781:. Ruby was both an admirer and friend of McLendon, he told the FBI that McLendon was one of his six "closest friends". McLendon allowed Ruby to advertise on his radio station, KFIL. Following Ruby's arrest he asked George Senator to get in contact with McLendon to let him know where he was. Ruby testified that the day before his murder of Oswald, he attempted to call McLendon but could not reach him and the last letter Ruby wrote before he died in prison was to McLendon.
684:, formed the controversial Win or Lose Oil Company. The firm was established to obtain leases on state-owned lands so that the directors might collect bonuses and sublease the mineral rights to the major oil companies. Although ruled legal, these activities were done in secret and the stockholders were unknown to the public. Noe and Long made a profit on the bonuses and the resale of those state leases, using the funds primarily for political purposes.
497:, Texas in 1947, and introduced the Top 40 format there in the early 1950s to great success. KLIF enjoyed a long run at the top of the Dallas radio ratings in the 1950s and 1960s, but its standing in the market fell in the early 1970s thanks to growing competition from FM radio. One of the FM stations most instrumental in the downfall of KLIF was its former sister station KNUS (now
559:
He is credited by most broadcast historians with having established the first mobile news units in
American radio, the first traffic reports, the first jingles, the first all-news radio station, and the first "easy-listening" programming. He also was among the first broadcasters in the United States
247:, where he attended high school and began to develop his interest in broadcasting. He covered sports events and broadcast commentary over the school's public address system. He graduated from Kemper Military Academy. He won a nationwide political-essay contest judged by journalists Arthur Brisbane,
567:
The McLendon family sold KLIF in 1971 to
Fairchild Industries of Germantown, Maryland, for $ 10.5 million, then a record price for a radio station. By 1979 the family had sold all of its broadcasting properties, including fourteen radio and two television stations, worth approximately $
328:
both of whom he called friends. He was a member of the board of stewards of
Highland Park Methodist Church in Dallas and the board of directors of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Texas chairman of the March of Dimes, and an honorary chairman of the
358:) in the 1940s. Liberty was the second largest radio network in the U.S. at the time with over 458 affiliated stations. Most of Liberty's MLB broadcasts were re-creations of games, utilizing McLendon himself and future sportscasting stars such as
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In
December 1985, McLendon was reported to have been critically wounded while cleaning his .38-caliber pistol. He died of cancer at his ranch home near Lake Dallas, Texas, on September 14, 1986. He was inducted into the
1059:
Investigation of the
Assassination of President John F. Kennedy Hearings Before the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-fifth Congress, Second Session · Volumes
216:(June 8, 1921 – September 14, 1986) was a radio broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Maverick of Radio", McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, during the 1950s and 1960s, the commercially successful
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He was later reassigned, giving him the opportunity to extend his style of commentary to political events over a United States Armed Forces Radio
Service station. He then briefly attended
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station by the
Swedish government because it was located on board a radio ship and outside of their legal jurisdiction. When that venture came to an end the vessel was brought back to
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337:. In 1971 he conducted a month-long all-expense-paid broadcasting course for nine minority-group members, including African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Mexican-Americans.
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It was a live, not recreated game that provided McLendon and
Liberty with their greatest career moment. The Old Scotchman himself was behind the Liberty microphone at the
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1088:
Investigation of the
Assassination of President John F. Kennedy Hearings Before the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy: Volume XIV
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The McLendon family built a communications empire that included radio stations across the United States. In addition to KLIF, McLendon owned KNUS–FM in Dallas,
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For a time he owned a converted fishing boat in the North Sea which beamed into Sweden and other
European countries. In 1960 McLendon and his close friend
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Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy Hearings Before the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
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586:, but opted against it, finding the struggling station "too far gone" (it closed a year later). McLendon was also the last owner of ABC affiliate
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He entered the primary for the 1968 Texas gubernatorial election, but withdrew from both the election and the Democratic Party, citing President
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Gordon then went silent and let the crowd's roar speak for itself. With radio still the more popular nationwide medium then, and with
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worked on an idea for a TV series about the CIA. He was disillusioned with the negative portrayal of the agency such as in the film
134:
139:
129:
889:
McCrisken, Trevor (2015). "The Housewife, the Vigilante and the Cigarette-Smoking Man: The CIA and Television, 1975–2001".
235:. In addition, he was active in circles of conservative business-political power in the 1960s until the time of his death.
442:(after McLendon's home town). Unfortunately due to blunders in keeping the project secret, these plans were shared with
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664:. He also owned McLendon Theatres, which operated more than forty movie theatres throughout the south, including many
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473:. That new incarnation was to have been called Radio KLIF London, but when it came on air it was identified as
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McLendon Papers, 1902-1982, in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University
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to editorialize. McLendon especially attracted attention for his stern denunciations of French president
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Bobby swings, there's a long one out there out to left! Going, going, GONE and the Giants win the pennant!
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McLendon, who nicknamed himself "The Old Scotchman", is also noted in radio history as the founder of the
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McLendon was known for his elaborate practical jokes, orchestrated on such notables as sitting President
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McLendon fought in World War II and was commissioned as a Japanese-language intelligence officer in the
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501:), of which McLendon retained ownership after selling KLIF and revamped as a rock-oriented Top 40.
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because it was the only school that didn't offer him a scholarship. At Yale, he was editor of the
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McLendon was born in Paris, Texas, and spent his early childhood in Oklahoma. The family moved to
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1045:
Hearings before the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, Volume XX
1020:"Who Was Jack Ruby? How a small-time strip joint operator ushered in America's age of violence"
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Richards, Bill (March 22, 1978). "FIRST IT WAS 'THE FBI' ON TV, AND NEXT IT MAY BE THE CIA".
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In 1959, McLendon co-produced and co-starred in two sci-fi monster movies filmed in Texas,
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in San Antonio (that he briefly renamed KAKI due to the military bases in the city), and
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and its Giants' network, McLendon's call is how most Americans heard the NL clincher.
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393:'s 0–1 pitch in the last of the ninth with two runners aboard, and McLendon barked:
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in El Paso. McLendon introduced the all-news format to Southern California through
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Poppy Drive. In 1964–65 he served as a communications adviser to the United States
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in 1964. During the campaign he was accompanied by such Hollywood luminaries as
435:, where the ship remained for a year until it was leased to a British operation.
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in Los Angeles, WYNR (later WNUS) & WNUS-FM in Chicago, WWWW–FM in Detroit,
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Something in the air: radio, rock, and the revolution that shaped a generation
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457:. Later in 1964 McLendon shared his experience at offshore broadcasting with
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In 1954, McLendon considered acquiring a share of Oklahoma City UHF station
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McLendon became an authority on precious metals and wrote a book entitled
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McLendon's father-in-law was former Louisiana Governor and oil magnate
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from 1963 to 1966. At one point, he became the largest shareholder in
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Four Days in November: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
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in March 1978 about the idea although nothing came of the proposal.
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In Secrecy's Shadow The OSS and CIA in Hollywood Cinema 1941-1979
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magazine estimated McLendon's net worth at $ 200 million.
227:. He also developed offshore pirate radio broadcasting to both
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in New York for the October 3, 1951, finale of the three-game
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in London, who was a financial supporter of another station,
317:, a syndicated columnist, radio talk-show host, and actress.
602:, who moved the station to Winnipeg and used it to start up
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which broadcast from an offshore facility that was called a
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in Louisville, KABL in Oakland, KABL–FM in San Francisco,
964:"Movie Theaters Previously Operated by McLendon Theatres"
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but left prematurely to buy an interest in a station in
1090:. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1964. p. 269.
1076:. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1964. p. 119.
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McLendon was married in 1943 to Gay Noe, daughter of
1132:"Gordon McLendon, Broadcast Pioneer, Wounded by Gun"
1062:. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1978. p. 87.
1047:. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1964. p. 39.
634:. He produced over 150 motion-picture campaigns for
606:, which would become the genesis of the present-day
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313:, former governor of Louisiana; in 1973 he married
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694:Get Really Rich in the Coming Super Metals Boom
536:. McLendon was one of the originators of the "
485:McLendon and his father founded radio station
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354:(noted for its daily national broadcasts of
872:"Radio Pioneer McLendon, 65, Dies in Texas"
846:"Radio Pioneer McLendon, 65, Dies in Texas"
548:, in 1959; and as the founder of the first
304:Association of Former Intelligence Officers
1362:People of the Office of Naval Intelligence
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992:. Edinburgh University Press. p. 262.
20:
891:The Journal of the Historical Association
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1103:Gordon McLendon: The Maverick of Radio
680:who, along with his partner, Governor
1233:Major League Baseball Game of the Day
465:, who created a mirror of McLendon's
7:
1138:. Associated Press. December 7, 1985
828:Texas State Historical Association,
1180:NARA Record Number: 104-10124-10189
642:. He was the executive producer of
594:. In 1975, he sold that station to
1352:Major League Baseball broadcasters
1257:Major League Baseball on the radio
1018:Cartwright, Gary (November 1975).
870:Jones, Jack (September 16, 1986).
14:
706:Understanding American Government
302:McLendon was a co-founder of the
1217:Major League Baseball on Liberty
610:media empire and the modern-day
438:The new 1964 station was called
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16:American broadcaster (1921–1986)
1342:American radio company founders
702:Correct Spelling in Three Hours
407:' famous radio call limited to
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1392:People from Lake Dallas, Texas
754:In 1978 McLendon and producer
698:How to Succeed in Broadcasting
389:of the Giants swung at Dodger
1:
1357:Mass media people from Dallas
914:. Random House. p. 400.
773:McLendon was acquainted with
710:100 Years of America in Sound
952:. March 1, 1954. p. 57.
377:play-off series between the
282:Office of Naval Intelligence
1310:Shot Heard 'Round the World
1165:National Radio Hall of Fame
1120:. W.W. Norton. p. 278.
943:"McLendon Not at KMPT (TV)"
792:National Radio Hall of Fame
762:. As a result McLendon and
346:Liberty Broadcasting System
1408:
1382:People from Atlanta, Texas
1116:Bugliosi, Vincent (2008).
908:Fisher, Marc, ed. (2007).
568:100 million. By 1985
556:in Chicago) in the 1960s.
255:. After being accepted to
1347:Harvard Law School alumni
1170:The History of KLIF Radio
988:Willmetts, Simon (2016).
720:McLendon, a conservative
612:Global Television Network
1387:People from Paris, Texas
1105:. ABC-CLIO. p. 210.
830:McClendon, Gordon Barton
766:approached CIA Director
760:Three Days of the Condor
331:Veterans of Foreign Wars
263:, he decided to attend
1101:Garay, Ronald (1992).
844:(September 16, 1986).
631:The Giant Gila Monster
277:, a Yale fraternity.
270:Yale Literary Magazine
214:Gordon Barton McLendon
35:Gordon Barton McLendon
592:Pembina, North Dakota
489:(The Mighty 1190) in
415:Offshore Pirate radio
356:Major League Baseball
352:Liberty Radio Network
764:David Atlee Phillips
197: 1973;
170: 1943;
114:intelligence officer
1005:The Washington Post
618:Movies and theatres
546:Oakland, California
481:U.S. radio stations
1372:Texas Libertarians
658:Sylvester Stallone
289:Harvard Law School
87:Harvard Law School
64:September 14, 1986
1377:Texas Republicans
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1136:Los Angeles Times
850:Los Angeles Times
779:Lee Harvey Oswald
768:Stansfield Turner
645:Escape to Victory
640:Columbia Pictures
625:The Killer Shrews
562:Charles De Gaulle
469:radio station in
366:on play-by-play.
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437:
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418:
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391:Ralph Branca
371:Polo Grounds
368:
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341:Broadcasting
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311:James A. Noe
308:
301:
286:
279:
268:
259:, Yale, and
242:
221:radio format
213:
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45:June 8, 1921
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1337:1986 deaths
1332:1921 births
1266:Key figures
927:January 23,
842:Jones, Jack
749:Vietnam War
734:Chill Wills
650:John Huston
459:Don Pierson
405:Russ Hodges
335:Peace Corps
229:Scandinavia
223:created by
135:Libertarian
107:Businessman
101:Occupations
72:Lake Dallas
1326:Categories
816:References
804:Todd Storz
785:Later life
751:policies.
730:John Wayne
600:Izzy Asper
598:executive
578:Television
425:Radio Nord
249:Henry Luce
239:Background
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140:Republican
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973:March 13,
855:August 3,
794:in 1994.
775:Jack Ruby
682:Huey Long
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552:station (
491:Oak Cliff
261:Princeton
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876:LA Times
798:See also
722:Democrat
716:Politics
712:(1965).
704:(1962),
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596:Winnipeg
451:magazine
231:and the
130:Democrat
110:investor
1163:at the
1142:June 8,
811:jingles
608:Canwest
604:CKND-TV
588:KCND-TV
534:Tijuana
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471:Dallas
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628:and
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554:WNUS
542:KABL
526:KELP
522:KTSA
518:KILT
514:WAKY
510:KEEL
506:KOST
499:KSPF
487:KLIF
467:KLIF
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362:and
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