[Deathwatch] Eddie Gallaher, radio legend, 89

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Radio Legend Eddie Gallaher Dead at 89
Posted - November 26, 2003 12:00pm

Washington (AP) - Eddie Gallaher, who spent more than half a century on
the radio in the nation's capital, died Wednesday at 89.

Longtime friend and fellow Washington broadcaster Walt Starling said
Gallaher had complications from hip replacement surgery performed about
two months ago. He died at an assisted care facility in Northwest
Washington.

Gallaher's career in Washington began on WTOP-AM in 1947. In an
industry known for its high turnover rate, Gallaher stayed on the air
in one market for 53 years, working at two other stations before
retiring in 2000.

"Eddie Gallaher was certainly one of the premier, if not the premier
disc jockey, here in Washington," said Ed Walker. Walker and "Today"
show weatherman Willard Scott were the "Joy Boys" on a rival morning
program that ran on WRC-AM in Washington from 1955-1972.

"I used to kid Eddie about the fact that when I was in high school, I
used to listen to him and he had all the new records before anybody
else," Walker remembered.

Soon after arriving in Washington, Gallaher replaced Arthur Godfrey,
who went on to CBS in New York. Gallaher hosted the "Sundial" program
in the morning and the "Moondial" show at night. His baritone voice
became legendary, and in 2000 he joked to The Washington Post, "I
gargle with Drano."

"He had that voice to the very end," Walker said.

Gallaher spent 21 years at WTOP, where celebrities passing through the
nation's capital made sure to stop by his studio.

"When stars would come to town - Jayne Mansfield, Bob Hope, I don't
care who it was - they would line up to be interviewed by Eddie
Gallaher," recalled AP Radio anchor Ross Simpson, who met Gallaher in
1965 while doing the news on Gallaher's Saturday morning WTOP show.

Along with listeners, he also won the affections of advertisers.

"He made the hot popover famous with Normandie Farm," Walker said,
referring to a Potomac, Md., restaurant that was a longtime sponsor of
Gallaher's.

"He made you believe that that was so good you had to turn off the
highway and go get one," added Simpson, who said Gallaher had a
"crystal ball" about radio.

"One morning, Bill Lynch and I went in to do the news and Gallaher
looked up at us and said, 'Boys, what do you want to do with your
lives?' We said, 'Oh, Mr. Gallaher, we want to be network anchormen.'
And he said, 'I'll tell you something kids, learn to do a lot of things
and do them well, because your business is going to change by the time
you get to the anchor desk."' Simpson spent 20 years at NBC Radio
before coming to AP, while Lynch had a long career at CBS Radio.

When WTOP switched to a news and talk format in 1968, Gallaher moved to
WASH-FM, then, in 1982, to WWDC-AM where he stayed until retiring in
December 2000.

"His vision was failing him and (station owner) Clear Channel ... had
hired helpers for him for the last couple of years of his career -
people that would read for him and help him with his program," Starling
said.

"This is no 'being forced to retire,"' Gallaher told The Washington
Post at the time. "I would say that, at 85, it's a good time to call it
a day."

"The era is over," Starling said.

Gallaher never married, but is survived by girlfriend Fran Sisk, who he
had been with since the mid-1950s.

A memorial service is expected to be held next week.