Itinerary: Radio Free Los Angeles
A mere 80 years ago, radio was cutting-edge technology. Nowadays we take radios for granted--as alarms on our clocks, warning us about traffic in our cars, exposing us to the latest in music and news. Still, radio is everywhere in L.A., where more than 30 stations thrive.
Friday
Sometime between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. a drive-by of Premiere Radio Networks (15260 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks) is in order. Inside, Laura Schlessinger, the reigning queen of syndicated radio shows, will be dishing out her harsh brand of get-it-together advice to more than 15 million listeners of her “Dr. Laura” show. Locally, you can hear a live portion of her show from noon to 2 p.m. on KFI-AM (640). From 2 p.m.-3 p.m., the station replays her first hour.
Saturday Morning
If the air is clear, nothing beats a hike up around Mt. Wilson, where the radio towers for nearly every FM station in the region loom over Los Angeles County. Depending on how ambitious you feel, you can just drive to the summit via Mt. Wilson Road and take a walk along Sturtevant Trail to the east of Skyline Park. Those with more time--and energy--might want to retrace the old Mt. Wilson Toll Road, starting in the 2200 block of Pinecrest Drive in Altadena. It’s three miles one-way to the picnic area at Henninger Flats, and nine miles each way if you want to go all the way to the peak of Mt. Wilson. Careful: Snow is likely this time of year.
Saturday Afternoon
Pay tribute to one of the pioneers of radio in America, Gene Autry, with a visit to the Autry Museum of Western Heritage. Autry, who died Oct. 2, was already a film and recording star when he was offered a radio show on CBS in 1940. “The Melody Ranch Show” ran for 16 years. Later, when the cowboy singer put his energies into business, he owned the majority stock in Golden West Broadcasters, which owned nine radio stations along the West Coast. Currently in the Spirit of Imagination Gallery of the Autry Museum is an exhibit tracing Autry’s remarkable career.
Then, consider a trip to Hollywood Boulevard to find Autry’s five--yes, five--stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Among dozens of radio stars honored there, as well, are Ray Briem, “The Real” Don Steele, Rick Dees, Charlie Tuna and Jaime Jarrin.
Sunday
Make a stop by the Museum of Television and Radio (465 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills. Wednesday to Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Open until 9 p.m. on Thursdays. Suggested donation $6 adults; $4 students; $3 children under 13), which houses more than 27,000 radio programs. Visitors can listen to any program at private consoles, including H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds,” Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first “Fireside Chat” and Abbott and Costello’s performance of the “Who’s on First?” skit on the “The Camel Show.” Or, the radio listening room features continual broadcasts on five channels, including Armed Forces Radio, great music conductors, interviews, a documentary on Miles Davis and radio shows that eventually moved to TV.
Cap off everything with the live taping of “This American Life” at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus. (Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $21.50. [310] 825-2101.) Chicago-based host Ira Glass (see “Around the Dial,” Page 25) will produce the show live, on stage with Dan Savage, a syndicated sex columnist; David Rakoff, a correspondent for Outside magazine; Sarah Vowell, contributing editor for This American Life; and L.A.’s own writer-performer-raconteur Sandra Tsing Loh.
If you miss it, the show will be aired on KCRW-FM (89.9) on Dec. 26 at 10 a.m. and Jan. 2 at 6 p.m.