PAUL JACKSON
June, 1968 - August, 1969 and May 22, 1971 - November 30, 1971

Born May 17, 1948 in New Haven, Paul graduated from Cheshire Academy and attended Union College in Schenectady where he was involved with the student station. He logged three different stays at WDRC FM. The first time was the summer of 1968 when he was hired for 3-8PM, after which he returned to college, graduating in 1970. He also spent parts of the summers of 1969 and 1971 at Big D FM. In November, 1969 he began several months of weekend and fill shifts using the name "Adam Kelly." Technically speaking, his last appearance was August 20, 1995 when he phoned in during the 30th anniversary special on WDRC FM.

PRIOR: WRUC Schenectady, NY; WKOL Amsterdam, NY

AFTER: WKOL Amsterdam, NY; Sound Concepts, Woodbridge, CT

TODAY: Paul R. Jacobson died May 5, 2011 at the age of 62.

GARY JAMES
1984 - April, 1989 and fall 1999 - November, 2001

Gary's knowledge of oldies made him a perfect fit for WDRC FM, though he also hosted afternoon drive on WDRC AM. In August 1988, Gary replaced program director Frank Holler. After a ten year absence, he returned in 1999 for weekend and fill shifts. He taught extensively at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. From 1999 to late 2001 he hosted Sunday mornings on DRC FM, and did occasional fill-in shifts.

PRIOR: WDEW Westfield, MA; WMAS Springfield, MA; WARE Ware, MA; WAVI Portsmouth, NH; WMEX Boston, MA

AFTER: WKNE Keene, NH; WHYN Springfield, MA; WTSN/WBYY Dover, NH; WMEX FM Farmington, NH; WASR Wolfeboro, NH

TODAY: In 2014 Gary put a new LPFM station on the air, WMEX, in Rochester, NH; see his note (7-15-02) (e-mail).

JIM JEFFREY
prior to March 16, 1968 - August, 1969 and October 14, 1970 - January 22, 1971

Raised in Sterling, MA James A. Jeffrey, Jr. launched his radio career following graduation from high school. He was a popular personality, starting on WDRC FM's midday shift for a few months before replacing Sandy Beach in morning drive in June, 1968. He stayed until the following June when Al Gates took over. At that point Jim became Dick Robinson's assistant director at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. Jim returned to Big D in 1970 as a newsman, and hosting the Saturday afternoon music shift on WDRC AM. In Pittsburgh Jim did news but later moved into talk radio.

PRIOR: WKXL Concord, NH; WSPR Springfield, MA, WPRO Providence, RI

AFTER: KDKA AM/TV and WWSW, both Pittsburgh, PA; WAVE AM/TV Louisville, KY; KHOU-TV Houston; KNTS Mesa, AZ; KJJJ Phoenix, AZ; KFYI & KTVK-TV Phoenix; AZ

TODAY: Jim lived in Bridgewater, New Hampshire from 1987 until his death on September 17, 2009; he was 72.

LEIF JENSEN
October 1946 - July, 1958; returned in December, 1958 till 1959

Leif William Jensen's broadcast career began in New Haven when he was just 16 years old. He was a staff announcer at WDRC during its CBS affiliation. Among other things, he hosted Today on Wall Street, Your Esso Reporter and a half hour show weekdays at 3:30 called "Leif Jensen Presents." Leif was promoted to assistant program manager in June 1953. In October 1956 he hosted Leif Jensen Presents, an afternoon program of recorded music every afternoon at 3:30. His wonderful deep voice resulted in a move to WHCT-TV Hartford though he was also in demand for network and freelance work. He returned briefly to WDRC in December, 1958. He later moved to Boston and was affiliated with the Yankee Network. Before retiring, Leif was the booth announcer at Channel 7 in Boston. He had three sons, all of whom were in involved in radio and television.

PRIOR: WELI New Haven, CT

AFTER: WHCT TV Hartford, CT; freelance work for CBS Radio Network, New York, NY; WINF Manchester, CT; WNAC AM/FM/TV Boston, MA

TODAY: Leif William Jensen passed away on June 24, 2012 while living in Cotuit, Massachusetts; he was 86 years old.

ART JOHNSON
prior to October 22, 1955 - after March 13, 1962

A charter member of The Friendly Five, Art's employment at WDRC actually preceded the switch to pop music programming in August, 1960. A Stamford native, Art's radio debut occurred at the age of 11 when he appeared on a W.P.A. toy-collection effort on WICC Bridgeport. He attended the Connecticut State Teachers College in Danbury and the University of Connecticut. After serving in the U.S. Navy during the Korean conflict, Art hit the airwaves in Waterbury before being hired at WDRC to host a wakeup music program from 6-8AM, teaming with Harvey Olson. Among his assignments at WDRC was hosting a 1957 music program called "Fascinating Rhythms." In 1958-59 he hosted an hour-long noontime show, "Art Johnson's Record Shop." Just prior to the format switch, he was heard afternoons from 3-7PM. After Radio Fun was born, "A.J. At Midday on Big D" aired from noon to three. After Big D, he spent many years hosting WTIC's all night show, "The Other Side of the Day."

PRIOR: WLAD Danbury, CT; WATR AM/TV Waterbury, CT

AFTER: WTIC Hartford, CT; WKSS Hartford, CT; WRCH Farmington, CT; WMAS Springfield, MA

TODAY: Art passed away October 17, 1993 at the age of 63.

GAY JOHNSON
2006

Gay did overnights on Big D FM.

PRIOR:

AFTER:

TODAY: ?

LANI JONES
prior to April 22, 1944 - prior to April 1, 1947

Annette Lansing-Jones was a part-time announcer and copywriter during the war. Known on-air as Lani Jones, she was one of the earliest female announcers on the WDRC air staff. A native of Brooklyn, NY, she was educated in Newington public schools, the University of Connecticut and Emerson College in Boston. She joined WDRC in 1944. For a time in 1946 she left WDRC for cross-town rival WTHT. After she was married she was known as Lani Graham. Later she was a reporter for the Bridgeport Sunday Herald and worked at the Julian Gross Advertising agency. At WTIC FM, Lani hosted classical music shows using the name, Lani Jurev. Lani and her family moved to Glastonbury in 1953 where she was involved with the League of Women Voters and Connecticut Democratic politics. During the 1970s she was executive director of the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce.

PRIOR: WTHT Hartford, CT

AFTER: WGTH TV Hartford, CT; WTIC FM Hartford, CT

TODAY: Lani died on March 24, 2012 at the age of 90.

MARY JONES
June 2003 - December 23, 2013

After a 17-year career as head of a Farmington corporate recruiting firm, Audibert Jones Associates, Mary joined WDRC AM's Talk of Connecticut lineup, hosting a weekday talk show from 2-3PM. Her focus was upbeat, positive shows featuring guests and callers. Mary tried to inform and entertain her audience. Like all WDRC AM talk shows, she was also heard on WMMW Meriden, WSNG Torrington and WWCO Waterbury. The Connecticut native holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from The University of Connecticut.

Mary's daily show was discontinued in October 2008 during a budget cutback, but she continued hosting Saturday from 12-2PM and Sunday from 2-4PM, then returned to fulltime work in early 2011. She retired from WDRC on December 23, 2013; she and her husband planned to split their time between Connecticut and Florida.

TODAY: Mary hosts "All About Women" on WENG Englewood & WFLN Port Charlotte, both in Florida (12-20-21).

DUANE JUDD
1999-2000?

Little is known about this announcer except that he was the overnight man on January 1, 2000.

PRIOR:

AFTER:

TODAY: ?

LARRY JUSTICE
February 15, 1969 - after May 10, 1969

Larry presided over the "Halls of Justice" at WDRC for three months in 1969. Like many personalities, he cut his teeth doing middays on WDRC FM, but most of his stay was on AM from 10AM-3PM. After many years in Boston, Larry later got involved in station ownership in Florida and Vermont.

PRIOR: KBBR, Benton, AR; KXLR, North Little Rock, AR; KAJI, Little Rock, AR; WPGC Washington, DC; WIBG Philadelphia, PA; WMEX Boston, MA

AFTER: WBZ and WROR, both Boston,MA; WCIB Falmouth, MA; WCRJ AM/FM Jacksonville, FL; WRFD FM Stowe, VT; WQEZ Fort Meyers, FL; WIOD Miami, FL

TODAY: After many years working in real estate in Naples, Florida, Larry is once again on the air in Boston on the latest incarnation of WMEX. (8-6-20)(e-mail).

KRIS KANE
November, 1976 - April, 1977

Born in Massachusetts on October 8, 1944, Kris Robert Kane grew up in Connecticut and graduated from Berlin High School (Class of 1963). He attended Lyndon State Teachers School in Vermont and the Cambridge School of Radio-TV Broadcasting in Boston. While his stay at WDRC was short, Kris hosted morning drive and was the production voice of all of Big D's year-end programming in 1976.

PRIOR: WICH Norwich, CT; WRLB FM Long Branch, NJ; WBIS Bristol, CT; WMAS Springfield, MA; WVBF Framingham, MA

AFTER: WGCL Cleveland, OH; KLZZ San Diego, CA, WKKT Boston, MA

TODAY: Kris owned a voiceover business called Waterside Productions and hosted a show on Sirius Satellite Radio from 1990-2000. He passed away in Little Rock, AR on February 13, 2013; he was 78 (4-15-23).

STEPHEN KANE
August 30, 1968 - June 7, 1969

Steve was a very witty, low-key personality whose WDRC tenure was spent mostly in the 10AM-3PM shift on Big D FM. A native of Brockton, MA, Steve was born on February 28, 1946. He graduated from Rockland High School in 1964, beginning his on-air career in Boston that same year at the now defunct Cambridge School/Graham Junior College. Stephen later earned a B.A. at Antioch College and a M.A. at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara. After WDRC he hosted morning drive at two Hartford stations and did mornings at album rock stations in major markets across the country using his real name, "Stephen Capen." In later years he branched into journalism, doing extensive writing.

PRIOR: WCSB Boston, MA; WFST A/F Caribou, ME; WBZA A/F Glens Falls, NY; WAAB Worcester, MA; WHYN Springfield, MA

AFTER: WCCC Hartford, CT; WHCN FM Hartford, CT; WBCN Boston; MA; WGLD FM Chicago. IL; WDAI Chicago, IL; WNCR Cleveland, OH; CJOM Windsor, Ont.; KPRI San Diego, CA; KGB A/F San Diego, CA; WHCN Hartford, CT (take 2); WINZ Miami, FL; WCOZ Boston, MA; WCOZ Boston, MA; WEEI FM Boston, MA; WPIX New York, NY; WCBS FM New York, NY; KSAN, KFRC, KSFX/KGO, KMEL, KRQR all San Francisco, CA; WXRK New York, NY; KFOG, KDBK San Francisco, CA; KTID San Rafael, CA; KUSF San Francisco, CA; KVON AM/KVYN FM Napa, CA

TODAY: Stephen Harold Capen lost a lengthy battle with a lung tumor on September 12, 2005; he was 59. See his note (5-20-05).

STU KAUFMAN
prior to November 26, 1977 - December, 1979

Getting his radio start at the student station at the University of Hartford, Stu was a staff member at WDRC FM during the station's album rock period. He was heard 2-7PM and near the end of his tenure he was on from 7PM-midnight.

PRIOR: WWUH FM West Hartford, CT; WHCN FM Hartford, CT

AFTER: WSHE Miami, FL

TODAY: Stu and his girl friend run a daycare center near Minneapolis (e-mail)(10-26-00).

ADAM KELLY
November 21, 1969 - February 7, 1970

He used the name "Adam Kelly" during his second stay at WDRC FM, doing weekends and fill shifts while still in school. See also Paul Jackson.

PRIOR: WRUC Schenectady, NY; WKOL Amsterdam, NY

AFTER: WKOL Amsterdam, NY; Woodbridge Sound Concepts, Woodbridge, CT

TODAY: Paul R. Jacobson died May 5, 2011 at the age of 62.

ED KELLY
1993

A native of New Britain, Ed was hired as a part-timer at WDRC FM by program director Frank Holler, doing weekends and fill shifts.

PRIOR: WLIS Old Saybrook, CT; WIKE Newport, VT; WWYZ Waterbury, CT; WRCQ/WRCH Farmington, CT; WKSS Hartford; WMAS FM Springfield, MA.

AFTER: WZRT Rutland, VT

TODAY: In 2003 Ed joined WJJR in Rutland, where he hosts the afternoon drive program; see his note (8-19-05) (e-mail).

TOM KELLY
October, 1978 - June, 1980

A native of Lynn, MA, Tom was born on July 6, 1958. He earned his high school diploma at Plymouth Carver High School, and then attended Grahm Junior College in Boston. He was the afternoon driver at WDRC AM. replacing longtime host Dick McDonough. For many years he hosted the same shift at an oldies station in Washington. In 2006 Tom completed his Washington run and moved to Bath, ME where he ran Choice Voice, a voiceover business.

PRIOR: WESX Salem, MA; WFTN Franklin, NH; WSPR Springfield, MA

AFTER: WTIC FM Hartford, CT; WBEN Buffalo, NY; KHOW and KMJI, both Denver, CO; WBIG Washington, DC

TODAY: Thomas Paul Pagnotti died at Maine Medical Center in Portland from complications of lung cancer on November 30, 2015; he was 57.

TOM KENT
May 17, 2011 - March 2, 2013

Tom began spinning records at the age of 13 - in his North Carolina bedroom! His enthusiasm got him a job doing the real deal on weekends during his high school years. He was working the big time - midnights in Memphis - at the age of 18. where he became known as Truckin' Tom Cookin Kent. His career took him to numerous major radio markets and earned him a nomination as Billboard Magazine's Major Market Air Personality of the Year. Today Tom is based in Cleveland where he produces a variety of radio programs syndicated to about 150 stations including WDRC FM. He took over the 7PM to midnight shift on Big D in May 2011, replacing Grahame Winters who remained as program director. WDRC dropped the show in early March 2013, replacing Tom with Ron Sedaille voicetracks. In 2015 Tom was nominated to the National Radio Hall of Fame. His Tom Kent Radio Network provided two dozen syndication products for stations aroiund the country.

PRIOR: WAIR Winston-Salem, NC; WHBQ Memphis, TN; WIXY Cleveland, OH; KLIF Dallas, TX; WIBG/Philadelphia, PA; WMJX Miami; WGCL Cleveland; WLS Chicago; WAVA Washington, DC; WRQC & WQAL, Cleveland, OH

TODAY: Tom died in a suburb of Cleveland on June 24, 2024 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

EDDIE KING
prior to January 9, 1960 - prior to April 26, 1960

Eddie King (born Charles E. Potts) was half of a short-lived morning team at WDRC prior to the arrival of Ron Landry. Eddie met Ken Reeth in the 9th grade. In the school drama club they appeared in live, weekly dramas on the local NBC affiliate, WSAN. Reeth & King formed The Martini Brothers, a tumbling act that evolved into a comedy song and dance act. They began working clubs all over the country and continued after the Korean War (during which Eddie was in the Air Force). In between club dates they hosted a morning show at WHOL in Allentown, which was Eddie's hometown. In late 1959 they responded to a blind ad in Broadcasting magazine for an opening at WDRC, replacing Bacon & Fay. After a few months Reeth & King took their act to WZUM/WAMO in Pittsburgh. In 1964 Eddie went solo on a station in Hagerstown, MD; he later left radio to work with kids at a social service agency. See Kenny Reeth.

PRIOR: WSAN Allentown, PA; WHOL Allentown, PA; nightclub circuit

AFTER: WZUM/WAMO Pittsburgh; WMBT Shenandoah, PA; WHAG AM/TV Hagerstown, MD; Hagerstown Board of Education TV Center

TODAY: Eddie passed away in Hagerstown on October 7, 1988 at the age of 58; he is buried in Allentown, PA.

SUZI KLONK
September 2, 2014 - present

Miss Klonk (aka Suzanne Moutinho) grew up in West Hartford and graduated from the University of Hartford in 2004 with a liberal arts degree in Communication and Media Studies. She spent more than 10 years at crosstown rival WCCC when it played classic rock. She began as an intern and worked her way up to on-air work, holding a variety of shifts, but mostly afternoon drive. In September 2014 she was hired by Connoisseur as promotions director for all of its Connecticut stations. She did some fill-in shifts at DRC FM before assuming the 7PM-midnight shift when Connoisseur rebranded the station as 102.9THEWHALE in January 2015. In addition to her on-air responsibilities, Klonk is the station's marketing and promotions director.

PRIOR: WCCC FM Hartford, CT

TODAY: In January 2017 Klonk switched shifts with Allan Lamberti, moving from evenings to middays (e-mail).

CAL BERNARD KOLBY
February, 1953 - prior to January 12, 1960

Born on Valentines Day 1916, Cal replaced Bill Sheehan in Springfield during WWII. Cal later served in the U.S. Army occupation forces in Japan before returning to the radio business in Waterbury. By 1948 he was an announcer in Meriden. A year later he was working in Bristol as program director and station manager. Colonel Cal Kolby was at WDRC during the CBS affiliation years. He hosted local music and interview shows, though. In December 1955 Cal called Bob E. Lloyd, the announcer on opposite him at WGTH in Hartford. They cued up the same record at the same time, then told their respective audiences to check back and forth between stations to see if the records were in sync! From 1954-58 he was heard from 4-6PM and at 11 o'clock at night. During the late night show he featured rock and roll music. In early 1956 Cal's late-night show featured rhythm & blues music and he billed himself as the Square Bear from Nowhere with Rappin' and Tappin' Sounds. In early 1959 the West Hartford resident moved into an all-night show amidst considerable promotion, but it was quietly discontinued and WDRC resumed its traditional signoff time of 1AM. During his last months at WDRC Cal was primarily a newscaster.

PRIOR: WMAS Springfield, MA; WMMW Meriden, CT; WLLH Lawrence/Lowell, MA; WSPR Springfield, MA; WBRY Waterbury, CT; WAVZ New Haven, CT; WBIS Bristol, CT

AFTER: WPOP Hartford, CT; WINF Manchester, CT; WNBH New Bedford, MA

TODAY: Cal was a general contractor when he died on July 26, 1976 while living in Dayton, OH; he was 60.

JERRY KRISTAFER
August 9, 1982 - December 5, 1997 & January 15, 2008 - October 4, 2013

A native of New Jersey, Jerry got a broadcast journalism major at Glassboro State College, but he actually started his career in high school hosting a show on his local cable TV system. Prior to Jerry's long stay as morning man at WDRC FM, he worked for another WDRC alumni, Joey Reynolds, in New Jersey and Pittsburgh. In addition to his wakeup duties Jerry was named operations manager and program director in June 1989. Jerry returned to DRC FM on January 15, 2008, replacing John Saville. For a while his partner was Marianne O'Hare until she departed on March 31st. Jerry worked solo until late June 2009 when he was joined by former morning man Mike Stevens.

PRIOR: WHLW Lakewood, NJ; KQV Pittsburgh, PA; Indianapolis, IN; WCDQ and WKCI, both Hamden, CT; WAVZ New Haven, CT; WFFM Pittsburgh, PA; WCCC Hartford, CT

AFTER: WHYN FM Springfield, MA; WELI New Haven, CT; WJMJ Prospect, CT

TODAY: Jerry was shown the door on October 4, 2013. Exactly one month later he began hosting the wakeup show at WJMJ, the Diocese of Hartford station. (e-mail)

ALLAN LAMBERTI
July 7, 2014 - present

A Texas native, Allan graduated from Trumbull High School and lives in Bridgeport. He joined DRC FM when Connoisseur Media bought the station from Buckley Broadcasting in July 2014. He took over the afternoon drive shift, 2-7PM, formerly occupied by Floyd Wright. In addition to being the music director for Connoisseur's southern Connecticut radio stations, Allan is a contributing writer for Connoisseur's CTBoom.com website. In January 2015 DRC FM rebranded itself as 102.9 TheWhale and Allan moved to the 10AM-3PM timeslot. In January 2017 Allan took over programming duties and switched shifts with Klonk, moving from middays to evenings. In January 2018 Connoisseur sold WDRC to Red Wolf Broadcasting and Allan stayed with Connoisseur.

PRIOR: WPLR New Haven, CT; WFOX FM Southport, CT

TODAY: In October 2019 Allan took over the afternoon drive show on Connoisseur's WEBE in Westport (e-mail).

LON LANDIS
October 16, 1970 - after October 5, 1977

A native of New York City, Lon honed his craft in the Empire State after earning a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts and a Master's Degree in Political Science from Syracuse University. At WOR he produced the all-night Barry Farber talk show and was a newsman. He was news director at a Bridgeport station for a year before coming to Hartford. His voice was a staple in the WDRC news department for several years.

PRIOR: WOLF, WHEN TV & WNYS TV, all Syracuse, NY; WOR AM/FM New York, NY; WNAB Bridgeport, CT

AFTER: WHDH Boston, MA; WELI New Haven, CT; WCBS FM New York, NY; WPOP Hartford, CT; WTIC Hartford, CT; KCBS FM Los Angeles, CA

TODAY: Lon spent many years teaching on the west coast but today lives in Jacksonville, FL (9-11-20) (e-mail).

RON LANDRY
prior to April 26, 1960 - March 5, 1966

Born in Louisiana, but raised in Washington, DC, "Buffalo Ron" was another original member of The Friendly Five, though his employment at WDRC predated the switch to local programming by several months. He replaced the short-lived Reeth & King morning show.

Ron's early broadcast influences were Jean Shepherd and Bob and Ray. Beginning in 1953, and during the next three years, Ron worked for three stations in Virginia. It was during his stop in Roanoke that he hosted an evening TV show that featured his sketch comedy. Ron was drafted in 1958 and served his two years at Armed Forces Radio in New York. During his stay in the U.S. Army, Ron met his wife, Margo, who was a flight attendant.

He hosted the "live and lively" morning drive show during his entire stay at Big D, and for a while in 1965-66 he hosted "Scene 18" every Friday night at 6PM on WHCT-TV. Ron was a master of character voices and his entourage included Charlie, Hemingway Monroe, Dan Press, Doug Weedwell, and beatnik Geets Romo. He recorded their voices during records, then played them back and had a live conversation with the characters. During most of his time at WDRC, his engineer/producer was Wayne Mulligan, current general manager of WDRC AM/FM. Ron moved to the West Coast and during the early 1970s issued a number of successful comedy albums with broadcast partner Bob Hudson. Hudson and Landry's "Ajax Liquor Store" was one of the cuts played on WDRC. His career moved into television where Ron was very successful on the writing teams of "Szysznyk," "Flo," "Benson," "The Red Foxx Show" and "Gimme A Break." He released his last comedy album with comedian Tom Beiner in 1989.

PRIOR: WJMA Orange, VA; WBTM Danville, VA; WSLS Roanoke, VA; Armed Forces Radio

AFTER: WBZ Boston, MA; KGBS and KFI Los Angeles, CA

TODAY: Ron passed away at the age of 67 after a yearlong battle with cancer on September 16, 2002; see his note (6-10-00).

MIKE LAPITINO
July 7, 2014 - March 2015

Mike was the longtime afternoon driver (2-8PM) at WPLR before Connoisseur Media bought WDRC in 2014. Mike joined the New Haven station in 1986 when it was owned by Cox Radio. At WDRC he took over the midday shift (10A-2PM) formerly held by Grahame Winters.

PRIOR: WPLR New Haven, CT

AFTER: WPLR New Haven, CT

TODAY: By January of 2015 Mike was off the air at DRC and back on the air at WPLR.

JOHN LARRABEE
July 1975 - November, 1978

John was born in Oxnard, California on May 15, 1948. He graduated from Camarillo High School in 1966 and went on to Ventura College, where he studied business law. He also attended Columbia Broadcasting School. He was a musician in a local group known as the "Henchmen" playing the local clubs and the Los Angeles area for about 3 years. Prior to joining WDRC on the 7PM-midnight shift, John worked at WPOP under the name "Tom Britton." John spent 21 years on the air at KYKY St. Louis before buying his own plane. A pilot since 1982, he reported traffic for many years over KMOX.

PRIOR: KUDU Ventura, CA; KACY Oxnard, CA; KAFY Bakersfield, CA; KCPX Salt Lake City, UT; WDXB Chattanooga, TN; WAVZ New Haven, CT; WPOP Hartford, CT; WRIE Erie, PA; WGNG Providence, RI

AFTER: WXLO New York, NY; KSLQ St. Louis, MO; KYKY St. Louis, MO; KADI St. Louis, MO; KMOX St. Louis, MO

TODAY: John died at his residence in Moscow Mills, MO on July 10, 2021; he was 73 (7-28-21).

JACK LAWRENCE
November, 1975 - April, 1979

A native of Somerville, MA, Jack had the utility shift, filling in for other announcers on both AM and FM.

PRIOR: WCCC Hartford, CT; WTSV/WECM Claremont, NH; WCFR Springfield, VT

AFTER: WTIC FM Hartford, CT; WFLY Albany, NY; WVBF Framingham, MA; WSSH Lowell, MA; WBOS Boston, MA; WROR Boston, MA; WBOS Boston

TODAY: Jack does weekends at WZLX Boston; see his note (5-19-00) (e-mail).

JACK LENNHOFF
before July 27, 1942 - July 1955

Born November 5, 1925, John Carey Lennhoff's term of employment at WDRC was during the CBS days, though he began entertaining on Daddy Couch's Children's Hour on WDRC early in the 1930s when he was six years old. He continued there weekly until his voice changed; his pay was a loaf of the sponsor's bread. Jack's second stint at WDRC-W65H took place when he was 16 in the summer of 1942; he served as a control operator then. He also worked as an announcer at WLCR Torrington while a student at Hartford High School (using the air name John Clare). After three years of service in the US Army, Jack became a student at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, where he also worked part-time in radio. After graduation Jack worked at Aetna Life Insurance Co. in advertising and continued part-time at WDRC until he founded Connecticut Public Television in 1962. He also wrote a weekly television and radio column for the Catholic Transcript for 25 years, using the pen name of John Clare. He married Jeanne Danaher in 1954, the daughter of U.S. Senator John A. Danaher, and became the father of Ellen, John and Michael.

PRIOR: WLCR Torrington, CT

AFTER: WAAB Worcester, MA; WTIC Hartford, CT; Connecticut Public Television

TODAY: Jack died on June 6, 2010 at the age of 85.

ART LEWIS
September 20, 1970

Art had the distinction of working one day at WDRC - in the news department. Prior to that he co-hosted a three-hour daily news block at WCCC with former Big D alumnus Stephen Kane.

PRIOR: WCCC A/F Hartford, CT

AFTER:

TODAY: ?

PETE LIS
1989 - after April 16, 1990

Pete was born in Waterbury on May 22, 1945. He attended Bristol Eastern High School and Quinnipiac College. During his many years in Bristol he was involved in broadcasting many different sporting events. At WDRC FM Pete was Jerry Kristafer's morning news anchor.

PRIOR: WBIS Bristol, CT; Armed Forces Radio in Korea; WBIS Bristol, CT; WLAD Danbury, CT; WINE Brookfield, CT; WRCH/WRCQ Farmington, CT

AFTER:

TODAY: Pete was nominated to the Bristol Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. (5/31/15)

CHRISTINE LISI
prior to April, 2001 - after December 20, 2002

A 1987 graduate of Olean (NY) High School and 1991 graduate of The State University of New York at Geneseo, Christine spent four years as coordinator of a cable TV company in Olean before relocating to Connecticut. She was heard on WDRC, anchoring afternoon newscasts from Metro Networks in Hartford during the Doug Taylor Show. She has also worked at other Hartford area stations and has a long-time affiliation with ESPN as a field producer, production assistant, and update anchor (e-mail). She has been fulltime with ESPN since 2005 and also does quite a bit of freelance voice work.

PRIOR: WPKX Springfield, MA

AFTER:

TODAY: ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT (5-20-11)

TED LORSON
prior to April 13, 2001 - @2008

Ted is another news voice heard on WDRC, though he is actually employed by the Hartford bureau of Metro Networks (e-mail).

PRIOR: WELI New Haven, CT; WNNZ Springfield, MA

AFTER: Metro Networks; Clear Channel

TODAY: Ted lives in Orange, CT and writes news copy for iHeartMedia when he isn't traveling the country for barbeque competitions (5/31/15).

DAN LOVALLO
December 31, 1996 - February 13, 2012 & January 4, 2016 - March 29, 2018

Dan's first "broadcast" was the 1972 Torrington High School Thanksgiving Day Football game in 1972 when he was a student. After graduation he went on to UCONN, eventually returning to Torrington to broadcast news and sports on WSNG. From 1983-1993 he did baseball play-by-play for the Kingston (NC) Blue Jays and Richmond (VA) Braves. Dan joined WDRC when Buckley Broadcasting bought WSNG, where he was sports director. He was the morning news and sports anchor on WDRC AM's Brad Davis show. On March 13, 2006 Dan came off the morning show to begin hosting "Tuned In To Connecticut," a 3-6PM local talk show. Dan was let go in 2012 because of budget constraints. Dan never lost his interest in sports broadcasting; his assignments included doing play-by-play for the Hartford Yard Goats.

PRIOR: WSNG Torrington, CT; Kingston, NC; Richmond, VA; WSNG Torrington, CT

AFTER: WAPJ Torrington, CT; WJMJ Prospect, CT

TODAY: Dan returned to WDRC AM from noon till 1:00 p.m. on January 4, 2016. Exactly a year later he was teamed as morning drive co-host with Brad Davis, but exited the station after new owner Full Power Radio took over in March 2018. He hosts a podcast with meteorologist Brad Field and maintains a website (5/23/20)

DEAN H. LUCE
December 1944 - prior to December 16, 1946

A Detroit native, Dean was a staff announcer at WDRC in the mid-1940s. He delivered newscasts at 1 and 6 p.m., and served as editor for George B. Armstead's 6:30 p.m. broadcast. During 1945 Dean took turns hosting the popular Night Owl disc jockey show with Charley Haaser. In October 1945 he was Charlie Parker's best man! During his WDRC days Dean lived in West Hartford. He left Hartford to join a brand new station in Virginia, and later became a sportscaster in the nation's capital.

PRIOR: WCHV Charlottesville, VA; WSJS Winston-Salem, NC; WERC Erie, PA

AFTER: WARL Arlington, VA; WMAL AM/TV Washington, DC

TODAY: ?

RICHARD LYON
summers of 1955-56

A blurb in the Connecticut Herald, Sunday, August 7, 1955 (p.43 of Hartford Edition), said: "Summer staffer at WDRC is Richard Lyon, who is filling in for this one and that while regulars vacation. Chores include those of deejay, newscaster, announcer, and whatever. Dick, who has a teaching fellowship at UCONN finds the job right up his alley, too. He teaches English." He was a UCONN professor who moved on to the University of Minnesota in the fall of 1956.

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