FOX 4. Trusted friend and colleague Jody Dean does not disagree, comparing Chapman to 1960s coaching legend Vince Lombardi, who led the Green Bay Packers to multiple championships as an unyielding taskmaster. Other than that, Im real comfortable.. He knows what people want to hear. Ron Chapman, a Dallas - Fort Worth radio legend, has died at the age of 85, according to CBS 11 KTVT in DFW. I love the guy. On the mike, butter wouldnt melt in his mouth. The radio industry took to social media to reflect on Chapman's life and career. He was an actor, known for Dallas Cowboys . We did that to our audience constantly. To a person, everyone interviewed for this story believed that Chapman, if riled, could end his career. The longtime host of KVIL died in April 2021 at the age of 85. His older sister, Florence Littauer, now a motivational speaker, used her seniority to motivate Ralph, teaching him tongue twisters and then persuading him to repeat them for amazed visitors at the store-for a small fee. When New York-based Infinity Broadcasting bought KVIL a couple of years ago, they paid more than $80 million, the highest amount ever paid for a stand-alone radio station in the U.S. Ron Chapman and Mitch Carr Photo credit Courtesy Mitch Carr. So I went by my hairdressers, who lived in Oak Cliff. And we are going to walk all the way from the Sheraton Hotel to the so-and-so life building. They were on the same block, but nobody caught it. And this is, like, in the 80s. Nobodys going to build monuments or hold big memorial services. Hes now a news anchor for CBS Channel 11 and will replace Chapman on KLUVs morning show. But the precise age, her birthday, and zodiac remain unknown. He also hosted a televised series from Northpark Center in the 1960's for a three-year stint. Hell suddenly realize he needs to talk to everybody he knows.. 750 North St.Paul St. Nobody. 1 radio show in Dallas for a dozen years. Ron Chapman Death - Obituary, Funeral, Cause Of Death Just heard radio legend Ron Chapman has died. He served with the Army in South Korea from 1957 to 1959, producing a radio show for Voice of the United Nations Command. And the little guy loved Coca-Cola. Thousands showed up. Chapman said. One former employee, who asked not to be named, speaks for many when she says, Hes the most unfeeling, cold-hearted son of a bitch I ever met., And this woman counts herself among his admirers because of his genius at making KVIL a raging success. Each ratings point represents a percentage of the audience market share and is said to be worth about $1.3 million in advertising revenues yearly. So one of our sponsors was Coca-Cola. Nevertheless, she also has to be in between her late '70s and early '80s. He was so popular in Dallas in the 70s, 80s and 90s that his station, KVIL, sold for more than the Dallas Cowboys. This is a secret, but we take a lot of the staff to the big derrick at Six Flags and put them on top. It was, after all, the city's top radio station for years, throughout the 1970s and '80s and even into the '90s, when it was finally capsized by country radio. The piece coincided with Chapmans 20th anniversary at KVIL, where, The News noted, His hyper, happy-talk Ron Chapman and the Morning Group has been the almost-constant No. Wednesday's announcement just made it official, finally. The center is the guy who is bending over with the football.. KVIL (103.7 FM, Alt 103.7) is a commercial radio station dual-licensed to Highland Park and Dallas, Texas.It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and it serves the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in North Texas.The station's studios are located along North Central Expressway in Uptown Dallas. But back then, you prayed for Vince Lombardi. He also hosted a televised series from Northpark Center in the 1960's for a three-year stint. Who could follow Ron Chapman? By Emily Jimenez, NewsRadio 1080 KRLD. He seems completely oblivious to his subjects, the teeming thousands of Little People trapped and fuming in the traffic below. He said, Thats the second time youve used that item and its the last! Hes right. Anybody can read, goddammit! Chapman had done the Charley and Harrigan show on KLIF during the Sixties (Chapman went by Irving Harrigan then) and had hosted Sumpn Else, a low-budget local version of American Bandstand on Channel 8. The man had to be on the air at 5:30 in the morning. Ron Chapman received an obituary from the KVIL community. Passing by the cage, he would surreptitiously slip the mouthpiece through the wire into the neck of the tuba and blow. Enjoy unlimited access to all of our incredible journalism, in print and digital. Michael Selden, a DJ at KVIL from 1974 to 1979, has gone full circle with Chapman emotionally, from admiration to loathing and back again. I hand it to Ron, and the little guy hops on Rons shoulder, and when the lights come up, you know, animals react. It was your classic, stereotypical young yuppie couple from Highland Park. We tell them, Heres the concept. At the haunted house, Chapman took along a producer and equipped her with a microphone. The other bold stroke by the founders of KVIL was its attitude toward Dallass sister city, Fort Worth. It was an itty-bitty bear. Ive had two scoops of everything, Chapman likes to say. RIP Ron pic.twitter.com . Though nobodyrepeat, nobodywants to take on Ron Chapman in public (even his roast at the Dallas Press Club last year was a three-hour valentine), friends and foes alike admit to a powerful fear of the man. When Ron Chapman, Morning Host of KVIL in Dallas, Texas, asked his listeners back in 1998 to send $20 to the station, they did to the tune of $240,000. And its also a public service if you use it right.. Like a handful of other stations in town, at least until they all change formats again. Two things worth noting: back then, no one had any fear about writing "$20" on an envelope - and we never gave our street address. A very happy one. Homepage; Contact US; About US; Ron Chapman Net Worth, Age, Height, Weight. And brother, let me tell you something: It was a different age., In 1989, The Dallas Morning News devoted a High Profile cover story to Chapman, noting that peers described him variously as a genius, tyrant and hero. Its a tribute to Chapman that the call letters of what is, after all, just a radio station, have entered the argot of the trade. The obituary was featured in Dallas Morning News on May 16, 2021. According to Littauer, Chapmans massive energy manifested itself during his youth in a series of class-clown pranks. It would be rude not to let Ron Chapman give it a proper send-off. Back then, Chapman says, wed latch on to anything. In terms of logistics and creativity, hes a towering genius. Because shes gonna move up. Its on the far back burner, but I think about it. There was dead air for, like, 10 seconds. I froze. But I got my bucketful of him a long time ago. A lot of people on this board are so young that they have never heard of Michael Selden. From Haverhill, Mass (also Ed McMahon's first rad - 2 years ago. Be sure to wear a hat. Longtime North Texas disc jockey Ron Chapman, who spent more than four decades on the air in Dallas-Fort Worth, died Monday. That was his job to make that station great. The Zoo crew used to regard KVIL's mushy adult-contemporary playlist as a punchline. However, Mylife.com suggested that Nance Chapman was born on 25 February 1941 which made her 80 years old as of . You tend to say things like the mayor when you mean Dallas and the mayor of Fort Worth when youre talking about them. Stevens and Pruett. And now, it is no longer.". And then they put me on from midnight to six. He wants to control that station twenty-four hours a day, hotlining jocks in the middle of the night for mispronouncing some street name, says Tom Tradup, now general manager of a Chicago station and, until last July, the general manager at KRLD. His family received condolences from thousands . But you could hear this blow-dryer. Ralph Chapman passed away on May 4, 2021 in Dallas, Texas. Talk about a cush gig. And the 01 Man on KVIL is still saying, aint this great? "How sad that all of those KVIL things are now part of history. Ron Chapman Obituary KVIL - Death : DFW Radio Legend Died: Funeral - KVIL and DFW Radio legend, Ron Chapman died aged 85, on April, 26th, 2021, with. I figure we have her ears, and were the only ones shell let talk to her for the first hour of the day. In 1969, Chapman joined the staff of KVIL-FM/Dallas-Fort Worth as morning disc jockey, music director, and program director, bringing the "adult contemporary" format to FM radio. And Id walk a mile for an impression., Part of the magic of KVIL is that it is positive and upbeat, even when its poking fun at the news, the politicians, or the Cowboys. @RGreggHart : A giant of Dallas-Fort Worth radio, Ron Chapman, has died at 85. His family is asking for time right now to process the loss and thanks the community for . Yet beneath that amiable exterior lurk hints of a tyrannical ego, of a man well accustomed to his own success story. Ron Chapman Obituary KVIL - Death : DFW Radio Legend Died: Funeral - KVIL and DFW Radio legend, Ron Chapman died aged 85, on April, 26th, 2021, with loved ones left in total devastation. And the guy was the typical model. Chapman's family says there will be no service, but a public gathering of friends and . In 1969, he teamed up with local radio men Hugh Lampman and Jack Shell at the newly born KVIL. He is single-minded, living and breathing and eating KVIL to the detriment of everything else in his life. When we first went to KVIL to do the Cowboys games, Ron brings Brad Sham and me into his office and starts giving us this big speech on how we should broadcast a football game. Hes like the man who juggles chain saws while singing Verdi. Ron Chapman began his radio career the DAY he graduated high school, hitting the airwaves in his hometown of Haverhill, Massachusetts. It gives him this ability to do separate things simultaneouslyto be charming and light and breezy and set up the next little joke-and yet never lose clear, cold-blooded sight of the target audience. Im talking to a thirty-year-old female. Says Littauer, Only Ron could spend two weeks on a ship, do nothing, and then get a commendation for it.. Posted Mon, Apr 26, 2021 at 8:33 pm CT. Dallasites are grieving the death today of deejay Ron Chapman, a man whose voice was a constant companion throughout the Metroplex for more than five . Hes now a program director for ABC Dallas radio and an adjunct professor of TV production at the University of North Texas.We did Sumpn Else at NorthPark. And Ill tell you who finds it difficult to work for me. Its a small industry. And you were supposed to live up to them. But theyll never work hard enough.. He is an amalgamation of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, a warm, fuzzy presence who intrudes benignly into the consciousness of hundreds of thousands of women every morning. Chapman targeted that audience for several reasons, and he lists them the way he says almost everything, with unflappable confidence: a) they are the purse strings; b) there are a lot of them; c) they tend to be very faithful and build an allegiance; and d) they were underserved in this market, and nobody was paying them any respect. Turns out that a few years back, during a race around the world for a promotion, Chapman arrived late at the airportno ticket, no cash, no passport. 10/11/1929 - 05/23/2020 . It was Chapman who gave KVIL its sound in 1969: music foryoung adults who'd grown up listening to him on KLIF. I can walk faster than most people can run, Chapman once told The Dallas Morning News. So settle down with one of these throws. So I had just had my jacket cleaned. He spent more than three decades at KVIL, toiling as a morning deejay, music director and program director, transforming the adult contemporary format into a major success on the FM band. "In so many ways around here, Chapman was the pioneer, the seer," Rhyner said. Thanks a lot, everybody! They were pissed off, and they loved it. I swear to you. I now think about retiring. DALLAS Updated at 9:41 p.m. with more quotes from colleagues. Jun 16, 2005. (Her cohort, Ron Chapman, who clocked more than 45 successful years on local radio and television [including WFAA-TV,] died in 2021.) In the service, Chapman was the Fifties equivalent of Robin Williams, doing a sort of Good Morning, Korea. On the troop ship the first night out, his sister recalls, it came time for the sergeant to hand out assignments. "Ron Chapman is a dazzlingly . And its not just the lower-downs, but the higher-ups who have their hands full of Chapman ego. He was born in Pittsburg, in East Texas and was raised in East Dallas -- in the area that is now District 5 -- where he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. Chapman's booming voice is now a shadow of its former self, the result of a stroke suffered just before Christmas in 2012. He's now a news anchor for CBS Channel 11 and will replace Chapman on KLUV's morning show. You people dont listen to me, and you are going to lose $100,000 on this auction! When she replied that the auction had never made anywhere near that much, he snapped, Thats why!. After 45 years in radio, Ron Chapman retired from his morning show on June 24, 2005. He never said anything to me about it. Everybody that works here eventually comes back around, and Im going to be here when they come round again. KVIL tried to take on powerhouse KLIF-AM in the late 1960s; on 4/17/1967, they changed to a Top 40, "solid rock sound" format (formerly a talk/music format,) and renamed all of their jocks "Dave" to emphasize their 'David . He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2012. Ron Chapman was born on 25 January 1936 in Newton, Massachusetts, USA. The Emperor is in his tower . Catch up on the day's news you need to know. Then ten to midnight. Thats just the wrapper. And because I drove the yellow van, I could go wherever I wanted to go. Mess with Ron and I might become an ape in heat and jump all over you. On it was a headshot of some fierce new arrival on the Dallas radio scene, the latest young gun bent on a showdown with Chapman at the WBOK Corral. He was huge in Dallas for decades doing mornings at KVILclick link to learn more. TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Longtime radio personality Ron Chapman has died at the age of 85. Yes, my dear, the world is still a warm and safe and funny place to be, and you are on top of it with us, you know everything we do, which is a lot, and life keeps getting better. A lot of people couldnt handle it, Dean said of Chapmans style. The money was donated to charity. 1 forever. Ron didnt say a word. From 1965 to 1968, Chapman hosted a television dance show for teens called "Sump'N Else." In 1969, he moved to KVIL, where he spent 32 years. So Charlie and Harrigan came on and said, Were going to do our hike. "And that means something," Mike Rhyner said Thursday morning. Especially this woman right here., And Brad says, Well, how about if we start the play and say, The quarterback comes up to the line of scrimmage. Chapman knows that he is inextricably linked to KVIL. Ronald Edward Chapman. During his 31 years at KVIL, Chapman became famous for his upbeat humor and his participation in outrageous stunts and giveaways. anyway? And Ron said, Why, I am in charge of the talent show, of which there wasnt one at the time. It was the only way we could get a feel for the publics impressions on what we were doing. And some who have shown too much personality, critics charge, get the ax. The Morning Guys on Y-95. Broadcasting great Ron Chapman, who introduced himself to Dallas radio in 1959 under the pseudonym of Irving Harrigan on AM pioneer KLIF, and who elevated his legend after more than 30 years at KVIL-FM and another five at KLUV-FM, died Monday of natural causes. Were keeping you on the payroll through October. If shed said, I f-ed up, Im on the team, shed be here still. Suzie Humphreys was Chapmans on-air sidekick on KVIL from 1975 to 1995. Brings new meaning to the phrase Sunday Funday. Chapman realized that if he won Fort Worth, he could almost double the stations numbers. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and it serves the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in North Texas. I love doing the morning show but my bones are beginning to tell me that hitting the ground running at 4:10 every morning is not going to be supported forever by whatever frame that I carry around with me and happy to have served me around for a lot of years but it looks as tho I really need to be taking care of it instead of it taking care of me. Trust me, Chapman didnt laugh at all. *To hear some classic clips of Chapman from the old KLIF days, go to www.reelradio.com/se and www.historyofklif.com. When the drawer becomes filled with bills and change, he bundles it up and sends it to the man. In 1968, Chapman joined a team that purchased KVIL-FM, a station known for pioneering the Adult Contemporary (AC) format. There will be no service, however a "public gathering for friends and colleagues" is being planned at this time. Net Worth Inspector Menu. Chapman had a . Next to it is a portable telephone, complementing cellular phones in his and Nances cars. This was 1991. "It was what it was when it was. . That was the power of Ron Chapman. The program, based on "American Bandstand . The Left Hand of God is Fort Worth. I can tell you that little secret and know the competition will pick up on it, and theyll work on it. I dont believe that any one person can be in that much control and yet allow for the station to be the living, breathing organization it has to be in order to survive. Bring walking sticks. The people who dont understand the program., A recent case in point, says Chapman, was the popular evening jock Lynn Haley, who was dismissed in early August. Chapman has seen twenty years worth of six-month wonders come and then go. Many of us grew up listening to him on #KVIL. About all they had were some call letters, and not very good ones at that. Of course, back in those days, I was also given to partaking in the pleasures of cannabis and had a couple of joints with me for the ride. We were in the groove together. Ive got a speech at the Board of Realtors this morning, and Im getting my hair done., And I said, Hes giving me a real nice blow job., Oh, Lord. But it was impossible to replicate a station that made a growing big city feel like a small town. He is proceeded in death by his father, Fay Chapman. The guiding light in my life, my operational phrase, was: Ill show em. It wasnt angry. By Casey Carr. I tell people this story, and they think its one of those urban legends. The Amp is now playing a handful of pop-radio hits, by the likes of Bruno Mars and Taylor Swift and DJ Snake, over and over and over, ad infinitum. And yet, as he prepares to send his message radiating into those hundreds of thousands of receptive minds, he is more aware of them than perhaps anyone has ever been in the history of this city. Between his junior and senior years, he interned at The Washington Post during "the Watergate summer" of 1973. Part of Audacy. Chapman himself acknowledges his mortality, but only in the vaguest way, putting retirement plans out there some years down the road. "Three time radio Hall of Famer and Dallas radio ICON Ron Chapman has passed," the organization said. It was just ambition. And we walked around the corner and stopped. In 2000, as radio began to change once again, Chapman moved to KLUV, a Dallas oldies station where he stayed until announcing his retirement in 2005. Chapman began his career in Dallas radio in 1959 at KLIF as a member of the "Charlie and Harrigan" team. Most of the radio folk we talked to have a love-hate relationship with the man. Anyway, I was holding this animal on my shoulder, on my freshly cleaned jacket, and it got a little excited. Chapmans cohorts speak of having to walk a very fine line; remaining clever and at least half-witty without ever being more clever than Ron. We became great friends, Fairchild said. You treat her with respect. In a 1985 issue ofBillboard, the music industry's trade publication, a radio consultant called it "dominant" -- "the best-run radio station in Dallas" among a pile of worthy contenders, including K104. I never brought it up with him, either. @garycogill : RT @HawkeyeOnAir: I'm saddened to tell you that legendary Dallas DJ Ron Chapman has passed away at 85. A 1989 profile in D magazine described him as The Emperor in his tower, whose duality is a big part of Ron Chapmans magic. He is, the writer opined, an amalgamation of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.. But KVIL, four letters that decorated 100,000 Dallasites' car bumpers during one notable 1982 promotion,shouldn't be allowed to vanish without a proper eulogy. At one point, Chapman broadcast live while skydiving from a plane . Then it became Jane Fonda for a while. But Im serious when I tell you that I learned a great deal from it. Okay, so were in a commercial break. He was 85. 2023 Audacy, Inc. All rights reserved. Walton and Johnson. But suppose, suddenly, a rogue meteorite comes falling out of the sky and mashes him into a puddle at the corner of Mockingbird and Central? We could go AOR. Among the passengers on a March 4 flight out of Hanoi 45 years ago Sunday at the end of the Vietnam War were three Air Force officers who would eventually settle in Northwest Florida. 750 North St.Paul St. Copyright 2023, D Magazine Partners, Inc. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. In order for us to match the standard, the three of us guys on the floor crew went out and bought blazers. How would he like to be remembered? Many years later, both of their first marriages ended (Chapman divorced in 1982) and Ron and Nance began seeing each other, but again, just as friends. No sexism, period. This duality is a big part of Ron Chapmans magic. Chapman remembers all the other long-gone-and-forgotten ones who came gunning for him: the Mobys in the Morning, the Stevenses and Pruetts. Would Stevie Wonder object if we took it out? Paul: Okay, so let's go back to Bud's career. Oh, Lord. In 1969, Chapman joined the staff of KVIL-FM/Dallas-Fort Worth as morning disc jockey, music director, and program director, bringing the . It would dance on kids shoulders. He was No. So, Chapman can afford to surprise his wife with a 4.9-carat diamond, keep houses in town and country, and fly to Madrid on a whim., Born in January 1936, Ralph Frederick Chapman was the youngest of three children raised in the back rooms of his dads store during the Depression. Chapmans radio station has been number one in Dallas. Jody Dean was Chapman's producer at KVIL from 1987 to 1994. But what me and Tom Murphy did was put together a morning show for teens, Murphy and Harrigan. The rest, as they say, is history. They were gonna change owners and he knew the new owner. They thought we were going 50 miles. We had this little kinkajou honey bear. . His wife says the best way to get him frantic is to put him in a car without a phone. He was always very, very kind. DALLAS - Three-time Texas Radio Hall-of-Famer and Dallas radio legend Ron Chapman died on Monday. Chapman moved to KVIL a decade later, after the station briefly flirted with Top 40 in an attempt to topple the mighty KLIF. This system is awful. Incidentally, the quarterback is the guy behind the center. Chapman hired fellow broadcasting legend Jody Dean to work a late-night shift at KVIL in 1982. Read our daily updates at 12:30, 2:30 and 4:30 p.m., and our complete obituaries in The Herald-Dispatch on Wednesday and While many have attempted to imitate his formula, nobodyat least locallyis likely to remotely approach his mastery of it. A ratings war is brewing between two oldies stations, and a controversial gadget might decide who wins. Garrett remembers Chapmans blowing up at him for reading the same filler story at several news slots. I would hope it would be as someone who elevated the art.. I know something the others havent figured out.. I just never mellowed out. Chapman admits. A man in the hotel found his passport and rushed it to the airport. His career launched in 1953, the day after he graduated from high school. He had spent his last few years on 98.7 KLUV in Dallas/Forth Worth. Whatever it took.. Chapman was a giant in radio in Texas, and was inducted as a member of the Radio Hall of Fame in 2012. A year later, he suffered a stroke. A ratings war is brewing between two oldies stations, and a controversial gadget might decide who wins. RIP to a #NTX legend," wrote Dallas County judge Clay Jenkins, in a tweet on April 26. Ron Chapman was born on January 25, 1936 in Newton, Massachusetts, USA. For all time, at the moment, 2023 year, Ron Chapman earned $73 Million. KVIL-FM, born in Highland Park on August 25, 1961,died, officially, on Jan. 18, 2017. And every morning he was there for us, standing at his mic, drinking Dr Pepper, talking to the city. Copyright 2023, D Magazine Partners, Inc. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. But her memories of her tenure at the station are not pleasant. According to the Texas Radio Hall of Fame, no public service is happening, but there will be a public gathering of friends and colleagues which is being planned at this time. But for the first 20 minutes of the show, Id been loading this little guy up with Coca-Cola. Jason Kidd hopes Mavs star stays patient in preseason play, Spring training cuts are incoming, but these Rangers prospects have impressed in camp. Suite 2100 The maddest he ever got at me were those times that I delivered less than the best. PART OF AUDACY NEWS. On the stairwell is a wall full of pictures: Ron in the midst of a million one-dollar bills. Next to the picture, the new kid on the block had penned, Dont buy a house here. Here are a few other stories about Chapmans career, told by those who knew and worked with the legend. Michael Granberry, Arts Writer. He likes certain things in certain places. Imagine working in a situation for five or six years where your first question every day had to be, What kind of moods he in today?, Tony Garrett got a dose of it too, though he took it philosophically. Dallas-Fort Worth radio legend Ron Chapman has died, officials with his former station KLUV-FM confirmed. He knew exactly what he was going to do and started work reprogramming KVIL in their big studio. Chapman, who was inducted to the Radio Hall of Fame three times, started his career in 1953the day he graduated from high school, according to his bio on the organization's website. He doesnt want to look for cuff links., And as for keeping up with the competition, well, Chapman has a television parked in front of his toilet. We never worked in the studio together, for 20 years. His talent rose above us all. Blonde, voluptuous, impeccably well-mannered, and gracious, she smiles through a mouthful of sharp teeth. Theyll still be telling that story when Chapmans grandkids have carpool duty. After working for two years with the Voice of the United Nations Command in Korea , Chapman moved to Connecticut and station WHNC/New Haven. Everyone I knew went to college. He did not. He is the chairman of Southwest Airlines. I tell them, you cant do that. Theyre gone. pic.twitter.com/XuaDWmWvEm. Now, its someone I found out of Kim Dawson headshots. Exact sum is $73000000. He was so popular in Dallas in the 70s, 80s and 90s that his station, KVIL, sold for more than the Dallas Cowboys. More than one KVILite also remarked that they wouldnt have had jobs at all if Chapman hadnt heard that they were down on their luck and called to offer them gigs. Thats what we started doing. Long before the KLUV World Tour, our travel program began as the KVIL World Tour, pioneered by my parents and Dallas Radio legend Ron Chapman. So if anyone were to remember me. And I do have a good memory. But it doesnt mean that I wont stick my heel in your throat. People just trusted him, Dean said Monday. Chapman joined KVIL in 1969 where he would remain a fixture for 32 years. DALLAS (CBSDFW) - The Texas Radio Hall of Fame shared the news of the passing of Dallas radio icon Ron Chapman.