Sweet Dick Whittington
Encyclopedia
Sweet Dick Whittington (born 1934) is a long-time disc jockey
in Los Angeles
, who has also appeared as an actor in movies and on television.
Prior to his arrival in Southern California, Whittington was a popular radio personality in the San Francisco Bay area
at Oakland's KROW (960 AM), where he hosted the "Night Watchman" overnight program, and, later, a weekday afternoon show, from 1955 to 1958. In the fall of 1958, he moved to KSFO (560 AM) in San Francisco, as host of the 9 p.m. to midnight program. He began his stint in Los Angeles at KABC 790 AM, doing a one-hour talk show weekdays and a 3-hour Sunday talk show from 1965-1969. In 1969, he moved to KGIL.
His greatest fame in the Los Angeles market was in the morning drive time slot at KGIL AM 1260 in the "Sin Fernando Valley". For a brief time, he left KGIL to do the evening drive time slot at KFI
AM 640. He also was briefly heard in the late 1980s on KIEV (870 AM) and, for a few months in 1989, was back at KABC AM. (see list below). According to the entry in www.laradio.com, he has retired and is writing a novel.
Many people regard his broadcast style as being ahead of its time. Rather than the "happy morning to you" type of radio personality, he often spoke on the air about things that bothered him and foreshadowed the Howard Stern era of speaking your mind. At stations where he was still spinning records, he would many times interrupt a song midway through saying, "I like it up to that point, then I get bored."
One of Whittington's notable film roles was as the disc jockey in the TV movie "Duel", Steven Spielberg
's directorial debut. He can also be seen briefly as a ring announcer in Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bull."
He now lives in the San Luis Obispo area and is the image voice for radio station KKJL
-AM (adult standards).
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, who has also appeared as an actor in movies and on television.
Prior to his arrival in Southern California, Whittington was a popular radio personality in the San Francisco Bay area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
at Oakland's KROW (960 AM), where he hosted the "Night Watchman" overnight program, and, later, a weekday afternoon show, from 1955 to 1958. In the fall of 1958, he moved to KSFO (560 AM) in San Francisco, as host of the 9 p.m. to midnight program. He began his stint in Los Angeles at KABC 790 AM, doing a one-hour talk show weekdays and a 3-hour Sunday talk show from 1965-1969. In 1969, he moved to KGIL.
His greatest fame in the Los Angeles market was in the morning drive time slot at KGIL AM 1260 in the "Sin Fernando Valley". For a brief time, he left KGIL to do the evening drive time slot at KFI
KFI
KFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
AM 640. He also was briefly heard in the late 1980s on KIEV (870 AM) and, for a few months in 1989, was back at KABC AM. (see list below). According to the entry in www.laradio.com, he has retired and is writing a novel.
Many people regard his broadcast style as being ahead of its time. Rather than the "happy morning to you" type of radio personality, he often spoke on the air about things that bothered him and foreshadowed the Howard Stern era of speaking your mind. At stations where he was still spinning records, he would many times interrupt a song midway through saying, "I like it up to that point, then I get bored."
One of Whittington's notable film roles was as the disc jockey in the TV movie "Duel", Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's directorial debut. He can also be seen briefly as a ring announcer in Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bull."
He now lives in the San Luis Obispo area and is the image voice for radio station KKJL
KKJL
KKJL is a radio station broadcasting an Adult Standards/MOR format. It also is the radio home for San Francisco Giants broadcasts. Licensed to San Luis Obispo, California, USA, it serves the San Luis Obispo area. The station is currently owned by San Luis Obispo Broadcasting, Inc....
-AM (adult standards).
Radio Credits
- KROW (Oakland), 1955–1958
- KSFO (San Francisco), 1958–1959
- KNOBKNOB (defunct)KNOB , was a broadcast radio station on 97.9 MHz, licensed to Long Beach, California, with an effective radiated power of 79,000 watts.It went on the air in 1957 on 103.1 MHz at 320 watts...
, 1960–62 - KLAC, 1960–63
- KGIL, 1965–75 and 1978–85
- KABCKABC (AM)KABC is a Los Angeles radio station, and a West Coast flagship station for the Cumulus Media company. A pioneer of the talk radio format, the station went "all-talk" in 1960 and was one of the first stations to do so...
, 1966–68 - KFIKFIKFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
, 1975–77 - KIEV (870 AM), 1982 and 1988
- KHJ, 1983
- KABCKABC (AM)KABC is a Los Angeles radio station, and a West Coast flagship station for the Cumulus Media company. A pioneer of the talk radio format, the station went "all-talk" in 1960 and was one of the first stations to do so...
, 1989–90 - KMPCKMPCKMPC is a radio station based in Los Angeles, California and is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Licensee, LLC. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean-language programming...
1990-91 - KNJO, 1994–95
- KKJLKKJLKKJL is a radio station broadcasting an Adult Standards/MOR format. It also is the radio home for San Francisco Giants broadcasts. Licensed to San Luis Obispo, California, USA, it serves the San Luis Obispo area. The station is currently owned by San Luis Obispo Broadcasting, Inc....
, 1999-? image voice
TV/FilmCredits
- The Incredible Hulk (TV series)
- Raging Bull
- The JeffersonsThe JeffersonsThe Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
- Fantasy IslandFantasy IslandFantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
- The Nine Lives of Fritz the CatThe Nine Lives of Fritz the CatThe Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat is a 1974 animated film directed by Robert Taylor. It is an adult animation featuring a series of drug-induced vignettes both related and unrelated to life in the 1970s. Starring Skip Hinnant as the voice of the titular feline protagonist, the film is a sequel to...
- Almost Anything Goes
- DuelDuelA duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...