Remembering George Kennedy & Charlie Tuna
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Two of my favorite performers, both in similar but different fields, passed away this week.
George Kennedy, a burly actor who often played tough guys, got his break in motion pictures in the early 60s starring in "Charade" with Cary Grant, James Coburn, Walter Matthau and Audrey Hepburn. He was best known in "Cool Hand Luke," "The Dirty Dozen," and "Guns of the Magnificent Seven." One of his finest roles was in the 1970 movie "Airport," where he played the no-nonsense, cigar-smoking troubleshooter Joe Patroni who gets a jetliner that's been stuck on the runway out of harm's way. He later became a regular in action packed movies like "Earthquake" and "Death on the Nile." He then turned to comedy, appearing in three "Naked Gun" films. Before moving to motion pictures, Kennedy appeared on numerous TV shows (many on CBS, I might add) such as "The Phil Silvers Show," "Have Gun, Will Travel," "Cheyenne" and "Gunsmoke." Kennedy was a advocate for adopted children. He himself had four, including a granddaughter. Kennedy was 91.
The name Charlie Tuna may not be as familiar to you... unless you have worked in radio and TV or lived in Los Angeles. Tuna, whose real name was Art Ferguson, was one of the most successful Top 40 radio disc jockeys ever. Originally from Kearney, Nebraska, Tuna worked in Wichita, Kansas and the great KOMA/Oklahoma City. In 1967, KHJ/Los Angeles ("Boss Radio 93") brought him on to do the 9:00 a.m. to noon shift right after the morning drive show with legendary Robert W. Morgan. KHJ was the model for other Top 40 stations in the U.S. because the "Boss Radio" format was so successful. Other stations Charlie was with included: KROQ (AM), KISS AM/FM, KTNQ, KBZT, KRLA, KCBS-FM, KMPC, KIKF and KLAC. Later, he did morning drive at KBIG/Los Angeles and then finished his radio station career at CBS Radio's K-EARTH 101 (KRTH-FM) in LA... which, by the way, was originally... KHJ-FM. Charlie was also very active with his syndicated radio show that, at one time, was on CBS Radio's 98.7 KLUV in Dallas/Fort Worth. He was honored by his peers with numerous honors and awards and holds a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Charlie was very active in raising money for Children's Hospital in Los Angeles where he would do his annual "Tun-a-thon" and raised millions of dollars. Charlie was 71.
I have an autographed picture of Charlie in my Fort Worth office when he was doing morning drive at KBIG/FM in Los Angeles. I pulled it out yesterday and read the inscription. It will always be a nice memory to hold on to.
Listen to the above aircheck of Charlie on LA's KRLA.
