TED DALAKU
July 23, 1973 - September, 1975

Ted joined Big D as a swing man, filling in on several shifts. He settled in on FM for a time before moving to the AM/FM morning show. He was the anchor for the short-lived WDRC Morning News, a half-hour program which aired from January 13, 1975 until June when cross-town competitor, WPOP, dropped music for an all-news format. His partners on the program were Walt Dibble and Bill Hennessey. His last air shift in the Hartford area was at WZMX, which he left in August, 1994.

PRIOR:

AFTER: St. Louis, MO; WTIC Hartford, CT; WWYZ Waterbury, CT; WZMX Hartford, CT

TODAY: Ted lives in Glastonbury, CT and pursues a freelance voice career (e-mail).

RUSS DANA
early 1977 - 1980

A Providence native, this Roger Williams College theater major was a staple during WDRC FM's album rock days (when the DJ's started each backsell with "FM--WDRC FM." Mainly he hosted the midday shift, 10AM-3PM, though Russ began hosting afternoon drive. Russ was very interested in jazz and later did a Sunday brunch show which was very popular in Boston.

PRIOR: WAAF Worcester, MA

AFTER: WMJX Boston, MA; WSSH Lowell, MA; LITE FM Providence, RI

TODAY: Russ passed away August 25, 1991.

CHARLIE DANIELS
May 21, 1979 - March, 1980

During his brief stint at Big D, Charlie was the 7PM-midnight man on WDRC AM. In January, 1980 he moved to the same slot on FM and changed his name to "Chuck."

PRIOR: WRKO Boston

AFTER:

TODAY: ?

BRAD DAVIS
April 11, 1977 - present

Brad holds the distinction of working at WDRC longer than any other announcer in the station's history. During the entire time he has hosted morning drive on WDRC AM (and sometimes FM, depending on the simulcast schedule). Born in Stafford Springs, and raised in Enfield, Davis is a U.S. Marine veteran. At WTIC TV he hosted a weekly show --a local version of American Bandstand--for 11 years starting in 1958. His background at WTIC included a heavy dose of journalism and it was easy for Brad to segue through various formats during his tenure at WDRC including playing Top 40, oldies, standards and talk. He has long maintained "I am NOT a disc jockey," but rather, a personality. Brad celebrates his 28th anniversary at WDRC in 2005.

PRIOR: WACE Chicopee, MA; WTIC AM/FM/TV Hartford, CT; WFSB TV Hartford, CT (e-mail).

JEFF DEAN
prior to April 17, 1987 - 1988

Jeff was another one of the satellite-provided voices during WDRC AM's affiliation with "The Oldies Channel."

PRIOR:

AFTER:

TODAY: ?

BOB DeCARLO
January 12, 1970 - March 6, 1971

A New York native, Bob was raised in Scrantron. He graduated from the Pennsylvania State University and began his radio career at the college station. While Bob was WDRC's AM/FM morning man, most people forget he spent his first week on WDRC filling in for the vacationing Ken Griffin, 8PM-1AM. During his stay at Big D, Bob co-hosted a three hour "Battle of the Bands" special on Channel 30 (August 11, 1970). Charlie Parker once said he had tried several times to hire Bob but he didn't want to leave his longtime program director's position in Providence. He later made up for it, working in several major markets around the country. For several years Bob was partnered at WUSA Tampa with another WDRC alumni, Judd Otis.

PRIOR: WDFM Penn State University; WICE Providence, RI

AFTER: KQV Pittsburgh, PA; WGST Atlanta, GA; KOGO San Diego, CA; WIOD Miami, FL; WUSA Tampa, FL; KLUV Dallas, TX; WVVE Panama City, FL

TODAY: After a stint in Houston, in February 2003 Bob and his wife purchased a McDonald's restaurant on Panama City Beach, FL; see his note (8-7-02). Now he's back on the air in Panama City Beach at WPCB FM (e-mail) (4-12-06).

CHRIS DeCHELLIS
November 2005 - current

Chris DeChellis joined DRC FM as a utility personality, filling in various shifts.

PRIOR: ?

GARY DeGRAIDE
May 4, 1971 - April 6, 1973

Son of a Providence legend, Gene DeGraide, radio must run in his blood. Gary's time at WDRC included several shifts, including the utility shift dreamed up by program director Charlie Parker. On Sunday, he simulcast from 9AM-noon; Monday and Tuesday he was off; Wednesday morning from midnight to 6 he filled Rod Allen's AM/FM shift and came back at 7PM to do Joe Hager's 7PM-midnight on AM; Thursday he did 6PM-midnight for Pete Ross on FM; Friday he did his own FM show from 3-6PM; Saturday he did his own show from 10AM-3PM on AM. For the Christmas season of 1972, Gary and his wife, Susan, (a professional singer) recorded a series of customized jingles to complement the usual "Friends" package produced by TM. When Gary left for WRKO, he did all-night as "Gary Matthews."

PRIOR: WICE Providence

AFTER: WRKO and WMEX, both Boston, MA; WPRO Providence, RI

TODAY: Gary wakes up Rhode Island on WWLI Providence; see his note (1-13-00) (e-mail).

WALT DIBBLE
May 19, 1968 - April, 1977

A Greenwich native, he attended high school in Stamford and the New England School of Radio, in Bridgeport, in 1948. When Walt replaced Joe Barbarette as news director at WDRC, it marked the beginning of a long stay in Hartford. After Big D he spent another 20 years in a similar post at WTIC, working with the legendary Bob Steele, and later Ray Dunaway. When his newscasts included Cincinnati Reds scores, Walt had more than the usual interest--his son, Rob, was a pitching star for the club.

PRIOR: WSTC Stamford, CT; WICC Bridgeport, CT; WAVZ New Haven, CT

AFTER: WTIC Hartford, CT

TODAY: Walt passed away on July 21, 1997 at the age of 67.

CHIP DONAVON
July, 1980 - September, 1981

Chip graduated from Curry College in Milton, MA with a major in communications and a minor in secondary education. During his stay in Hartford, he hosted Solid Gold Saturday Night on WDRC AM. He also hosted the afternoon slot, 2-7PM before replacing Bill Pearson on the 7PM-midnight shift. A man of many names, he was known as Charlie Donavon in Springfield..

PRIOR: WJBQ Portland, ME

AFTER: WHYN Springfield, MA; WSRS Worcester, MA

TODAY: Chip concluded a nine year run at WSRS in March, 2003; his current whereabouts are unknown. Listen for him using his real name, Ned Smith (10-10-04).

DAVE DONAVON
May, 1974 - July, 1975

A child prodigy, he started his radio career while still in high school in Waterbury. At WDRC he was used on several shifts. Today, he is the promo voice of the FOX and CBS Television Networks. Visit his web site for all the details.

PRIOR: WWCO Waterbury, CT

AFTER: WRC/WKYS Washington, DC; WRQX Washington, DC; KHTZ, KKHR, KIIS, FOX Television, all Los Angeles, CA

TODAY: Today, using his real name, Joe Cipriano, he is one of the leading voice talents in the broadcast industry, based in Los Angeles. See his note (1-13-00). (e-mail).

DENNIS DONAVON
prior to August 18, 1985 - after July 7, 1989

PRIOR: WNVR Naugatuck, CT; WKCI New Haven, CT

AFTER: WJBX Bridgeport, CT; WDAQ Danbury, CT; WWCO Waterbury, CT

TODAY: WWYZ Waterbury, CT (1-24-00).

TIM DONAVON
August-September, 1970

Timothy "Chip" Hobart's resume reads like a Rand McNally atlas. He has worked at many stations, usually not staying too long. Charlie Parker used him briefly as an FM fill-in, but since he had just come from WPOP, Chip used the name "Tim Donavon." Thus, he becomes part of the trivia question: what last name has most been used at WDRC (there have been 4 Donavons and 4 Roberts)? His sojourns have frequently brought him back to his native New England, but his current whereabouts are unknown.

PRIOR: WVMT Burlington, VT; WKBR Manchester, NH; WKOX FM Framingham, MA; WAAB Worcester, MA; WTRY Troy, NY; WTOR Torrington, CT; WTBY Waterbury, CT; WPOP Hartford

AFTER: WNHC New Haven, CT; CKLW Windsor, ONT; WRKO Boston, MA; WOKY Milwaukee, WI; WIXY Cleveland, OH; WKRQ Cincinnati, OH; WEZE Boston, MA; WYSP Philadelphia, PA; KROY Sacramento, CA; KSFM ?; WVBF Framingham, MA; WDAI FM Chicago, IL; WJEZ Chicago, IL; KDWB FM Minneapolis, MN; WAPP New York, NY; WHTT Boston, MA; WQFM Milwaukee, WI; WVMX Stowe, VT

TODAY: WCLX Burlington, VT/Westport, NY (3-28-05)

BRIAN DOW
April, 1977 - 1979

Born November 1, 1935 in Waltham, MA, Brian C. Dow served with the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. A journeyman reporter, he worked in the WDRC news department and was an instructor at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting.

PRIOR: WBIS Bristol, CT; WHNB TV Hartford, CT; WRCH Farmington, CT; WHCT TV Hartford

AFTER: WTIC Hartford, CT

TODAY: Brian died October 14, 2002, in Bristol, at the age of 66.

BILL DRAKE
November 14, 1969 - December 28, 1969

True radio aficionados will see this name and do a double take. To be sure, this was NOT the man who developed the "more music" Drake format. Bill had worked at WCCC before his obligation to Uncle Sam. After getting out of the Army, he did six weeks of weekend shifts at WDRC to prepare for the launching of the station's first permanent all-night show--and his new air name. (Also see DIK HADDAD). Trivia...Bill's Big D debut was from 11PM-1AM on a Friday night, doing the last two hours of the Ken Griffin show.

PRIOR: WCCC Hartford, CT

AFTER: Executive VP & Creative Director of Mintz & Hoke Advertising, Avon, CT.

TODAY: Bill/Dik is a freelance writer and commercial director; see his note (4-12-01) (e-mail).

JILL DUNAY
prior to December 21, 2001 - late 2005

A native of Groton, Jill has been dancing since the age of three. She is a graduate of the Greater Hartford Academy of the Performing Arts and was a Fine Arts/Theater major at Eastern Connecticut State College where she was active in a theater group called Circles '96 that performed off-Broadway in New York. She also attended the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. Jill delivered traffic updates afternoons on the Doug Taylor show.

PRIOR: ?

AFTER: WTNH TV New Haven, CT

STEVE DUNN
prior to March 16, 1974 - May, 1974

In early 1974, Charlie Parker reshuffled the deck and released Pete Sullivan from morning drive. His replacement was Steve Dunn, but the magic lasted only a few weeks.

PRIOR: WSTC Stamford, CT; WRYM New Britain, CT; WCCC Hartford, CT; WELI New Haven, CT; WGSM Long Island, NY

AFTER: WTIC Hartford, CT; WWEL Medford, MA; WCRB Waltham, MA; WBUR Boston, MA

TODAY: successful freelance voice talent in Boston, MA (781-344-7811) (4-13-00) (e-mail).

BOB ELLSWORTH
February 2, 1971 - June 21, 1971

During the fifties and sixties WTIC listeners recognized the unmistakable booming baritone of Bob Ellsworth. When the WDRC news department had an opening, he was hired by Walt Dibble to do afternoon drive news. Later in his career, Bob was reunited with WTIC colleague Dick Bertel at the Voice of America.

PRIOR: WTIC AM/FM/TV Hartford, CT; WRYM New Britain, CT

AFTER: WKSS Hartford, CT; Voice of America, Washington, DC

TODAY: Bob is sometimes heard as a substitute announcer on WJMJ in Bloomfield (11-28-06).