Old Seattle Radio Saturday: al cummings

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(Above, an ad in Seattle magazine touting one of Al Cummings' returns to KOL. The type is too small to reproduce here, but it features ironic and phony blurbs. Such as this from "Albert Orfaloaf of the Harbor Island Mission Home": "Cummings is not just a disc jockey. He is a way of life! A miserable way, I might add...").  

Al Cummings came to Seattle from Washington D.C. in the early 1950s to do mornings at KOL. Then went to KING 1090, where he had a top-rated morning program from a booth he called the “ape cage” on the street outside the KING Broadcasting building at 320 Aurora Avenue N.

When KING hired Frosty Fowler from Yakima’s KLOQ to do the morning show, Cummings moved back to KOL .

In about 1963, he did mornings at KVI when Bob Hardwick jumped ship for KMPC, the Golden West Broadcasters flagship station in Los Angeles. Hardwick didn’t last long in LA, returned to KVI, and Cummings was out.

He returned to KING where he held forth in afternoon drive in the mid-to-late 1960s.
Cummings returned in the early 1970s, when he was hired to do the latenights. Bill Taylor was his newsman during that all-too-short period.

(photo from left: Al Cummings, longtime KIXI and KIRO newsman, Bill Wippel and Frosty Fowler).

Taylor took this picture last Spring as Cummings was off to a new life in Mexico- nobody’s heard from him since.

Comments

[Martinson]

Thanks for this, Michael. Al Cummings is a little before my time, but I'm digging learning the radio legacy of the Seattle. It's not all about Dori and Kirby.

[sparky]

Very interesting, thanks.

Mr. Wippel, it would be great if you would post more often here.

[Maggie_greenriver]

Where is Frosty Fowler? Is he totally retired? He is an icon in Seattle broadcasting, too. I remember hearing him on one of the Christan stations in the '90's.

[Tommy008]

"Hardwick didn't last long in LA"- shades of Bryan Suits. Won't be long before old Suits tucks tail between legs and comes running back to Seattle. Remeber it's not the Bryan Suits Show, it's Kennedy nd Suits. Big difference.

[Unionless]

Sorry Tommy008 there are some of us here that remember your prediction of Suits not lasting 6-mos at KFI. How's that prediction doin for you and tell us why the fuck we should ever listen to ANYthing you have to say. Fact is we shouldn't, and we don't and you are just an ignorant blogger with an affinity against Dori Monson. So, why don't you shut the fuck up, go write your book and see how well it sells in the market arena.

[Tommy008]

hahahahaahahahahhaa Duffman is that you?

[Unionless]

No, I am Duffman's lover.

[DaveM.]

Suits is doing his show solo, now Tommy. Kennedy left a few months ago to spend more time w/her family.

[Tommy008]

ohho in that case expect a fairly quick collapse of Suits career in LA./ Kennedy was able to cut Suits' Obnoxious Factor in half or less . Now that its just pure BS- the show will rapidly implode from the power of his unchecked ego.

[Bill Taylor]

In answer to the inquiry from Maggie (above) about Frosty Fowler, he is retired, residing in Poulsbo. Maggie is correct that for a time Frosty did afternoon drive at Christian-formatted KGNW.

After leaving KING Broadcasting (where he also hosted Seattle Bandstand on KING TV),Frosty handled community relations for Shoreline Savings Bank.

[Kali]

Go Grandpa! <3 Kali

[Nancy-Dru Flowers]

Okay, so for any of you who want to know, or be in-the-know, or don't-want-to-know, here are the latest thoughts of Al Cummings...

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&bID=535088474

via his Granddaughter, me.

[Carolyn]

Ran into Frosty Fowler and his wife tonight at the grocery store. Still a delightful man with a twinkle in his (and her) eyes.