Like the time when, in charge of locking away the band instruments in a wire cage, Ralph kept the mouthpiece of the tuba in his pocket. Dallas Radio Icon Ron Chapman Dies at 85 | News Talk WBAP-AM I'm saddened to tell you that legendary Dallas DJ Ron Chapman has passed away at 85. Says Chapman, Electronically, we dont do much, but we are very conscious of highs. 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. And Id walk a mile for an impression., Part of the magic of KVIL is that it is positive and upbeat, even when its poking fun at the news, the politicians, or the Cowboys. The station is branded as "Alt 103.7" and airs an alternative rock radio format. Dallas radio legend Ron Chapman passes away at the age of 85 - Audacy Who could follow Ron Chapman? Ron Chapman made Vocal Majority . I dont believe that any one person can be in that much control and yet allow for the station to be the living, breathing organization it has to be in order to survive. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Everybody that works here eventually comes back around, and Im going to be here when they come round again. And no decision is really final until Chapman signs off on it. I would carpool my son to school, pick up kids. During his 31 years at KVIL, Chapman became famous for his upbeat humor and his participation in outrageous stunts and giveaways. And we are going to walk all the way from the Sheraton Hotel to the so-and-so life building. They were on the same block, but nobody caught it. Everyone I knew went to college. He did not. "Dusty Attics", Episode 23: Ron Chapman - Jody Dean I tell people this story, and they think its one of those urban legends. Our thoughts and hearts are with his frien - 2 years ago. I told her so. Chapman remembers all the other long-gone-and-forgotten ones who came gunning for him: the Mobys in the Morning, the Stevenses and Pruetts. His older sister, Florence Littauer, now a motivational speaker, used her seniority to motivate Ralph, teaching him tongue twisters and then persuading him to repeat them for amazed visitors at the store-for a small fee. No spam, ever. 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. 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. PART OF AUDACY NEWS. Ron was one of those guys who made this a better place to live.. Each ratings point represents a percentage of the audience market share and is said to be worth about $1.3 million in advertising revenues yearly. We did that to our audience constantly. But theyll never work hard enough.. Part of Audacy. About 20 years ago, Id barely started working at KVIL and was the overnight deejaythe lowest life form in radio, with an equivalent lifestyle. From 1965 to 1968, Chapman hosted a television dance show for teens called "Sump'N Else." In 1969, he moved to KVIL, where he spent 32 years. While many have attempted to imitate his formula, nobodyat least locallyis likely to remotely approach his mastery of it. RON CHAPMAN ANDERSON - Ronald Ray Chapman, 67, of Anderson, died Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at Rainey Hospice House. Our ears are in mourning. Ron Chapman and Mitch Carr Photo credit Courtesy Mitch Carr. Name another program director or air person of any type anywhere in the country who would come in at 11 oclock and cut a promo thats going to run overnight. I froze. Many years later, both of their first marriages ended (Chapman divorced in 1982) and Ron and Nance began seeing each other, but again, just as friends. For nearly thirteen years, with a few scattered intermissions. Chapman had a . But there is more to the message than merely commercialized feminism. The program, based on . Garrett remembers Chapmans blowing up at him for reading the same filler story at several news slots. And guess what? He directed his in more positive directions, into the station and into work.. You tend to say things like the mayor when you mean Dallas and the mayor of Fort Worth when youre talking about them. Robert Wilonsky, Special Contributor. It was just ambition. RIP Ron Chapman. We tell them, Heres the concept. Brings new meaning to the phrase Sunday Funday. Shes now a motivational speaker and lives in Fredericksburg, Texas.From the first moment we ever opened our mouths, we clicked. Find Ron Chapman obituaries and memorials at Legacy.com 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This month, after 45 years on the Dallas airwaves, Ron Chapman signs off. Chapman was involved at the time with a woman in New York, an aspiring actress. Nance prayed for her. So youre that egotistical S.O.B., They became fast, but platonic, friends. I wouldnt even park near one. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2012. Hell suddenly realize he needs to talk to everybody he knows.. In my mind, Chapman continues, I used to picture Mary Tyler Moore. Blonde, voluptuous, impeccably well-mannered, and gracious, she smiles through a mouthful of sharp teeth. "But a well-respected punchline," Rhyner said. But what me and Tom Murphy did was put together a morning show for teens, Murphy and Harrigan. The rest, as they say, is history. / CBS Texas. After 45 years in radio, Ron Chapman retired from his morning show on June 24, 2005. Chapman died Monday at the age of 85, the Texas Radio Hall of Fame announced on its Facebook page. When he started hosting SumpN Else, I was a kid, and we loved to dance, and I would go over there to dance. Dallas Radio Icon Ron Chapman Dies at 85 - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth He wants to control that station twenty-four hours a day, hotlining jocks in the middle of the night for mispronouncing some street name, says Tom Tradup, now general manager of a Chicago station and, until last July, the general manager at KRLD. Chapman moved to KVIL a decade later, after the station briefly flirted with Top 40 in an attempt to topple the mighty KLIF. He remained at KVIL-FM for 32 years, serving as program director, music director, promotion director and morning personality. Turn! Especially this woman right here., And Brad says, Well, how about if we start the play and say, The quarterback comes up to the line of scrimmage. Theres gotta be some point at which hes willing to pass the torch. Ron Chapman is a dazzlingly entertaining intellect who has refreshed my life for 25 years with his insightful wit and unerring eye for the quixotic vagaries of the human kind. Forty-five years in one market. "Three time radio Hall of Famer and Dallas radio ICON Ron Chapman has passed," the organization said. The other bold stroke by the founders of KVIL was its attitude toward Dallass sister city, Fort Worth. CBS Radio's local market manager Brian Purdy, in announcing the format change, made just a brief nod to the station's past by insisting 103.7 is "not your mother's radio station any more," which hit a little close to home. CBS News Texas: Free 24/7 News; . Jody Dean was Chapmans producer at KVIL from 1987 to 1994. Dallas Radio Icon Ron Chapman Dies at 85 | KLIF-AM KVIL was always my mom's station, hogging up most of the pre-sets in the '76 Cordoba and later the '79 LeBaron station wagon; it was either Ron Chapman or a Helen Reddy 8-track. 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. It was Chapman who convinced owners to ditch their paltry AM signal and go with its powerful 100,000-watt signal. And its not just the lower-downs, but the higher-ups who have their hands full of Chapman ego. We decided we would keep Fort Worth, and treat her like the lady that she is. @garycogill : RT @HawkeyeOnAir: I'm saddened to tell you that legendary Dallas DJ Ron Chapman has passed away at 85. He had spent his last few years on 98.7 KLUV in Dallas/Forth Worth. However, Mylife.com suggested that Nance Chapman was born on 25 February 1941 which made her 80 years old as of . A Passing: Ron Chapman - My Sweet Charity The call letters have been tossed in the dustbin; they no longer serve a purpose. Ron would fairly often show up while I was on the air to go in a studio and record a promo that might run overnight, only to plug something that was going to be on his show. So Charlie and Harrigan came on and said, Were going to do our hike. Obituaries Search for Ron Chapman - Dignity Memorial Ron Chapman's legendary $20 announcement from March, 1988. Enjoy unlimited access to all of our incredible journalism, in print and digital. Among the passengers on a March 4 flight out of Hanoi 45 years ago Sunday at the end of the Vietnam War were three Air Force officers who would eventually settle in Northwest Florida. In terms of logistics and creativity, hes a towering genius. Charlie Brown), playing records and providing character voices as stars of the popular Charlie and Harrigan Show. 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. In one infamous stunt, notes his Hall of Fame bio, Chapman told his listeners to each send $20 to the station; within three days, the station had received $200,000. Some estimates put the final amount even higher. RALPH CHAPMAN OBITUARY. While Ron was 85 years old at the time of his death, Nance Chapman's age remains a mystery. A 1989 profile in D magazine described him as The Emperor in his tower, whose duality is a big part of Ron Chapmans magic. He is, the writer opined, an amalgamation of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.. Right away, you know two things about her: she has no time to waste, and you dont mess with her. And thats a problem KVIL itself will have to face one of these days. But off-mike, in what employees call his little Come to Jesus talks, that mouth can get hot enough to melt pig iron. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Anyway, I was holding this animal on my shoulder, on my freshly cleaned jacket, and it got a little excited. But the youngsters came to understand their poverty., I liked applause early on, said Chapman, who took on Ron as his radio first name in 1965. In 1968, Chapman joined a team that purchased KVIL-FM, a station known for pioneering the Adult Contemporary (AC) format. Ralph Frederick "Ron" Chapman (1936-2021) - Find a Grave Six years later, he moved to Texas to begin what eventually became a Radio Hall of Fame career in DFW. Who is KVIL Dallas Radio Personality Ron Chapman? Cause Of Death I have the same type of personality, just not as much discipline. Catch up on the day's news you need to know. Ron in makeup for his role in an episode of Police Story. Rons face superimposed on the body of Michael Jackson. My wife made me admit it publicly: yeah. According to Littauer, Chapmans massive energy manifested itself during his youth in a series of class-clown pranks. Here are a few other stories about Chapmans career, told by those who knew and worked with the legend. You treat her with respect. Ron Chapman Obituary KVIL - - InsideEko.com News Media | Facebook