Don Forbes, CJOR

Stories and info about those no longer involved in the industry

Don Forbes, CJOR

Postby cart_machine » Tue Oct 14, 2014 3:51 am

I noticed an entry for Don Forbes at CJOR in Broadcasting magazine. So, on a whim, I decided to follow his career through the periodical's pages.

Donald Telfer Forbes was born June 9, 1912 in Camrose, Alberta and died in Los Angeles on November 28, 1995. He went from radio to TV to advertising. I don't know how he ended up at 'OR.

December 1, 1934
DON FORBES, formerly program director of CJOR, Vancouver, has joined the announcing staff of KHJ, Los Angeles.

November 1, 1935
DON FORBES, for the past year on the announcing and production staff of KHJ, Los Angeles, has resigned to join the staff of KNX. Hollywood, in a similar capacity. Forbes was formerly program director of CJOR, Vancouver.

December 1, 1936
WILLIAM KUSER Jr., 28, Chief announcer of KHJ, Los Angeles, was instantly killed Nov. 24 and Don Forbes, staff announcer of KNX, Hollywood, was seriously injured when the automobile in which they were riding left the road on Vermont Ave., near Lonita Blvd., Los Angeles. Dr. H. Clifford Loos, brother of Anita Loos, screen writer, was also injured. Mr. Kuser took the KHJ post a year-and-a-half ago. He was nationally known for his announcing of the Pickfair Parties programs several months ago.

July 1, 1937
DON FORBES, chief announcer of KNX, Hollywood, has been assigned to announce the new CBS Hal Kemp - Alice Faye show, sponsored by Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co. (Chesterfield), which will originate from that city beginning July 2.

August 1, 1937
CARLETON KADELL, Hollywood announcer of the NBC Chase & Sanborn Hour, sponsored by Standard Brands Inc., is now also announcing the CBS Hal Kemp's Dance Band program, sponsored by Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co., (Chesterfield cigarettes), from that city. He succeeds Don Forbes.

June 1, 1938
TED DENTON, CBS Hollywood engineer, in a contest among network employes for photographs by amateurs of the new Columbia Square studios, that city, was awarded first
prize of $25 posted by Donald W. Thornburgh, Pacific Coast vice-president. Don Forbes, chief announcer and Maurice Webster, staff announcer, received first and second honorary mention.

August 1, 1938
DON FORBES, CBS Hollywood chief announcer, is preparing a transcribed weekly quarter-hour Hollywood news series to be released nationally, Don Forbes’ Hollywood Scrapbook.

May 1, 1939
(Still at KNX).

November 1, 1939
DON FORBES, formerly chief announcer of KNX, Hollywood, is now teaming with John Wald as the Richfield Reporter on the NBC-Pacific Red network. He succeeded Ken Barton, now a KFWB, Hollywood, news commentator.

April 15, 1940
JOHN WALD and Don Forbes, Hollywood commentators on the NBC-Pacific Red network program, Richfield Reporter, sponsored by Richfield Oil Co., Los Angeles, have been named honorary lieutenant governors of Arizona by Gov. Robert Jones. Wald and Forbes became lieutenant–governors No. 3 and 4.

August 1, 1940
FIDELITY RECORDINGS, new Hollywood transcription and production unit, has been established at 5968 Santa Monica Blvd. with Don Forbes as general manager, and Harry Smith, chief engineer, co-partners. Recording facilities are custom built and include several innovations. The firm will cater to special requirements of radio stations and agencies nationally. Forbes is also commentator on the six-weekly quarter-hour NBC-Pacific Red program, Richfield Reporter, sponsored by Richfield Oil Co., and prior to taking that assignment was CBS Hollywood chief announcer.

DON FORBES, Hollywood commentator on the NBC Richfield Reporter, sponsored by Richfield Oil Co., plays the role of a football announcer in a film being produced by 20th Century-Fox Studios.

September 1, 1940
DON FORBES, Hollywood commentator, has been signed by MCA to m. c. the nightly open air show at the California State Fair, Aug. 30 to Sept. 9, at Sacramento. Forbes is handling the assignment during vacation from his six-weekly quarter–hour NBC Richfield Reporter, sponsored by Richfield Oil Co.

April 24, 1942
DON FORBES, for about three years a team member of the six-weekly quarter-hour Richfield Reporter, sponsored by Richfield Oil Co. on NBC West Coast stations, has resigned to join the RAF. John Wald, second half of the newscasting team, has taken over the entire broadcast, with Franklin Bingman added as commercial announcer.

November 16, 1942
DON FORBES, formerly Hollywood newscaster on the nightly Pacific NBC Richfield Reporter, sponsored by Richfield Oil Co., now in the Army Signal Corps, is stationed in Seattle with the engineering division of the Alaska Communication System.

October 18, 1943
CORP. DON FORBES, for three years NBC Richfield Reporter and prior to that CBS Hollywood chief announcer, has received honorable medical discharge from the Army.

June 12, 1944
DON FORBES, released from the Army, has resumed as co-newscaster with John Wald on the nightly Richfield Reporter on NBC western stations.

February 3, 1947
TELEWAYS RADIO PRODUCTIONS, Hollywood, is releasing a six weekly five-minute transcribed chatter program with Charles Garland. Hollywood talent agent, as narrator and Don Forbes as announcer.

August 11, 1947
CARDINET CANDY Co., Oakland, Calif. (U-No bars, Baffle bars), on Aug. 8 started weekly David Street Show on eight NBC Pacific stations, Fri., 8-8:15 p.m. (PST). Besides David Street, tenor, program includes the Mello-Larks, vocal group, with Ernie Felice directing the Ernie Felice Quartet. Don Forbes is announcer.

September 15, 1947
KWIK, new 250-w fulltime Burbank, Calif., station on 1490 kc., is scheduled to go on the air Sept. 20, according to Sam Kerner, president of Burbank Broadcasters Inc., station licensee. KWIK-FM is expected to be in operation within 30 days, he said. Studios and executive offices are located at 20 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank. ...
Don Forbes, onetime chief announcer of CBS Hollywood and more recently co-newscaster on NBC Richfield Reporter, is stockholder and general manager of KWIK.

May 3, 1948
DON FORBES, has resigned as general manager of KWIK Burbank, Calif., to return to network announcing and production. Mr. Forbes retains his stock in the station.

October 25, 1948
DON FORBES, former KWIK Los Angeles program director, has joined KLAC-TV Hollywood as manager of studio programs.

April 14, 1952
DON FORBES, production manager, KLAC-TV Hollywood, appointed executive director.

December 8, 1952
DON FORBES, executive director, KLAC-TV Hollywood, is completing narration for RHO feature film, "The Sea Around Us."

October 31, 1955
Don Forbes, associate producer, Don Fedderson Productions, to Benton & Bowles Inc., Hollywood, as associate producer. [Fedderson had been G.M. of KLAC-TV].

May 16, 1965
Gardner Advertising, St. Louis and New York, has established a western division with headquarters in Los Angeles at 1717 North Highland Avenue, where the agency has had a broadcast service office. The new division is headed by Mel Smith, formerly of Erwin Wasey. Don Forbes continues as Los Angeles manager and radio-TV director for Gardner.

June 14, 1965
Don Forbes, for 10 years producer-director with Hollywood office of Benton & Bowles, joins Gardner's Hollywood office as program director.

He was appointed a V.P. at Gardner in 1967 and that's the last I've found of him.

Dick Diespecker mentioned in his Vancouver Province radio column some time in 1951 that Forbes had been fired from a local station for not being good enough. He didn't say if it was CJOR. I haven't found Forbes in any of the city directories.

cArtie
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Re: Don Forbes, CJOR

Postby J Kendrick » Tue Oct 14, 2014 9:15 am

Don Forbes was at CJOR... at the same time as Alan Young (Wilbur Post on "Mr. Ed", Scrooge McDuck) ... who is still with us at the tender young age of 94...
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Re: Don Forbes, CJOR

Postby Jack Bennest » Wed Oct 15, 2014 8:55 am

History is alive - keep it up

In those days some people made meteoric rises in the business - today you don't much of that
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Re: Don Forbes, CJOR

Postby jon » Thu Oct 16, 2014 12:37 pm

J Kendrick wrote:Don Forbes was at CJOR... at the same time as Alan Young (Wilbur Post on "Mr. Ed", Scrooge McDuck) ... who is still with us at the tender young age of 94...

I just looked at the latest edition (2007) of Alan Young's autobiography, and page 96 says it was 1939 when Alan was hired full-time by CJOR Program Director Richard Diespecker.

He is not clear about how long before his full-time job that he had been working there doing four minute monologues at $3 each on CJOR's weekly Bathnight Revue program. I get the sense that it was only a few months, but he just doesn't say.
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