Don Sherwood (disc jockey)

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Don Sherwood (September 7, 1925 - November 6, 1983) was a very popular San Francisco disc jockey during the 1950s and 1960s. Billed as "The World's Greatest Disc Jockey," Sherwood spent most of his career hosting a 6 to 9 a.m. weekday program on KSFO in San Francisco (560 kHz, 5000 watts), which was then owned by the singing cowboy actor Gene Autry. Sherwood did more than play recordings on his broadcasts; he made fun of the commercials, used sound effects (with the help of a talented engineer named Charlie Smith), and presented a number of regular comic features including "Just Plain Rosita," in which he pretended to translate the story of a Spanish language radio soap opera. He also was the star of a long-running spoof on super heroes called "Super Frog," which relied on music and sound effects. He had a number of sidekicks over the years, including newsman Aaron Edwards and fellow disc jockey Carter B. Smith. Hap Harper provided pioneering traffic reports during Sherwood's programs. Whenever Sherwood did play recordings, he deliberately avoided rock music, which he detested; instead, he played his favorite "easy listening" singers such as Wayne Newton, Johnny Mathis, and Carmen MacRae. Emphysema, probably caused by his chain smoking, shortened his career and life.

[edit] Biography

Born Daniel Sherwood Cohelan in San Francisco, Sherwood served briefly in the Canadian Tank Corp (lying about his real age - 16), then enrolled in a radio class at Samuel Gompers School. He then joined the Merchant Marine. When he returned to San Francisco in 1944, his deep, resonant voice led to a job as announcer at KFRC, when Sherwood was only 19 years old. The job ended and Sherwood was unemployed until he was hired by KQW, which was renamed KCBS in 1949, serving as an announcer and playing recordings. After being fired by KCBS on May 29, 1949, Sherwood worked at KROW in Oakland, California. Then, in 1953, he was hired by KSFO and remained there for three years. In 1956, he worked at KYA, then returned to KSFO the following year. He remained primarily at KSFO until 1969.

Beginning January 15, 1955, Sherwood also hosted a late night local show, titled "San Francisco Tonight," on KGO-TV (Channel 7) in San Francisco. He even had his own orchestra. The station, owned and operated by ABC, wanted Sherwood simply to interview visiting entertainers and other celebrities and avoid politics or other controversial subjects. However, Sherwood became concerned about the federal government's treatment of the Navajo tribe. Management warned Sherwood not to discuss his concerns on the program and, he when he went ahead anyway, they cut off his program and promptly fired him.

Later, when KTVU (Channel 2) in Oakland, California began broadcasting from studios in Jack London Square (in 1958), they invited Sherwood to host a similar program on their station. Although Sherwood was given considerably more freedom, he soon grew tired of the demands of hosting a late night telecast and still getting up early the next morning to do his morning broadcast on KSFO.

Sherwood had left the San Francisco Bay Area in 1957 to be considered as a possible NBC host in Chicago, only to become homesick and return to San Francisco. He also moved to Honolulu and worked as an announcer there, before again deciding to return to the Bay Area. His final stint at KSFO was in 1975. Listeners generally thought he had lost much of humor and creative imagination in his later broadcasts.

Worsening health led him to spend much of his later years traveling or on a house boat in Sausalito, California.

His life has been chronicled in The Life and Times of the World's Greatest Disc Jockey by Laurie Harper, the wife of former Sherwood colleague Hap Harper (published in 1989 by Prima Publishing & Communications, Rocklin, Californa).

[edit] Sherwood's Stations

KCBS, where Sherwood began his career, is a news and information station. KROW in Oakland no longer exists. KSFO, where Sherwood spent much of his life, is now an all-talk station.

[edit] Sources

• Donnie Babe website
• Bay Area broadcasting websites
• Eyewitness accounts
• Interviews
• San Francisco Chronicle archives