Old Seattle Radio Saturday: dick curtis remembers rick buckley

With a career spanning more than 50 years in radio, Rick Buckley died last Sunday after suddenly falling ill on Saturday at his home in Greenwich Conn. He was 74 and had been President of Buckley Broadcasting since succeeding his father in 1972.

Though the company includes the flagship WOR in New York and stations in Connecticut, Mr. Buckley had strong links to Seattle radio. The Buckleys bought heritage rocker KOL (now KKOL) from teevee and game show moguls Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for $1 million in 1967.

Thus began in earnest, KOL's epic battle with KJR for no.1 Top 40 station in Seattle.

Heritage Seattle radio man, Dick Curtis told BlatherWatch about his memories working for the Buckley those years:

I have fond memories of working for Rick Buckley Jr. and his dad Richard D. Buckley.

The father was very knowledgeable about everything going on at his radio stations even though he was three-thousand miles away in New York. He was the first New York station owner that I knew personally. He would come to town unannounced and listen to KOL for 24 hours then come to the station with a legal pad full of notes. "How come so & so did this at 7:43, etc."

Both Rick and his dad expected results but were realists and didn't put undo pressure on those in charge. Rick Jr. would come to Seattle quite often and I looked forward to his visits. That's the kind of a person he was. One time Rick and I went over to our competition, KJR, where Pat O'Day showed us around and proudly spoke of their new equipment. Think that could happen today? I doubt it.

(photo: Dick Curtis in 1967)

Rick was the first guy I knew that drank iced coffee a drink more popular, at the time, on the east coast. Rick was running WIBG in Philadelphia when I was managing KOL in Seattle. So we kind of had a little friendly competition going. I went to work for the Buckleys in 1967 as an afternoon drive deejay. I quickly became program director and about a year later I was appointed general manager.

There were no better owners than the Buckleys. They lived and breathed radio twenty-four hours a day. I could pick up the telephone and talk to them at any time. Both were always ready and anxious to talk about the business and they respected people who were knowledgeable.

I felt a deep loss when Richard Buckley died and feel an even deeper loss at the passing of Rick Buckley Jr. because it was so untimely and unexpected. He will be missed by many.

The Buckleys sold KOL in 1975 for $950,000.

Comments

[Eric]

Those of us who were around in the days when owners would stop by & do meet-and-greet, etc. understand the difference between THEN & NOW. Can you imagine Clear Channel exec's coming to town and doing anything other than intimidation with the staff (assuming they even TALK to the staff). Different time.

[AprilMayJune]

Those were the days, my friend ....

[Mike Barer]

Great story, there is so much written about KJR, but very little about KOL,KTAC, and KING-AM, the competition.

[joanie]

Or KZAM or KUUU . . .