Shadoe Stevens
Encyclopedia
Shadoe Stevens is an American
radio host, voiceover actor, and television personality. He was the host of American Top 40
from 1988 to 1995. He currently hosts the internationally syndicated radio show, Top of the World, and co-hosts Mental Radio, an entertaining approach to UFO's and paranormal topics, and he is the co-founder and creator of Sammy Hagar's new rock station "Cabo Wabo Radio" broadcasting worldwide from the Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. In television, he is the voice of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
on CBS. His voice can also be heard as the voiceover for "G.O.D." in the Off-Broadway musical Altar Boyz
. Shadoe is also often heard on Hits & Favorites
, calling in at least once a week to share wisdom with his brother Richard Stevens and their friend Lori St. James.
, North Dakota
. He first came to fame in 1957, when a Life magazine article about him, entitled "America's Youngest D.J." featured a photo of Stevens broadcasting live over radio station
KEYJ (now called KQDJ
) in his hometown of Jamestown. The accompanying article extolled the fact that he had built his own working transmitter in the attic of his home the year before, using a "souped-up" wireless broadcasting kit with a hundred foot antenna, however it omitted the additional information that the equipment and advice needed to build the transmitter, had both been furnished by the staff engineers at KEYJ, which happened to be owned by his father and uncle. He was later "discovered" as personally in a "man on the street" interview by the station and was soon broadcasting a weekly rock show called "Spin with Terry." During his high school years, he maintained a full-time shift at the station, developing his now-famous "slow 'n low" style of speaking, as a host of the "Mister Midnight" program.
, where he was a member of Sigma Nu
fraternity
. Majoring in Commercial Art and Radio/TV Journalism at the University of North Dakota and the University of Arizona, he put himself through college working in radio at KILO in Grand Forks, North Dakota, KQWB in Fargo, North Dakota, and KIKX in Tucson, Arizona, where he quickly became the most popular DJ in town, under the on-air persona of "Jefferson K." Following college, he joined the Bill Drake
-formatted station WRKO
in Boston, during the winter of 1968-69. At WRKO, he worked the early evening (6-9 p.m.) shift during the station's peak in popularity. In the spring of 1970, he moved to Southern California to another Drake outlet, KHJ
, as one of the last true "Boss Jocks", where his big baritone and energetic enthusiasm soon gained a following. Before long, he gained significant popularity on radio and became the announcer and sidekick on the nationally syndicated television series The Steve Allen Show
.
He went on to be an award winning radio personality and program director in Los Angeles at KRLA. Attaining status as a programmer, he was hired to make a success of KMET-FM and then to create the programming for a new radio format on a new Los Angeles station, KROQ-FM
("K-Rock"), where he remained for five years.
. These ads were so popular they were the subject of a two-page spread in Time Magazine and led to a movie deal, television shows, and American Top 40
.
and then gained national recognition as the announcer for two incarnations of The Hollywood Squares
(the 1986–1989 and most of the 1998-2004 version) appearing in the middle square of the bottom row on the earlier version, as well as playing Kenny Beckett on the sitcom Dave's World
(1993–1997). He appeared as himself on an episode of The Larry Sanders Show
and also on Caroline in the City
. In 1988, he starred in the film Traxx. In 1990, he also starred as the title character on the TV series Max Monroe. In 1996, he provided the voice for Doc Samson
in The Incredible Hulk.
In 1999 he had a cameo in a season 9 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210
, playing Sonny Sharp, a former top radio DJ who befriends David Silver.
In late 2005, Stevens was hired to be The Late Late Show's
announcer, a position he still holds. He is also the author of a series of children's books. The first, released in 2006, was called The Big Galoot.
His daughter, Amber Stevens
is an actress appearing in the ABC Family Channel series Greek
. She made an appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
on July 27, 2007, with her father to promote the show. As a child, she also made a cameo appearance with her dad on American Top 40 the weekend of December 24, 1989, as part of a Christmas skit.
His brother, Richard, is a disc jockey on Citadel Media's Hits & Favorites
format.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio host, voiceover actor, and television personality. He was the host of American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
from 1988 to 1995. He currently hosts the internationally syndicated radio show, Top of the World, and co-hosts Mental Radio, an entertaining approach to UFO's and paranormal topics, and he is the co-founder and creator of Sammy Hagar's new rock station "Cabo Wabo Radio" broadcasting worldwide from the Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. In television, he is the voice of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is a Peabody Award-winning American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish American comedian Craig Ferguson. Ferguson, the third regular host of the Late Late Show franchise, follows Late Show with David Letterman in the CBS late-night lineup...
on CBS. His voice can also be heard as the voiceover for "G.O.D." in the Off-Broadway musical Altar Boyz
Altar Boyz
Altar Boyz is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker and book by Kevin Del Aguila . Centering on a fictitious Christian boy band from Ohio, the show satirizes, among other things, the phenomenon of boy bands and the popularity of Christian-themed music in...
. Shadoe is also often heard on Hits & Favorites
Hits & Favorites
Hits & Favorites, also known as ABC AC, is one of the 24-hour live radio formats produced by Cumulus Media Networks...
, calling in at least once a week to share wisdom with his brother Richard Stevens and their friend Lori St. James.
Early life
Stevens was born in JamestownJamestown, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,527 people, 6,505 households, and 3,798 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,246.7 per square mile . There were 6,970 housing units at an average density of 559.6 per square mile...
, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
. He first came to fame in 1957, when a Life magazine article about him, entitled "America's Youngest D.J." featured a photo of Stevens broadcasting live over radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
KEYJ (now called KQDJ
KQDJ (AM)
KQDJ is an AM radio station located in Jamestown, North Dakota. A 1000-watt station with a range of about 40 miles under average conditions, KQDJ has served the Stutsman County area under various identities since 1953...
) in his hometown of Jamestown. The accompanying article extolled the fact that he had built his own working transmitter in the attic of his home the year before, using a "souped-up" wireless broadcasting kit with a hundred foot antenna, however it omitted the additional information that the equipment and advice needed to build the transmitter, had both been furnished by the staff engineers at KEYJ, which happened to be owned by his father and uncle. He was later "discovered" as personally in a "man on the street" interview by the station and was soon broadcasting a weekly rock show called "Spin with Terry." During his high school years, he maintained a full-time shift at the station, developing his now-famous "slow 'n low" style of speaking, as a host of the "Mister Midnight" program.
College and early career
He attended and graduated from the University of North DakotaUniversity of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota is a public university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state and enrolls over 14,000 students. ...
, where he was a member of Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu is an undergraduate, college fraternity with chapters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
. Majoring in Commercial Art and Radio/TV Journalism at the University of North Dakota and the University of Arizona, he put himself through college working in radio at KILO in Grand Forks, North Dakota, KQWB in Fargo, North Dakota, and KIKX in Tucson, Arizona, where he quickly became the most popular DJ in town, under the on-air persona of "Jefferson K." Following college, he joined the Bill Drake
Bill Drake
Bill Drake , born Philip Yarbrough, was an American radio programmer who co-developed the Boss Radio format with Gene Chenault via their company Drake-Chenault.-Early career:...
-formatted station WRKO
WRKO
WRKO is a radio station based in Boston, Massachusetts, currently owned by Entercom. Its transmitter is located in Burlington, Massachusetts, next to the Burlington Mall.-1920-1940:...
in Boston, during the winter of 1968-69. At WRKO, he worked the early evening (6-9 p.m.) shift during the station's peak in popularity. In the spring of 1970, he moved to Southern California to another Drake outlet, KHJ
KHJ (AM)
KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....
, as one of the last true "Boss Jocks", where his big baritone and energetic enthusiasm soon gained a following. Before long, he gained significant popularity on radio and became the announcer and sidekick on the nationally syndicated television series The Steve Allen Show
The Steve Allen Show
The Steve Allen Show is an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC, and in first-run syndication from 1962 to 1964....
.
He went on to be an award winning radio personality and program director in Los Angeles at KRLA. Attaining status as a programmer, he was hired to make a success of KMET-FM and then to create the programming for a new radio format on a new Los Angeles station, KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
("K-Rock"), where he remained for five years.
1980s–rise to fame
During the early 1980s, Stevens gained an additional cult following when he created and produced "Fred Rated for Federated," a long-running series of offbeat television commercials for The Federated Group, a chain of home electronics retailers in the western and southwestern United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. These ads were so popular they were the subject of a two-page spread in Time Magazine and led to a movie deal, television shows, and American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
.
Acting career
He contributed several memorably deadpan readings of absurd material for The Kentucky Fried MovieThe Kentucky Fried Movie
The Kentucky Fried Movie is an American comedy film, released in 1977 and directed by John Landis. The film's writers were the team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker. This same team would go on to write and direct Airplane!, Top Secret! and the Police Squad! television series and its...
and then gained national recognition as the announcer for two incarnations of The Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
(the 1986–1989 and most of the 1998-2004 version) appearing in the middle square of the bottom row on the earlier version, as well as playing Kenny Beckett on the sitcom Dave's World
Dave's World
Dave's World is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1993 to 1997. The series was based on the writing of Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry.-Plot:...
(1993–1997). He appeared as himself on an episode of The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
and also on Caroline in the City
Caroline in the City
Caroline in the City is an American situation comedy that ran from September 21, 1995 to April 26, 1999 on the NBC television network. It starred Lea Thompson as cartoonist Caroline Duffy. The series premiered in the two-hour Thursday night block led by Friends.-Premise:Caroline Duffy is a...
. In 1988, he starred in the film Traxx. In 1990, he also starred as the title character on the TV series Max Monroe. In 1996, he provided the voice for Doc Samson
Doc Samson
Doc Samson is a fictional character, a superhero and psychiatrist in the Marvel Comics universe, known as a supporting character in stories featuring the Hulk.-Publication history:...
in The Incredible Hulk.
In 1999 he had a cameo in a season 9 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
, playing Sonny Sharp, a former top radio DJ who befriends David Silver.
In late 2005, Stevens was hired to be The Late Late Show's
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is a Peabody Award-winning American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish American comedian Craig Ferguson. Ferguson, the third regular host of the Late Late Show franchise, follows Late Show with David Letterman in the CBS late-night lineup...
announcer, a position he still holds. He is also the author of a series of children's books. The first, released in 2006, was called The Big Galoot.
Family life
Stevens married his first wife in 1967 (divorced, 1978); he then married Cynthia Gaydos in 1980 (divorced, 1984). Lastly, he married Beverly Cunningham (an international model) in 1986. Stevens has three children, one son, Brad, from his first marriage and two daughters from his third marriage, Amber Dawn and Chyna Rose.His daughter, Amber Stevens
Amber Stevens
Amber Dawn Stevens is an American actress and model.-Personal life:Stevens was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of American actor and radio announcer Shadoe Stevens and former model Beverly Cunningham. She has a younger sister named Chyna Rose Stevens...
is an actress appearing in the ABC Family Channel series Greek
Greek (TV series)
Greek is an American comedy-drama television series, which follows students of the fictional Cyprus-Rhodes University , located in Ohio, who participate in the school's Greek system...
. She made an appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is a Peabody Award-winning American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish American comedian Craig Ferguson. Ferguson, the third regular host of the Late Late Show franchise, follows Late Show with David Letterman in the CBS late-night lineup...
on July 27, 2007, with her father to promote the show. As a child, she also made a cameo appearance with her dad on American Top 40 the weekend of December 24, 1989, as part of a Christmas skit.
His brother, Richard, is a disc jockey on Citadel Media's Hits & Favorites
Hits & Favorites
Hits & Favorites, also known as ABC AC, is one of the 24-hour live radio formats produced by Cumulus Media Networks...
format.