Kevin (o'brien) metheny is gone

This is probably meaningless to almost everyone left on this board these days....but a talent known for having his "chops" at the age of 17 left us yesterday afternoon. He was hired by Pat O. to be night jock @ KJR in its hey-day of ruling Seattle...and Kevin went on to programming some of the most impressive stations in the country. He was in the process of righting the ship @ KGO/KSFO San Francisco when his heart attack hit.

Some of you may even know his fame from the Howard Stern ("Private Parts") movie where, while under his leadership as PD of WNBC/New York, he and Howard tussled over things that Kevin later said he wished he had "known better". Who HASN'T had those moments?

Anyway...for the older-folk "lurkers" who may not have heard yet....I offer this brief summary.
Kevin was even in our "Old Farts" club, which meets annually to celebrate the days of radio which I will call "different". I seem to get in trouble around here when I refer to them as "better".

Metheny did a lot of good in radio, and you're spot on that he was righting the ship in San Francisco. It's a shame he didn't get a chance to see fruits of his labor.

He was perfect on KJR for the night slot. Not too slick, not great with the one-liners, but very relatable to 18 year old kids, because he was not far from that age himself. Yet he still offered that "KJR sound", which is hard to describe to anyone who did not grow up in the market. (off the radar, off the usual jock patterns, off the beaten and well-worn path, I guess I can't think of anymore "offs" at this point), but someone taught him to get his bad self out in public and he did, visiting schools frequently. I remember him addressing an assembly at Nathan Eckstein Jr. High (or Middle. circa 1973) They were transitioning at the time, and I think Kevin even made a joke about that! He was great as us 13 years olds valued every word he said. He was friendly, open, and of course, answered a lot of questions. Will never forget and was transitional in making me want to get into his business.

Thanks to Littleboyblue for starting this new thread and pushing aside Fred Leonard's "Kevin Metheny - Pig Vomit" headline. Yeah, I know that was Stern's nickname for him, but having that title on the forum index runs against the "Respect the deceased" heading that appears on every page here, both in content and spirit.

Kevin O'Brian and Burl Barer on KJR Seattle

worked with Kevin at KJR -- although first we were opposit each other with me at KOL and Kevin at KJR, and then I was hired by KJR and we worked together. The last time we were together was on the air for the KJR reunion. You can hear us together on this aircheck

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1042825645419