ED SABATINO
December 17, 2016 - present

Ed Sabatino began doing weekends and fill-in at WDRC FM in December 2016. Then, in March 2019, the Connecticut broadcast veteran took over programming responsibilities at WDRC AM/FM after the departure of Keith Dakin. That involved hosting the afternoon show (2-6 p.m.) as Eddie Sab on 1029 The Whale. Ed is a native of East Haven where he lives with his wife and daughter. As a teenager Ed played drums in the rock band White Silence, and that led to a job at New Haven's iconic WPLR. At one point Ed took a break from radio and, in 2012, found himself co-owner of an insurance agency.

PRIOR: WPLR New Haven, CT; WKCI FM Hamden, CT; WPLR New Haven, CT; WFOX FM Norwalk, CT; Pennsylvania; WRKI FM Danbury, CT; WMRQ FM Waterbury, CT

TODAY: (e-mail)

DICK SANDHAUS
October 11-November, 1969

During the 1960s and 70s, regular WDRC listeners frequently heard the words, "A Dick Sandhaus Production." He was a young concert promoter who graduated from Staples High School in Westport (Class of 1967), where he was president of the Staples Student Organization. That's where he got his first experience booking musical groups for school dances. By the summer of 1968 he was operating a teenage club at Longshore Park Ballroom in Westport. While attending Amherst College (Class of 1972) he built a reputation organizing shows at the Bushnell that were advertised on Big D. By the summer of 1969 he was executive producer of the Bridgeport Summer Music Celebration. For a few weeks that fall he took over Ken Griffin's late Saturday night "Scene of the Unheard." The "Dick Sandhaus Sound of the Underground" featured rock music and album cuts that weren't normally aired on WDRC.

PRIOR:

AFTER:

TODAY: Richard Carl Sandhaus moved into a slightly different form of entertainment. He is an internationally known laser artist based in New York.

RIC SANTOS
1986-87

Ric spent his early years on the east coast listening to some of New York City's fabled deejays. He got into radio in 1978 after attending Dick Robinson's Connecticut School of Broadcasting. Glenn Colligan hired him at WDRC to work weekends and fill-in. While there he did a retro feature called The Time Machine, produced by Dave Nagel. In January, 1986, WDRC AM affiliated with The Oldies Channel, a satellite-delivered format from the Transtar network. As a result Ric lost his job. He later became national program director of the company, based in Los Angeles.

PRIOR: WRCQ Farmington, CT

AFTER: WLAD/WDAQ Danbury, CT; KSDO FM San Diego, CA; KGGI Riverside, CA; KHYL Sacramento, CA; program director of Westwood One's The Oldies Channel; program director of Dial Global Networks

TODAY: Ric does morning drive on 24/7's satellite delivered "Timeless Cool" format; see his note (11-22-02) (e-mail)

JOHN SAVILLE
July 4, 2004 - approx. December 19, 2007

A product of Guilford High School - where he was a football and wrestling standout - John Saville attended Southern Connecticut State University and the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. He spent many years spinning country hits on WWYZ. In that capacity he was recognized as one of America's leading music directors by Billboard Magazine. Cadillac John joined WDRC FM to host the Sunday afternoon shift from 1-6PM replacing Bruce Owens (who moved to Saturdays); later, John's hours changed to 3-7PM Sundays. After Mike Stevens' departure, John joined Beth Bradley on the morning show on August 2, 2005. In December 2007 John was let go and temporarily replaced on the morning shift by Mike Stevens. It was announced that effective January 15, 2008, former DRC FM morning man Jerry Kristafer would take over the shift. He also runs John Saville Entertainment Company based in Guilford, CT and is the head personal trainer at Planet Fitness in Branford, CT.

PRIOR: WSCB Southern CT State University; WNHU New Haven, CT; WKCI Meriden, CT; WPLR New Haven, CT; WEZN Bridgeport, CT; WAVZ New Haven, CT; WELI New Haven, CT; WYNY New York, NY; WWYZ Waterbury, CT

AFTER: WWYZ Waterbury, CT

TODAY: John is back at WWYZ; see his note (4-18-06).

EDDIE SCHAEFER
May 2013 - present

Born July 28, 1962 this native of Oceanside, New York, was among the many part-time weekend voices at 1029 The Whale. He graduated Oceanside Senior High School and attended Nassau Community College before enrolling at Connecticut School of Broadcasting in 1983. These days Eddie can be heard as the morning traffic anchor as well as hosting music on weekends at Full Power Radio. He joined WDRC as a weekender while the station was owned by Connoisseur Media. He began the morning traffic reports in July 2018.

PRIOR: WNOU FM Willimantic, CT; Waterbury Indians AA Baseball club; WATR AM/WWYZ Waterbury, CT; WJBX Bridgeport, CT; WHCN FM Hartford, CT; WFOX FM Norwalk, CT; WPLR FM New Haven, CT; CRN International & Connecticut Radio Network; Connoisseur Media, LLC

TODAY: (e-mail)

JIM SCOTT
February 21, 1972 - August 11, 1973

Born on Long Island on February 18, 1943, and member of the Class of 1957 at West Islip High School, Jim's first show was filling in for Jim Harrington on Big D FM, 9AM-3PM. On Monday, February 28, 1972 he began presiding over WDRC FM's "Solid Gold" midday show, 10AM-3PM as Harrington moved to afternoon drive. After his radio career, Jim worked at Bloomingdale's in Cheshire, Hartford Insurance Company in Southington, and a communications company in Watertown. He retired in 2005

PRIOR: WMMM A/F Westport, CT; WWCO Waterbury, CT

AFTER: WPTR Albany, NY; WQQW Waterbury, CT; WICC Bridgeport, CT; WADS Ansonia, CT; WWCO Waterbury, CT; WIOF Waterbury, CT

TODAY: Jim (Joel R. Sweeters) lived in Watertown, CT. He died of cancer at the age of 77 on August 15, 2020.

JOHN SCOTT
prior to May 15, 1968 - February, 1969

A Connecticut native, Walter John Huss graduated from Wethersfield High School (Class of 1960) and the Naval Preparatory School in Bainbridge, MD, then attended Dartmouth College (where he was a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps) and later the University of Hartford. He served as an electronics technician in the U.S. Navy before launching his radio career. Known on-air as John Scott, he started on WDRC FM's midday show, 10AM-3PM, but later held the afternoon slot, 3-8PM. John had a great interest in photography and operated several businesses. He also worked as a photographer for The Hartford Courant.

PRIOR: WPAC Patchogue, NY; WALK A/F Patchogue, NY

AFTER: WPOP Hartford, CT; WNHC New Haven, CT; WTHE Mineola, NY; WSVP West Warwick, RI; CKLW Detroit, MI; WCBS FM New York, NY; WWYZ Waterbury, CT; KDES Palm Springs, CA; KHTX Riverside, CA; KDHI FM/KQYN AM Twentynine Palms, CA

TODAY: John moved to southern California working as a digital editor, producer and voice talent at Cold Call Cowboy Productions. He later operated a photography business. On Christmas Eve 2004 he was diagnosed as having cancer of the liver. He died May 25, 2005 at the age of 62.

SEBASTIAN
April, 1981 - February 23, 1982 and February, 1985 - November 18, 1986

Born Joseph Schlosser, he used the name "Lance Christian" from January-May, 1972 at WPOP. His first stint at WDRC AM was as a replacement for Chip Donavon from 2-7PM, where he was brash and controversial. Calling himself "Sickie Sebastian," a comment about local Jai Alai players cost the station $10,000 in advertising and, ultimately, his job. He was rehired three years later for essentially the same shift (2-6PM) and met the same fate after suggesting, on air, that general manager Dick Korsen be shipped to the Soviet Union in exchange for some of their prisoners. That firing also cost sidekick Diane Novak her job. The pair were known for a regular feature, "Berate the Brides," during which listeners called to comment on the photos of women who appeared in the wedding announcements of local newspapers.

PRIOR: WRIG Wausau, WI; WCCC Hartford, CT; WPOP Hartford, CT; WAVZ New Haven, CT; WVNR Naugatuck, CT

AFTER: WNAQ Waterbury, CT; WCCC A/F Hartford; WZMX Hartford, CT; WNNZ Springfield, MA; WFAN New York; WCCC FM Hartford, CT; WTIC Hartford, CT

TODAY: In November 2010 Sebastian was arrested during a state and federal racketeering investigation. Charged with illegal gambling, in April 2011 he was spared prison time and placed on two years proation. (8-4-14).

DAVE SEBASTIAN
prior to April 19, 1987 - after July 9, 1989

Dave didn't work for WDRC but was one of the voices heard on WDRC AM during its affiliation with Transtar's "Oldies Channel" programming.

PRIOR: KDON Salinas, CA; KNAK Salt Lake City, UT; KEZY Anaheim, CA; KHJ, KFI, KTNQ, KIIS, KBRT, KIIS, KHJ, KRTH, all Los Angeles, CA

AFTER:

TODAY: Dave runs VOICE OVER Resource GUIDE and ISDN ONLY in California (3-2-03) (e-mail).

RON SEDAILLE
August 1985 - July 7, 2014

A native of Bangor, Maine, Ron moved to Connecticut at the age of 1. He was hired by Frank Holler to do weekends and fill-in shifts. After Frank's departure he took over "Jukebox Saturday Night" and transformed it into "All Request Saturday Night," an all-request oldies show on WDRC FM (e-mail). In March 2013, WDRC FM dropped the syndicated Tom Kent show and Ron took over Monday through Friday nights from 7:00PM-midnight; most evenings he was voicetracked. It's fair to say there wasn't an airshift that Ron didn't fill at one point or another. Ron was let go along with the rest of the FM airstaff when Connoisseur Media took over from Buckley Broadcasting on July 7, 2014.

TODAY: Just before Thanksgiving 2014 Ron started his own Internet station, Fun Tower Radio.

SHANNON
prior to December 19, 1964 - mid 1965

Born on Long Island on August 20, 1938, Robert George Tarring attended both Malverne High School and Westfield High School (New Jersey) before moving on to Rutgers University in New Jersey (Class of 1961). In March 1960 he was named chief announcer at the Rutgers radio station. He lived and worked in New Brunswick, NJ before arriving at the Fun Factory, where he used the on-air name, Shannon. He replaced Chip Thompson as utility man among The Swinging Six. In addition to hosting 1-4PM Saturdays and 7PM-1AM Sundays, he worked in the news department and filled in for the other personalities. By 1970 he had relocated to Miami where he had a long run on WGBS as Robbie George.

PRIOR: WRSU Rutgers University; WCTC New Brunswick, NJ

AFTER: WWRL New York, NY; WGBS Miami, FL; WPLG-TV10 Miami, FL; WBSS Pompano, Beach, FL; WPIP/WPIS Ft. Lauderdale, FL; WOVV Ft. Pierce, FL; WMXJ Miami, FL

TODAY: Shannon is retired in Sunrise, FL (2020).

BILL SHEEHAN
November 17, 1945 - January 1953

Born in Boston in May, 1925, William E. Sheehan attended school in Springfield. A University of Hartford graduate, Bill served as a bombardier-navigator with the Army's 416th Bomb Group in Europe during World War II, achieving the rank of second lieutenant. He was one of the first radio newsmen at WDRC. He met his wife, Rosemary Mansfield, who also worked at WDRC. During 1947-48 Bill served as WDRC's man-on-the-street during the weekday morning Shopping By Radio program co-anchored by Russ Naughton and Jane Redding; Naughton played records from the studio while Bill interviewed shoppers from WDRC's mobile unit, doling out prizes if they correctly answered quiz questions. In 1948 he also hosted a Saturday afternoon disk show. In July 1961 Sheehan joined ABC News where his posts included New York correspondent; London bureau chief; vice president for television news and chief operating officer. Bill was named president of the news division on September 5, 1974. In 1977 he became the senior vice president of news at ABC. Sheehan later joined the Chevrolet division of General Motors, in Detroit, in a public relations capacity. During the 1980s he served on the board of directors at public station WTVS in Detroit. He also served on the Board of WETA in Washington, DC.

PRIOR: WMAS Springfield, MA

AFTER: WJR Detroit, MI; ABC News, New York, NY

TODAY: Bill died in suburban Washington, DC on October 3, 2019; he was 94 (12-16-21).

PAT SHEEHAN
August 10, 1969 - November 28, 1970

Pat (no relation to Bill Sheehan) began his broadcast career while attending UCONN. He was a member of the WDRC news department and left to originate Connecticut Public Television's first evening prime-time newscast. He is a former president of the Connecticut chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

PRIOR: WILI Willimantic, CT; WINF Manchester, CT; WHCT TV Hartford, CT

AFTER: WEDH TV Hartford, CT; WNHC TV New Haven, CT; WFSB TV Hartford, CT; WTIC TV Hartford

TODAY: Pat retired from WTIC TV on April 10, 1999 but continued his career as an investment banker with A.G. Edwards & Sons. He also hosted a cable TV show on Comcast. (6-21-05)

AARON SHEPARD
June, 1961 - May 30, 1969

Born in Beantown on August 19, 1932, Aaron graduated from Boston University. Through most of WDRC's Top 40 heyday, Arnie worked alongside Joe Barbarette in the Earwitness Newsroom. He found a way to work Radio Fun into the news by hosting and producing "Feature," a series of silly questions designed to evoke unusual listener reaction. After retirement, Aaron lived for many years in the Rochester, NY area.

PRIOR: WORL Boston, MA; WICE Providence, RI; WHYN Springfield, MA

AFTER: WROW Albany, NY

TODAY: Aaron S. Shepard died on February 21, 2020 at the age of 87 (5-27-20). Read more about his WDRC Features.

JOE SHERWOOD
June 28, 1969 - October 17, 1970 and April 16-May 2, 1971

Joe graduated from Plainville High School in 1964 after which he moved to New York and made a living as a jazz musician for a time. Soon Uncle Sam summoned Joe into the Air Force. He enrolled in the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in the fall of 1966 and got his first job as program director at WLAE two weeks before graduation! Joe must have made an impression on Dick Robinson, because he became Dick's weekend newsman for two months in 1969. He later moved to WDRC FM for the 3-8PM Saturday and 2-7PM music shift. When Dick gave up weekend airshifts in November, 1969 to concentrate on sales, Joe took over his AM weekend shifts, Saturdays from 3-7PM and Sundays 7PM-1AM...all while working full time during the week in Waterbury!

PRIOR: WLAE FM Hartford/Meriden, CT; WMMW Meriden, CT; WBRY Waterbury, CT; WWCO Waterbury, CT

AFTER: WWCO Waterbury, CT; WOWW Naugatuck, CT; WQQW Waterbury, CT

TODAY: Joe works as a network administrator in the Watertown Public School system; see his note (7-26-00) (e-mail).

BOB SHIELDS
May 1947 - December 1948

Little is known about Bob's service at WDRC. He left to join the inaugural staff of a new station, WLCR (990 kc) in Torrington, CT, which began on January 1, 1948.

PRIOR: WMBH Joplin, MO

AFTER: WLCR Torrington, CT

TODAY: ?

ILENE SHUB
June 1983 - February 1986

A graduate of Jamesville-DeWitt High School in Syracuse, NY (Class of 1974), and Cornell University (Class of 1978) with a B.S. in Communications and concentration in journalism, Ilene's eight-year tenure in radio brought her to a number of markets before landing in the WDRC News Department. Her career went on to include several high profile public relations positions.

PRIOR: WLVA Lynchburg, VA; WHEN Syracuse, NY; WSAY Rochester, NY; WJOL Joliet, IL

AFTER: Press secretary for Rep. Julie Belaga's gubernatorial campaign; press secretary for CT House Republicans; public relations coordinator for Planned Parenthood of Connecticut; public affairs manager at Yale Cancer Center/Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven; managing director of Jacobs & Prosek Public Relations (now Prosek Partners); senior communications writer for Centene Corporation/Evolve PeopleCare in Farmington

TODAY: Ilene (Shub) Lefland is a board member and consultant for Connecticut Votes for Animals (12-3-21)(e-mail).

STEVE SKIPP
May, 1979 - January 1984

A Waterbury native, Steve was born on March 7, 1949. He attended Wilby High School and graduated from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor of science degree. He was the afternoon driver on WDRC FM.

PRIOR: WWCO Waterbury, CT

AFTER: WWCO & WWYZ, both Waterbury, CT; WNVR Naugatuck, CT; WAXB Danbury, CT

TODAY: In 2014 Skipper moved to Rotonda, FL (12-16-21) (e-mail).

PRUDENCE SLOANE
April 4, 2004 - June 2008

Culinary educator and food journalist, Prudence had a lengthy media history prior to joining WDRC's kitchen for a Sunday night talk show, Simply Food with Prudence Sloane, from 6-8PM. The show later moved to Saturday morning, 10AM-noon. A graduate of The Institute of Culinary Education's professional program, Pru studied kitchen design at New York's Parsons School of Design and has written extensively for The Hartford Courant and other Connecticut newspapers. In October, 2000 her TV show debuted on Channel 30. Visit Pru's web site.

PRIOR: AT&T Cable TV; WTIC Hartford, CT; WHUS Storrs, CT; Connecticut Public Radio; WVIT TV West Hartford, CT

Prudence left WDRC in June 2008.

JACK SMITH
prior to August 16, 1943 - before February 13, 1953

Jack was a man of many talents. An aircraft instructor by day, he taught servicemen how to use aviation instruments. His first assignment at WDRC was singing on the Jack Smith Club every evening. At other times he was primarily a sportscaster, although in the fall of 1951 he conducted an early-morning show from his home in Manchester. In March 1952 his 4-year-old daughter, Susy Smith, could be heard in a recorded plug for her daddy's disc show.

PRIOR: Boston Post newspaper

AFTER: public relations at United Aircraft

TODAY: ?

MARC SOMMERS
April, 1997 - February 19, 1999

A native of Jackson Parish, LA, Marc spent time in Vietnam with the U.S. Navy. He had an extensive radio background when he joined WDRC for weekends. After the departure of Jerry Kristafer he took over morning drive on WDRC FM December 8, 1997.

PRIOR: KNOW New Orleans, LA; WDDT Greenville, MS; WTIX & WNOE, both New Orleans, LA; WKJY Garden City, Long Island, NY; WABC New York, NY; WHN New York, NY; WCBS FM New York, NY; WBMW New London, CT; WKHL FM Norwalk, CT

AFTER: Voice-overs in New York; KQSM Bentonville, AR

TODAY: Marc is a published author under his birth name, Travis L. Ayres; see his note (6-27-05)(e-mail).

JAMES S. STANLEY
summer of 1951

An item in the July 16, 1951 issue of Broadcasting/Telecasting Magazine said, "James Stanley working as summer replacement announcer at WDRC Hartford." His time in Hartford was short but he had impressive credentials in broadcasting. Born on April 15, 1930 in Orange, NJ, he graduated from Trinity College in Hartford in 1952. After graduation he joined the CBS mailroom and worked his way up to associate producer (he also did time in counter intelligence with the United States Army). Jim was a pioneer in early live television, working with stars like Carol Channing and Barbra Streisand. He worked on the memorable program Name That Tune and worked the 1960 Democratic National Convention for CBS. At the age of 44 he switched careers, graduating from Rutgers Medical School, and becoming a physician's assistant. His work took him to Vermont before he settled in Florida.

AFTER: CBS Television Network, New York, NY

TODAY: James Seton Stanley died January 22, 2013 in Ormond Beach, Florida at the age of 82.

HAROLD M. "BUD" STEELE
December, 1959 - after August 3, 1961

Born on August 11, 1932 in the Bronx, NY, Bud worked as a WDRC newscaster just prior to the beginning of pop music programming. In March 1960 he scored a national coup, calling the Tennessee Penitentiary where a riot had just occurred and getting an exclusive ten-minute interview with one of the convicts who had organized it. Stations all over the country asked for copies of the tape. Bud also interviewed Dr. Martin Luther King for one of WDRC's public affairs programs.

PRIOR: WSTC Stamford, CT

AFTER: WWDC Washington, DC; ABC FM Radio Network; Voice of America, Washington, DC; WMAL Washington, DC

TODAY: Bud retired from a long run at WMAL in 1996. He died on July 26, 2019 near his home in Maryland (8-1-19).

LEW STEELE
February 22, 1970

Lew worked one day in the WDRC news department.

PRIOR:

AFTER:

TODAY: ?

TED STEELE
August 1936 - approximately 1938

Born George Thornton Steil on July 9, 1917 in Hartford, Ted started his musical training at the age of four. After moving to Belmont, MA, Ted received a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music. He started a popular music orchestra that performed on the high seas for a major steamship company. Ted was registered in the freshman class of Trinity College in 1937, though it appears he graduated in 1939. It was around this time that WDRC station manager Walter Haase hired Ted for one of his earliest announcing jobs for the princely sum of fifty cents per hour! Ted's stay in Hartford was brief. He joined NBC as a page boy and by the summer of 1939 he was working in NBC's transcription department; he had also become an expert on the Novachord, an early electric piano. By November 1940, at the age of 22, Ted was appearing on twenty commercial programs per week on the Columbia Network. Over the years Ted recorded albums for the Victor label and appeared as a musician, singer, actor and announcer on many network programs. Since Ted grew up on a dairy farm, he always maintained an interest in farming. Just before World War II he bought a small one at Pearl River, NY, where he raised thousands of mice, rabbits and guinea pigs for wartime medical research. He later bought 150 acres in Doylestown, PA where he breeded poultry. In June 1958 Ted signed a three-year contract to host two daily music programs on WMCA in New York for $60,000 per year.

PRIOR: Cunard Steamship Line

AFTER: NBC Radio Network; CBS Radio Network; KMPC Los ANgeles, CA; WMCA, DuMont Television Network, WPIX TV, WOR AM/TV, WMCA (again), all New York, NY; WNTA AM/FM Newark, NJ; WINS New York, NY; WCBS New York, NY; NBC Monitor; WPEN Philadelphia, PA; WBAL Baltimore, MD

TODAY: Ted died on October 15, 1985; he was 68.

MIKE STEIN
December, 1959 - before June 12, 1961

Michael H. Stein was a native of New York City. He was hired in the WDRC news department under the ownership of Buckley-Jaegar Broadcasting, but just prior to the launch of a local pop music format. On February 25, 1961 WDRC General Manager Bill Crawford appointed Mike as news director, replacing George Freeman. Stein was the station's third news director in a year and a half but he wouldn't be the last! By June, Mike's colleague, Bud Steele, had assumed the position. Mike's later journalism career took him around the world covering the war in Vietnam, the civil rights march in Alabama, and the six-day war in the Middle East. He was news director at WNEW until 1972 when he was appointed manager of ABC's American Entertainment Radio Network. He was Peter Jennings' chief writer at ABC TV.

PRIOR: WAKR Akron, OH; West Virginia

AFTER: WNEW New York, NY; ABC Radio Network, NY; ABC's World News Tonight

TODAY: Mike retired from broadcasting in 1999. He plays cornet with a jazz group in the New York/New Jersey area; see his note (2-8-02) (e-mail).

BILL STEPHENS
prior to September 24-November, 1976 and December, 1978 - May 20, 1979

Bill's first stay as 6-10AM host (AM and FM) was short but his return brought with it a new name: "FM Stephens," short for "funky monkey." A Hartford Courant article once quoted him as saying, "I am not a disc jockey. I am just a crazy guy going into someone's home to play music." Crazy is how he came across, though. He hosted the 7PM-midnight show at WDRC AM, where his imaginary associate, "Lance Krindleman," was a regular visitor. Now, Bill is heavily involved in motorsports television; he is a co-host and feature reporter on ESPN and ESPN2 for coverage of NHRA drag racing and a pit reporter for CBS Sports on all their Winston Cup telecasts. He also writes and narrates Motor Trend Television on Speedvision and host NHRA Heat on ESPN2 before every NHRA national event.

PRIOR: WRYT Cambridge, MA; WEZE Boston, MA; WCCC Hartford, CT; WVBF Framingham, MA; WCOD Hyannis, MA

AFTER: KGOE/Thousand Oaks. CA; KGIL, San Fernando, CA; K100 Hollywood, CA; WVBF Framingham, MA; WRKO Boston, MA; WEEI FM, WMJX, V-66, all Boston, MA ; WPXC Cape Cod

TODAY: Bill lives on Cape Cod and runs an ad agency; he also hosts a syndicated radio feature called Time Capsule; see his note (1-25-08) (e-mail).

BILL STEVENS
September 25, 1971

Bill worked one day in the WDRC news department during a period when several people were auditioned live.

PRIOR:

AFTER:

TODAY: ?

JACK STEVENS
November 1943 - after July 10, 1944

Jack Stevens was certainly no stranger to Hartford, having graduated from Trinity College where he played on the basketball team. In 1932, he started his radio career at WDRC as a time salesman. But he wanted to get on the airwaves so he moved on to Springfield, Worcester and Hartford before spending time in New York City. Jack hosted The Inside of Sports for four years on Mutual before rejoining WDRC during World War II. Stevens was signed for 52 weeks by Bond Clothes to host WDRC's daily News Digest of the Air.

PRIOR: WMAS Springfield, MA; WORC Worcester, MA; WTIC Hartford, CT; Yankee Network, Boston, MA; Mutual Radio Network, New York, NY; WNEW New York, NY

AFTER: WLAW Lawrence, MA

TODAY: ?

MIKE STEVENS
1983 - August 1, 2005
May 20, 2006 - July 7, 2014

Born on June 17, 1959, this Wallingford native and graduate of Lyman Hall spent much of his adult life at WDRC. After graduation from the New England Broadcasting Institute, over 22 years he wore many hats including weekend music director, overnight jock, promotions director, production manager and operations manager. He hosted the morning show on WDRC FM along with news anchor Beth Bradley; their partnership began in February, 1999 after the departure of Marc Sommers. Mike left DRC FM on August 1, 2005 and was replaced on the morning show by John Saville. He returned on May 20, 2006 replacing Scott Michaels on the 7PM-midnight shift. In late June 2009 Mike returned to the morning shift, sharing wakeup duties with Jerry Kristafer until Jerry was let go on October 4, 2013. Mike continued hosting the Big D FM morning show with newsperson Kim Zachary. Mike was let go along with the rest of the FM airstaff when Connoisseur Media took over from Buckley Broadcasting on July 7, 2014.

PRIOR: WMMW Meriden, CT

AFTER: WJMJ Prospect, CT

TODAY: Michael Joseph Zawacki passed away on January 23, 2022 at the age of 62. (1-24-22)

C.J. STONE
prior to July 8, 1989 - 1989?

A native of Lewistown, Montana, John Shepley began his broadcast career as a 14-year-old. He graduated from Fergus High School in 1972. Like other employees of The Oldies Channel satellite service, C.J. didn't work for WDRC but was heard on various WDRC AM shifts.

PRIOR: KXLO Lewistown, MT; KQDI/KUDI Great Falls, MT; KPKE-FM, Denver, CO; 91-FM, Auckland, New Zealand; KYA-AM/FM San Francisco, CA; KREM Spokane, WA; KXOA, Sacramento, CA

AFTER: KYSR-FM Los Angeles, CA; Westwood One's The Oldies Channel

TODAY: C.J. streams an oldies show on tunein from his home in Schofield, WI (4-22-14).

ROBERT STUART
October 31, 1941 - ?

A native of Winchester, MA, Robert was a senior at Wesleyan University in Middletown when he was hired by program manager Walter Haase to work on W65H, the staticless FM side of WDRC. At school he had studied music and harmony and had previously been employed as a vacation-relief announcer. This photograph appeared in a 1941 WDRC promotional piece.

PRIOR:

AFTER:

TODAY: ?

FRANK W. STUHLMAN
1940 - 1941?

Born in Hartford on October 10, 1917, it is unclear exactly when Frank worked at WDRC. A Hartford Courant article on January 30, 1944 described the exploits of Marine First Lieutenant Frank W. Stuhlman during the landing on Bouganville in the Northern Solomon Islands. It says he graduated from Syracuse University in 1939, then attended Hartford College of Law. He worked for both WDRC and WTIC. He enlisted for flight training in September 1941 and received his Marine wings on August 5, 1942. His affiliation with the Marines appears to have contunued until 1958 after which he worked as an attorney in New Jersey.

PRIOR: WTIC Hartford, CT

AFTER:

TODAY: Frank died on August 26, 2006 in Basking Ridge, NJ; he was 89.

PETE SULLIVAN
November 9, 1972 - prior to March 16, 1974

Born in Sioux Falls, SD, Pete grew up in New Jersey. He was a graduate Paramus High School and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. He spent two years in the Marines and replaced Tom Hopkins on the morning show, 6-10AM, on WDRC AM. Low key and witty, he joked with news anchor Walt Dibble and was known for his voice impressions including the leprechaun who dropped in at 7:20 every morning to announce, "they're always after me Lucky Charms!" Hartford Mayor George Athanson continued appearing with Pete every Monday morning as he had done with Jack Miller.

PRIOR: WNNJ Newton, NJ; WIBC Indianapolis, IN

AFTER: WIBC Indianapolis; WIFE Indianapolis, IN; Los Angeles, CA; WHAS Louisville, KY; WBT Charlotte, NC; WMGK Philadelphia, PA; WWJZ Mount Laurel, NJ

TODAY: Peter L. Sabella, Jr. passed away from lung cancer in Skippack Township, PA on February 4, 1994 at the age of 49.

FRED SWANSON
1978 - 1981

Born in Hartford on January 1, 1934, Fred's first announcing experience involved play-by-play for the Southington Little League when he was still a kid. His first professional job was in 1953 at the former WHAY. A long-familiar voice to Hartford listeners, Fred was a member of the WDRC news department. He retired from a lengthy stay at WJMJ in 2004.

PRIOR: WHAY/WRCH Farmington, CT

AFTER: WPOP Hartford, CT; WBIS Bristol, CT; WJMJ Bloomfield, CT

TODAY: Oscar (Fred) Swanson passed away in Bristol on October 18, 2013; he was 79. (10-22-13)

RODNEY L. SWIFT
prior to October 19, 1942 - ?

Rodney was born March 11, 1917 in Plattsburgh, NY and grduated from Syracuse University, where he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. The October 19, 1942 issue of Broadcasting magazine carried this brief item on page 34: "Rodney L. Swift, formerly of WSAY, Rochester, N.Y., joins the announcing staff of WDRC, Hartford, in a reorganization resulting from the loss of five announcers in six weeks." The same page carried news of the hiring of Charles Haaser to replace Jerry Piven, who had just joined the Army. Little is known of Swift's time in Hartford but click here for more on the impact of World War II at WDRC.

PRIOR: Auburn, NY; WSAY Rochester, NY

AFTER: WHEN Syracuse, NY; WYSR AM/TV Syracuse, NY; public relations specialist for General Electric; ad agency; Syracuse NewsChronicle

TODAY: Rodney Lynn Swift died on November 19, 1997 in Syracuse at the age of 80.