WDAF Kansas City, Mo.
1947-65

Paying Dues: "Are your hogs diseased?"

Walt started as a staff announcer on WDAF-AM radio in 1946, which meant wearing many hats.

His first assignment was as co-host of an early morning shift with fellow announcer Al Christy.

The theme music of our program was “Syncopated Swing,” but that was about as swinging as it got. For the most part, our show was aimed at farm audience. I wondered about all the city dwellers at their breakfast tables, ready to take a bite of sausage, when I’d come on with this line: “Friends, are your hogs diseased?”
(My Times, My Town)

Walt also appeared on "Moonbeams," a nighttime program where the announcer read poetry accompanied by a live orchestra. One significant complication was that the announcer and the orchestra leader were in different rooms and had no way of communicating with each other.

Once the music started the announcer quickly had to find a poem to fit the mood. Usually this arrangement worked. Sometimes it didn’t. One Halloween night, I was reading Edgar Allen Poe’s “the Raven,” and the orchestra began with a somber selection. When I was only about halfway through the poem, the orchestra switched to the sprightlier “Minuet in G.” All I could do was finish as quickly as possible.
(My Times, My Town)

In this clip from 1950, Walt introduced Joe Reichman, a pianist who was billed as “The Pagliacci of the Piano.”

Listen: Walt introduces Joe Reichman
Courtesy Marr Sound Archive

After paying his dues with these assignments, Walt eventually moved where he really wanted to be: the newsroom.