L. L. Hilliard

CLASS OF 1972 L.L “Les” Hilliard was the founder and president of KOLT Radio in Scottsbluff. He was born in Illinois and graduated from Iowa State University in 1925.  He traveled all over Nebraska in sales and settled in Scottsbluff where he took a job selling GE household appliances.  While there, one of his radio […]

Lyle DeMoss

CLASS OF 1972 Lyle DeMoss was a popular air personality on KFAB Lincoln (the station didn’t move to Omaha until 1947), WOW Omaha, and later KBON/KLNG in Omaha.  DeMoss became interested in radio while in high school in 1923, often stopping at a friend’s house on his way home to announce and sing over his pal’s […]

Richard Chapin

CLASS OF 1972 Richard W. Chapin got his start in broadcasting in March, 1953, joining radio station KFOR as an Account Executive,.  By September he was named General Sales Manager and the following year was named General Manager of KFOR Radio and Television. In 1958, he was elected Vice President of Stuart Investment Company, the Parent […]

Ralph Beaudin

CLASS OF 1972 The life of Ralph W. Beaudin was marked by the undeniable impact he made on both the broadcasting industry and the lives he touched along the way. A native of Omaha, Mr. Beaudin served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1945-1951 before returning to Omaha embarking on his career in radio. He […]

Charles Arnot

CLASS OF 1972 Charles P. Arnot was born in Scribner, Nebraska and lived in Fremont where he later graduated from Midland Luthern College.   Arnot began his foreign reporting career with United Press International wire service covering the Pacific theater in World War II.  He saw plenty of battles and watched the sinking of the U.S.S. […]

John Gillin, Jr.

CLASS OF 1973 John J. Gillin, Jr. was in broadcasting for more than a quarter of a century, much of that as point man for WOW where he rose from announcer to president. Gillin had landed his first commercial radio job in Chicago just two years before coming to Omaha. He joined WOW in 1929 […]

Frank Fogarty

CLASS OF 1974 Long-time general manager of Omaha stations WOW (AM590), WOW-FM, and WOW-TV (Channel 6), Frank Fogarty also headed the broadcasting division of the Meredith Corporation. Fogarty took over WOW’s management reins in August 1950 succeeding the late John Gillin, soon rising to VP of Meredith Broadcasting in the coming years. He was president […]

A. James Ebel

CLASS OF 1974 A. James Ebel, a Nebraska broadcasting pioneer, was vice president and general manager of Fetzer Broadcasting’s KOLN/KGIN-TV from 1954 to 1985. He entered broadcast management by way of engineering with a Masters Degree in engineering from the University of Illinois, where he was also on the faculty.  An enthusiastic friend and benefactor […]

Howard Shuman

CLASS OF 1975 Howard Shuman was quite familiar with radio by the time he became a partner at KFOR David City in 1924. He built his first transmitter in 1914. He was instrumental in moving KFOR to Lincoln in 1926 and the following year he bought full control of the station. He sold KFOR in […]

Lyell Bremser

CLASS OF 1975 A native Iowan and University of Nebraska alumnus, Lyell Bremser was associated with KFAB from 1939 until his retirement in 1984 when he was Vice-President and General Manager.  He did play-by-play broadcasts for the University of Nebraska football games every season from 1939 until his retirement.  In the 1940s besides Husker football, […]