Alvin Van Black On The Radio

[FilioScotia]

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.

David Fowler passed away four years ago in Kentucky. Here's the obit that appeared in his hometown newspaper.

CADIZ, KY -- A retired broadcaster, David Fowler, 67, of Cadiz, died on Saturday, August 21, 2004, at 5 a.m., at Jennie Stuart Medical Center of natural causes. Mr. Fowler was born on May 30, 1937, in Virginia. Mr. Fowler was preceded in death by his wife, Rayetta Stallons Fowler, and a son, Daniel Fowler. He has no known living relatives. Mr. Fowler was a retired broadcaster, and a member of The Meeting Place. A memorial service will be conducted at Parkview Cottages in Trigg County, on Sunday, August 29, 2004, at 2 p.m. Rev. Danny Mitcheson will officiate at the service. His body has been cremated. Goodwin Funeral Home is in charge of all the arrangements.

Fowler left Houston sometime around 1980 or 81 for Tampa Florida, where he worked in radio for the next 10 or 15 years. Those of us who remember David can tell you he was the most tightly wound person you can imagine. He would lose his temper and fly off the handle easier than anyone I ever saw. It's the reason he worked at practically every radio station in Houston at one time or another. It only took a couple of years for him to wear out his welcome and move on to his next gig. He left Houston because nobody in town would hire him.

I have read that he came to his senses in Florida, calmed himself down with help from prayer and medications, and by all accounts, he actually enjoyed his last few years in the radio business. I hope that's true, because he was a truly talented and creative radio man and fun to be around, on his good days.

I remember Philip Clark, but I don't remember anything about him. That's because he wasn't a memorable radio personality and he left no footprints behind when he moved on.

[pachanga]

David Fowler passed away four years ago in Kentucky. Here's the obit that appeared in his hometown newspaper.

CADIZ, KY -- A retired broadcaster, David Fowler, 67, of Cadiz, died on Saturday, August 21, 2004, at 5 a.m., at Jennie Stuart Medical Center of natural causes. Mr. Fowler was born on May 30, 1937, in Virginia. Mr. Fowler was preceded in death by his wife, Rayetta Stallons Fowler, and a son, Daniel Fowler. He has no known living relatives. Mr. Fowler was a retired broadcaster, and a member of The Meeting Place. A memorial service will be conducted at Parkview Cottages in Trigg County, on Sunday, August 29, 2004, at 2 p.m. Rev. Danny Mitcheson will officiate at the service. His body has been cremated. Goodwin Funeral Home is in charge of all the arrangements.

Fowler left Houston sometime around 1980 or 81 for Tampa Florida, where he worked in radio for the next 10 or 15 years. Those of us who remember David can tell you he was the most tightly wound person you can imagine. He would lose his temper and fly off the handle easier than anyone I ever saw. It's the reason he worked at practically every radio station in Houston at one time or another. It only took a couple of years for him to wear out his welcome and move on to his next gig. He left Houston because nobody in town would hire him.

I have read that he came to his senses in Florida, calmed himself down with help from prayer and medications, and by all accounts, he actually enjoyed his last few years in the radio business. I hope that's true, because he was a truly talented and creative radio man and fun to be around, on his good days.

I remember Philip Clark, but I don't remember anything about him. That's because he wasn't a memorable radio personality and he left no footprints behind when he moved on.

fowler turned me on to talk radio...God bless him....RIP

[Paul1956]

On a similar note, in the mid/late 60's KTRH (or maybe KPRC?) had a 'Tradio' show where people called in to advertise their used car or appliance for sale. People gave out their home phone numbers live over the air. My, how times have changed.

[FilioScotia]

On a similar note, in the mid/late 60's KTRH (or maybe KPRC?) had a 'Tradio' show where people called in to advertise their used car or appliance for sale. People gave out their home phone numbers live over the air. My, how times have changed.

Tradio was on KTRH from around 1960 till sometime around 1966 or so. The host was a guy named J. Kent Hackleman, who was probably the most laid back guy who has ever been on the air in Houston. He was so low key he didn't sound very interested in what he was doing.

His signature opening was always "Hi there. Hackleman here. J. Kent that is."

Tradio was a moderately popular program while it lasted, because it was unique I guess. Nobody else did anything like it.

A daytime flea market on the air, and about as interesting as reading the classified ads. People with something to sell or trade could call in, describe what they had and their asking price, and give their phone number on the air. Really exciting stuff.

Yes indeedy it was a different time in America.

[Poppahop]

Tradio was on KTRH from around 1960 till sometime around 1966 or so. The host was a guy named J. Kent Hackleman, who was probably the most laid back guy who has ever been on the air in Houston. He was so low key he didn't sound very interested in what he was doing.

His signature opening was always "Hi there. Hackleman here. J. Kent that is."

Tradio was a moderately popular program while it lasted, because it was unique I guess. Nobody else did anything like it.

A daytime flea market on the air, and about as interesting as reading the classified ads. People with something to sell or trade could call in, describe what they had and their asking price, and give their phone number on the air. Really exciting stuff.

Yes indeedy it was a different time in America.

Tradio is still all over the small-town, low-watt AM dial.

[Frank1940]

Well hello everyone, I just stumbled across this site, and saw the items on Alvin Van Black. I shared an office with him at KTRH from 1973 to 1977. He was one of the most entertaining "on air" personalities I ever worked with. He knew how to get listener reaction, and he really had a good memory about things in the past about Houston. I'm sorry he's gone and I did not even know that Leonardo was murdered. So sad. He used to call my talk show too, what a guy. Another caller whom I'm sure is gone was the "bottle lady", she collected every type and size of glass bottle and jar you ever wanted to see. I moved to Albuquerque in 1977, and am still working in radio here, doing morning news on a Christian station. I'll be 70 next year, and hope to keep working till Jesus comes back, or takes me home. The way things are going in Washington DC now, it shouldn't be much longer. I miss the "old days" of radio at KTRH especially when they were in the Rice hotel, remember what KTRH stands for, Come To The Rice Hotel...and when I was news director at KILT, great fun there, Apollo 11 and Apollo 13, fun times to cover news. I don't miss your Houston traffic or your humidity. My best to every one, Frank Haley

[Paul1956]

I do remember hearing your name on the air Frank.

Man, you were around here during some great news days. God Bless.

[westhu]

Alvin was on the radio, not sure what station, in the early to mid 1950's. On Sunday morning, before I had to go to church, Alvin read (and described) the Sunday Comics (Post/Chron, I don't know). He was likely 13 or 14 at the time. What I remember was that he'd skip some of them, saying "We don't like that one". Probably took 10 or 15 minutes for the whole gig every Sunday.

[Jimkingwood]

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.

Sorry to hear he was difficut to be around. I listened to him for 6 or 7 years in the 70's and early 80's, and I recall him as far and away the best host I have ever heard on the radio, followed, in my opinion, by David Fowler. Both men were brilliant. Alvin also had the longest-running radio show in U.S. history, if you count his time at both stations, KTRH and KPRC. He used to talk about his struggle with severe depresion as a child, so yeah, I guess he had a pretty tough childhood. I also remember the Chubbettes, LOL people would call in and describe seeing them around town in their van, drinking and arguing, whatever. That was a lot of fun. Remember his describing being paid by the traveling evangelist A.A. Allen to get healed during his services at the Coliseum every year? He and his friends would line up in the back and get bandaged up, taught how to dance and swing their arms after they were prayed over and healed, if they did a good job they got 50 cents. He said Allen was flat-out drunk and nearly killed him with his whisley-breath He had a million growing-up stories like that. A real Houston Original and I do miss him.

A friend of mine in the business told me that Fowler was fired for taking real ugly, venal pot-shots at Lynn Ashby on the air. (I do remember David doing that towards the end). The same company owned KPRC and the Post, and they gave him one strict warning and ordered Harry Schultz to fire him after the very next allusion Fowler made to Ashby. He - David - was devastated I was told. He thought he was irreplaceable.