Radio AM to FM

Radio AM to FM: October 18, 2002

Lohman passes

Radio lost another good one last Sunday as Al Lohman passed away due to cancer of the stomach and bladder. He was 69.

Half of one of the most successful morning teams in the history Los Angeles radio, Lohman got paired with his partner of 23 years, Roger Barkley, back in 1963 at KLAC (570 AM). Originally, the pair thought the show would buy them some time while they looked for new jobs, as KLAC had new owners at the time and programmer Barkley thought they were on the way out. As it turned out, they became one of the most beloved teams in Los Angeles.

They left KLAC in 1967 before moving to KFWB (980 AM) for about a year. When KFWB dropped music for news in 1968, the duo moved to KFI, where they had an amazingly successful run until they split up in 1986. Listeners to KFI back when the station was a West Coast entertainment leader might remember some of their bits, including the ongoing improvisational soap opera spoof, Light of my Life.

Their humor was gentle, yet creative. Similar in many respects to Bob and Ray, Lohman and Barkley appeared on CBS television's Ed Sullivan Show, were the last act booked into Hollywood's Coconut Grove, hosted a variety show on KNBC-TV Channel 4, hosted a game show called Namedroppers on NBC-TV, and had numerous albums released of their radio bits.

None of their on-air bits were planned or scripted, proving that as a team, they were among the best. They knew each other inside and out. Perhaps that's why they split up in 1986 ... they just knew each other too well, and had to take a breather. Partner Barkley alluded to that when I interviewed him about ten years ago.

After the split, Lohman went on to work mornings with Bob Hudson on the original KRLA (1110 AM), host afternoons on Simi Valley's KWNK (670 AM), teamed with Gary Owens on KFI for a couple years, and most recently woke up Palm Springs at KCMJ while living in Rancho Mirage.

Lohman is survived by his wife and two children.

Summer Ratings

Power 106, KROQ (106.7 FM), KIIS (102.7 FM) and KFI (640 AM) were the big winners in the Summer Arbitron Ratings released this week, coming in 1st through 4th place respectively ... and with only 0.6 separating 1st and 4th.

Executives from the three megacorps that control radio all put a spin on their own stations, and each can claim success in numerous ways. Yet it doesn't matter in the long run, since I am running out of space.

The full story: each rating is an estimate of the percentage of people aged 12 and over tuned to a station between the hours of 6 am and 12 midnight.

1. KPWR (5.1) 2. KROQ (4.9) 3. KIIS/KAVS (4.8) 4. KFI (4.5) 5. KTWV (3.6) 6. KOST (3.4) 7. KKBT (3.3) 8. KRTH, KSCA (3.2) 10. KLVE (3.0)

11. KBUA/KBUE (2.9) 12. KLOS (2.7) 13. KYSR (2.6) 14. KABC, KHHT (2.5) 16. KCBS-FM, KZLA (2.4) 18. KLAX, KLSX (2.3) 20. KBIG (2.2)

21. KNX (2.1) 22. KMZT (2.0) 23. KXOL (1.9) 24. KFWB, KRCD/KRCV (1.6) 26. KJLH (1.5) 27. KSSC/KSSD/KSSE (1.2) 28 KLAC, KLYY (1.1) 30. KWIZ (1.0)

31. KLTX (0.9) 32. KBLA (0.8) 33. KFSH, KHJ, KRLA, KXTA (0.7) 37. KKLA, KWVE (0.6) 39. KGGI, KWKW (0.5)

41. KMXN, KOLA, KSUR/XSUR, KTNQ (0.4) 45. KFRG, XTRA (0.3)

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