Pacific Pioneers Honor Fellow Pioneer
• We respectfully tip our (ranger) hat to our pal “Shotgun Tom” Kelly, the recently elected President of the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters, who worked tirelessly to assemble quite the ambitious tribute to legendary broadcaster Art Laboe on Feb. 1. Due to a recent fire at the organization’s usual venue, the Sportsman’s Lodge, the event was quickly relocated to Airtel Plaza Hotel in scenic Van Nuys, and attracted a capacity crowd of over 300 people and featured a who’s-who of L.A. radio and entertainment big shots, like Rick Dees, Wink Martindale, actor/comedian Paul Rodriguez, Mary Beth Garber (former President of theSouthern California Broadcasters Association) and RAMP‘s Steve Resnik, to name but a few.
The legendary Johnny Mathis and actor/restaurateur Danny Trejo, who were unable to attend, sent personal video tributes honoring Laboe. Former Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge made a surprise appearance to pay his respects, and Shotgun Tom surprised Art with an updated version of his Hollywood Walk of Fame Star plaque. L.A radio veteran Jhani Kaye, who now operates a successful video production company, generously produced this terrific video tribute to Art.
During his turn paying tribute to Art, Dees offered up what many thought was the best line of the day when he said, “How rare it is to have a radio performer’s age and body temperature be the same.” That’s Art in front, surrounded by (l-r): Tom LaBonge, Mary Beth Garber, Rick Dees, Shotgun Tom Kelly, Wink Martindale, Romeo and Paul Rodriguez. [Special thanks to Shotgun Tom!]
