Rick Azar
Encyclopedia
Rick Azar is an American
broadcaster who spent 31 years at WKBW-TV
in Buffalo, New York
.
Azar signed the station on with the words, "Ladies and Gentlemen, WKBW-TV
Channel 7 is on-the-air!" The first broadcast on that snowy night was the James Cagney
classic film, Yankee Doodle Dandy
.
Azar became the station's first Sports Director in the early 1960s and held that position until his retirement in June 1989.
Rick Azar along with Irv Weinstein
and Tom Jolls
served as the longest running news anchor team in the nation. Azar also served as a color analyst on WKBW's (now WWKB
) radio broadcast of the Buffalo Bills
games, play-by-play man on the Bills preseason games televised on WKBW-TV
and an intermission host on Buffalo Sabres
hockey games televised in the 1970s on Ch 7. Azar also did basketball play-by-play on St. Bonaventure basketball games on Ch 7 during the Bob Lanier
era.
with his wife Edith and hosts a weekly jazz radio program on WLHC-FM Life 103.1
Rick Azar began his career at WHLD
radio station in Niagara Falls
in the early 1950s and is an accomplished violinist.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
broadcaster who spent 31 years at WKBW-TV
WKBW-TV
WKBW-TV, channel 7, is the ABC affiliate for the Buffalo, New York television market, and is one of many local Buffalo TV stations seen over-the-air and on cable in Canada. Its transmitter is located at 8909 Center Street in Colden. The station is owned by the Granite Broadcasting Corporation, who...
in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
.
WKBW-TV career
Rick Azar was the first voice heard on WKBW-TV on November 30, 1958. The station was located at 1430 Main Street in Buffalo, New York and the call letters stood for "Well Known Bible Witness".Azar signed the station on with the words, "Ladies and Gentlemen, WKBW-TV
WKBW-TV
WKBW-TV, channel 7, is the ABC affiliate for the Buffalo, New York television market, and is one of many local Buffalo TV stations seen over-the-air and on cable in Canada. Its transmitter is located at 8909 Center Street in Colden. The station is owned by the Granite Broadcasting Corporation, who...
Channel 7 is on-the-air!" The first broadcast on that snowy night was the James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
classic film, Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
.
Azar became the station's first Sports Director in the early 1960s and held that position until his retirement in June 1989.
Rick Azar along with Irv Weinstein
Irv Weinstein
Irwin "Irv" Weinstein is a retired local television news anchor. He hosted WKBW-TV's Eyewitness News in Buffalo, New York, for 34 years, from 1964 to 1998, becoming an iconic broadcaster well known in both the Buffalo area and in Southern Ontario, which was within WKBW's broadcast area. Weinstein...
and Tom Jolls
Tom Jolls
Tom Jolls is a retired television weatherman at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York, where he worked for 34 years. He was also the star of the Commander Tom Show which had a 26-year run on WKBW....
served as the longest running news anchor team in the nation. Azar also served as a color analyst on WKBW's (now WWKB
WWKB
WWKB is an AM radio station in Buffalo, New York that operates on a frequency of 1520 kHz. It is owned and operated by Entercom Communications. The station carries a progressive talk radio format. Declaring itself as A New Voice, A New Choice, The Voice of the New Majority; WWKB carries a number...
) radio broadcast of the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
games, play-by-play man on the Bills preseason games televised on WKBW-TV
WKBW-TV
WKBW-TV, channel 7, is the ABC affiliate for the Buffalo, New York television market, and is one of many local Buffalo TV stations seen over-the-air and on cable in Canada. Its transmitter is located at 8909 Center Street in Colden. The station is owned by the Granite Broadcasting Corporation, who...
and an intermission host on Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
hockey games televised in the 1970s on Ch 7. Azar also did basketball play-by-play on St. Bonaventure basketball games on Ch 7 during the Bob Lanier
Bob Lanier (basketball)
Robert Jerry "Bob" Lanier, Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played for the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA.Lanier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992....
era.
Azar doing radio in North Carolina
Rick currently lives in Pinehurst, North CarolinaPinehurst, North Carolina
Pinehurst is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 9,706 at the 2000 census. It is the location of the Pinehurst Resort, venue of the 1936 PGA Championship, the 1951 Ryder Cup. The host site for the 1999, 2005,& 2014 U.S. Open Golf Championships, the 2008 U.S....
with his wife Edith and hosts a weekly jazz radio program on WLHC-FM Life 103.1
Rick Azar began his career at WHLD
WHLD
WHLD is an AM radio station licensed to Niagara Falls, New York with an adult standards format. The station resides at 1270 kHz on the dial and is owned by Citadel Communications.-History and programming:...
radio station in Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
in the early 1950s and is an accomplished violinist.