RABBETT
late 1977 - late 1978

Rabbett (real name Robert Abbett) did overnights on AM and FM from late 1977 till 1978.

PRIOR: WXCI Danbury, CT; WHCN Hartford, CT

AFTER: KPIG/KIKI & KDEO, Honolulu, HI; WOMN New Haven, CT; KQMQ, KGU, KPOI-FM & KCCN-FM, all Honolulu, HI

TODAY: Today Rabbett runs Internet Radio Hawaii, a weekly RealAudio Hawaiian Music program with local news, calendar events and gags -- from Honolulu; see his note (1-14-00) (e-mail).

ROB RAY
2003 - present

Rockin' Rob The Music Professor is a Hartford-area native, graduating from Bloomfield High School and the University of Hartford. Rob's first swing through WDRC was from 1980-85 as a part-time promotions assistant. He returned in a production capacity from 1986-88. In 1994 he returned for a third time and has been heard on the air since 2003. He fills various weekend shifts at DRC FM, and originated the Friday Night Flashback program from 11PM till midnight.

PRIOR: WNAQ Naugatuck, CT

AFTER:

TODAY: Click to e-mail Rob.

JIM RAYNOR
1959 - March, 1964

A native of Bellport, Long Island, and another charter member of The Friendly Five, James Walter Benjamin Raynor III actually started at WDRC before the switch to local music programming in August, 1960. Originally interested in becoming a lawyer, Jim instead became a sportscaster. His first on-air job was in Canton, Ohio, where he was the sole staff announcer on a sunrise-to-sunset station. Co-owner John Jaeger heard Jim while traveling through Albany and invited him to submit a tape! Jim and his sidekick, Lance the Raynorbird, were heard from 8PM-1AM (though for a while in 1963 the shift was 10PM-1AM). Only a true collector would have a Raynorbird "D" shirt which used to be sold at Topps' department stores in 1963! Jim's entire stay at Big D was at the original studio/transmitter building at 869 Blue Hills Avenue, so he was right at home when he returned for the 30th anniversary reunion in August, 1995.

PRIOR: WAND Canton, OH; WRUN Utica, NY; WJOC Jamestown, NY; WLSV Wellsville, NY; WOKO Albany, NY

AFTER: WCCC Hartford, CT

TODAY: Jim is retired from the insurance business and still lives in Connecticut (8-4-00).

KENNY REETH
prior to January 9, 1960 - prior to April 26, 1960

During the months prior to WDRC's switch from CBS programming to pop music, Kenny was half of the Reeth & King morning show; they replaced Bacon & Fay. He was born in the Bronx but moved to Allentown, PA as a teenager where he met Eddie King. 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. In between club dates they hosted a morning show at WHOL in Allentown. Responding to a blind ad in Broadcasting magazine, they applied for an opening at WDRC. After a few months in Hartford, Reeth & King moved to a new station in Pittsburgh. Eddie King left the act to work at a station in Maryland, but they remained close friends until King's death in 1988. Later, Ken served as vice president of programming for Dynamic Broadcasting's chain of stations. He also owned a station in Pomona, California and served for two years on the Board of Directors of the Academy of Country Music. Ken is a published author whose last novel was about radio. See Eddie King.

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

AFTER: WZUM/WAMO Pittsburgh, PA; WILD Boston, MA; WUFO Buffalo, NY and WOAH Miami, FL; KKAR Pomona, CA; KYXK San Diego, CA

TODAY: Kenny passed away from leukemia on May 9, 2005 in Las Vegas.

DALE REEVES
August 2 - November 5, 1971

Dale's first shift was 6-10AM, Monday through Saturday, on WDRC FM. The hours were later changed to 9AM-3PM. His stay in Hartford was short but Dale worked on-air in many major markets before moving into a voiceover career. He has appeared on, or done voice work for, television shows as diverse as American Journal, The Capt. Kangaroo Show, Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Beavis and Butt-head, the Doug cartoon show and the Wall Street Journal Report.

PRIOR: WAKY and WKLO, both Louisville, KY

AFTER: WCDQ Hamden, CT; WOWO Ft. Wayne, IN; WJW Cleveland, OH; WGCI Chicago, IL; WGBS Miami, FL; WDEE Detroit, MI; WKTU, WKHK, and WRKS all New York, NY; WRKI Brookfield, CT; American Comedy Network, Bridgeport, CT; WKCI New Haven, CT; WDRE Long Island, NY; WSIX, WWTN, WAMB, WNPL, WSM-FM, all Nashville, TN; Sirius Satellite Radio

TODAY: Dale owns REVOmedia Productions, Panama City Beach, Florida and is the program director and afternoon driver on WKGC; see his note (3-22-05) (e-mail).

TOM RENARD
June 10, 1973

Tom only worked at WDRC news for one day.

PRIOR: WINE Brookfield, CT; WCCC Hartford, CT

AFTER: Connecticut Radio Network; WPBS (Trinity College), Hartford, CT

TODAY: Today he is general manager of two Oregon television stations, KDRV and KDKF; see his note (5-3-00) (e-mail).

JOEY REYNOLDS
December 26, 1966 - June, 1968
September 15-27, 1969
February, 2002 - present

The original shock jock, Buffalo-born Joey gave Rand-McNally a new meaning. His resume includes many big stations (some for a very short time). He introduced Hartford to his Royal Order of the Night People at WPOP in 1962-63, so he was a familiar name and voice when he started at WDRC the night after Christmas, 1966. He was sandwiched between Dick Robinson and Ken Griffin from 6-9PM. His wild reputation was legendary...he left WKBW by nailing his shoes to the program director's door with a note that said, "fill these." At WDRC he once let "In The Midnight Hour" play for an hour when the needle got stuck in the groove; that one brought Hartford police to the studios at 750 Main Street. The last straw was when he referred to Hartford's lady mayor as "a dumb broad." He returned to WDRC in September 1969, filling in during Ken Griffin's two-week vacation. Buckley Broadcasting had recently purchased WIBG in Philadelphia, so Joey moved to the evening show but stayed less than a year. Today he is back with Buckley, hosting an all-night show based in New York. He has also worked extensively in the music industry, serving as an executive for Twentieth Century Records at one point, and producing numerous records.

PRIOR: WWOL Buffalo, NY; WKWK Wheeling, WV; WAME Miami, FL; WBNY Buffalo, NY; WNDR Syracuse; WPOP Hartford, CT; WNCO Ashland, OH; WTRX Flint, MI; WKBW Buffalo, NY; WIXY Cleveland; WXYZ Detroit, MI

AFTER: WINF Manchester, CT; WIBG Philadelphia, PA; WHLW Lakewood, NJ; KQV Pittsburgh, PA; KMPC and KRTH Los Angeles, CA; WFIL Philadelphia, PA; WNBC New York, NY; WSHE, WLPG TV, WIOD, all Miami, FL; WAXY Ft. Lauderdale, FL; WQAM Miami, FL; CITY FM Satellite Network; WIOD Miami, FL; Cutler Productions, Tarzana, CA

TODAY: Joey hosts a nationally syndicated all-night show from WOR New York, NY which WDRC AM began airing in February, 2002 after music programming was replaced with talk. He published his autobiography in 2000 (e-mail). (12-8-02)

DEAN RICHARDS
1983 - 1992

Dean did many shifts during his nine years at Big D. He did all shifts as fill in on DRC-FM and while full- time, did afternoon drive following Chris Rivers first departure .

PRIOR: WTXL West Springfield, MA; WRCQ New Britain-Hartford, CT; WHCN Hartford, CT

AFTER: WRCH Farmington

TODAY: Dean has hosted Pillow Talk at WRCH Farmington, CT since 1994 (3-28-05) (e-mail).

CHRIS RIVERS
April - November, 1990

A native of Kansas City, Chris attended the University of Missouri. As a U.S. Marine, he did his time at Parris Island. While attending the University of Missouri he worked part-time at a station in Kansas City. His radio journey brought him to Hartford twice on WDRC FM, first in 1990, then a brief return in March, 1999.

PRIOR: KJLA Kansas City, MO; WAQX Syracuse, NY; WCCC Hartford, CT; WRCH FM Farmington, CT

AFTER: WGRX Baltimore, MD; WMZQ Washington, DC; WSHE/WEBG Orlando, FL; WWQX Huntsville, AL; WXLY Charleston, SC

TODAY: Chris runs a Dallas production company, CHRIS RIVERS PRODUCTIONS; see his note (2-18-07) (e-mail).

PAUL ROBBINS
December 6-16, 1971

Paul did some moonlighting for WDRC FM for ten days, 6PM-midnight, between the departure of Paul Jackson and the arrival of Pete Ross.

PRIOR: WNHC New Haven, CT

AFTER: WNHC New Haven, CT; WCDQ Hamden, CT; WAVZ New Haven, CT

TODAY: ?

CURT ROBERTS
June-November, 1990

PRIOR:

AFTER:

TODAY: ?

JACK ROBERTS
July, 1992 - 1997 ?

Jack was operations manager for WDRC FM but also did periodic shifts on AM. Jack also worked in record promotion.

PRIOR: WMAS Springfield, MA; WRKO, WITS, WMEX and WXKS-FM in Boston, MA; WWRC-AM in Washington DC

AFTER:

TODAY: Jack works in broadcasting in the Los Angeles area.

LEE ROBERTS
February 25-October 2, 1970 and July, 1972

While Hartford listeners knew him as "Lee Roberts," he has used many names in his career. Bob Cohen is his real name and he worked in the WDRC Earwitness news department twice. For several years in the late 1970s/early 80s, the FCC approved Bob and a partner to be the interim licensees of a radio station in New Hampshire whose owners lost the license. He has a keen knowledge of broadcasting history and tells wonderful war stories about the people of the radio industry.

PRIOR: WREI Sarasota, FL; WMLO Beverly, MA; WVOR Rochester, NY; WKXR Exeter, NH; WTSN Dover, NH; WKBR Manchester, NH; WCOP Boston, MA

AFTER: WRKO Boston, MA; WSAR Fall River, MA; WFYR Chicago, IL; WEIM Fitchburg, MA; WHEB Portsmouth, NH; WEEI FM Boston, MA; WOTW Nashua, NH; WHDH Boston, MA; WERZ Exeter, NH; WPGC Washington, DC; KHOW Denver, CO; WPGC Washington, DC; WMAL Washington, DC; WLAN FM Lancaster, PA

TODAY: Bob retired as an engineer at Voice of America in Washington, DC in 2004; today he works part time in radio in southern Connecticut (3-28-05) (e-mail).

PAUL ROBERTS
June 2, 1979 - June 9, 1984

As a 15 year-old in Norwich, the radio bug bit Paul Ciliano. He got his first job doing afternoons at WSUB. He used to call Charlie Parker asking if WDRC had any openings, and eventually it did. Initially he was the utility man, hosting various shifts on AM and FM at the age of 18.

PRIOR: WSUB Groton, CT; WNLC New London, CT

AFTER: WMJY Long Branch, NJ; WMJX Boston, MA; WEZK Knoxville, TN; KEZY Anaheim, CA; WSRS Worcester, MA; WLNH Laconia, NH; KLTR Houston, TX; WWRM Tampa, FL

TODAY: Paul is program director of Cox Broadcasting's WSB FM in Atlanta; see his note (2-27-05)(e-mail).

DICK ROBINSON
March, 1964 - November 9, 1969 and January 9, 2000 - March 28, 2004

If Charlie Parker was the heart of WDRC, Dick Robinson was the soul. Born in Malden, MA, he had an interest in live theater while attending B.U. He transferred from Buckley's Providence station to host 8PM-midnight on WDRC, later moving to afternoons. President of the Dick Robinson Company, "DRC on DRC" was the confidante of his teenage listeners at a time when radio personalities were major celebrities. In 1964 he recorded a record which became his theme, "Beatnik Deejay." He was in frequent demands at record hops which he started (and assistants finished) so he could get to work on time. His 1966 interview with Mike Love and Al Jardine about the beach Boys "Pet Sounds" album is available on a bootleg CD (Silver Rarities, SIRA 150). He stayed on the air Saturday afternoons and Sunday nights until moving full-time into the sales department. He was later named sales manager, and promoted to vice president and station manager. His WDRC career ended in February, 1976 when Dick got into ownership, buying WRCH/WRCQ. He is responsible for hundreds--maybe thousands--of broadcast careers as founder of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in 1964. On January 9, 2000, he launched a new show, "Dickie Robinson's American Standards by the Sea," live from his yacht at various Atlantic ports; it aired on WDRC AM, WSNG Torrington, WWCO Waterbury, and WMMW Meriden Sundays at 6PM.

PRIOR: WARE Ware, MA; WPRO Providence, RI; WREB Holyoke, MA; WSPR Springfield, MA; WHIM Providence, RI

AFTER: WRCH/WRCQ Farmington, CT

TODAY: Dick owns the Connecticut School of Broadcasting and splits his time between Palm Beach and Connecticut (1-9-06).

BILL ROCK
January-June, 1968 and fill-in during 1969

Bill started his radio career in 1965 while a student at Seton Hall University, where he majored in communications. He was hired to do weekends and fill-in work, mostly on Big D FM, while he was still in college. He had a booming voice which has been heard on many national commercials. At WNBC, he was known as "Radio City Bill."

PRIOR: WSOU Newark, NJ; WERA Plainfield, NJ; WOR New York, NY; WDHA Morristown, NJ

AFTER: WKCI Hamden, CT; WAVZ New Haven, CT; WFBG Altoona, PA; WIXZ McKeesport, PA; WIXY Cleveland, OH; WTRY Troy, NY; WMEX Boston, MA; WAVZ New Haven, CT; WNBC New York, NY; WELI New Haven, CT; national program director of Insilco Broadcasting; WYNY New York, NY; United Stations, Unistar, Pro-Media, SJS, SFX, Winstar Radio Networks, all New York, NY

TODAY: Bill is WDRC's imaging voice and the production voice on numerous NBC/CNBC/MS-NBC productions including Weekend Nightly News and Meet The Press. You can visit his web site and see his note (10-17-04) (e-mail).

JOHN RODE
December 30, 1967 - February, 1969

John was born in Chippewa Falls, WI and started in radio at the age of 12! As soon as you hear his voice, you'd understand why. A licensed pilot and ham radio operator, he hosted the 10AM-3PM shift at WDRC AM and was frequently the voice of station promotions; he is especially remembered for a poignant narration of a Charlie Parker composition which is played every December: "Christmas Through the Years." He left Hartford for a brief stay at Buckley's Philadelphia station.

PRIOR: San Juan, PR; WALT Tampa, FL; WKLO and WINN, both Louisville, KY; WSAI Cincinnati, OH; WRKO Boston, MA

AFTER: WIBG Philadelphia, PA; CHUM Toronto, ONT; CFUN Vancouver, BC; CKFH, CKEY, CHUM, all Toronto, ONT

TODAY: John is Senior Vice-president and Chief Information Officer of Mediastats Inc., and MediaLAB, in Toronto, ONT (11-1-99) (e-mail).

ROSCOE
January, 1979 - January, 1980

Roscoe (Paul Gilmore) started as WDRC's midnight-6AM man during the height of the station's album rock format when station IDs were given as "D103 and WDRC." On May 29, 1979 he took over 5-10AM on WDRC FM after Mike Taylor moved to KYA FM in San Francisco. He did some weekends at WNBC in New York while at WDRC.

PRIOR: WBRU Providence, RI; WGNG Pawtucket, RI; WCCC Hartford, CT

AFTER:

TODAY: Roscoe died around Thanksgiving, 1980 while working in Florida.

DON JOHN ROSS
December 6, 1947 - after February 22, 1949

Little is known about this individual. A Hartford Courant article on Decvember 7, 1947 reports that Don John Ross had joined WDRC's announcing staff. He was assigned as master of ceremonies for the early morning Market Basket program. Inearly 1949 Ross was one of a group of WDRC employees who formed a Little Theater Group for the purpose of producing original plays with a local angle, including an emphasis on Hartford-area public service organizations.

PRIOR: WMAL Washington, DC

AFTER:

TODAY: ?

MAGGIE ROSS
prior to July 8, 1989 - August, 1989 ?

Maggie was one of the weekend hosts of Transtar's Oldies Channel format which WDRC AM aired. Though she didn't work for WDRC she was heard there.

PRIOR: KFI, KIQQ, KMPC, KHTZ, KLAC, all Los Angeles, CA

AFTER: KZLA, KCBS FM, all Los Angeles, CA

TODAY: ?

PETE ROSS
December 18, 1971 - October 21, 1972, July-fall, 1974, and October, 1975 - December, 1976

A graduate of Thomaston High School, C.W. Post College, and Connecticut School of Broadcasting, Peter did his first show on WDRC FM as "Pete Moss," the name he used in New Haven. He settled into the 6PM-midnight shift at WDRC FM, later 7PM-midnight. He returned to WDRC twice, working various shifts.

PRIOR: WWCO Waterbury, CT; WAVZ and WNHC, both New Haven, CT

AFTER: WPTR Albany, NY; WTRY Troy, NY; WNLK Norwalk, CT; WICC and WEZN, both Bridgeport, CT

TODAY: ?

ALICE ROTHWELL
February 23, 1951 - ?

Alice was hired from WONS (later WPOP) as women's commentator. She hosted a weekly half hour program, "You and Your Home," which aired every Friday afternoon at 3:15PM.

PRIOR: WONS Hartford, CT

AFTER:

TODAY: ?

GLENN ROWELL
November 30, 1947 - ?

Glenn was truly a broadcast pioneer, starting in 1924. He was studio director and head of the music department at WLS. A singers, Glenn and Ford Rush released dozens of 78 rpm recordings. In the 1930s he and Gene Carroll formed the team of Gene and Glenn, who were nationally-known radio personalities. For a time they performed on the NBC Radio network six nights a week. They performed together until 1943. How he came to be in Connecticut is a mystery, but Glenn chaired the Greater Hartford Friendship Train Committee in 1947. At WDRC he hosted Glenn's Good Evening on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings at 6:30. The show consisted of songs and stories about personalities. In the 1950s Glenn hosted a children's television program in Cleveland. Still later he hosted Captain Glenn's Bandwagon on a South Dakota TV station.

PRIOR: WLS Chicago, IL

AFTER: WNBK-TV Cleveland, OH; KOTA-TV, Rapid City, SD

TODAY: Glenn died on October 9, 1965.

KURT RUSSELL
April 9, 1962 - January, 1963

Promoted as "Kurt Russell--the voice with muscle," he came to WDRC as one of The Friendly Five. He replaced Art Johnson as midday host from 10AM-3PM, and was later heard on a split shift between noon-3PM and 6-10PM. He was a master at character voices and frequently had drop-in "guests" on his show like Arthur Godfrey and Tony Marvin. He worked at WRIV prior to his death.

PRIOR: WELI New Haven, CT

AFTER: KDKA Pittsburgh, PA; WIND Chicago, IL; WMAQ Chicago, IL; WALK Patchogue, NY; WRIV Riverhead, NY

TODAY: Kurt died April 18, 1979 at the age of 49, after several months in a coma; read a note from his daughter (10-15-01).

CHRIS RYAN
1994 - October, 2003 & February 9, 2008 - present

A New Britain native, Chris got hooked on radio while a student at Berlin High School, then continued in it while attending Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY. He started working at WDRC in 1994 but didn't join the announcing staff until 1998. Chris was the utility guy at Big D FM, hosting Saturday and Sunday afternoons and filling in for the other personalities.

PRIOR: WERB FM Berlin, CT; WGNY Poughkeepsie, NY; WPKX Springfield, MA; WCZX Poughkeepsie, NY; WVVE Stonington, CT

TODAY: Chris left WDRC in October, 2003 and moved to Hawaii. He returned doing weekends and fill shifts in February 2008. He also produces Dan Lovallo's show on WDRC AM. (3-7-08) (e-mail).