By Wyatt Newman
No one could ever claim that Spokane is a BIG city, big enough to be considered a major TV market. Well, maybe, if you want to stretch the definition of "major TV market" to mean the "Heart of the Inland Empire," as one station claimed itself to be located in, it might qualify by marketing standards. I think it was KHQ, the station that had the bouncy jingle..."KHQ is first, first with the news," that dubbed itself the voice for the Inland Empire. The Inland Empire might be large in geographical size, encompassing all of eastern Washington, the Idaho Panhandle and Montana on the western side of the Rockies, but tain't many folks in them there parts to qualify for empiredom. But here I am, digressing before I even get started.
There were some interesting people to see on the old black and white screens in the I.E. Perhaps "corny" would be more fitting for some. But they were Spokanies, no doubt about it, and we were all proud to be in a city with its own TV stations with its own TV personalities...right? OK, maybe not, but I'll report, you decide.
Remember one of the first local TV personalities, Spokane's own singing cowboy, Cliff Carl? He wore those really fancy rodeo-cowboy shirts, with properly knotted neckerchief, had the 1950s longish hair with the BIG wave, ala Ronald Reagan style. His theme song, which I thought until my rogers60.com partner, the knowledgeable and memory-powered Ed Mauget, that the song words were, "Simmer on, roll on," that he would sign off with in his 15 minute nightly show. But Memory-Master Ed informed me that it was "Cimmaron," not "simmer on." That makes sense. Never really stopped to think why a cowboy would sing "simmer on, roll on." Ed also refreshed me on Cliff's sidekick, Curly. I remember the name, but I guess he's not on my "unforgettable personalities" list. While I watched Cliff nightly, pre high school years when TV was still new, I would classify him as one of the TV cornies.
Remember the other local singer, Somebody Crosby? His theme song was "With a Song in My Heart." He also had a 15 minute show. Corny. Not quite in the same category as a better-known singer he was reputed to be related to Bing, or even Phil...but he was a Spokane original, nevertheless, just like the famous Bing. His daughter, Karen, was in my Logan classes. He sang "Stout-hearted Men" at our 8th grade graduation ceremony...much to Karen's embarrassment. Even at the time, I wondered why someone would sing to a bunch of 8th graders a song about "stout-hearted men," unless he was preparing us guys well in advance to go into the Army. Maybe it worked. I did. But didn't all of us guys face that possibility in the draft age? Maybe my dad requested the song. It was one of his favorites that he would sing himself, so I knew he had to be pleased that at least something about our graduation ceremony would be entertaining. Unlikely, though. A mere happenstance.
How about that KREM weatherman, "Hayhead" Ray Ramsey? TV weathermen are either the only dull and stiff news deliverers on TV, or they're the zaniest. Hayhead was the latter. He was always introduced with an announcement, "Hey, Hayhead? How's the weather?"
"Front Page News, with Bob Briley." Remember that newscast on KHQ? In my mind I seem to have a picture that Briley looked like Edward R. Murrow. Same dark hair.
And then there was the oft-watched Saturday night favorite, "Starlight Stairway," with the cute, some might say "lovely," but still somewhat snobby and aloof, Boyle Twins. It was live! It was rumored that they came into Spokane to the KXLY studio from Newman Lake every Saturday night to sing, "When you need coal or oil, call Boyle. For every heating problem be your furnace old or new, just call the Boyle Fuel Company and they'll solve it all for you. When you need coal or oil, call Boyle. Fairfax 6----." I might have forgotten Cliff Carl's partner and misunderstood the words to his theme song, but there's not forgetting the Twins and the Boyle Fuel jingle. I don't forget jingles...they stick in my memory bank without fail. Forgot the phone number, though, even though one twin would give it, followed by the other.
I watched those two girls grow up along with me. Never had a TV viewer's crush on them, though. They just didn't have the personas to qualify as "it" girls. As long as their career was pitching coal and oil for Boyle, that was probably it. By-the-way, what were their names?
- Wyatt Newman