Another QZVX feature: The TALENT page

John Trimble – Big John Trimble started in radio at the ripe old age of fourteen, in his hometown of Paintsville, Kentucky. From those humble beginnings at 250-watt AM Station WSIP, he has built a career that has culminated with a nomination to be included in the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame. Long before he was Big John, he was called ‘Jolly’ John Trimble, and he played original Rock ‘n’ Roll and Rockabilly music–including the likes of artists like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, The Platters, Carl Perkins, Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis. After completing high school, Big John moved on to WTIP Radio in Charleston, West Virginia, where he broadcast from the original Shoney’s Drive Inn six nights a week. From there, he went first to WDOC in Prestonburg, Kentucky, and then into the United States Army, where he was sent to Ft. Lewis, Washington, to work with the Little Theatre and the Ft. Lewis Entertainment team. After leaving the service, Big John moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he worked for KMYO Radio. A short time later, he became the Program Director and Afternoon DJ of a brand-new, full-time Country Music station, KBBA. This was the first time Big John was directly involved with the Country Music scene. Two years later, he was the Program Director and Afternoon DJ for the world’s first full-time Country Music FM Station, WVHI in Evansville, Indiana.
While John was there, he started his own live Country Music show, The Country Castle Show, which aired each Friday night on WVHI. This show operated much the same as Big John Trimble’s East Coast Opry in that it featured a local and regional cast and brought in artists from Nashville. A year later, Big John moved to station KMO in Seattle / Tacoma, where he was once again the Music Director and Afternoon DJ. John also owned and operated a talent and promotions business, booking most of Nashville’s top acts. In 1972, Big John started an overnight trucker’s show, the first like it on the West Coast. His voice and music played everywhere from Alaska to California and all points in between. Two years later, he moved to 50,000-watt station KGA in Spokane. Now he was heard throughout the west and into parts of Canada he had never reached before. Big John became a top name in Trucker’s Radio and was offered a job with KWKH, another 50,000-watt station in Shreveport, Louisiana. For three years, Big John broadcast from Kelly’s Truck Stop near Shreveport on the Texas border. One night, Walt Williams, the program director for WRVA in Richmond, Virginia, dropped in and offered him a job. Several months later, Big John started broadcasting from Jarrell’s Truck Stop in Doswell, Virginia. The show ran for eighteen years and made Big John into a national radio personality. He was named the nation’s favorite Country DJ in a nationwide poll of truckers conducted by Open Road Magazine.

LAN ROBERTS (Lanny Lipford) was one of Seattle’s best-known disc jockeys in the heyday top-40 AM radio. He ruled behind the KJR microphone in the 1960s with child-like imagination and his desire to communicate. On the air Roberts could be many characters, including Clydie Clyde the Cow’s Outside, Mr. Science and Jimmy, The Hollywood Reporter and Phil Dirt. Roberts grew up in Bonham, Texas, a small town about 90 miles northeast of Dallas, and had been on radio ever since high school. Roberts attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, then worked in towns such as El Paso, Waco and New Orleans, before landing in Seattle. Roberts reigned at KJR from 1962 until 1968. He was lured away by competing top-40 station KOL, but was kept off the air for an extended period of time because KJR enforced its no-compete contract.
After two years as KOL morning man and program director, Roberts returned to KJR in 1970 for a three-year stint, When KJR acquired KISW, management tried to transfer him to KISW, After one day, Lan stopped showing up for work because he affirmed that (in the early ’70s) it was a demotion to go to the FM band. He later worked for a AM station in Honolulu, then at an English-language station in Taiwan. He returned to the United States and appeared briefly on a new Seattle FM station, KYYX, then worked in San Francisco, before moving back to homestate Texas. He considered running for sheriff there. Roberts kept up his connection to his former listeners and colleagues through a website on which he posted commentaries, including railing against cigarette smoking. His own smoking had already done its damage. He also wrote about politics. On his Web site, he recalled his move to Seattle: “The day I arrived in Seattle it was raining hard and the radio station was a dump. I remember asking myself, ‘What have I done?’ ” The next day was a different story. “When I awoke I looked out the hotel window to one of the most beautiful scenes anybody could ever hope to see. To the south in the mist was Mount Rainer, looking like a giant bowl of ice cream. The view to the west was the snow-covered Olympic Mountains. Down below were ferryboats moving back and forth on Puget Sound. It felt like home from the beginning. “Over the next 12 years the Seattle radio audience was wonderful to me. Their sense of humor was just about the sharpest that I had ever experienced. It was a natural place to be creative.” One of those creative inspirations was the Lil’ Green Thing: “In 1964, as a joke, I mentioned on the air that if listeners would send me a letter then I would send them a ‘Lil’ Green Thing With a Picture of a Duck on It.’ ” In two days he received over 10,000 requests. “I figured I had to do something quick, Lan wrote. ” bought a block of green cloth, cut it up in small pieces and stamped it with a picture of a duck. Just so there would be no confusion, I also stamped ‘Lil’ Green Thing’ on it.” Roberts was constantly on the lookout for flying saucers — after all, they had first been seen over Mount Rainier. He offered to shut the station down if any aliens wanted a frequency to communicate with earth people. Roberts died of complications from lung cancer in Texas in 2005. He was 69. (VOS2014)

Matt Riedy Former KJR dj — From his IMDB file: Moving to Atlanta in October 2019 after 14 years in L.A., he began filming a Top of Show recurring part on Imagine TV’s Swagger. Other recent work includes the film Book Club and TV shows Shameless, This Is Us, Hawaii Five-O and The Last Tycoon with Kelsey Grammer. He is the narrator of IDHD channels popular show Murder Among Friends. He has done skits on Jimmy Kimmel Live! 18 times, 11 times on Conan and 7 with Spike Feresten. Not bad for the busy actor who started his on camera career after many years as a successful stand-up comedian and disc jockey. Born in Buffalo, New York, he graduated from West Seneca East High School, where he kept a low profile until a successful senior English class presentation on the sport of golf convinced him that he could perform in front of people. As luck would have it, a family friend complemented him on the quality of his voice, which led him to the radio club at Erie Community College. After just six weeks, he was a disc jockey, a job he held for ten years in Buffalo, Miami, San Francisco and Seattle. He took up stand-up comedy on the side in 1983, he left radio and hit the road full time from 1986-1997 when he got back into radio til 2005. All told, he did stand-up for 23 years, while working in radio. Riedy always considered acting “an impenetrable bubble,” but in 1998, while working in Seattle, he won a small part opposite actress Margaret Colin in the television movie, Hit and Run. He soon landed a starring role as Plastic Man in the independent film Carried Away, which played in the Seattle International Film Festival. He scored several national commercials and a starring role in another independent film, Lover’s Lane. While doing a guest appearance on the TV show The Fugitive, he was advised by director James Frawley to move to LA, where he could blossom as a character actor. Frawley was right and Riedy has been a busy working actor ever since. He moved to L. A. With 7 credits on imdb…at publication he has 117. Once got to play in the LAPD Celebrity Golf Tournament when Ron Pearlman had to drop out. A few years later while working on Sons of Anarchy he thanked Pearlman for having to drop out and for giving him the opportunity to play. Pearlman said “How’d you finish?” Riedy said, he got 2nd place…Pearlman’s response was…”I would have won!”. Is a frequent guest cast member for Jimmy Kimmell Live (16 appearances) and Conan (10 appearances). Director Todd Phillips gave Riedy a job in a web series for Mini Cooper cars that also starred Bryan Callen. Riedy was the bad guy who went by Silverfox. Big Time Rush creator Scott Fellows saw Riedy in the video series and gave him the part of Griffin on Big Time Rush. When The Fugitive with Tim Daly was filming in Seattle, director James Frawley hired him to play a sheriff. During the shoot, Frawley asked him if he worked in Los Angeles at all. Frawley went on to say he thought Riedy would be very busy if he did. A couple of years later after much ruminating, Riedy did make the move and has been pretty busy since. He ran into Frawley when the director was casting Grey’s Anatomy in the same office where Riedy was auditioning for Private Practice. They caught up, Riedy thanked him for the inspiration and they parted ways. The very next week Riedy walked into a room to audition for Dirty Sexy Money and there was Frawley in the director’s chair. He gave Riedy the job. Was a competitive body builder while living in Seattle. Competing in the 1998 Weider Washington NPC and getting 4th. In 2001 he competed in the same show for men over 40 and and won 1st place. That show earned him a second place finish in 2002. He also got a 2nd place in the 2001 NPC Max Muscle Washington State Championships and a 2nd place in the same competition in 2003. His last show was the 2003 Emerald Cup in Seattle where the men over 40 category had 20 contestants both natural and not natural. He got 11th place. In 2005 he tore a calf muscle jumping out of a sand trap while playing golf on a very cold Seattle day and that was it. His name appears on the Bally’s marquee in the film Honeymoon in Vegas starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker. He was the comic opening the show for headliner Jeff Dunham. Was cast in the film Savages by Oliver Stone to play a character named Seven who was Uma Thurman’s husband but the film had to be cut due to length so they eliminated the storyline with Uma and thus his scenes. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York. Was a disc jockey in Buffalo, Miami, San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles. An avid golfer who plays at about a 10 handicap, he and his brother take annual trips to play famous courses like Bandon Dunes, Whistling Straits, Pebble Beach, Pinehurst, Sawgrass, Arrowhead in Colorado, Sea Island and Chambers Bay. Is the voice of the California Milk Advisory Board TV commercials. Does voice work for NASCAR promos on Fox Sports 1. Is the narrator for Murder Among Friends on Investigation Discovery channel. Was the voice of The Daytona 500 commercials that aired during The Superbowl in 2014 and 2015. Was the voice of The Overland Hotel commercial during the 90th Academy Awards.

NORM GREGORY — Who Is Norm Gregory? Norm grew up in Seattle, Washington, USA. Went to Roosevelt High School in Seattle and graduated college at Western Washington in Bellingham. Norm’s first full time radio job was at KBRC in Mt. Vernon, WA in early 1967. Two months later he was at KPUG, Bellingham, WA; nine months later Norm was in Spokane, WA at KJRB. – Norm’s Seattle Radio History – In early 1969, Norm arrived at KJR AM, Seattle, first doing early evenings and then afternoons. In 1975, Norm went to KZOK AM/FM; at the time the station was less then a year old. Norm served as KZOK Program Director from 1976-79. Then off to Portland (KQFM/Q100) for ten months. Back to KZOK in early 1980 as station manager. That lasted until August 1981. After a brief two year return stint at KJR (again doing afternoons), Norm landed the afternoon full service program at KOMO, Seattle (1984 to 1994, being Program Director 1989-92). In July, 1994, Norm joined the new KJR-FM, as Program Director and afternoon air personality. In September, 1997, as the station was sliding out of The Greatest Hits of The ’70s, Norm slide out of the PD job and filled in on the morning shift following the departure of Charlie (Brown) & Ty (Flint). Between early March, 1998 and late April 2000, Norm did the weekday afternoon shift at KJR-FM. His last shift (3 p.m. – 7 p.m.) at 95.7, KJR-FM, was on April 24, 2000. [ See Bill Virgin’s April 27, 2000 column in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer ]
Norm Since 2000
After 33 years of being on the air, in April 2000 Norm found himself not on the radio. He didn’t go looking for another radio job, but continued working on several web projects, including maintaining a couple radio station webs site full time. During the summer of 2001 Norm was approach by an Olympia Washington station and on November 1, 2001 Norm returned to the air . . . doing the morning show on Classic Hits For The South Sound,” 97.7 The Eagle. [ See Bill Virgin’s November 21, 2001 column in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer ] The show was done on his home computer! Wow . . a dream come true for Norm: doing an air shift and not messing up his lifestyle.
Norm Retires
The remote gig lasted until October 2003 when The Eagle folks finally realized the benefits of having a morning man actually located in the market (Olympia is some 60 miles south of Seattle). Norm couldn’t argue. Norm, now completely retired, says: To tell you the truth I can’t image any circumstances that would draw me back to a radio job.”
Norm In 2011 and beyond
It’s been more than ten years since his last Seattle radio gig. In 2008 Norm got hooked into Twitter and he is enjoying the entertainment and information coming from being tied into a world wide network.
SEPTEMBER 22, 2018 —-Norm Gregory died this morning. He had suffered a punctured lung from a fall, and had prolonged complications with Diabetes.

Perry Damone (KESZ/Phoenix) Perry was born in Los Angeles, Calif. on Aug. 21, 1955 to singer Vic Damone and Italian actress Anna Maria Pierangeli. As a young child, Perry grew up in Italy with his mother, Anna Maria Pierangeli, and his first language was Italian. In his teens, he later came to Los Angeles to live with his father, Vic Damone, where he got to know his three younger sisters and came to love them very much. He learned English from listening to American radio shows and decided that he wanted to become a radio personality. He achieved that dream with hard work and determination and became one of the most beloved personalities in Phoenix on 99.9 KEZ Radio. His favorite part of being a radio broadcaster was being able to speak with his listeners, not to them. He always answered his phone and spoke to people, and cared about what they needed and what they had to share. He felt that radio should serve the community. Working for KEZ for almost 15 years is a lifetime when it comes to radio. Perry Damone died at the age of 59, on Dec. 9, 2014 at 3:11 p.m. –Likely the finest midday air personality I have ever heard. -Lou Robbins (KOOL FM)

Scott Hodges came to KUUU as news director in 1972. His first job was in Shreveport, LA, and he worked at stations in in New Orleans, San Antonio and Fort Worth.After two years in Seattle he tried WXLO, New York, but soon bounced back (as Tucker Simpson) to KMO, Tacoma. His recollection of the Northwest? “Seattle restaurants don’t have hat racks.” After a year in Tacoma, it was back to Shreveport, He started a consulting service, incitefully named “Scott Hodges, An American Communicator, LLC., Shreveport, Louisiana.” He eventually brokered several three-minute morning newscasts on a station which did not have newscasts. He sells his own time. “I’m making much more than I did in Seattle,” he reported in 2012. (VOS2012)