Eugene Kantor Klavan (May 4, 1924 – April 8, 2004) was an American
disc-jockey, columnist and author.
Early years
Klavan was born in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
, Maryland.
and attended
Baltimore City College
Baltimore City College, known colloquially as City, City College, and B.C.C., is a college preparatory school with a liberal arts focus and selective admissions criteria located in Baltimore, Maryland. Opened in October 1839, B.C.C. is the thir ...
(high school). His radio career began with brief stints at Baltimore's
WITH and
WCBM, followed by
WTOP in
Washington, D.C., where he would remain until moving to
WNEW New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in 1952. While in
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morg ...
, Klavan also hosted, for a short time, a local television show which featured him doing silly things on camera while he played recorded music.
1130 WNEW New York
Klavan is most known for his time as half of the morning program "Klavan and Finch." The program ran from 1952 to 1968 on WNEW 1130; prior to 1952, Dee Finch had co-hosted the show with
Gene Rayburn
Gene Rayburn (born Eugene Peter Jeljenic; December 22, 1917 – November 29, 1999) was an American radio and television personality. He is best known as the host of various editions of the American television game show '' Match Game'' for over t ...
. Co-host Finch departed and Klavan continued solo until 1977. He wrote a biography in 1964, ''We Die at Dawn,'' that largely focused on the morning show. He followed it up in 1972 with ''Turn That Damned Thing Off,'' a book about the news media industry. In 1977 he moved from WNEW to 710
WOR and left radio in 1980. He later became a commentator at
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station W ...
, a host for
American Movie Classics, and a columnist for
Newsday
''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and fo ...
.
Klavan's sons
Andrew Klavan
Andrew Klavan (; born July 13, 1954) is an American writer of crime and suspense novels. Klavan has been nominated for the Edgar Award five times and has won twice.
Klavan has also worked in film and as an essayist and video satirist. He is also ...
and Laurence Klavan are best-selling authors and screenwriters.
External sources
New York Times ObituaryAircheck at AirchexxAirwaves of New York Article
WNEW, The World's Greatest Radio Station
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klavan, Gene
1924 births
2004 deaths
American radio personalities