Recently, as part of a “sixties music” article (click here), I displayed a commemoratve poster, agraphic of KPUG mid-’60s jocks that I recalled from my earliest days of listening to the radio. I have received questions about the origin of the graphic…..was it an old KPUG promotional ad? or maybe part of a weekly survey? No, I am sorry to say it is not that old. I created it from photos in my collection.
It was winter 1966 when I began listening to KPUG. The jocks at the time (morning thru sign-off) were Bob O’Neil (also, program director), Larry Dean, Gary Shannon, Kirk Wilde, and Harvey (Charlie) Brown. Four of them were included in my image or poster. Later in 1966, another memorable guy, Steve West, came along. And in early ’67, Pacific Northwest legend (or maybe he was a “giant”) Norm Gregory joined the KPUG air staff. Norm was known around the station prior to that; he and Wilde shared a house before Norm took the leap into radio. So, although these guys were all at KPUG in the mid-sixties, they were not all there at “exactly” the same time.
Not to slight anyone, several other KPUG jocks went on to bigger things including Gary “Taylor” Bruno, Jay Hamilton, Danny Holiday, Mike Forney, Scott Campbell, Don Patrick and Marc Taylor (Bill Ogden). You can read about many of those guys in the links below.
Click on the names below to read about these broadcasters who were popular in Bellingham and Whatcom County, including nearby Canadian legend Red Robinson:
Danny Holiday (KPUG)
Dick Stark (KENY & KPUG)
Kirk Wilde (KPUG)
Gary Shannon (KPUG)
Mike Forney (KPUG)
Jay Hamilton (KPUG & KBFW)
Bob O’Neil & Marc Taylor (KPUG)
John Christopher Kowsky (KPUG)
Haines Faye & Rogan Jones (KVOS & KGMI)
Tom Haveman (KENY & KVOS)
Red Robinson (Vancouver B.C.)
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May 23, 2020 at QZVX
Steven Smith says:
Mike…If KJRB was double A you have that right. Of the four shown there, guys who went to KJR, I think West maybe went direct from KPUG to KJR for all nights, moved across town as a PD and Pat hired him back and sent him over to KJRB as PD. Norm and Charlie went to KJRB straight from KPUG. Gary worked KPUG, got drafted, and went to KJRB when Uncle Sam sprung him.