Ira Blue
Encyclopedia
Ira Blue was a late night talk show host on San Francisco radio station KGO
(unofficial history here) in the 60s and 70s. Almost forgotten today, he was a staple in the Bay Area at the time.
Like Long John Nebel
and the later Art Bell
, Blue was discussing UFOs, the occult
, bigfoot
, and other paranormal
subjects at a time when almost no one else on the radio was. However, most of his subject matter concerned politics and mainstream current events.
Blue was often mentioned in Herb Caen
's column in the San Francisco Chronicle
.
He had an unusual voice for a radio broadcaster, nasal and with a New York City
accent similar to that of Howard Cosell
. Like Cosell's, Blue's unconventional voice had a riveting quality to it.
In the 50's Blue had a radio program in the San Francisco area called, "The Last Word in Sports."
However, it was not a sports talk program.
Amateur Bay Area radio historian David Kaye posted to usenet here that "Ira Blue, I understand, was a carryover from the former KGO, where he was a sportcaster and did play-by-play."
By "former KGO," Kaye refers, as he explains here, to the fact that,
This yearbook indicates that Blue was at KGO as "an announcer" since at least 1946.
John Selway, who stood in for Blue for a couple of evenings in late 1971, remembers that:
Nevada teacher and political blogger Susan Nunes recalls:
KGO (AM)
KGO is a news/talk-format radio station radio with offices and studios in San Francisco, California. Unlike most other American news/talk stations, KGO originates nearly all of its own programming locally. Since 1978, KGO radio has received Arbitron's number-one ranking in the Bay Area...
(unofficial history here) in the 60s and 70s. Almost forgotten today, he was a staple in the Bay Area at the time.
Like Long John Nebel
Long John Nebel
Long John Nebel was an influential New York City talk radio show host.From the mid 1950s until his death in 1978, Nebel was a hugely popular all-night radio host, with millions of regular listeners and what Donald Bain described as "a fanatically loyal following" to his syndicated program, which...
and the later Art Bell
Art Bell
Arthur W. "Art" Bell, III is an American broadcaster and author, known primarily as one of the founders and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program Coast to Coast AM. He also created and formerly hosted its companion show, Dreamland...
, Blue was discussing UFOs, the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
, bigfoot
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
, and other paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
subjects at a time when almost no one else on the radio was. However, most of his subject matter concerned politics and mainstream current events.
Blue was often mentioned in Herb Caen
Herb Caen
Herbert Eugene Caen was a Pulitzer Prize-winning San Francisco journalistwhose daily column of local goings-on, social and political happenings,...
's column in the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
.
He had an unusual voice for a radio broadcaster, nasal and with a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
accent similar to that of Howard Cosell
Howard Cosell
Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
. Like Cosell's, Blue's unconventional voice had a riveting quality to it.
In the 50's Blue had a radio program in the San Francisco area called, "The Last Word in Sports."
However, it was not a sports talk program.
Amateur Bay Area radio historian David Kaye posted to usenet here that "Ira Blue, I understand, was a carryover from the former KGO, where he was a sportcaster and did play-by-play."
By "former KGO," Kaye refers, as he explains here, to the fact that,
KGO has been news/talk since 1962 when Jim Dunbar, a rock DJ from ABC's WLS in Chicago, decided to try the then new idea of talk. Prior to that, KGO was what's now called a "full service" format, that is, news, sports, weather, and music. It was that way since the network programming began to be scaled back and then eliminated in the 1950s with the advent of TV. Prior to that, they ran nearly fulltime ABC (and prior to that NBC Blue) network programming of dramas, comedies, and game shows.
This yearbook indicates that Blue was at KGO as "an announcer" since at least 1946.
John Selway, who stood in for Blue for a couple of evenings in late 1971, remembers that:
Ira told me many stories, but the one I love was about his first [radio] job. As I recall, Ira was an attorney, and happened to know Samuel Goldwyn. Goldwyn hired him to broadcast what Ira called the "first sports program on radio," a big chess championship.
Nevada teacher and political blogger Susan Nunes recalls:
Perhaps my favorite talk show host of that time was the late Ira Blue of KGO, who was a political moderate, but he was great. I also loved his use of the George Gershwin song "Rhapsody in Blue" as his theme song. (Blue died of cancer January 8, 1974...)
External links
- KGO History - Some Events of the Past Decade (Unauthorized)
- California Deaths, 1940-1997 @ Family Tree LegendsRecords Collection