Once again, Modesto celebrates American Graffiti, June 12th-13th-14th.

Graffiti Gold.com will broadcast from the 1000-car Graffiti Parade on Friday, June 12th.  Our broadcast starts at Two pm, West Coast Time; The Parade starts at 5:30.

Central California Listeners:  Graffiti Gold is simulcast all weekend on

KCBP-FM Stereo,  95.5!

Listen in your car!  Listen as you Cruise!  We’ll be broadcasting from The Graffiti Parade, and then all weekend from the MJC WEST CAMPUS!

It’s a Graffiti State of Mind.

Back to ’62 we go.

Congratulations to the Kiwanis Club of North Modesto for Twenty-Seven Years of Routine Brilliance!!

Clarence Pinheiro Tribute

Clarence Anthony Pinheiro
June 20, 1938 – June 19, 2023

Modesto , California – Clarence Anthony (Bob) Pinheiro, passed away peacefully on June 19, 2023, surrounded by family, just one day shy of his 85th birthday.

Born at home in Stevenson, Calif, to parents Edward and Mary Machado Pinheiro,  Bob joined the family that included older brother, Eddie Ralph Pinheiro. Bob graduated from Livingston High School in 1956, and married his high school sweetheart, Donna Cole.

He began his life-long love of radio broadcasting in 1958 by attending the William B. Ogden Radio Operational Engineering School in Burbank, CA.  In the school’s 27 years (1946-1973) nearly 11,000 people “graduated” into careers in radio.

Bill Ogden and his school made a huge impression on Bob.  As the Modesto Radio Museum’s first Web Master, Bob retrieved, organized, and displayed 280 photographs of the school, and chronicled the school’s history and success.    Over 100 graduates have placed their comments in the Museum’s website, and Bill Ogden’s family graced Bob with letters of appreciation.   As of 2023, search engine Google lists Bob’s work as the world’s on-line authority on the school.

Bob was a major radio personality at several Valley radio stations including KROG, KYOS, KNGS, KTRB and KBEE using the on-air name, Bob Sterling.

He moved to Modesto in 1960 and began a 30-year career as a deputy with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. The majority of those years were spent in the investigations division. Bob earned several awards of commendation,  including the American Legion Albert L Pedersen Award and the American Legion Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.

Bob never abandoned  his love of radio.  He immersed himself in Amateur Radio, and earned his Ham Radio Operators License, WA6ZLO.   For years, he encouraged and  tutored others to do the same. Bob was a founding member of the Stanislaus Amateur Radio Association (SARA).     

Bob had many friends, one of his closest was legendary singer-turned radio personality-turned broadcast owner, Chester Smith.   Two months before Chester died, he called Bob, and said “let’s do lunch.”  It was quite a lunch.  Bob shared about that day with his buddy:  My last visit with Chester.

He retired from the Sheriffs Department, and began his “part time” business, “Bob Sterling Mobile DJ,” which he proudly operated for many years, entertaining throughout the Central Valley, and accumulating dear friends along the way.

Even after hanging up his ear phones, he kept busy in broadcasting, and was a founding member of the Modesto Radio Museum Foundation. Websites were just beginning, and Bob took on the challenge, creating the Radio Museum’s beautiful website, Modestoradiomuseum.org.  He was, indeed, the Museum’s WebMaster.   In 2019, at the age of 81, Bob enrolled in an on-line college course on Enhancing Websites, just to increase his already impressive skills.  Bob retired with the title, “Webmaster Emeritus.”

Bob is predeceased by his parents, brother, and loving wife of 59 years, Donna Clyne Pinheiro. He is survived by his three children, Terrance Pinheiro and wife Cathy, Cheryl Pinheiro Keener and husband Michael, Mitchell Pinheiro and wife Stephanie. Grandchildren Matthew Pinheiro and wife Kendall, Chase Keener and wife Alexis, Colin Keener and wife Alyssa, Michael Pinheiro, Ashley Pinheiro, Clayton Keener, Cydney Keener, Grant Pinheiro and Mackenzie Pinheiro. Four great grandchildren and two more on the way.

Private interment was held at Acacia Memorial Park, Modesto. Remembrances may be made to the Modesto Radio Museum to help build and operate the museum inside the Graffiti USA Classic Car Museum.

–Modesto Bee, July, 2023, along with contributions from the Modesto Radio Museum.

Robert Michael Salmon, age 81, died peacefully on May 14, 2023, at his home in Modesto, California, with his beloved partner of 30+ years, Sadhna Perez, and his younger sister, Ann Nichols, at his side. A local Kalamazoo radio legend known as Bob King, he was a longtime on-air personality and half of the duo behind the Doc Holiday and Bob King Show. Bob was born and raised in Edina, Minnesota, and spent twenty years in Kalamazoo, Michigan, before he moved to Modesto in 1985.

After getting his start in radio at KDWB in the Twin Cities area, Bob relocated to Kalamazoo in 1964 and became the on-air talent, sales manager, and ultimately general manager of WKMI radio. While there he was co-creator and one half of the the Doc Holiday and Bob King Show, a long-running morning drive-time program best known for its amusing antics and practical pranks. In 1985 Bob began his tenure as a station owner and operator with the purchase of KMIX Radio in Turlock, California. His group acquired, turned around, and sold several stations in both California and Michigan, including KEWB in Redding, California and WJFM in Grand Rapids, which Bob reformatted from classic rock to country. WBCT (B93), the resulting station, has been a top market performer ever since.

During his long career, he was the mischievous spirit behind and leader of the team who brought the Do-Dah Parade to Kalamazoo, as well as the WKMI Underdogs Basketball Charity Team and the B93 Birthday Bash, an event that still takes place annually. Bob retired in 2006 and, never one to sit still, began a new career as the publisher of Broker Agent Magazine.

Bob was an all-around sports enthusiast and participant. When he wasn’t out on the field or court himself, he was organizing family football or softball games, taking too many of his young children to area golf courses (and letting them loose on the carts), or coaching his sons in the Oakwood Little League while in Michigan and then Riverbank Little League and Modesto Teen Baseball in California. While this started as a way for him to spend time and share his love of baseball with his sons and stepsons, it continued well past when they had moved on from the program. Bob mentored and coached hundreds of Kalamazoo and Modesto-area youth and he regarded it as one of the highlights of his life.

An avid storyteller, the reason Circus Peanuts candy is still made, and continuously disappointed Minnesota Twins and Vikings fan, Bob was most proud of his family.

He is survived by his loving partner Sadhna Perez; his children, Deborah (Dan) Borre, Kathleen (Larry) Lowis, Michael (Laurie), and Casey (Zanna); his stepchildren Todd Schuster, Shawn Werner, Francisco (Malisa) and Richard (Lizett) Perez; his grandchildren, Jonathon (Allyson) Lowis, Jordan (Eric) Beery and Bailey (Macon) Boes, Ethan and Claire Borre, Ava Salmon, Taylor, Tristan, Teagan, Tahlia, and Tarynn Salmon, Marcus, Jessica, and Mikayla Perez, and Rachel and Julien Perez; four treasured great grandsons, Judah, Asher, and Silas Beery, and Shiloh Boes; his sister Ann Nichols; as well as nieces, nephews, and many other loving family members and friends.

Bob is preceded in death by his parents, Robert and LaVerne Salmon, and his brother and sister-in-law Stephen and Kay Salmon.

 Before I had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, I was a kid in San Diego with DJ dreams

 

Radio personality “Shotgun Tom Kelly” poses for a portrait at his home studio.

(Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

I once got to introduce President Ronald Reagan at a campaign rally in San Diego in 1984, later gave him one of my ranger hats, and in 2013 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

BY THOMAS IRWIN

MARCH 3, 2023 6:20 PM PT

Irwin, known as “Shotgun Tom Kelly,” is a longtime radio and television personality in Southern California and can be heard on SiriusXM 60s Gold(Channel 73) from 4 to 9 p.m. He is working on a book titled “All I Wanna Do is Play the Hits” and lives in San Diego County.

It’s been a more than a 50-year career, and it’s still going strong. I once got to introduce President Ronald Reagan at a campaign rally in San Diego in 1984, later gave him one of my ranger hats, and in 2013 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

I was born and raised in San Diego and have always been proud to say that San Diego is my hometown. As young as 10, my dream was to be on the air in the radio industry, and I was very fortunate to have my dream realized when I was just 16. I was attending Mount Miguel High School in Spring Valley, and I was the school’s announcer every morning on “The Morning Bulletin.”

 

“Shotgun Tom” Kelly visits with President Ronald Reagan in the oval office in the late 1980s

(Thomas Irwin )

Then, in 1966, I got my first on-air job at KPRI-FM playing standard music through a work-study program. At the time, FM was not the radio giant it is now. AM radio dominated the airwaves with stations like KCBQ and KGB-AM playing the hits, and that’s where I wanted to be, behind the microphone of a Top 40 radio station, playing those hits.

When I started, I needed a Federal Communications Commission first-class radiotelephone operator license to work at the big AM stations. So as soon as I graduated high school, I enrolled in the William B. Ogden Radio Operational Engineering School in Huntington Beach. I graduated from Ogden after six months with my first-class license, and I was on my way.

My first AM radio job was in Merced at KYOS-AM, then I worked at KACY-AM in Oxnard, and later, I was hired in Bakersfield at KAFY-AM.

It was in Bakersfield that I got a chance to host my first television kids show. I was “Nemo, the clown” every Saturday morning on KERO-TV, channel 23. I was in heaven. I was playing the hits and slowly making my way back to my hometown. One day, I got the nerve up to send an audition tape to Charlie Van Dyke, the program director of KGB-AM. He hired me for the 9 p.m. to midnight show. A year later, in 1971, I was the afternoon DJ at KCBQ-AM, at the same time I was asked to host “Word’s A Poppin,” a syndicated children’s game show on KGTV, channel 10. Now, I was working in two media industries, radio and television.

In the late 1970s, I worked at various radio stations in San Diego, including B100-FM and K-BEST 95, and in 1983 I began hosting the KUSI-TV “Kids Club.”

In the 1980s, Rep. Duncan Hunter reached out to me to voice his radio spots. He suggested that I present one of my ranger hats to then-President Ronald Reagan, and arranged for a presentation at the White House. It was an honor. President Reagan got up from the Resolute Desk, walked over and said, “Well, Shotgun, I hear you were the emcee in San Diego and kept the people entertained while they were waiting for me.”

I said, “Yes, Mr. President, and I bring you my ranger hat.” He put it on for a photo.

At that time, I started voicing radio and TV commercials. One of my commercial clients, Mad Jack’s, an electronics retailer, was selling a new piece of equipment, the Sony CD player. I was fascinated with the size of a compact disc and instantly wanted to replace all my dusty vinyl records. The player was portable, which was a new innovation. Of course, I immediately purchased one and installed one in my car.

In 1997, I got my big break and went to Hollywood at K Earth 101and succeeded one of my all-time radio heroes, “The Real” Don Steele.

I worked there for 20 years, and eventually was honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Stevie Wonder was one of my presenters during the event.

Working in Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to meet celebrities like Clint Eastwood, Regis Philbin, Vin Scully, Tom Jones, Elton John, Mike Love of the Beach Boys, John Stamos and many others. When I met Clint Eastwood, he knew who I was, and we talked about our favorite jazz DJ Chuck Niles. Regis Philbin and I talked about people we worked with at KFMB. To this day, Mike Love and I are good friends.

Now I work from a home studio and am on satellite radio. I am heard all around the world. I hope my Southern California listeners say, “Tom Irwin made good in San Diego and Hollywood.”

(Note:  Tom is a member of the Modesto Radio Museum, and for years was the station announcer, “The Voice” of the legendary Top-4o KFIV.)

*** To read the Museum’s tribute to Tom click here: “Quite a Ride, when you ride Shotgun.”  

***In his own voice, here are a few of Tom’s favorite radio memories: https://hollywoodandlevine.libsyn.com/ep142-meet-radio-star-shotgun-tom-kelly

Editor’s Note: This was part five in a series about local people connected to the early days of television.

When it comes to discussions about legendary figures in the history of local television, former TV anchor and reporter Stan Atkinson should always be in those conversations.
With a review of Stan’s awards alone, one can quickly gain an understanding that he was far from an average person in the field of journalism.

Stan was a three-time Emmy Award winner and a recipient of both the World Affairs Council Award of Excellence for International Reporting and the Sacramento Region Community Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award. And these are just some of the awards that he has received.

Last week, Stan sat down in his Arden area home to discuss his journalism career, which spanned nearly a half-century. But before presenting details about that time, he spoke about the pre-media portion of his life. “I was born (in San Diego) on Nov. 11, 1932,” Stan said. “I was a peace baby, a Veterans (Day) baby.” After being asked to speak about his parents, Stan said, “It’s a long story, because I was adopted. I was raised by the Atkinsons – Stan and Bess Atkinson.”

Although most Sacramento area residents remember Stan for his television days, the majority of those people are not familiar with his relatively brief time working in radio.
In speaking about his first experience in radio, Stan said, “I was the sports editor of my high school newspaper and they started doing a radio show on Friday afternoons. So, I would do the sports segment, and I enjoyed it so much I ended up doing most of the show. I really liked it. I hadn’t had any experience with radio other than to listen to it. I was a high school senior then and I thought, ‘Well, I really like this and maybe this is something I could do (for a living) and should do.’ So, I announced to my father (the eldest Stan Atkinson) that I didn’t want to go to college.

I wanted to go to a school that would get you a first-class (Federal Communications Commission) license. My father was very disappointed, disgusted maybe, because he wanted me to go onto college and he had ideas of me becoming a lawyer. In disgust, he said, ‘Okay, I’ll give you the $300 to go to school.’ And he said, ‘And that’s it; then you’re on your own.’ I said, ‘Okay, good deal.’ So, I went to school (at the William Ogden Radio Operational Engineering School) in Burbank Calif.). I got the first-class license with great difficulty.”
Stan explained that after earning his first-class license in 1951, he had many employment opportunities in radio.

“Gosh, there were 200 jobs out there all over the country for the 25 of us who were in the (Ogden) class,” Stan said. “You pretty much had your pick.”

After reviewing his options, Stan decided that he would like to work for a particular, Armed Forces radio-founded radio station in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

To Stan’s delight, the station, after reviewing his audition disc, offered him a job.

Stan lived a beautiful life, passing away in Sacramento in May, 2025, at age 92.

Bessie Pappas Grillos, 83, of Modesto, passed away on June 3, 2022, after battling Parkinson’s disease and dementia.
Bessie was born on April 4, 1939, in Hiawatha, Utah, to Nick and Mary Katsavrias, as was active in the Greek Orthodox Church all of her life.
Bessie met husband Pete Pappas at a church dance in Price, Utah. They were married in 1962 and had two (2) sons, Pete Pappas, Jr. and Mike Pappas. Always famous for her cooking, Bessie creating a warm, welcoming home for her family and countless friends. Bessie proved to be a dutiful wife and loving, caring mother.
As a broadcasting professional, Bessie was instrumental in helping husband Pete and his twin brother, Mike Pappas, build, manage and own radio stations in Las Vegas, Tulare and Modesto. Eventually, Pete and Mike, along with brother Harry J. Pappas, built and launched KMPH-TV in the Fresno-Visalia television market. At each location, Bessie was the unsung hero who helped manage the stations in the always-difficult but growing broadcast industry. Eventually, Bessie and Pete settled in Modesto and owned two (2) radio stations, KHOP-FM and KTRB-AM. In 1986, Pete suddenly passed away at almost 49-years old, leaving Bessie a young widow.
In 1998, Bessie married Steve Grillos, a retired CSU Stanislaus professor. They enjoyed travel, spending time with family and friends and serving their church community. Even in her later years, Bessie had a limitless supply of energy and was always active in her church’s Greek Food Festivals. Steve and Bessie shared 22 loving years together until his passing on February 9, 2021. Bessie finished her professional career working for Modesto City Schools and retired in 2011.
Bessie is survived by her sons, Pete Pappas, Jr. and Mike Pappas and his wife Katerina; grandchildren, Panayiota, Manolie and Yianni, all in Denver, CO; brother Gust Katsavrias (Sharon), Price, UT; sister-in-law Noula Pappas, Fresno CA; brother-in-law, Harry J. Pappas (Stella A. Pappas), Reno NV; and many nieces and nephews who all grieve the loss of their beloved Thea Bessie.
Trisagion services were held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at Salas Brothers Funeral Chapel, 419 Scenic Dr, Modesto, CA 95350.
Funeral services were held at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 313 Tokay Ave., Modesto, CA 95350. Interment at Lakewood Memorial Park, 900 Santa Fe Ave, Hughson, CA 95326.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church.

(The Radio Museum is grateful to Ron Underwood, former faculty member at Downey High School, and advisor to the school’s radio station, KDHS.   Here’s where this story begins:  Bob Pinheiro, Webmaster Emeritus of the Radio Museum, discovered a 1964 recording labeled “Knightime.” The program had audio about activities at Downey High.  They are the Knights.   We asked Ron for details.

He wrote back, and here is Ron’s backstory of “Knightime.”

“Yes, this program was called “Knightime.  It was a fifteen-minute program highlighting Downey High activities, athletics, and student talents.  The shows aired weekly on KBEE-AM 970.

They aired until 1972. (NOTE: 1972 was the year Ron Underwood transferred to Beyer High School.)
Interestingly, the program aired with the same title and the same format in the mid-1950s as well.  Downey Speech teacher Edna Spelts organized and produced those shows through the efforts of her Advanced Speech class.
I was a part of these shows then as a student!   Years later, when I returned to Downey as a teacher,  I told the class about “Knightime” and they seemed eager to revive the show.   So we did!

Furthermore, in the late 50s we added “Funny Paper Time” to our broadcasting efforts. This was a program where the students would read-with character voices and sound effects-from the Sunday comic section of The Modesto Bee.  Our version of the comics also aired on KBEE…..In the late 60s we changed the name to KCEY Comics as the shows were moved over to KCEY in Turlock.

P.S.   I sure do enjoy the Radio Museum web site.
I am looking forward to a visit to the new -in person- edition with one of my future trips to Modesto.

Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Ron Underwood”

Here is one of those programs.   We are happy to present “Knightime,”  from 1964, produced by the students of Downey High School, and heard on KBEE-AM 970:

One of the guests was Chuck Hughes, for many years, Coach of the Downey Football Knights.   The stadium is named after him.   KFIV-AM broadcast a number of their games.

Editors note:  This Modesto Bee article appeared on November 21st, 1968.  Later, Bee Photographer Al Golub added follow-up commentary. Special thanks to Al, a friend of the Museum, for permission to archive his story.

November 21, 1968

Wellesley Richard “Dick” Boynton was the news editor at KBEE AM, The Modesto Bee’s sister radio station. In November 1968, Dick volunteered to be my subject for a day-in-the-life-of-a-radio-reporter story. My goal was to improve my story-telling skills.

I asked Dick to just do his job and ignore me. We met at 6 a.m. at the Stanislaus County jail to get booking information.

Then we were  off to Modesto Police Department to read the police logs.

At MPD, we discovered a big story was unfolding.  Stanislaus County Superintendent of Schools Fred Beyer and his deputy Joseph Howard had died the night before in a plane crash coming back from Fresno.

Making images was easy under these circumstances: I just followed Dick as he worked. I moved in and out while Dick ignored me, just as I had asked. When he finally sat down to write copy, he talked aloud and banged away on his typewriter. Next thing I knew, he was on the air broadcasting the news.

Boynton worked as the news editor for KBEE for nearly a decade under managers Roy Swanson and Ed Boyle. Earlier in his career, his deep, resonant voice was heard on the airwaves at KWG in Stockton. Boynton had also worked as a newsman for radio stations in Salinas and San Diego. Among racing fans, Dick was known as a winning driver of dragsters and super-stock cars.