bill ward - Inducted 2005

Bill Ward was a disc jockey, Program Director, General Manager and group head,. His first radio job was in Waxahachie, Texas in 1944. He did the overnight shift at WRR, Dallas, while attending college. He was an air personality at WAKY, Louisville, and WPRO, Providence before becoming Program Director at WPLO, Atlanta. In 1964, he joined KBOX, Dallas, as morning man and in 1967 the station switched to a Country format and he became Program Director. Two months later, he moved to the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank where, as Program Director, changed Top 40 KBLA to Country KBBQ. He was promoted to KBBQ VP/General manager in 1970. In 1971 he moved to KLAC, Los Angeles, where his staff included two personalities who are now members of The Country Music D J hall of Fame; Dick Haynes and Larry Scott. In 1974 he assisted sister Metromedia station KNEW, San Francisco to switch to a Country format. In 1979, he was promoted to Executive Vice president of Metromedia and moved to its corporate offices in New York. He was promoted to President, and changed the format of KSAN-FM, San Francisco, to Country. In 1982 he moved back to Los Angeles as General Manager of KMPC and President of Gene Autry's Golden West Broadcasters , which owned Country formatted WCXI, Detroit. In 1985, he bought KUTE from Golden West and held it until 1997 when he sold it, as KSCA, and retired. he had served a board member, and President, of the Academy of Country Music. He died July 31, 2004. Former KLAC air personality, Larry Scott, a 1993 inductee to the Country Music D J Hall of Fame accepted for Bill when he was inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame in 2005.