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Thomps2525
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The man who at one time called himself Earl the Pearl died on March 26 at age 85. I pieced together this obituary from six different sources. Earl's e-mail was posted on Don Barrett's LARadio.com site.
Earl McDaniel Announces His Death
"I died today." That is the first sentence of a March 26 e-mail from former KFWB DJ Earl McDaniel. The e-mail continued with this parenthetical note: "I typed this earlier so that all Kathy, my daughter, had to do was type in the date and hit the " 'send' button. Isn't modern technology marvelous?" After declaring that he will be cremated and does not want a funeral or flowers, McDaniel thanked his many friends for sharing their lives with him and giving him good times and good memories, He concluded with, "If I were to have an epitaph, it would be, 'Earl McDaniel. From 1928 to 2014, he lived.'"
McDaniel jocked at early top-40 station KPOP from 1953 to 1958. He is believed to be the first DJ to play play The Chipmunk Song. Unfortunately, he was fired for playing the song twice an hour, against the wishes of the station owner. McDaniel then briefly worked as program director at KLAC before spending three years at KDAY. He was the first DJ to host record hops and dance programs on Los Angeles television. He was sent by RCA to Las Vegas to present Elvis Presley with a gold record for Heartbreak Hotel. From 1961 to 1963 he was at Crowell-Collier's KFWB, then moved to sister station KEWB in San Francisco, where he hired Robert W. Morgan and the Real Don Steele, both of whom would come to KHJ in 1965. In the mid-1960s, McDaniel was a sports anchor at Cecil Heftel's KFMB in San Diego, then for 20 years worked at Heftel's KGMB in Honolulu, first as program director and then as manager. He also programmed adult contemporary KSSK. During most of those years, KGMB morning man Aku (J. Akuhead Pupule) garnered more than 50% of the listening audience. After Aku's death, McDaniel promoted the new morning team of Larry Price and Michael Perry by giving away $1,000,000 in a contest. He then became president of Heftel Broadcasting and helped program WLUP in Chicago, KQV in Pittsburgh, and KTNQ in Los Angeles (the former KPOP, where he began his career). McDaniel lived his life by the credo, "Whatever you did yesterday doesn't count. It's the future that counts."
Earl McDaniel Announces His Death
"I died today." That is the first sentence of a March 26 e-mail from former KFWB DJ Earl McDaniel. The e-mail continued with this parenthetical note: "I typed this earlier so that all Kathy, my daughter, had to do was type in the date and hit the " 'send' button. Isn't modern technology marvelous?" After declaring that he will be cremated and does not want a funeral or flowers, McDaniel thanked his many friends for sharing their lives with him and giving him good times and good memories, He concluded with, "If I were to have an epitaph, it would be, 'Earl McDaniel. From 1928 to 2014, he lived.'"
McDaniel jocked at early top-40 station KPOP from 1953 to 1958. He is believed to be the first DJ to play play The Chipmunk Song. Unfortunately, he was fired for playing the song twice an hour, against the wishes of the station owner. McDaniel then briefly worked as program director at KLAC before spending three years at KDAY. He was the first DJ to host record hops and dance programs on Los Angeles television. He was sent by RCA to Las Vegas to present Elvis Presley with a gold record for Heartbreak Hotel. From 1961 to 1963 he was at Crowell-Collier's KFWB, then moved to sister station KEWB in San Francisco, where he hired Robert W. Morgan and the Real Don Steele, both of whom would come to KHJ in 1965. In the mid-1960s, McDaniel was a sports anchor at Cecil Heftel's KFMB in San Diego, then for 20 years worked at Heftel's KGMB in Honolulu, first as program director and then as manager. He also programmed adult contemporary KSSK. During most of those years, KGMB morning man Aku (J. Akuhead Pupule) garnered more than 50% of the listening audience. After Aku's death, McDaniel promoted the new morning team of Larry Price and Michael Perry by giving away $1,000,000 in a contest. He then became president of Heftel Broadcasting and helped program WLUP in Chicago, KQV in Pittsburgh, and KTNQ in Los Angeles (the former KPOP, where he began his career). McDaniel lived his life by the credo, "Whatever you did yesterday doesn't count. It's the future that counts."
