He will later say that its almost like having an extra lobe in his brain. He is the chairman of Southwest Airlines. His family is asking for time right now to process the loss and thanks the community for their "kindness, understanding and prayers.". So settle down with one of these throws. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defers comment on revival of sexual harassment lawsuit, Q and A: How MLBs streaming, TV options will impact Rangers fans ability to watch team. He killed the competition. who served as KVILs newsman for a couple of years during the early Seventies, Chapman is obsessed with his work. During his 31 years at KVIL, Chapman became famous for his upbeat humor and his participation in outrageous stunts and giveaways. From 1965 to 1968, he became Dallas rarefied answer to Dick Clark and American Bandstand, as host of the wildly popular Sumpn Else, a teen dance show carried live from NorthPark Center on WFAA-TV (Channel 8). Trusted friend and colleague Jody Dean does not disagree, comparing Chapman to 1960s coaching legend Vince Lombardi, who led the Green Bay Packers to multiple championships as an unyielding taskmaster. Next to it is a portable telephone, complementing cellular phones in his and Nances cars. I figure we have her ears, and were the only ones shell let talk to her for the first hour of the day. Warm and fuzzy was the game plan from the very beginning. Ron in makeup for his role in an episode of Police Story. Rons face superimposed on the body of Michael Jackson. Like a handful of other stations in town, at least until they all change formats again. From Haverhill, Mass (also Ed McMahon's first rad - 2 years ago. Baby, it's cold outside. Its what youd get if God had money, Nance says. And this was totally not intended. She said, How do you expect me to do a good job after all Ive been through? I said, Thats it, weve been talking too long. Suzie Humphreys was Chapmans on-air sidekick on KVIL from 1975 to 1995. RONALD E. CHAPMAN Ron passed away on Saturday, May 23, 2020, at the Scarborough Extendicare long-term care home, from pneumonia at the age of 90. "In my own little world, the end of KVIL was something unthinkable," he said. In 2007, he returned to broadcasting part-time as a substitute for radio legend Paul Harvey. A year later, he suffered a stroke. Last year, that power was demonstrated when Chapman asked listeners to trust him and send in $20 each for no specified purpose. In 2000, Chapman moved to KLUV/Dallas, an "oldies" station where he stayed until announcing his retirement from radio in 2005. KVIL TIDBITS: Ron Chapman's radio show was simulcast live with video on KXAS-TV as a 30-minute daily program (mid-1970s.). For two weeks, while everyone else painted and scraped, he sat in a deck chair and interviewed people to see what their talent was., After Chapman had been in Korea for about a month, he got a parchment scroll commending him for lifting the morale of the troops. There is no way that Vince Lombardi could coach football in todays world. But stories of Chapmans sentimentality and generosity are almost as abundant as the tales of his colossal ego. This is a first, he admits. There will be no service, however a "public gathering for friends and colleagues" is being planned at this time. Chapman thought that was funny. And we walked around the corner and stopped. But you could hear this blow-dryer. I love the guy. The country was going to get in shape. But would he be really pissed if we never played it at all?. So, Chapman can afford to surprise his wife with a 4.9-carat diamond, keep houses in town and country, and fly to Madrid on a whim., Born in January 1936, Ralph Frederick Chapman was the youngest of three children raised in the back rooms of his dads store during the Depression. Menu. (Her cohort, Ron Chapman, who clocked more than 45 successful years on local radio and television [including WFAA-TV,] died in 2021.) Brings new meaning to the phrase Sunday Funday. But, of course, its demise was inevitable, yet another casualty of shifting tastes and platforms; it's sign-off came just two months after Clear Channel dulled The Edge by making it, too, a dull shade of Maroon 5. RALPH CHAPMAN OBITUARY. Done in slick, black marble, it is an oversized rectangle, big enough for Ron to pace in. To pace in. But for the first 20 minutes of the show, Id been loading this little guy up with Coca-Cola. I noticed that they would feature me dancing a lot on the show. DALLAS (CBSDFW) - The Texas Radio Hall of Fame shared the news of the passing of Dallas radio icon Ron Chapman. The money was donated to charity. Updated: Apr. He was huge in Dallas for decades doing mornings at KVILclick link to learn more. In 1989, KVIL reigned supreme for three consecutive quarters, reaching 10.5 ratings points in the July Arbitrons, 3.1 points ahead of runner-up KSCS. When it comes to his precious radio station, the man is as fiercely protective of his listeners and his formal as a mother sow is of her litter. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Turn! Between his junior and senior years, he interned at The Washington Post during "the Watergate summer" of 1973. EYE descending now, deeper into the warmth and coziness; the voice says Yes, my dearest, you are almost home, safe and warm here with me, with us, ELLLLLLLLLvery low and smoky-warm, like embers in the fireplace and sleeping babies in rooms with duckies on the wall, like hearth and home and cows dozing in the barn, and maybe a comforter over your legs on a winter evening, Not too long ago, Ron Chapman received a postcard. We said, Okay, thats it! He is survived by his loving wife of 49 years, Deborah Chapman; mother Helen Chapman; twin sister Connie Smith; sons Eric . Yeah, he would. Tags. Chapman maintains that the station turns down huge amounts of revenue from advertisers who are dying to get at his listeners: Massengill, Preparation H, etc. Catch up on the day's news you need to know. And yet, he would never ask me to be one of the [featured] dancers. He had spent his last few years on 98.7 KLUV in Dallas/Forth Worth. Says Chapman, Electronically, we dont do much, but we are very conscious of highs. Chapman is a perfectionist in every way, Nance says. Chapmans radio station has been number one in Dallas. I hear it., I said, Yes. In 1968, Chapman joined a team that purchased KVIL-FM, a station known for pioneering the Adult Contemporary (AC) format. Chapman joined the staff of KVIL-FM/Dallas-Fort Worth as morning . He knows what people want to hear. I was off the wall, and he loved it. During his 31 years at KVIL, Chapman became famous for his upbeat humor and his participation in outrageous stunts and giveaways. Jun 03, 2004 07:18pm. And thats a problem KVIL itself will have to face one of these days. He is single-minded, living and breathing and eating KVIL to the detriment of everything else in his life. 2023 Audacy, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You had left "Sump'n Else" and you're still at WFAA directing the church remotes. He began by working as a disc jockey for WHAV in Haverhill. Thirty-two of them at the same station. A lot of people on this board are so young that they have never heard of Michael Selden. He is proceeded in death by his father, Fay Chapman. Would Stevie Wonder object if we took it out? About all they had were some call letters, and not very good ones at that. He was always very, very kind. But Chapman says that the first time Haley went on the air after the deal was struck, She was dreadful. Didnt think about it until after I handed the keys back to him. Chapman has seen twenty years worth of six-month wonders come and then go. And I did everything. In the meantime, you play every night like it was opening night, kick ass, and prove me wrong. They were gonna change owners and he knew the new owner. Legendary radio host Ron Chapman has passed away. We were in the groove together. Woods was Charlie Brown. Fifteen years later, this newspaper called it "the800-pound gorilla of Dallas radio," describing Chapman as "not only one of the top DJs in Dallas, but one of the most respected and feared in the country.". I wouldnt even park near one. On it was a headshot of some fierce new arrival on the Dallas radio scene, the latest young gun bent on a showdown with Chapman at the WBOK Corral. When Ron Chapman, Morning Host of KVIL in Dallas, Texas, asked his listeners back in 1998 to send $20 to the station, they did to the tune of $240,000. He was 85. In 1969, he teamed up with local radio men Hugh Lampman and Jack Shell at the newly born KVIL. Chapman was 85 years old. We just knew where the other one was headed. The call letters have been tossed in the dustbin; they no longer serve a purpose. To this day I still get the shakes whenever I hear Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now," Gerry Rafferty's "Right Down the Line"and anything by Anne Murray or Barry Manilow. I'm saddened to tell you that legendary Dallas DJ Ron Chapman has passed away at 85. And she looks so good by the time she gets to the office, she had to be up by 5:30. We edited it out. And Ron has a brand-new sweater. The obituary was featured in Dallas Morning News on May 16, 2021. But suppose, suddenly, a rogue meteorite comes falling out of the sky and mashes him into a puddle at the corner of Mockingbird and Central? The late Ron Chapman, who died April 26, 2021 at the age of 85, as seen in 2014. He was so popular in Dallas in the 70s, 80s and 90s that his station, KVIL, sold for more than the Dallas Cowboys. He served with the Army in South Korea from 1957 to 1959, producing a radio show for Voice of the United Nations Command. Ive got a speech at the Board of Realtors this morning, and Im getting my hair done., And I said, Hes giving me a real nice blow job., Oh, Lord. The organization said no service will be held for Chapman, but a public gathering of friends and colleagues is planned. We had to beg them to stop sending checks. In the service, Chapman was the Fifties equivalent of Robin Williams, doing a sort of Good Morning, Korea. On the troop ship the first night out, his sister recalls, it came time for the sergeant to hand out assignments. If Chapman knows just what to say on the air, he also knows what not to blurt out: no jokes that have females as the butt. By Emily Jimenez, NewsRadio 1080 KRLD. So if anyone were to remember me. So I had just had my jacket cleaned. He works on his show twelve, fourteen, sixteen hours a day. We used a two-way radio. Nance (pronounced Nancy), Chapmans wife of three years, is the centerpiece of the home tour. And thats the way Ron was. Yet beneath that amiable exterior lurk hints of a tyrannical ego, of a man well accustomed to his own success story. He moved to Dallas in 1959 a year before the Dallas Cowboys became a team and was known for a decade as Irving Harrigan, who shared a microphone with Charlie Brown. His co-hosts real name was Jack Woods, and together the two became a radio juggernaut at KLIF, known then as The Mighty 1190. Their rise coincided with the Top 40 dynamism of the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones. Anybody can read, goddammit! The piece coincided with Chapmans 20th anniversary at KVIL, where, The News noted, His hyper, happy-talk Ron Chapman and the Morning Group has been the almost-constant No. A unique soul with a great personality has an amazing sense of humour, diligent and caring. It was, after all, the city's top radio station for years, throughout the 1970s and '80s and even into the '90s, when it was finally capsized by country radio. Nobody. Both of which I left, unconsumed, somewhere in Rons car. Chapman moved to KVIL a decade later, after the station briefly flirted with Top 40 in an attempt to topple the mighty KLIF. Ron Chapman Obituary - Death: Ron Chapman Obituary Kvil | Ron Chapman Cause Of Death Ron Chapman Obituary: In the loving memory of Ron Chapman, we are saddened to inform you that Ron Chapman, a. At one point, Chapman broadcast live while skydiving from a plane . Also, his people say that his expectations for others are not nearly as high as those he imposes on himself. So Charlie and Harrigan came on and said, Were going to do our hike. Talk about a cush gig. We could go AOR. I now think about retiring. I love doing the morning show but my bones are beginning to tell me that hitting the ground running at 4:10 every morning is not going to be supported forever by whatever frame that I carry around with me and happy to have served me around for a lot of years but it looks as tho I really need to be taking care of it instead of it taking care of me. Our thoughts and hearts are with his frien - 2 years ago. Hes right. With that warning, we move through room after room of airy, fresh pastels, past furniture that looks as if it never gets touched, with the exception of Rons well-worn leather chair. Thousands showed up. Chapmans cohorts speak of having to walk a very fine line; remaining clever and at least half-witty without ever being more clever than Ron. . I have the same type of personality, just not as much discipline. Yes, my dear, the world is still a warm and safe and funny place to be, and you are on top of it with us, you know everything we do, which is a lot, and life keeps getting better. Homepage; Contact US; About US; Ron Chapman Net Worth, Age, Height, Weight. Ron Chapman made money by Directors niche. It gives him this ability to do separate things simultaneouslyto be charming and light and breezy and set up the next little joke-and yet never lose clear, cold-blooded sight of the target audience. Okay, so were in a commercial break. Jan 3, 2017. Ron Chapman's radio career began in 1953the day he graduated from high schoolwhen he became a disc jockey at station WHAV/Haverhill, MA. (A whole lot better, wife Nance is quick to observe, than the other way around.) Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, a man-made creek meanders past a resistance pool and a hot tub on its way to the pump. @RGreggHart : A giant of Dallas-Fort Worth radio, Ron Chapman, has died at 85. But hes been trying to play Creative Tension to the point that it became creative chaos. The man had to be on the air at 5:30 in the morning. He graduated from Samuell High School in Pleasant Grove in 1970 and from Southern Methodist University in 1974. Bring walking sticks. Since Chapman is not only essential to ratings but is a key figure in all promotions, contests, personnel matters, etc., he is a general managers worst nightmare. His rages and abuse must be swallowed whole. Long before the KLUV World Tour, our travel program began as the KVIL World Tour, pioneered by my parents and Dallas Radio legend Ron Chapman. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and it serves the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in North Texas. There are a lot of stations right now that will say, after they read this, Oooooh, so thats what theyre doing. They still dont know it., Even the KVIL signal is altered to be pleasing to a womans naturally more sensitive ears. Who could follow Ron Chapman? KVIL (103.7 FM, Alt 103.7) is a commercial radio station dual-licensed to Highland Park and Dallas, Texas.It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and it serves the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in North Texas.The station's studios are located along North Central Expressway in Uptown Dallas. And guess what? So he comes to me, and I open the mic. Everywhere 1 go, the broadcasters are asking me how to do that. And no decision is really final until Chapman signs off on it. After a brief, hoarse "Oh my God," he shrugged off the news with all the oh-well of an 80-year-old man who bowed on Dallas teenybop radio juggernaut KLIF-AM when the Beatles were still known as TheQuarrymen. Ron Chapman's legendary $20 announcement from March, 1988. Gratefully I accepted, and drove off in his North Dallas wheels while they towed my Fort Worth bomb away. Chapman had served as emcee for a couple of years in a row and had complained both times about the sound system. Ive had two scoops of everything, Chapman likes to say. An announcement in this newspaper heralded his arrival, along with the promise that KVIL would play music that was "always in good taste, but contemporary in all ways" -- a rather unwieldy slogan. "They should have changed the call letters the day he left," said Jody Dean, who joined KVIL in 1982 and served as Chapman's producer before replacing him on the morning show. Warmth, a man who seems to genuinely feel that his biggest contribution to the world is sending his listeners off to work happy and chipper, so that each in her own little way can help make a kinder, gentler Dallas. According to industry analysts, fellow media, and KVIL employees, former and current, Chapman is a man of planned spontaneity, of freeze-dried warmth. Remembering Ron Chapman. A ratings war is brewing between two oldies stations, and a controversial gadget might decide who wins. Nothing to embarrass a woman who is even remotely prudish. To the multitudes who wake up with him every weekday, hes Mr. But it was impossible to replicate a station that made a growing big city feel like a small town. Copyright 2023, D Magazine Partners, Inc. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Incidentally, the quarterback is the guy behind the center. A man in the hotel found his passport and rushed it to the airport. The hand goes higher above his head: VEE higher now, almost pleading as it keens with the anticipation of all the wonderful, warm, cuddly, sensual things to come. Other than that, Im real comfortable.. Enjoy unlimited access to all of our incredible journalism, in print and digital. He also hosted a televised series from Northpark Center in the 1960's for a three-year stint. Suite 2100 His hard-scrabble experience inspired him to say, Ill show them. And his broadcasting career accomplished exactly that he showed them. When the show aired its final broadcast, Chapman played as its swan song Turn! January 20, 2023 by Jacob Pococontons. There will be NO service, but a public gathering of friends and colleagues is being planned.". Ronald Chapman July 23, 2021 Ronald Monroe Chapman, 77, of Jordan, died peacefully in his sleep at 2:32 am on July 23, 2021 while at home surrounded by his loving family. Turns out that a few years back, during a race around the world for a promotion, Chapman arrived late at the airportno ticket, no cash, no passport. But back then, you prayed for Vince Lombardi. If he thought you had an iota of talent, and you wound up on that station, then the expectations for you were enormous. 1 forever. According to Littauer, Chapmans massive energy manifested itself during his youth in a series of class-clown pranks. Nobodys going to build monuments or hold big memorial services. And I want you to know that Leonard jerked the plug out from the wall. Everyones going to do a 50-mile hike. You realize we dont play the same things for a thirty-five-year-old female that youd play on the Zoo. For nearly thirteen years, with a few scattered intermissions. But her memories of her tenure at the station are not pleasant. Dallas, Texas 75201. Industry critics say that while Chapman is full-tilt today, he is not really doing much to prepare his station for Life After Ron. After working for two years with the Voice of the United Nations Command in Korea , Chapman moved to Connecticut and station WHNC/New Haven. Chapman was involved at the time with a woman in New York, an aspiring actress. pic.twitter.com/XuaDWmWvEm. Every store in town used KVIL's mellowrock as its shop-to soundtrack; it evenprovidedthe background music softly droning throughout my orthodontist's office, because what pre-teen with a mouth full of metal doesn't dig some "Afternoon Delight." We decided we would keep Fort Worth, and treat her like the lady that she is. There are no excuses in Ron Chapmans world except You screwed up. Even in a social setting, conversation revolves around radio and the show and the things that are, for other people, rather peripheral., Chapman says he has always had to be aggressive because back in the early days, the ratings were so low that they didnt even show up on Arbitron. It almost looked like a squirrel. Chapman was known for doing the unexpected, once airing his show from a haunted house and another time while skydiving. His talent rose above us all. Former Dallas Morning News columnist Robert Wilonsky contributed to this report. Not all of Chapmans career was limited to radio. In 1969, Chapman joined the staff of KVIL-FM/Dallas-Fort Worth as morning disc jockey, music director, and program director, bringing the . And because he spanned KLIF and "Sump'n Else" to KVIL -- he WAS the history of Dallas radio . When we first went to KVIL to do the Cowboys games, Ron brings Brad Sham and me into his office and starts giving us this big speech on how we should broadcast a football game. Ron Chapman has passed away. And some who have shown too much personality, critics charge, get the ax. Put on your walking shoes. Chapman himself acknowledges his mortality, but only in the vaguest way, putting retirement plans out there some years down the road. Part of Audacy. This month, after 45 years on the Dallas airwaves, Ron Chapman signs off. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. In 1968, Chapman joined KVIL-FM, a station known for pioneering the Adult Contemporary (AC) format. Ronald Edward Chapman. By now, everyone knows the story about how, in 1988, Chapman asked his KVIL listeners to send in $20 each, without ever saying why, and took in $240,000. He was always very warm and sweet with me and very welcoming, as he was to all the kids. Hell suddenly realize he needs to talk to everybody he knows.. And he admits that, in part, it is the reason his first marriage ended after nineteen years. Im rough to work for. And because I drove the yellow van, I could go wherever I wanted to go. KVIL-FM, born in Highland Park on August 25, 1961,died, officially, on Jan. 18, 2017. Whatever it took.. One infamous incident occurred during last years gala for the National Craniofacial Foundation. I can walk faster than most people can run, Chapman once told The Dallas Morning News. One of his greatest talents is picking people, knowing where they fit, where they go.They gave me a little yellow van, and I drove it myself. Chapmans on-air name was Irving Harrigan. Barack O-blame-a. Ron.. And now. I havent done it all alone, but in this company, Ive been the thread that has taken the spirit of it through twenty years, and I think Ive done it rather well. Following his tenure at KLIF, Chapman joined the staff of KVIL-FM, Dallas-Fort Worth, in 1969. He claims more listeners than any DJ in Texas. In 1959, a 23-year-old up-and-coming disc jockey from Haverhill, Mass., took on the role of morning co-host for a . Before SumpN Else finished its run, Fairchild had already scored her first movie credit, appearing as Faye Dunaways double in the Oscar-winning film, Bonnie and Clyde. Chapman died Monday at the age of 85, the Texas Radio Hall of Fame announced on its Facebook page. And this is, like, in the 80s. RIP Ron pic.twitter.com . The station's studios are located along North Central Expressway in Uptown Dallas. Suite 2100 Theres a Stevie Wonder song where right in the middle of the song he does this loud, high-pitched scream. But telling Brad after 20-plus years how to broadcastDont be talking about blitzes and the nickel defense. And Chapman was being pretty emphatic about it. Read our daily updates at 12:30, 2:30 and 4:30 p.m., and our complete obituaries in The Herald-Dispatch on Wednesday and Here and there, she reveals a snippet about her husband. @garycogill : RT @HawkeyeOnAir: I'm saddened to tell you that legendary Dallas DJ Ron Chapman has passed away at 85. No sexism, period. . "KVIL was so big, so all-encompassing that you never thought it would go away.".

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