Veteran broadcaster
Howard Clark, who settled
in Shreveport after a
career that spanned from
coast to coast, died early
today after a sudden bout
with lung cancer. He was
70.
"Howard was only
diagnosed a week ago,"
said friend and fellow
broadcaster Dani Coates,
who until recently worked
with Cumulus in
Shreveport.
Stations Clark worked
at in a career that
covered the better part of
five decades ranged from
WKY in Oklahoma City, WTIX
in New Orleans and KFRC
and KYA in San Francisco
to WWDJ in Hackensack,
N.J. and a large handful
of Shreveport stations,
including KVKI, KEEL/KITT/KVKI,
KSYR and KLKL.
Clark retired from
broadcasting in 2006,
telling friends "it was a
fun ride but it's time to
do nothing and enjoy Lake
Highland in Louisiana."
Clark was one of the first
broadcasters to put the
new breed of psychedelic
rock bands in San
Francisco on the air, and
at times acted more zany
than some of the bands
that were making names for
themselves by doing "on
the edge" things.
"I hate to admit it,
but it was I who totally
demolished the Jag XKE
while working at KFRC San
Francisco in 1967-68," he
reminisced online to
friends not too long ago.
"It was the one to be
given away on the air.
Afterwards, I was tortured
by all the other jocks on
the air. Mike Phillips
even talked the engineers
into running drops between
Bill Drake’s intro and
other recorded liners that
'shamed' me for my deed!
Les Turpin had just
replaced Tom Rounds and
when he heard about me
destroying the car,
slammed his fist into a
wall at his country club,
breaking his wrist."
But Clark's antic made the
daily papers, giving his
slot and station good
press, so he was forgive,
kind of.
"If Herb Caen had not run
it in his Monday morning
column as the feature
story, I might not have
been able to get a job
even now in Shreveport,"
Clark said.
"He was my mentor, and a
true friend," said Gary
Robinson, program director
and promotions manager
with Cumulus Media in
Shreveport. "I miss
hearing that booming voice
on the other end of the
phone already."
Clark is survived by a
sister, Rachel Barmore and
her husband, Leon; brother
Tommy Clark and wife,
Lynda; daughter Sonya
Sales and her husband,
Dean; daughter Geyna Hinds
and husband, Allen;
daughter Natalie Gill and
husband, Bobby; daugher
Shawn Butcher; and seven
grandchildren.
Funeral and memorial
services are pending,
Coates said.