Jim Runyon
Jim Runyon (January 8, 1931 – April 13, 1973) was an American radio announcer, disc jockey, and sometime actor from the late 1950s to 1973. He was in plays at Cain Park in the early ‘70s
Jim Runyon was loved by his radio audience and was known for playing the many love songs of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s in his evening time slot. There was many a teenaged girl listening to him every night, and falling asleep to his signature sign-off song, "Good Night My Love," and his signature closing, "from a Runyon named Jim."
Early years
Runyon was born in Logan, West Virginia[1] and grew up in Williamson, where his father owned a furniture store. He had an early interest in radio and started out as a janitor at a radio station in Welch, West Virginia. When the station's regular announcer did not arrive for work one Saturday morning, Runyon convinced the station manager to let him go on the air. This worked out to be a regular air shift for him until it was learned that he was only thirteen years old. The state's Child Welfare Department intervened, and Runyon had to leave the airwaves until his fourteenth birthday.[2][3] Runyon went on the air at WBTH when his family moved to Williamson, where he attended high school.[3]
Runyon won a scholarship at Marshall College in Huntington, West Virginia, but left college after six months. While attending college, Runyon worked nights for WHTN Radio. His studies were suffering because of his full-time job, so Runyon elected to leave school in favor of his radio work.[3]
Career
Runyon worked at several radio stations in West Virginia before serving in the
In 1965, he moved to
Death
Runyon announced his resignation from WWWE on March 15, 1973, because of health concerns; his health also forced him to resign from WEWS-TV.[12] Runyon had been frequently hospitalized and told WWWE management to look for a replacement, as he doubted he would be able to return to the air. Weeks later, he died of leukemia at the age of 42. He was survived by his wife, actress Jane Roberts, who had performed with him in Chickenman, their daughter Jennifer Runyon (born 1960), a film and television actress, and two sons, David and Scott, from previous marriages.[2][13][14][15][16][17]
Runyon's memory was honored at a special
References
- ^
- ^ a b c The Man With the Golden Mike. TV-Radio Mirror. November 1963. p. 70. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
- ^
- ^ The Radio Annual-WELC Radio. Radio Daily. 1951. p. 699. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
- ^
- ISBN 9780595916344. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^
- ^ WebMasters, Mike Olszewski (2002-03-04). "Cleveland Broadcast Radio Archives Project-Jim Runyon". Cleve-radio.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
- ^ "RadioRanch-How the Radio Serials, Chickenman and Toothfairy Were Born". Radio-ranch.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
- ^ "Bill Tash Collection audiofile-Jim Runyon aircheck-KYW-1965". Reelradio.com. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
- ^
- ISBN 9781598510690. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^ "Reel Radio-Windy City Airchecks-page includes 10 audio files of "Chickenman"". Reelradio.com. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
- ^ "Time-June 9, 1967-It's a Bird! It's a Plane! Whoops, It's a Bird". Time.com. 1967-06-09. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved 2011-09-12. (pay per view)
- ^ "Chickenman". Radio Ranch.com. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ Jim Runyon Obit. Billboard. May 5, 1973. p. 30. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ISBN 9781598510300. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
External links
- Description of Jim Runyon by Harry Martin, fellow KYW DJ at the Wayback Machine (archived July 28, 2011)