Monday, September 1, 2014

Remember The Day When KGO Had A Traffic Helicopter?


{The KGO Copter}


22 comments:

  1. Trying to remember the day that Rich Lieberman had anything fresh to say other than bashing every radio and television station in the Bay Area.

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  2. Lou Hurley and the Hurleybird

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  3. Remember the day when KGO had a life and a future and listeners and - well.

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    1. That would be on 9/10/01. The dirt began flying on 9/12/01. I remember the day well. Had something to do with some dude girl named Karel being hired for KGO at $20 an hour. Now he makes $90. Imagine..

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  4. It was, after all, years ago -- just not that many. How time flies. JB


    TV, Radio, Internet...dishing dirt since 2001
    Wednesday, October 13, 2010
    When kgo was KGO
    I miss the old KGO. Call me naive--yeah I know with time, everything changes, even great radio stations that you grow up listening to most of your life.

    Although I never had a chance to listen to the "old KSFO", I feel for the generation that were entertained by the likes of Russ "The Moose" Syracuse, Don Sherwood, Jim Lange, Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins, Lon Simmons and Aaron Edwards.

    For me, growing up in the 70's was a Dr Don/KFRC morning, Owen Spann later on KGO and Terry McGovern on KSAN.

    But the best was KGO.

    KGO was as much a part of the Bay Area cultural landscape as Herb Caen, Melvin Belli, Carol Doda, Davey Rosenberg and a lunch at Paoli's, (and I wasn't even a San Franciscan.)

    I miss the old KGO, not the current kgo.

    I miss it when Ronn Owens, (still Ronn, "with two n's) used to playfully tease conservative minion, Jim Eason. (Never agreed with that guy, politically, but he ran a pretty tight, entertaining show.)

    I miss Jim Dunbar telling corny jokes to Ted Wygant and vice-versa. I miss the best street reporter at the time, Peter Cleveland, doing the best damn on-scener at a shooting in the Tenderloin at 5: 15 in the morning.

    I miss Greg Edmonds in the Eastbay covering the Oakland Hills firestorm and the late Lou Hurley in the 'KGO copter. (The "Hurley bird")

    I miss the great pipes of one Owen Spann. He was special. Spann could do an hour on cryonics and keep you listening. He was that good. Miss you Sir.

    I miss "Mayor" Art Finley going ballistic over the shenanigans of the SF Board of Supervisors, (they were nuts back then too.)

    I miss the late Russ Coughlan on the night John Lennon was murdered.

    I miss listening to the weekend vibes of one of the greatest music writers of all time, John Wasserman, a KGO host, who wrote for the Chronicle and died much too soon.

    I miss the rants of sports guys Gregg Jordan, the charming, wise-guy, Monte Stickles and the most polished three-minute rap-around ever: Joe Starkey, yes, THAT Joe Starkey, of the afternoon news.

    I miss "Clergy on the Line."

    I miss hearing "Howard Cosell...'speaking of sports'" in the morning news. (Cosell was a master in radio writing)

    I miss Owens doing "Rock Trivia" and especially, "Rock Rich," (inside joke) "Status, Class, and Tacky", "Now is that True?", (rip, "honest Chuck"), and the like...

    I miss the old KGO jingles and damn, I even miss Mickey Luckoff's on-air editorials, (I'm a masochist, I know)

    --I know all good things come to an end. I had to laugh when I got a guy who chastised me for riffing on the new lady who got the GM gig the other day. Frankly, I've never met the woman and have no animosity, I just know that for me and many thousands of others, KGO, has now officially become the kgo era and that's a bummer.

    Just my opinion.




    (photo, courtesy Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame)
    Posted by Rich Lieberman at 12:43 PM
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    Labels: KGO-KGO Radio-The old KGO-RL 415 Media

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    1. Rock Rich - aww remember good ole rock and KSKY.

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  5. Lou Hurley and Lynn Derling (I know, he was in the plane, not the copter) were terrific.

    One of Ed Baxter's most embarrassing moments was when he was calling for a traffic update ("Lucky Lyn-dee") after Derling's plane had been hit by another plane, and Derling was trying to land the damaged bird.

    Hurley won a CHP award for providing traffic reports of a high speed police chase on a packed east bay freeway, and telling drivers to pull over so that they weren't crashed into.

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    1. miss him.. listened daily. got to ride in helicopter but wasn’t him.

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  6. I thought KGO had a RED helo???

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  7. I remember leaded gasoline and the Emarcadero Freeway too.
    So what?

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    1. Leaded gasoline and the Emarcadero Freeway, we are better off without, no body misses them, alot of people miss the old KGO. That is what.

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    2. Traffic helicopters would be an expensive, dangerous dinosaur if around today.
      With traffic cameras all over the Bay Area, everyone with cell phones and with traffic sensors now installed on major roads and highways it would just be a novelty.
      Things change, get over it.

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  8. I remember seeing the copter all the time in Marin where it would be on a tiny airstrip near the freeway.

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    1. Right next to the bay, on the east side of the freeway?

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  9. Oakland Invaders colors!

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  10. Oops, that was KPIX's "Chopper 5.

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  11. For a time, when Alcatraz was between serving as a prison and Native American occupation, there was only one caretaker living on the island. Lou Hurley, and his pilot, used to deliver his Chronicle every morning, in a low hover-and-drop.




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  12. I had the opportunity to fly in the KGO Helicopter with Lynn Derling, those were the days.....

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  13. Didn't Lou Hurley have a tv show for awhile in the 50's & gave homeless pups to kids. I got my first dog from him. We may mailed a drawing of the pup we wanted & my drawing won. I was so happy!

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  14. I got to ride in the “Hurley Bird” w Lou…what a treat I’ll never forget.

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  15. Susan DiederichsenJuly 14, 2023 at 11:24 AM

    I also got to ride in the Hurley-Bird. He gave me a great trip…flew over the Golden Gate Bridge and w my directions, my house close to the bay in SF.

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