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| Top left: Peter Giddings and Jerry Jensen --Bottom left: Van Amburg, John O'Reilly |
MORE T HAN ANYTHING ELSE, KGO's historic "News Scene" was ENTERTAINING! It was cheesy? Yes. Happy Talk personified. 70's gore-centric, if it bleeds, it leads," Hell yes and a garage full of incidents to report: the President Ford assassination attempts in SF at the St. Francis Hotel and in Sacramento. The Zebra Killings. Patty Hearst. SLA. The killing of Oakland Schools chief, Marcus Foster. Milk-Moscone Murders. Jonestown.
*Patty Hearst was (still is) one of the most memorable stories ever, particularly from a media standpoint. Hearst was kidnapped on Feb. 4, 1974 in Berkeley. It was a Monday night; Hearst was at her apartment on Benvenue Ave watching "The Magician" with her boyfriend, Steven Weed. The SLA (Cinque aka: Donald Defreeze) broke into the apartment and kidnapped Hearst--the beginning of craziness: a SF bank robbery; a shootout in South Central LA and Hearst's eventual capturing in Sept., 1975 with SLA husband and wife, Bill and Emily Harris. Just the beginning.
*In many ways, the Hearst saga defined the 70's for me. I remember every particle of the story. I watched Channel 7 and listened to KGO Radio (with Owen Spann) talk about the whole deal. I don't think there was anything more tragic and weird as there was with the Patty Hearst story. It seemed like every day and night brought a new aspect to the story. She was kidnapped; subsequently "joined" the SLA (even though most of us realized she was forced to) --then the nightly pressers outside her mom and dad's house in Hillsborough. Shock and awe. Who can remember the tape played on KPFA: "Mom, dad, I'm alive," --Hi, this is Tanya."*Owen Spann taking calls on KGO. KRON and KPIX outside the Hearst estate in Hillsborough. KTVU easing our day and helping us forget the Hearst nightmare with "Charlie and Humphrey" after school. Amburg talking intently about Patty's life growing up in the Eastbay and working the summer of '73 as a clerk at the Capwells on Broadway in Oakland. How wird. How bizarre. How memorable to this day.
1975-'76: the Bay Area: The best of times, the worst of times. KFRC.. Dr. Donald Rose. KYA. KRON. John MAC-Flanagan --KDIA: Lucky 13. Larry Brownell. Eddie Alexander. Stecve Somers. Bill Graham. The Hippo. Ira Blue. Rock Trivia on KGO. Jim Eason.. George Reading. The Hooker's Ball at the Cow Palace. Doggie Diner at Ocean Beach. Chief Charlie Gain. Creature Feature. Dialing for Dollars. Snow at sea level Feb, 1976. "It's It ice cream sandwiches. March of Dimes walkathon. Bill Lee. Don St. John. "Clergy on the Line." Gregg Jordan. Bill King. Monte Stickles. Bill King. The Warriors. Rick Barry. Clifford Ray. CBS.*READERS OF 415 MEDIA:
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And don't forget Uncle Saul--"This is your Uncle Saul saying nothing but thanks" in ads for the (long gone) Wiseman's Furniture on Mission Blvd in Hayward. (KBHK-44 ran their ads all the time)
ReplyDeleteRich,
ReplyDeleteFunny story or maybe just ironic, Steve Weed, Patty Hearst boyfriend who also got beat up in the Kidnapping, years later around 1999 or 2000 was a Realtor who I sold advertising too in the local community paper in Menlo Park. Very nice guy.
Remember “Dnuda”? She brought us afternoon movies on one local stations. Who can forget “Reds Tamales” Tuesday is Reds Tamales Day!
ReplyDeleteWere the leftovers from the 60's still handing out free love like a sample giver at the San Leandro Costco? It must have been so easy to get laid back then!
ReplyDeleteYou also forgot Carol Doda and her stint as a spokesmodel on the "Perfect 36".
ReplyDeleteYes, the 70s were great times in the bay area. I'm your age Rich, born in 1962. I remember Doggie Diner, Dr. Don Rose and KFRC, waiting in line for 3 hours at the Coronet on Star Wars opening weekend, Dialing for Dollars on Channel 2, 50¢ Bay Bridge tolls, $1 for bleacher seats at A's games along with $1 parking. Unions were strong, wages were good, manufacturing jobs everywhere, you could make it on modest incomes. $60k homes, $200 rents. Tech hipsters have taken over now, squeezing out the regular folks, the bay area has lost its soul.
ReplyDeleteNot only the tech hipsters, the international community has taken over.
Delete> the bay area has lost its soul.
DeleteYeah, but now we have DoorDash and Airbnb. Wasn't that worth it... :-/
Back then we didn't have that charge on the electric bill for stupid tv commercials.
ReplyDeleteCharge under..."Public Purpose Programs"
Pays for this....
"If you smell gas...call 911
"If you see a downed power line...call 911
SHUT UP already.
Who APPROVED this charge on OUR bills ???
Next we will be paying for kars-4-kids commercials.
Thanks for the memories. News Scene was the to go newscast during that era. No smart phones and cable was only starting out. Back in the 70s the systems was like $5 a month and carried all the Bay Area, Monterrey and Sack-a-tomato stations.
ReplyDeleteDude - Dennis Erectus, Alex Bennet.
ReplyDeleteGinsler-Lee diamond's, the place to buy diamond's, if you're really smart! Ginsler-Lee Diamond's, the store with a heart!!
ReplyDeleteAlso, you had Matthew's, top of the hill, Daily City.
DeleteBought my first 8-track stereo for my car there, Matthews.
DeleteSounds like everything has been covered. What else can I add? Carnation chocolate malts were as popular as colossals, hot dogs, beer, and Coca-Cola at the Coliseum during both A's & Raiders games (remember when Coke had bottling plants on both sides of the Bay Bridge, the Oakland one right next to the Cypress Structure?); also: "KSFX, the music sounds best", classic KSOL.
ReplyDeleteAnd during the pandemic, many of Circle 7's best reports have come from the only Van man remaining, David Louie. Ah, the glory years.
My wife's 1st wedding rings were purchases at Gensler-Lee. I paid a few dollars a week if I remember. I still have the watch she bought me from Ginsler-Lee some 56 years later.
ReplyDeleteOh the jingles: Ginsler-Lee still rings in my mind; Quality Tune-Up; Conklin Bros; and SF was the coffee capital of the world- driving through you could smell the rich aromas and see the neon of Hills Bros, MJB, Folgers,..and don't forget the landmarks of Mr Peanut along Bayshore near Paul Ave and the Planters plant, Hamms beer sign, the Arabian drinking coffee, so great all. To add to Rich's news stories of the time was to recall the sad and scary case of the Chowchilla bus and kids being taken and buried in a trailer and the 3 men from Menlo and Portola Valley, all very wealthy children of prominent families, who were the kidnappers.
ReplyDelete