Bernie Allen

Allen was born Bernard Hallenberg in Chicago and his parents divorced when he was young. He spent half his childhood with his mother, who owned a dance studio in southern California, and the other half with his father on Chicago's North Side.

He performed with his mother's dance troupe, and worked as a child actor in Hollywood on the “Our Gang” comedy series in the 1930s and in radio as a regular on “Screen Guild Theater” and the “Jack Armstrong” series.

Upon returning to Chicago, he got his start in radio while attending Loyola Academy and working part-time on-air for a station operated by the Chicago Board of Education. He then joined the Army, and served as a disc jockey for a radio station based at Fort McPherson in Georgia during the Korean War.

In the mid-1950s, Allen adopted his radio name Bernie Allen and landed a job with WIND-AM 560, and later with WJJD, before joining WLS as its midday host in 1963. During that time, WLS led the ratings for young adults in Chicago and was the No. 1 station in the midday, afternoon and evening time slots.

Here is Bernie at WLS on December 30, 1967 [ LISTEN ] (12:24)

Working at WLS-AM 890 in the 1960s, Allen spun the hits during the golden era of the then-powerhouse rock-and-pop music station known as "The Bright Sound of Chicago Radio."

Allen was part of the WLS crew at Comiskey Park in August 1965 as The Beatles performed before thousands of screaming fans.

"Bernie and I were just a few feet from the band and it was like standing behind a jet engine," said former Chicago disc jockey Clark Weber, who worked the morning shift at WLS and had introduced The Beatles to the crowd. "One of us, I can't remember who, put our hand up and we actually saw sound vibrations rippling through the fingers. It was incredible!"

Over the course of the next few decades, Allen could be heard on numerous other Chicago radio stations, including WJJD-AM, WCLR-FM, WLAK-FM and WCFL-AM.

Bernie was old-school radio — kinder and more soft-spoken. He came up in the era of Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra, and he was much more polished. Those who followed after him were louder, much more brash and rock 'n' roll.

Throughout his decades long career, Allen hosted dozens of station-sponsored sock hops and did on-air interviews with many of the top rock 'n' roll and pop bands of the time, including The Buckinghams, Herman's Hermits and Paul Revere and the Raiders.

His wife, Tommasa, was a professional singer who performed under the stage name Tommie Cane. The two met when he attended one of her shows at the now-shuttered Mister Kelly's, a popular nightclub on Rush Street. She died in 1999.

By the late 1960s, Allen had been moved to weekends. He stayed with WLS through 1971 before moving on to on-air jobs at WCLR, WLAK and WCFL. In 1983, he rejoined WJJD, where he worked for six more years, before retiring in 1990.

Bernie passed away on November 16, 2015 of pulmonary fibrosis at 86. He was survived by two children and two grandchildren.

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Russ Knight

Russell Lee Moore, aka Russ Knight aka “The Weird Beard,” was born

Russ was a radio personality at many stations throughout the United States, but his most memorable stints were as The Weird Beard on KLIF in Dallas and KILT in Houston, Texas. At KLIF, he was the self-proclaimed "savior of Dallas radio", and at KILT, he introduced The Beatles to Houston in 1965. Listeners could expect to hear the latest from British invasion bands such as the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds and Them. He later went on to program the "Make Believe Ballroom" with William B. Williams at WNEW in New York City, and was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2003.

While on the radio, his wit, humor, and compassion enhanced any city or town he worked in. He loved New York City and music, especially The Bee Gees, and disco-era music always got him up and dancing. Russ loved the Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys. His greatest joys were his sons and grandchildren, and his two cats, Jasper and Pavarotti. He loved animals, and his friends referred to him as St. Francis of Assissi.

Here's Russ on a partially scoped aircheck at KILT in Houston, Texas on June 14, 1965. [ LISTEN ] (44:02)

Russ Knight helped British DJ John Peel get a job at KLIF in the 60's when Knight, described by Peel as "a beefy college grad with a Masters degree who found himself holding down the seven to midnight show...", would talk about The Beatles and would fudge about his knowledge of Liverpool. Peel heard this and called him at the station to take him to task. Knight inquired if he was from Liverpool and "for all intents and purposes" he said yes.

After a meeting with Peel, Russ decided to make him their "expert" on all things Liverpool and The Beatles and Peel, who then used his real surname Ravenscroft, became the "Man on the Street" giving KLIF listeners the info on what was going on with the Beatles. Peel described Russ Knight as one of the great broadcasters.

In the 60's after John F. Kennedy died, FBI investigators interviewed Russ because of his relationship with Jack Ruby, who assassinated Lee Harvey Oswald, the prime suspect in Kennedy's assassination. Agents found Knight's personal phone numbers in Ruby's possession.

Russ passed away on Friday, October 12, 2012.

He was survived by his wife, Roseann, his sons Stephen and Richard, from his previous marriage to the former JoBeth Garrett, his stepsons, Jason and Brandon, and his numerous grandchildren.

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John Mack Flanagan

John Mack Flanagan was born on November 15, 1946 in Concordia, Kansas and named after Johnny “Mack” Brown, who was in cowboy movies. Flanagan’s dad was a prosperous car dealer who died young, and Flanagan’s mother moved him to Roswell, N.M. At South Junior High, he met Joann Shields in the hallway, and by the time they reached Roswell High School they were a couple for life. In summer 1964, after his junior year, Flanagan was hired as an on-air host by KRSY, a local country-western station. That was the end of his interest in school, and by graduation he was working full time. Always in a hurry, he and Shields eloped.

While working at KRSY he was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War. He carried a tape recorder and interviewed his fellow foot soldiers on dangerous search-and-destroy missions, for later broadcast back home.

On the air, his full name was rhythmic and a better handle than most made-up radio names. But Flanagan could never stand being called Johnnie, so he shortened it by one syllable. From the start it was John Mack Flanagan.

On March 31, 1968, as President Lyndon Johnson was telling the nation that he would not seek re-election to concentrate on ending the war, Flanagan was flying to Vietnam to begin his tour in-country. His radio interviews were sent to hometown stations, and Flanagan did enough of them to earn the Army Commendation Medal.

After his discharge, he moved to Tucson to work in Top 40. He was working at a Phoenix station when KFRC recruited him. Flanagan was on the air at KFRC from 1973 to 1979. His show followed the famed Dr. Don Rose, who did the morning drive. Rose was hyper with gags and wake-up calls. The voice that followed him was deep and smooth while still energetic enough for AM.

Flanagan makes a special guest appearance on Boss Radio KHJ in Los Angeles on August 16, 1975. [ LISTEN ] (31:25)

John Mack is the featured DJ on these two airchecks at KFRC in San Francisco, first on January 17, 1977 [ LISTEN ] (57:14) and again on February 1, 1978. [ LISTEN ] (11:19)

But KFRC was going to reward only one hero, and that was Rose. Flanagan was never paid more than the union minimum of around $30,000. When he heard that Rose was paid $300,000, Flanagan protested loudly. He was offered a raise, but it was too little and too late, so he quit KFRC.

John (front) with the bunkhouse boys at the Banta Inn.

He built a studio in his Daly City home and did commercials and voice-overs before returning to the airwaves, where he bounced around through the 1980s and ’90s.

His last big break came when KABL-FM became “K-BIG 98.1” playing classic hits from the ’70s. Flanagan was hired as one of the first and most prominent DJs. At one point, his ratings nearly topped the market leader, KGO, in the time slot. That job lasted until the format was switched.

After one final short stint at a station in Santa Rosa, he retired from radio in 2000. He got a job in security, wearing a suit and working the front desk at the Embarcadero Center. He lasted there 14 years, longer than he was at any radio station.

After retiring in 2014, Flanagan self-published a memoir entitled “Tight & Bright: A Diskjockey Vietnam Memoir.” He also became interested in B Western movies, like the cowboy actor he was named for. He started a newsletter and built a film collection of 1,000 Westerns.

In 2016, he was inducted into the National Disc Jockey Hall of Fame. He chose to give his induction speech at a senior center in Daly City. There, in a room used for sewing classes, Flanagan described his induction as “the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ve never had any recognition in my 36-year-and-two-month career. Nobody’s ever said, ‘Hey, it’s you.’”

One year later he was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame. By then he’d been suffering for years from a heart condition, and his doctor had given him only weeks to live.

Flanagan died in his sleep at home in Daly City on March 31, 2018, with his wife of 53 years, Joann Flanagan, by his side. He was 71.

Some materials found on this page were originally published by the following: Bay Area Radio Museum

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