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| Jim Dunbar: dead at age 89 |
Dunbar spent the bulk of his career at both KGO-TV and KGO Radio --the latter, as a talk-show host and for many years, the partner with Ted Wygant on the "KGO Morning News."
Wygant died in 2018.
I talked to a local broadcast veteran: "He was a giant in the industry and a treasure too, personally."
Funeral services are pending.
Jim Dunbar was a class act. He will be missed.
ReplyDeleteWhen newsmen were professional and objective RIP.
ReplyDeleteThey were a perfect pair. I listened to them for years, until it was time for us to get out of California. I will always remember waking up on 9/11 and listening to them. They were very calming. I felt safe. As Jim always said" if you hear us in the morning we, as a nation, are still alive." RIP
ReplyDeleteJim Dunbar wouldn't have been on the air on 9/11 since he retired in 2000.
DeleteI'm pretty sure on 9/11 it was Ed Baxter and Rosie Allen, also a great morning team. I came to late to talk radio to have listened to Jim and Ted a lot, although I do remember listening to them, and of course I knew who they were.
DeleteRest in Peace, Jim Dunbar. What an outstanding broadcaster and radio pesonality. I didn't listen to much radio at the time, but I listened to Wygant and Dunbar occasionally, and they were exceptional.
ReplyDeleteDunbar and Wygant, what a great news-radio team! I recall waking up laughing at their KGO early morning antics, making for a nice start to the day. I expect Mr. Dunbar will find a special place in heaven. A place reserved for those who helped make the day better for those he touched. God Bless.
ReplyDeleteConsumate broadcaster - whether TV or radio. I got a kick out of seeing him depicted in the movie Zodiac. Guided SF through some turbulent times in the '70s.
ReplyDeleteRIP Jim. Now that you and Ted are together again, you can do all the zoo hours you want and there wont be anyone out there to stop you. In the years that I got to work with the best anchor team, I couldn't wait for 5AM to come around as the party was just about to get started. I was flabbergasted when the ND told me he was killing the Zoo hour. It was never the same but yet as professionals we marched on. Not that I was a greenhorn in this business, I will never forget all the things you taught me. Thank you Jim Dunbar.
ReplyDeleteWhen KGO Radio was still a powerhouse
ReplyDeleteJim Dunbar was a solid professional, not like the town clowns who are on the airwaves these days. The current batch of talking heads can take a lesson from how Dunbar carried himself on the air. He was a multi-tool player. He could do it on the radio, TV, be a talk show host and also a co-host of a television variety show -- remember AM San Francisco with Nancy Fleming, the late Jim Lange's wife? Some people may say this is like living in the past, but we can learn from the past. Never mind, today's babblers have no clue. Neither do some of the listeners and viewers.
ReplyDeleteI was Dunbar and Wygant's engineer back in the 80s. What a joy. Nothing on radio today can hold a candle to that morning drive duo. Ted and Jim: back together again.
ReplyDeleteA true professional. RIP Dunbar.
ReplyDeleteJim and Ted set the tone every morning for a day full of great broadcasting on the real KGO, the Camelot of American radio I feel honored to have worked in the same studio, to have exchanged pleasantries with them in the hallways at 900 Front Street. They were solid, sophisticated, funny, never vulgar. To watch and listen to their broadcast and the newsroom firing up the mighty Wurlitzer in the morning was a thing of great beauty, a synchronicity of radio talent not seen since, anywhere. I can hear your voice now, Jim. RIP
ReplyDeleteJim Dunbar was a true legend of Bay Area radio. RIP
ReplyDelete5:00 am to 6:00 am, the funniest and best hour of local radio ever, with Dunbar & Wygant!
ReplyDeleteHear them again here... A recording from 1982 (Dunbar and Wygant show begins at the 9:00 minute mark).
ReplyDeletehttps://bayarearadio.org/audio/kgo/1982/KGO_Dunbar-Wygant_May-3-1982.mp3
A true gentleman many can learn from - a life well lived - best to his family and friends.
ReplyDeleteAnother great thing about Jim Dunbar was that he never suffered fools gladly; took no crap from anyone. The Tricky Dickeys wouldn't have stood a chance with Jim, who would have had Bob Iger's ear.
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