Radio Show Host, Retired News Director, Music Buff, Baby Boomer
by Melissa LaScaleia
Introduce me to your family.
It’s myself and my wife, Debra, and our son, Jeff. We have two grandchildren: Vera Grace, she’s 15; and Tucker Wayne, he’s 13.
Where are all the places you came from? What area of the Grand Strand do you now call home?
I grew up in Darlington, SC. We moved to Surfside Beach in 2000.
Why did you move here?
I was working as news director for WBTW TV 13. When they moved the station from Florence to Myrtle Beach, they asked me to relocate to be news manager. Later, I went to work with WPDE TV 15 for ten years.
I’ve been in broadcasting for fifty-four years. It’s been a blast. I’ve interviewed Ronald Regan; George W. Bush; Bill Clinton; Gerald Ford; Jackie Gleason, an entertainer; John Elroy Sanford, an entertainer better known as Redd Foxx; and John Conway, who was in the front seat of the car with John F. Kennedy when the latter was shot.
Also Bob Hope— he was the nicest guy; and Ernest T. Bass, a character from The Andy Griffith Show. I still watch that show at least 3-4 times per week. I also had the opportunity to interview my hero— Dick Clark, and I have a picture of the two of us together.
Now I’m semi-retired. I host an oldies radio show on Friday nights from 7pm-midnight with Carolina Gold 93.9. It’s like a sock hop; I play songs from the boomer generation.
When I was in news, I received the state’s highest honor a governor can give from Gov. David Beasley: the Order of the Palmetto.
What is your favorite place in this area?
Anywhere I’m riding my golf cart.
What are your favorite things to do here?
Listening to the collection of 170,000 songs I have on my computer, dating from 1950 to 2013. My wife will holler at me sometimes to turn it down because it’s so loud.
What do you like the most about living here?
That there’s so much to do here. Coming from a small town like Darlington, with 8,000 people in the city limits, there’s not a lot to do. Here you can do something different every day. I’ve been here 22 years and there’s still a lot of things I still haven’t done.
How has your lifestyle changed or what new activities have you take up since moving here?
It’s our tradition to eat dinner at Russell’s Raw Bar every Friday night in Murrells Inlet.
What is one thing that your neighbors don’t know about you?
My neighbors know everything about me because we’ve been friends for a long time.
Is there anything that you miss or would like to see in Myrtle Beach?
I’d like to see more car shows. I’m very involved in the Myrtle Beach Car club— we’re the largest club for this area. Last year, we raised $22k for charities.
