After Kennewick, before KISN. Stardom ahead in Boss Angeles and KHJ.
Don Steele, born Donald Steele Revert on April 1, 1936, in Hollywood, California, grew up in the heart of the entertainment industry. His mother was a musician who performed piano for silent films, which may have sparked his interest in media. Steele graduated from Hollywood High School and served in the United States Air Force before enrolling at the Don Martin School of Broadcasting in Los Angeles, where he later taught briefly. He began his radio career outside L.A., working at seven stations, including KOIL-AM in Omaha, Nebraska, where program director Steve Brown nicknamed him “The Real Don Steele” to distinguish him from another DJ with the same name. This moniker stuck and became his signature.
Steele’s breakthrough came in April 1965 when he joined KHJ-AM in Los Angeles as one of the original “Boss Jocks” for the innovative Top 40 “Boss Radio” format, launched on May 3, 1965. His high-energy style—featuring rapid-fire patter, youth slang, alliteration, and phrases like “Boss Radio in Boss Angeles”—helped propel KHJ to dominance, outrating competitors like KRLA. Alongside colleagues such as Robert W. Morgan, Charlie Tuna, Humble Harve, and Sam Riddle, Steele influenced record sales and became a cultural icon of 1960s youth radio. In 1967 and 1968, Billboard magazine named him the No. 1 air personality for impacting single sales. He stayed at KHJ until June 1973.
Parallel to his radio work, Steele hosted TV programs on KHJ-TV (now KCAL-TV). Starting in 1965, Boss City evolved into The Real Don Steele Show (1968–1975), a Saturday night rock ‘n’ roll dance party featuring guests like the Rolling Stones and the Supremes. Flanked by dancers, he embodied the era’s vibrant pop culture. In the 1980s, he launched the nationally syndicated Live from the ’60s with The Real Don Steele, which aired on over 200 stations until 1993 and was revived in reruns as late as 2015 for AM/FM and podcasting. He also voiced commercials and appeared as himself on shows like Bewitched.
After leaving KHJ, Steele continued in L.A. radio at stations including KIQQ (K-100), KTNQ (Ten-Q), KRLA, KODJ/KCBS-FM, and KRTH-FM (K-Earth 101), where he joined in July 1982 and remained until retiring in May 1997 due to health issues, including hearing damage from high-volume headphone use. His booming voice, partly due to early hearing impairment, made him a staple in voiceover work; a mid-1980s introduction to voice actor Ernie Anderson helped revive his commercial gigs. Steele received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 1995 for radio contributions and ranked second (behind Gary Owens) in a 1997 poll of L.A.’s top DJs from 1957–1997.
Steele frequently played DJ roles in films, leveraging his persona: Death Race 2000 (1975), Grand Theft Auto (1977), Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979), Eating Raoul (1982), and Gremlins (1984, as Rockin’ Ricky Rialto). He also featured in TV movies like The Day the Earth Moved (as a DJ) and KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (as himself). His style influenced countless imitators, and he voiced Cheap Trick’s “On the Radio” from Heaven Tonight (1978).
Steele died of lung cancer on August 5, 1997, at age 61 in Hollywood Hills, survived by his wife, Shaune McNamara Steele, whom he married despite keeping much of his past private. He was remembered as a pioneering voice of Top 40 radio, blending salesmanship with showmanship to define an era. Airchecks of his shows are preserved in collections like ReelRadio, and his syndicated reruns ensure his patter lives on.