Out of curiousity, I googled their names - sadly they've all passed. Claude Mann in 2008, Gary Park and Bob Wilkins in 2009 and George Reading in 2014. Grew up watching KTVU news when it was the real deal.
Stations weren't in the crapper when they could afford not to have to be there. In 1976, there wasn't even satellite on cable...it was before MTV or CNN. There was just a handful of stations from which people had to choose, and the lucky few broadcasting in those days made a mountain of money. Fast forward to today, when your cable or internet provider stream to you hundreds of channels, and your computer or phone gets thousands more, and you have each slice of the pie cut pretty thin. The bad news is that it could get worse. Qualcomm's CDMA system (that all cellphones use now) allows for many, many channels to broadcast to the same area on the same frequency. Receivers just pick the code they want to hear, and that's what they pick up. Once this gets on a band, the good news is that spectrum space problems are solved to some extent, but the bad news is that almost anyone with a few bucks could get on the air. The slices would be so thin then that you could barely see them. The only thing that could save existing stations is their branding, but that would only last for awhile.
Wrong, they all had chops, though Bob wins points just for hosting the great Creature Features! Gary was the GUY, Giants broadcasts, great pipes, nice persona, wonderful.
I remember the first time I watched Creature Features, it scared me so much, I pooped my pants. And that was the first time when my Dad said to me "Wash Your Ass."
Great times those were. Creature Features on Saturday nights were the highlight of my childhood. Always a group would spend that night at my house or I would spend the night at one of theirs just to watch Bob Wilkins. His dead pan delivery was in a galaxy of its own. Bob was a walking horror movie trivia machine. I miss him...
I tuned into KTVU at 10 the other day for the first time in months and it was even worse. If Frank frowns any more, especially when doing stories about poor unfortunate people, usu of color, he's going to have more fissures on his face than Mt. Rushmore. I wonder if he's still thinking about them after the show as he drives away in his $100K sportscar.
The copper-tanned Park had so much time for his sports segment that he could end it with a clip of the "feature race" at Golden Gate Fields or Bay Meadows, with Todd Creed's rasping "Tur-r-ning into the st-trech..."
I remember once Gary Park finished off the horse race report by turning to the co-anchor and announcing, "That's the horses and that's the sport-ses." Made her crack up.
I was a big Gary Park fan. Very good writer. Loved when he did the Giants games. Whenever Park was doing a game in Montreal, he would talk about the jazz clubs and restaurants he went to more than the game. I loved that!
Eye candy? We had Carol Doda and Big Time Wrestling for that. Creature Features was the best. I remember having my brother walk with me to the back bathroom because I was too scared to go alone...
Out of curiousity, I googled their names - sadly they've all passed. Claude Mann in 2008, Gary Park and Bob Wilkins in 2009 and George Reading in 2014. Grew up watching KTVU news when it was the real deal.
ReplyDeleteI remember Gary Park from Park - Jim Ruddle news in Chicago when I worked for WGNTV in Chicago...
DeleteStations weren't in the crapper when they could afford not to have to be there. In 1976, there wasn't even satellite on cable...it was before MTV or CNN. There was just a handful of stations from which people had to choose, and the lucky few broadcasting in those days made a mountain of money. Fast forward to today, when your cable or internet provider stream to you hundreds of channels, and your computer or phone gets thousands more, and you have each slice of the pie cut pretty thin. The bad news is that it could get worse. Qualcomm's CDMA system (that all cellphones use now) allows for many, many channels to broadcast to the same area on the same frequency. Receivers just pick the code they want to hear, and that's what they pick up. Once this gets on a band, the good news is that spectrum space problems are solved to some extent, but the bad news is that almost anyone with a few bucks could get on the air. The slices would be so thin then that you could barely see them. The only thing that could save existing stations is their branding, but that would only last for awhile.
ReplyDeleteLooks alot like Ron Burgundy, Champ Kind, Brian Fantana and the great Brick Tamland.
ReplyDeleteThese four are more credible than Gasia and Mibach
DeleteFunny, Reading was the only talent out of that bunch.
ReplyDeletePark was a joke and the Creature Features guy didn't know shit about weather.
Wrong, they all had chops, though Bob wins points just for hosting the great Creature Features! Gary was the GUY, Giants broadcasts, great pipes, nice persona, wonderful.
DeleteI remember the first time I watched Creature Features, it scared me so much, I pooped my pants. And that was the first time when my Dad said to me "Wash Your Ass."
ReplyDeleteGreat times those were. Creature Features on Saturday nights were the highlight of my childhood. Always a group would spend that night at my house or I would spend the night at one of theirs just to watch Bob Wilkins. His dead pan delivery was in a galaxy of its own. Bob was a walking horror movie trivia machine. I miss him...
ReplyDeleteI tuned into KTVU at 10 the other day for the first time in months and it was even worse. If Frank frowns any more, especially when doing stories about poor unfortunate people, usu of color, he's going to have more fissures on his face than Mt. Rushmore. I wonder if he's still thinking about them after the show as he drives away in his $100K sportscar.
ReplyDeleteAnd nobody notices the absence of women...
ReplyDeleteMaybe TV news of that era was a break for the men of the household instead of listening (ha ha) to their wives.
DeleteWhich shows you don't need eye candy to present a good newscast.
DeleteEye candy gives the viewer a sugar rush that can can make their hearts pump more blood. But that blood often doesn't go to the brain.
DeleteBarbara Simpson was one of the anchors back then,replaced Claude Mann,who went back to field reporting.
DeleteReading was nice enough...but dumb as rocks in later life.'Not old rocks...but young rocks.
ReplyDeleteCrickets up in there.
"...and the Creature Features guy didn't know shit about weather."
ReplyDeleteYeah, but he always had a "real sleeper" for us. Loved his signature intro and the show.
The copper-tanned Park had so much time for his sports segment that he could end it with a clip of the "feature race" at Golden Gate Fields or Bay Meadows, with Todd Creed's rasping "Tur-r-ning into the st-trech..."
ReplyDeleteI remember once Gary Park finished off the horse race report by turning to the co-anchor and announcing, "That's the horses and that's the sport-ses." Made her crack up.
DeleteI was a big Gary Park fan. Very good writer. Loved when he did the Giants games. Whenever Park was doing a game in Montreal, he would talk about the jazz clubs and restaurants he went to more than the game. I loved that!
ReplyDeleteEye candy? We had Carol Doda and Big Time Wrestling for that. Creature Features was the best. I remember having my brother walk with me to the back bathroom because I was too scared to go alone...
ReplyDelete