23.
  35. ^ "Rock Music Posters - Memorabilia, Concert Poster, Silkscreen, Poster Art". PosterScene. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  36. ^ a b "KMET-FM's Turner: She's 'Spontaneous'", Billboard (28 September 1974):24.
  37. Billboard Magazine
     (February 9, 1974)
  38. ^ "Deaths", Billboard (6 December 1997):64; Michael Learmonth, "Kingdom KOME: Less than two weeks remain until the letters fade away", Metro (June 4–10, 1998), http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/06.04.98/cover/radio2-9822.html; Don Barrett, "Where Are They Now? Los Angeles Radio People, H", http://www.laradio.com/whereh.htm
  39. ^ "About the Dr.". The Online Internet Site For Information on Dr. Demento music, songs, lyrics, and chat. 2005. (3 March 2006), http://www.drdemento.com/dr-bio.html Archived 2010-09-26 at the Wayback Machine.
  40. ^ See Jim Ladd, Radio Waves: Life and Revolution on the FM Dial (St. Martins Press, 1991).
  41. ^ James Brown, "KLAC to Mark 4th Year of C&W Format", Los Angeles Times (September 6, 1974):F24.
  42. ^ "Vox Jox", Billboard (9 November 1974):11.
  43. ^ "In L.A. Turnabout KGBS-AM Modulates From Gab to Country", Billboard (26 October 1974):26; Claude Hall, "Free Albums for Stations a 'Can of Worms'", Billboard (15 November 1975):31.
  44. ^ "L.A.'s KGBS is Now Rocking KTNQ", Billboard (25 December 1976):16.
  45. ^ a b Claude "Hoot" Hooten, Drunk & Disorderly, Again: My Name Is Hoot, I'm an Alcoholic (Wordclay, 2009):113.
  46. ^ Derek Olson, "Did Crimes Kamran Mashayekhi Witnessed Put His Life in Danger?", The OC Weekly (21 February 2008), http://www.ocweekly.com/2008-02-21/features/taken-for-a-ride/ Archived 2010-07-27 at the Wayback Machine; Derek Olson, "Did Alleged Attack on Self-Described Snitch Happen the Way He Says?", The OC Weekly (15 May 2008), http://www.ocweekly.com/2008-05-15/news/did-alleged-attack-on-self-described-snitch-happen-the-way-he-says/ Archived 2010-04-08 at the Wayback Machine
  47. ^ Claude "Hoot" Hooten, Drunk & Disorderly, Again: My Name Is Hoot, I'm an Alcoholic (Wordclay, 2009):158.
  48. ^ Claude "Hoot" Hooten, Drunk & Disorderly, Again: My Name Is Hoot, I'm an Alcoholic (Wordclay, 2009):114; http://www.mynameishoot.com/about_the_book
  49. ^ Claude Hall, "Gone and Also: A Work in Progress", http://www.firststrategy.com/claudehall1.htm Archived 2009-09-27 at the Wayback Machine. See Claude "Hoot" Hooten, Drunk & Disorderly, Again: My Name Is Hoot, I'm an Alcoholic (Wordclay, 2009):147-158 for details of the "Great Escape".
  50. ^ Claude Hall, "Commentary", http://www.firststrategy.com/claudehallchapter2.htm Archived 2009-12-14 at the Wayback Machine; Claude "Hoot" Hooten, Drunk & Disorderly, Again: My Name Is Hoot, I'm an Alcoholic (Wordclay, 2009):147-158.
  51. ^ Broadcasting 92 (Cahners Pub. Co., 1977):158.
  52. ^ "A Tribute to the Southbay's Legendary 98.5 FM KOME Presented by the Bay Area Radio Museum", http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/kome/
  53. ^ flickr
  54. ^ a b c d Jack McDonough, "KOME's Ratings Increase, But P.D. Hunter's Attitude Cavalier", Billboard (19 September 1981):28.
  55. ^ "Dennis Erectus : History". Museumstuff.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  56. ^ a b c Don West in Michael Learmonth, "Kingdom KOME: Less than two weeks remain until the letters fade away", Metro (June 4–10, 1998), http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/06.04.98/cover/radio2-9822.html
  57. ^ "IF THERE'S ROCK 'N'ROLL HEAVEN, MIKEL MUST BE THERE", San Jose Mercury (21 November 1997), http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SJ&s_site=mercurynews&p_multi=SJ&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EF8577C4808002D&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
  58. ^ a b Michael Learmonth, "Kingdom KOME: Less than two weeks remain until the letters fade away", Metro (June 4–10, 1998), http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/06.04.98/cover/radio2-9822.html
  59. ^ "Laurie Roberts ~ Bay Area Rock Icon", http://kome-rocks.santacruzdreamz.com/tag/923-ksjo/ Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  60. ^ "A Tribute to the Southbay's Legendary 98.5 FM KOME Presented by the Bay Area Radio Museum", http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/kome/ For a seven-minute compilation of these clips, see "The KOME Smart Ass Reel", (Circa 1978); 7 minutes), [2] Archived 2010-09-18 at the Wayback Machine
  61. ^ "Vox Jox", Billboard (8 August 1981):28.
  62. ^ The Working Press of the Nation, Part 3 (Farrell Pub. Corp., 1982).
  63. ^ Broadcasting Cablecasting Yearbook (Broadcasting Publications, 1983).
  64. ^ "Vox Jox", Billboard (6 November 1982):15; Michael Learmonth, "Kingdom KOME: Less than two weeks remain until the letters fade away", Metro (June 4–10, 1998), http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/06.04.98/cover/radio2-9822.html
  65. ^ "Vox Jox", Billboard (3 November 1984):20.
  66. ^ Nick Seneca, (4 February 2007), http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=61639.msg441634#msg441634 Archived 2012-07-07 at archive.today
  67. ^ "FEATURES TELEVISION RADIO", Philadelphia Inquirer (March 5, 1985):E07.
  68. ^ Michael C. Keith, The Radio Station: Broadcast, Satellite & Internet, 7th ed. (Focal Press, 2007):342.
  69. ^ "Kwine". Archived from the original on 2011-03-11. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  70. ^ a b "Radio-Info.com Discussion Boards » San Francisco » Demographics". Boards.radio-info.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  71. ^ "Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  72. ^ SF Gate

Further reading

  • "Deaths". Billboard (6 December 1997):64.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Captain_Mikey&oldid=1192001093"