Alvin Van Black On The Radio

[Retama]

Many of those who remember the late Alvin Van Black remember him for his Channel 13, "Alvin on the town" reports when he was a jolly fat man dressed in a tuxedo reporting from galas and such.

But my earliest and best memories of Alvin are back in the 1970s when he had his own afternoon radio show on KTRH, I believe. Alvin could be very grouchy and and get pretty nasty with some of the callers. The show was like a game of Russian roulette because you never really knew which caller Alvin would unload on. Often he'd let the cranks go and then tee-off on someone who was lucid and making perfectly good sense. he also told very interesting stories about old-time Houston (I believe he grew up in the 5th Ward).

As teenagers in the 1970s a friend and I would sometimes pass a lazy afternoon listening to him while we worked on our cars or fished off some pier in Burnett Bay.

Occasionally, we'd call in to mess with him or to send secret messages out to friends in the hinterlands. We had a code with a variety of people that, 1. identified us to them, and 2. gave them instructions. Our friends knew it was us because we used code names as callers. I remember Doak was one of them. The only other code phrase I rememeber was "Mad Magazine" which told several people to meet us down at the boat launch. Of course, THEY had to be listening as well to get the message, but it worked several times.

Anybody remember the old Alvin Van Black radio show?

[gonzo1976]

Yeah, I remember his show. It was pretty much a general interest show, if I recall correctly. I thought it was on in the afternoons on KPRC.

To this day, I can distinctly remember the sound of his voice.

[brucesw]

Alvin was a long time fixture on KTRH, probably their biggest star; I don't recall that he ever worked for KPRC, but I have never been into talk radio so never listened much. I think Channel 2 weatherman Doug Johnson was on KPRC opposite Alvin.

I met Van Black once in the KTRH snack room when I was at the station; seemed like a nice enough guy, no where near as irascible as he was on the air, but I remember thinking when he first started doing the Alvin at Night segments on 13 'boy - this is a change of persona!' And persona is probably what it was -- I have no idea what the man was really like.

I always wondered if they pulled back and did a full length shot of him doing one of those segments if he'd have tattered, plaid Bermuda shorts on below that tux jacket and starched shirt and tie.

I ran into him at the Prince's on 59 across from Greenway Plaza a few years back then I think I read he had died just a few weeks later.

[TJones]

If you have ever heard Ken Hoffman, from the Chronicle, on 950am, before they switched everything around. He sounds an awful lot like ol' Alvin.

[nativehou]

The show was like a game of Russian roulette because you never really knew which caller Alvin would unload on. Often he'd let the cranks go and then tee-off on someone who was lucid and making perfectly good sense.

I'm a few years younger than you, but I remember listening to Alvin in the 70s and I can also remember the sound of his voice to this day. His ranting made such an impression on me. It was akin to Rush Limbaugh or Michael Savage rantings today. I felt so sorry for the poor callers.

And then when he was on Ch. 13, he was a cupcake.

[Vertigo58]

I am almost certain we are speaking of the same person.

It was so long ago I can't recall the place or event.

That's the magic of television.

Is he alive?

[nativehou]

Is he alive?

He died in 2001 at the age of 61.

http://www.stp.uh.edu/vol66/143/news/news3.html

Also (with a photo)...

http://www.texasradiohalloffame.com/alvinvanblack.html

[Vertigo58]

I am deleting some of the comments I made out of respect for the man and his family. He may have been going through a tough time when we encountered him that day. Sometimes people can't express themselves and lash out at others out of stress.

I am sorry he is no longer with us.

[Reefmonkey]

Many of those who remember the late Alvin Van Black remember him for his Channel 13, "Alvin on the town" reports when he was a jolly fat man dressed in a tuxedo reporting from galas and such.

But my earliest and best memories of Alvin are back in the 1970s when he had his own afternoon radio show on KTRH, I believe. Alvin could be very grouchy and and get pretty nasty with some of the callers. The show was like a game of Russian roulette because you never really knew which caller Alvin would unload on. Often he'd let the cranks go and then tee-off on someone who was lucid and making perfectly good sense. he also told very interesting stories about old-time Houston (I believe he grew up in the 5th Ward).

As teenagers in the 1970s a friend and I would sometimes pass a lazy afternoon listening to him while we worked on our cars or fished off some pier in Burnett Bay.

Occasionally, we'd call in to mess with him or to send secret messages out to friends in the hinterlands. We had a code with a variety of people that, 1. identified us to them, and 2. gave them instructions. Our friends knew it was us because we used code names as callers. I remember Doak was one of them. The only other code phrase I rememeber was "Mad Magazine" which told several people to meet us down at the boat launch. Of course, THEY had to be listening as well to get the message, but it worked several times.

Anybody remember the old Alvin Van Black radio show?

I remember the show, and I'm only 31. I think he may have still been on the radio into at least the mid 80s. I do remember him on Channel 13, too.

That's funny about passing codes through him, like spies do through the classified ads in spy novels.

[Firebird65]

I also remember the Alvin Van Black show. It was a hoot. My dad clued me onto it. I used to pass the time on lazy summer afternoons waiting for him to go off on some luckless soul.

And one earlier poster was right - he'd let some real nuts go on and on then go nuclear on someone who actually made sense. That made the show all the more unpredictable and fun.

But another earlier poster was totally incorrect... the one who compared Alvin's show to both Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage.

While I don't mean to hijack the thread, I can tell immediately from that comment that particular poster has probably never listened to either of those shows. While that poster probably doesn't agree with Limbaugh (and that's his or her business, I don't really care), anyone who has ever listened to the show, like it or not, knows that Limbaugh mixes equal parts satire and commentary. It's both news and entertainment. To say his bits are merely rants is (and well if I'm offensive I guess I'm offensive) stupid and shows the person is merely aping what he or she has heard elsewhere without bothering to check it out for his or herself.

As for Savage's show, it has little in common with Rush's program or Alvin's old show, other than it was on the radio. Unlike Limbaugh, Savage isn't trying to be entertaining. Being a somewhat regular listener to Savage's show, I can say with authority that alot of what Savage says can indeed be classified as a rant. And being a somewhat regular listener to Rush, there is almost nothing similar between the two, other than a lot of people love to classify them together. There is nothing remotely funny about Savage's show and there's nothing entertaining about it. It can be thought provoking at times, but that's not always meant to be a compliment.

Alvin Van Black was a curmudgeon (sp), an irritable, grouchy rascal. He knew it and that added to his appeal. That's why people listened to him.

Rush Limbaugh is exactly what he proclaims to be - a harmless, lovable fuzzball. He has a schtick and he plays it well. Too bad so many judge him based on what others say rather than judge for themselves based on what they hear.

Micheal Savage ought to probably just shut up for his own good. Whatever valid points he makes he buries under what could well be considered hateful rants.

I've listened to all three in my life, enjoyed each of their shows for entirely different reasons, and I am in a position to pass judgement based on what I've heard. The opinion I've formed based on what I've heard, not on what someone else said about them or what is popular to say about them at the moment.

[Retama]

Yes, Firebird is correct in that Van Black's show was sort of free-form. I remember being stuck in the house during a hard rain and loving a show he did on unusual names. I don't think he ever had guests. He was really nothing like today's political talk shows. Although he did talk politics, Alvin would -- and did -- argue both sides of an issue, often from caller to caller. I got the impression that he was a well-read, intelligent person.

He would sometimes disparage his audience on the air, saying that they were a bunch of middle aged women who listened to him while lounging on the day bed! He sometimes sounded bored and occasionally didn't even use words with a caller, prefering grunts, giggles, high whines and mumbling to actual conversation.

After having screwed up our confidence to call him (he usually treated young people well) we would call in irregularly and mess with him. I once called in claiming to be a communist and advocating a workers' revolution. We talked about the Berlin Wall (which I precociously called "The Anti-Fascist Protective Barrier") and he asked me at one point, "have you ever heard of a person trying to climb the wall going to the EAST?" Caught off guard, I hesitated then blurted out, 'yes.' Whereupon he promptly hung up on me.

Houston was a slower, more laid-back place back then. Sure miss Alvin on the radio.

[nativehou]

But another earlier poster was totally incorrect... the one who compared Alvin's show to both Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage.

While I don't mean to hijack the thread, I can tell immediately from that comment that particular poster has probably never listened to either of those shows. While that poster probably doesn't agree with Limbaugh (and that's his or her business, I don't really care), anyone who has ever listened to the show, like it or not, knows that Limbaugh mixes equal parts satire and commentary. It's both news and entertainment. To say his bits are merely rants is (and well if I'm offensive I guess I'm offensive) stupid and shows the person is merely aping what he or she has heard elsewhere without bothering to check it out for his or herself.

As for Savage's show, it has little in common with Rush's program or Alvin's old show, other than it was on the radio. Unlike Limbaugh, Savage isn't trying to be entertaining. Being a somewhat regular listener to Savage's show, I can say with authority that alot of what Savage says can indeed be classified as a rant. And being a somewhat regular listener to Rush, there is almost nothing similar between the two, other than a lot of people love to classify them together. There is nothing remotely funny about Savage's show and there's nothing entertaining about it. It can be thought provoking at times, but that's not always meant to be a compliment.

Alvin Van Black was a curmudgeon (sp), an irritable, grouchy rascal. He knew it and that added to his appeal. That's why people listened to him.

Rush Limbaugh is exactly what he proclaims to be - a harmless, lovable fuzzball. He has a schtick and he plays it well. Too bad so many judge him based on what others say rather than judge for themselves based on what they hear.

Micheal Savage ought to probably just shut up for his own good. Whatever valid points he makes he buries under what could well be considered hateful rants.

I've listened to all three in my life, enjoyed each of their shows for entirely different reasons, and I am in a position to pass judgement based on what I've heard. The opinion I've formed based on what I've heard, not on what someone else said about them or what is popular to say about them at the moment.

Well, I have indeed listened to both the Limbaugh and Savage shows, mostly Limbaugh (if I'm in the car at lunch) but Savage a few times. I do not agree with them typically, but I force myself to listen to them sometimes so I can have some form of first-hand opinion.

My comments -- with no intent to launch into an in-depth comparison of talk show hosts -- were only intended to give some current frame of reference. Limbaugh might not typically scream at his callers, because most (not all) of his callers agree with him, but he does really let it out sometimes when he's just talking to the listeners. Like the other day I heard him scream in a frighteningly fascist tone "America IS the SOLUTION." And Savage just goes off without warning with his, as you say, "hateful rants."

I've grown to really hate all the screaming on talk shows -- and it's so common these days even on "respected" news programs. If you're screaming at me it means you're out of control and not worth my time to listen to you.

[Firebird65]

I've grown to really hate all the screaming on talk shows -- and it's so common these days even on "respected" news programs. If you're screaming at me it means you're out of control and not worth my time to listen to you.

Agreed. I hate that too in talk shows. Well, unless it was Alvin Van Black. LOL!

[plumber2]

Alvin VanBlack would make comments about his "bump" music, acting like the signers were real and right there in the studio with him. He called them the "Chubettes", and made jokes about them going on tour to famous places like the "ship channel" or Port Arthur. It was really quite funny and almost believable.

Rush Limbaugh also makes up stuff. He created the "whiney liberal democrat", and uses a certain voice when he's talking up a topic and inserts this "whiney liberal democrat" voice to object to it. His brain actually beleiving he is pulling off something entertaining. His comes off not so funny though, and not very believable either.

[Firebird65]

His brain actually beleiving he is pulling off something entertaining. His comes off not so funny though, and not very believable either.

That's your opinion, and while you are most certainly welcome to hold that particular view, I'd say the ratings of the Rush Limbaugh program tell a very different story. I, and millions of other listeners across America, find his show to be quite funny and entertaining, as well as believable and credible.

[plumber2]

So long as you're entertained Firebird. I on the other hand would rather tune in a TexMex station than listen to that blabber mouth. And I don't even speak Spanish!

[readam]

Alvin was with KTRH at the old Rice Hotel in the early 70s. One of his favorite callers was "Leonard from Victoria". I had several classes with him in Grad school at UH in the Geography department. He was well read and perhaps a perpetual student but he was as personable as can be in the classroom and in the offices of the profs. He later went to KPRC and finally to KTRK TV. One of his favorite react responses to a caller who was trying to make a point or argue with him was "OK, Name me one who/ that/ was" ...you can fill in the rest

[Retama]

One of his favorite react responses to a caller who was trying to make a point or argue with him was "OK, Name me one who/ that/ was" ...you can fill in the rest

Yeah, I remember that tactic. He once pulled it out on my buddy who switched it back on him by saying "No I can't, but do you know who X was?" Alvin invariably responded and was thus led away from the course he hoped to take. I used to like to think we outsmarted him, but he was just playing along with us.

[Fringe]

I still have his bread recipe that he always raved about.

[Paul1956]

I apologize if this thread is too old to reactivate, but I just saw it and it brought back a memory of the Alvin Van Black radio show. There was a very frequent caller named Leonardo who's voice stuck in my memory. Leonardo talked in very short choppy sentences and was hard to understand sometimes, but I remember because he always had some interesting comments on events of the day. Even grumpy old Alvin stopped to listen to him. Anyone remember Leonardo?

[Absinthe_1900]

Yes, I was another 1970s kid that listened to Alvin Van Black back in the day.

If I remember correctly, Leonardo had a stroke that caused his distinctive speech pattern, he called Alvin's program for several years, and was murdered around 1980.

I believe Alvin Van Black did a whole show about Leonardo shortly after he was killed.

[marmer]

I remember Alvin, both on the radio and in person. He came to a concert in my building, once, in his tuxedo (including pants) and tried to walk in with his camera person during the performance. I remember getting into it with him, and, while I mean no disrespect, he seemed to have a very high opinion of himself and his project and wasn't willing to wait between pieces to enter, which is pretty much the norm everywhere.

[Paul1956]

Wow - I had no idea Leonardo met a tragic demise. Sheesh.

[Retama]

Good gosh, Leonardo! I had forgotten him! We kids had a very un-nice nickname for Leonardo.

I also remember a guy who had survived throat cancer who called in for a while with one of those voice box devices.

Mechanical voice: "Hello Alvin."

Van Black: "Hello Mr. Roboto."

Several years later Styx came out with that song. Always wondered if Alvin inspired it .

[scrubba]

Man oh man , ya'all makin me feel real old today -----------Alvin Black, whew............. man I remember several people who were ready to kick his ass outta Dodge ! Dang , the next thing ya know ya'all gona wanna talk about the gasoline shortage in 79!

Ed Shaver, scrubba

[Rammer]

I remember Alvin mentioning that he was very unhappy with his life when he was a younger man.

He said that he much preferred being an older adult.

His personality shift after going to television from radio was quite amazing.

[FilioScotia]

I remember Alvin mentioning that he was very unhappy with his life when he was a younger man. He said that he much preferred being an older adult.

His personality shift after going to television from radio was quite amazing.

At the risk of speaking ill of someone who has passed on, and as someone who worked around Alvin at KTRH for a few years in the 70s and 80s, I can testify that he was a very hard person to be around. I can believe he was unhappy when he was young, because he always seemed to be unhappy when he was a grown adult approaching middle age.

Alvin's personna on the air in radio wasn't an act. The word "misanthrope" comes to mind. I always suspected he was mildly misanthropic. He was highly intelligent, very well-read on practically every subject and knowledgeable about a lot of things. He could talk intelligently about practically anything. Unfortunately, he didn't care much for other people, including his coworkers. He just tolerated our presence in the space he had to share with us. A line in the old song Big Bad John comes to mind. "If you spoke at all you just said Hi to Big John", or Big Alvin. And yes he was very big.

In the three years I worked there, I don't remember him ever saying more than two or three sentences to me, and that was when he got very angry one morning when he couldn't find the newspaper that was supposed to be in his office mailbox. He thought I had taken it. I hadn't, but he thought I had and proceeded to dress me down, very loudly, right there in the newsroom. It was NOT a pleasant scene, and I came very close to belting him in the chops, but I resisted the urge. After that I worked at avoiding him.

I have to say that the call-in shows he did at KTRH and KPRC were successful because he was actually being himself. What you heard was what you got with Alvin. Nothing phony about him -- on the radio at least.

That's why many people who knew him were stunned to see him acting like the original Mr Nice Guy in those silly "Alvin at Night" features on channel 13. That guy on TV wasn't the Alvin Van Black we all remembered from his radio days. I like to think that maybe we were finally seeing a side of Alvin none of us had ever seen. TV seemed to agree with him, because he really seemed to be enjoying himself. Maybe he finally found something he enjoyed doing. I sincerely hope that was the case.

Rest in peace Alvin.

[Retama]

Interesting post, FilioScotia.

His show worked because he was a misanthrope with a great range of intellectual reference. It was an audio version of a minefield in that you never knew which caller would set Van Black off and when he went off, KaBOOM! There were bits and pieces of his victims all over the place. I used to wonder what he looked like before I saw a TV commercial for KTRH's talk lineup. There was a smiling Buddha-faced Alvin. Ppfffffft, the last mystery demystified.

Looking back, his show would never have made it today. It wasn't politically driven, it was too laid back and holus bolus. It was very Houston-oriented and, yes it did appeal primarily to older folks and a few goofy kids in Baytown.

[pachanga]

does anyone remember david fowler on talk radio here?

[Paul1956]

Yep, I remember David Fowler, and I remember he got shuffled from time slot to time slot. I seem to recall he ended up on some FM station briefly before disappearing from the Houston market.

Along about 1972 or so there was a host named Philip Clark who had a memorable English accent. I remember that whenever a caller asked for his thoughts he'd say something like "I'm not here to tell you what I think, I'm here to find out what you think."

Philip Clark also had one amateur night a week where folks would call in and sing or play some instrument. Man, what a different time that was.