Gordon McLendon
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Gordon Barton McLendon (June 8, 1921 – September 14, 1986Texas State Historical Association
McClendon, Gordon Barton
/ref>) was a radio broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Maverick of Radio", McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, during the 1950s and 1960s, the commercially successful
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...
created by
Todd Storz Robert Todd Storz (May 8, 1924 – April 13, 1964) headed a very successful chain of American radio broadcasting stations and is generally credited with being the foremost innovator of the Top 40 radio format in 1951. The selection of records t ...
. He also developed offshore pirate radio broadcasting to both
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
and the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
. In addition, he was active in circles of conservative business-political power in the 1960s until the time of his death.


Background

McLendon was born in Paris, Texas, and spent his early childhood in Oklahoma. The family moved to
Atlanta, Texas Atlanta is a city in Cass County, northeastern Texas, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. census, the city had a population of 5,675, which decreased to 5,433 in 2020. History Atlanta was established in 1872 with the building of the Texas ...
, where he attended high school and began to develop his interest in broadcasting. He covered sports events and broadcast commentary over the school's public address system. He graduated from Kemper Military Academy. He won a nationwide political-essay contest judged by journalists Arthur Brisbane, Henry Luce, and
Walter Lippmann Walter Lippmann (September 23, 1889 – December 14, 1974) was an American writer, reporter and political commentator. With a career spanning 60 years, he is famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of Cold War, coining the te ...
. After being accepted to
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, Yale, and
Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
, he decided to attend
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
because it was the only school that didn't offer him a scholarship. At Yale, he was editor of the ''
Yale Literary Magazine The ''Yale Literary Magazine'', founded in 1836, is the oldest student literary magazine in the United States and publishes poetry, fiction, and visual art by Yale undergraduates twice per academic year. Notable alumni featured in the magazine whi ...
'' and a member of
Chi Psi Chi Psi () is a fraternity consisting of active chapters (known as "Alphas") at 33 American colleges and universities. The mission of Chi Psi is to create and maintain an enduring society which encourages the sharing of traditions and values, res ...
, a Yale fraternity. McLendon fought in World War II and was commissioned as an intelligence officer in the
Office of Naval Intelligence The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, it is the oldest member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and serves ...
. He was later reassigned, giving him the opportunity to extend his style of commentary to political events over a United States Armed Forces Radio Service station. He then briefly attended
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
but left prematurely to buy an interest in a station in
Palestine, Texas Palestine ( ) is a city in and the seat of Anderson County in the U.S. state of Texas. It was named for Palestine, Illinois, by preacher Daniel Parker, who had migrated from that town. The city had a 2020 U.S. census population of 18,544, mak ...
, KNET. McLendon was married in 1943 to Gay Noe, daughter of
James A. Noe James Albert Noe Sr. (December 21, 1890October 18, 1976) was an American businessman and politician from Louisiana, who was briefly the List of Governors of Louisiana, 43rd Governor of Louisiana following the death of Oscar K. Allen in 1936. Noe ...
, former governor of Louisiana; in 1973 he married
Susan Stafford Susan Stafford (born Susanna Gail Carney; October 13, 1945) is an American former model, actress and television host. She was the original daytime hostess of the American game show ''Wheel of Fortune'' from January 6, 1975, until she left on Oct ...
, a syndicated columnist, radio talk-show host, and actress. McLendon was known for his elaborate practical jokes, orchestrated on such notables as sitting President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
and
J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 â€“ May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation â ...
both of whom he called friends. He was a member of the board of stewards of Highland Park Methodist Church in Dallas and the board of directors of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Texas chairman of the March of Dimes, and an honorary chairman of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Poppy Drive. In 1964–65 he served as a communications adviser to the United States
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...
. In 1971 he conducted a month-long all-expense-paid broadcasting course for nine minority-group members, including African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Mexican-Americans.


Broadcasting


Liberty Broadcasting System

McLendon, who nicknamed himself "The Old Scotchman", is also noted in radio history as the founder of the
Liberty Radio Network The Liberty Broadcasting System was a U.S. radio network of the late 1940s and early 1950s founded by Gordon McLendon, which mainly broadcast live recreations of Major League Baseball games, by following the action via Western Union ticker reports. ...
(noted for its daily national broadcasts of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
) in the 1940s. Liberty was the second largest radio network in the U.S. at the time with over 458 affiliated stations. Most of Liberty's MLB broadcasts were re-creations of games, utilizing McLendon himself and future sportscasting stars such as
Lindsey Nelson Lindsey Nelson (May 25, 1919 – June 10, 1995) was an American sportscaster best known for his long career calling play-by-play of college football and New York Mets baseball. Nelson spent 17 years with the Mets and three years with the San F ...
and
Jerry Doggett Jerome Howard Doggett (September 14, 1916 – July 7, 1997) was an American sportscaster who called games for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball from 1956 to 1987. Early days Doggett was born in Moberly, Missouri and ...
on play-by-play. It was a live, not recreated game that provided McLendon and Liberty with their greatest career moment. The Old Scotchman himself was behind the Liberty microphone at the
Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...
in New York for the October 3, 1951 finale of the three-game
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
play-off series between the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
and
Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
.
Bobby Thomson Robert Brown Thomson (October 25, 1923 – August 16, 2010) was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player, nicknamed the "Staten Island Scot". He was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants (1946–53, 1957), M ...
of the Giants swung at Dodger
Ralph Branca Ralph Theodore Joseph "Hawk" Branca (January 6, 1926 – November 23, 2016) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1944 through 1956. Branca played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1944†...
's 0–1 pitch in the last of the ninth with two runners aboard, and McLendon barked: :''Bobby swings, there's a long one out there out to left! Going, going, GONE and the Giants win the pennant!'' Gordon then went silent and let the crowd's roar speak for itself. With radio still the more popular nationwide medium then, and with
Russ Hodges Russell Pleasant Hodges (June 18, 1910 – April 19, 1971) was an American sportscaster who did play-by-play for several baseball teams, most notably the New York Giants / San Francisco Giants. He is perhaps best remembered for his call of Bobby ...
' famous radio call limited to
WMCA WMCA may refer to: *WMCA (AM), a radio station operating in New York City * West Midlands Combined Authority, the combined authority of the West Midlands metropolitan county in the United Kingdom *Wikimedia Canada The Wikimedia Foundation, ...
and its Giants' network, McLendon's call is how most Americans heard the NL clincher.


Offshore Pirate radio

For a time he owned a converted fishing boat in the North Sea which beamed into Sweden and other European countries. In 1960 McLendon and his close friend
Clint Murchison Clinton Williams Murchison Jr. (September 12, 1923 – March 30, 1987) was a businessman and founder of the Dallas Cowboys football team. A son of Clint Murchison Sr., who made his first fortune in oil exploration and became notorious for exploi ...
owned
Radio Nord Radio Nord was a Swedish offshore commercial station that operated briefly from 8 March 1961 to 30 June 1962 from a ship anchored in international waters of the Baltic Sea off Stockholm, Sweden. While the station was dubbed as a pirate radio sta ...
which broadcast from an offshore facility that was called a
pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...
station by the Swedish government because it was located on board a radio ship and outside of their legal jurisdiction. When that venture came to an end the vessel was brought back to
Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
where the ship remained for a year until it was leased to a British operation. The new 1964 station was called
Radio Atlanta Radio Atlanta was an offshore commercial station that operated briefly from 12 May 1964 to 2 July 1964 from a ship anchored in the North Sea, three and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England. The radio broadcasting vessel was owned, at that ...
(after McLendon's home town). Unfortunately due to blunders in keeping the project secret, these plans were shared with
Jocelyn Stevens Sir Jocelyn Edward Greville Stevens, (14 February 1932 – 9 October 2014) was the publisher of ''Queen'' magazine and a London newspaper executive. Education and career Stevens attended Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, and Sandhurs ...
, editor of ''Queen'' magazine in London, who was a financial supporter of another station,
Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. ...
. Later in 1964 McLendon shared his experience at offshore broadcasting with
Don Pierson Donald Grey Pierson (October 11, 1925 – March 30, 1996) was a businessman and civic leader in Eastland, Texas. He founded the United Kingdom, British UK pirate radio, pirate stations Wonderful Radio London, Swinging Radio England and Brit ...
of
Eastland, Texas Eastland is a city in Eastland County, Texas, United States. Its population was 3,960 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Eastland County. History During the 1920s, Eastland, like nearby Cisco, Texas, Cisco, Ranger, Texas, Ranger, and De ...
, who created a mirror of McLendon's KLIF radio station in
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. That new incarnation was to have been called Radio KLIF London, but when it came on air it was identified as Radio London.


U.S. radio stations

McLendon and his father founded radio station KLIF (The Mighty 1190) in
Oak Cliff Oak Cliff is a neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, that was formerly a separate town in Dallas County; Dallas annexed Oak Cliff in 1901. It has since retained a distinct neighborhood identity as one of Dallas' older established neighborhoods. Oak Cl ...
,
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Texas in 1947, and introduced the Top 40 format there in the early 1950s to great success. KLIF enjoyed a long run at the top of the Dallas radio ratings in the 1950s and 1960s, but its standing in the market fell in the early 1970s thanks to growing competition from FM radio. One of the FM stations most instrumental in the downfall of KLIF was its former sister station KNUS (now KLUV), of which McLendon retained ownership after selling KLIF and revamped as a rock-oriented Top 40. The McLendon family built a communications empire that included radio stations across the United States. In addition to KLIF, McLendon owned KNUS–FM in Dallas,
KOST KOST (103.5 FM) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an AC radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. Its studios are co-located with its sister stati ...
in Los Angeles, WYNR (later WNUS) & WNUS-FM in Chicago, WWWW–FM in Detroit,
KEEL The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
in Shreveport, WAKY in Louisville, KABL in Oakland, KABL–FM in San Francisco,
KILT A kilt ( gd, fèileadh ; Irish: ''féileadh'') is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Hi ...
in Houston,
KTSA KTSA (550 AM "107.1 and 550 KTSA") is a commercial radio station in San Antonio, Texas. KTSA is owned by Alpha Media and airs a talk radio format. The studios, offices and three-tower transmitter are on Eisenhauer Road in San Antonio. Most h ...
in San Antonio (that he briefly renamed KAKI due to the military bases in the city), and
KELP Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwat ...
in El Paso. McLendon introduced the all-news format to Southern California through XETRA in
Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and
< ...
. McLendon was one of the originators of the "
beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator musi ...
" format on his
KABL KNEW (960 AM broadcasting, AM) is an American biz news radio station city of license, licensed to Oakland, California, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by iHeartMedia and most of the programming comes from Bloomberg Radio. KN ...
in
Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
in 1959; and as the founder of the first
all-news radio All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news stations can run the ...
station ( WNUS in Chicago) in the 1960s. He is credited by most broadcast historians with having established the first mobile news units in American radio, the first traffic reports, the first jingles, the first all-news radio station, and the first "easy-listening" programming. He also was among the first broadcasters in the United States to editorialize. McLendon especially attracted attention for his stern denunciations of French president
Charles De Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
, whom he described as "an ungrateful four-flusher" who could "go straight to hell." The McLendon family sold KLIF in 1971 to Fairchild Industries of Germantown, Maryland, for $10.5 million, then a record price for a radio station. By 1979 the family had sold all of its broadcasting properties, including fourteen radio and two television stations, worth approximately $100 million. By 1985 ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' magazine estimated McLendon's net worth at $200 million.


Television

In 1954, McLendon considered acquiring a share of Oklahoma City UHF station
KMPT KMPT (930 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve East Missoula, Montana. The station is owned by Townsquare Media. It airs a talk radio format. History KYSS signed on the air June 27, 1959. Treasure State Broadcasting signed the station o ...
, but opted against it, finding the struggling station "too far gone" (it closed a year later). McLendon was also the last owner of ABC affiliate
KCND-TV KCND-TV was a television station which broadcast from Pembina, North Dakota, United States from 1960 to 1975, targeting the Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada market some 60 miles (100 kilometres) to the north. It was the forerunner of current Global T ...
in
Pembina, North Dakota Pembina () is a city in Pembina County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 512 at the 2020 census. Pembina is located south of the Canada–US border. Interstate 29 passes on the west side of Pembina, leading north to the Canadaâ ...
. In 1975, he sold that station to
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
executive
Izzy Asper Israel Harold "Izzy" Asper (August 11, 1932– October 7, 2003) was a Canadian tax lawyer and media magnate. He was the founder and owner of the now-defunct TV and media company CanWest Global Communications Corp and father to its former CEO and ...
, who moved the station to Winnipeg and used it to start up
CKND-TV CKND-DT (channel 9) is a television station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, part of the Global Television Network. The station is owned and operated by network parent Corus Entertainment, with studios on the 30th floor of 201 Portage in downtown ...
, which would become the genesis of the present-day
Canwest Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate name Canwest, was a major Canadian media conglomerate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place. It held radio, television broadcasting an ...
media empire and the modern-day
Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...
.


Movies and theatres

In 1959, McLendon co-produced and co-starred in two sci-fi monster movies filmed in Texas, ''
The Killer Shrews ''The Killer Shrews'' is a 1959 American independent science fiction film directed by Ray Kellogg, and produced by Ken Curtis and Gordon McLendon. The story follows a group of researchers who are trapped in their remote island compound overnight ...
'' and ''
The Giant Gila Monster ''The Giant Gila Monster'' is a 1959 science fiction horror film directed by Ray Kellogg and produced by Ken Curtis. This low-budget B-movie starred Don Sullivan, a veteran of several low budget monster and zombie films, and Lisa Simone, the ...
''. He produced over 150 motion-picture campaigns for
United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
from 1963 to 1966. At one point, he became the largest shareholder in
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
. He was the executive producer of ''
Escape to Victory ''Escape to Victory'' (stylized as ''Victory'') is a 1981 American-British-Italian sports war film directed by John Huston and starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow and Pelé. The film is about Allied prisoners of wa ...
'', directed by
John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 â€“ August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...
and starring
Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
,
Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...
, and
Max von Sydow Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
. He also owned McLendon Theatres, which operated more than forty movie theatres throughout the south, including many
drive-ins A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or movie theater) where one can drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk or rollerskat ...
.


Oil

McLendon's father-in-law was former Louisiana Governor and oil magnate
James A. Noe James Albert Noe Sr. (December 21, 1890October 18, 1976) was an American businessman and politician from Louisiana, who was briefly the List of Governors of Louisiana, 43rd Governor of Louisiana following the death of Oscar K. Allen in 1936. Noe ...
who, along with his partner, Governor
Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "the Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination ...
, formed the controversial Win or Lose Oil Company. The firm was established to obtain leases on state-owned lands so that the directors might collect bonuses and sublease the mineral rights to the major oil companies. Although ruled legal, these activities were done in secret and the stockholders were unknown to the public. Noe and Long made a profit on the bonuses and the resale of those state leases, using the funds primarily for political purposes.


Author

McLendon became an authority on precious metals and wrote a book entitled ''Get Really Rich in the Coming Super Metals Boom'', published in 1981. He also authored a number of other books, including ''How to Succeed in Broadcasting'' (1961), ''Correct Spelling in Three Hours'' (1962), ''Understanding American Government'' (1964), and ''100 Years of America in Sound'' (1965).


Politics

McLendon, a conservative
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
, garnered only 43 percent of the vote in a primary race against incumbent US Senator
Ralph Yarborough Ralph Webster Yarborough (June 8, 1903 – January 27, 1996) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a Texas Democratic politician who served in the United States Senate from 1957 to 1971 and was a leader of the progressive wing of his p ...
in 1964. During the campaign he was accompanied by such Hollywood luminaries as
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
, Chill Wills, and
Robert Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as '' The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in ...
. He entered the primary for the 1968 Texas gubernatorial election, but withdrew from both the election and the Democratic Party, citing President
Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
's
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
policies.
Jack Ruby Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; April 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner and alleged associate of the Chicago Outfit who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of th ...
was an admirer of McLendon.


Later life

In December 1985, McLendon was reported to have been critically wounded while cleaning his .38-caliber pistol. He died of cancer at his ranch home near Lake Dallas, Texas, on September 14, 1986. He was inducted into the
National Radio Hall of Fame The Radio Hall of Fame, formerly the National Radio Hall of Fame, is an American organization created by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988. Three years later, Bruce DuMont, founder, president, and CEO of the Museum of Broadcast Communicatio ...
in 1994.


See also

*
Todd Storz Robert Todd Storz (May 8, 1924 – April 13, 1964) headed a very successful chain of American radio broadcasting stations and is generally credited with being the foremost innovator of the Top 40 radio format in 1951. The selection of records t ...
*
PAMS PAMS Productions, Inc. (an acronym for Production, Advertising and Merchandising Service), based in Dallas, Texas, was one of the most famous jingle production companies in American broadcasting. It produced identification packages for radio stat ...
jingles


References


External links

* * The History of KLIF Radio
McLendon Papers, 1902-1982, in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University

NARA Record Number: 104-10124-10189
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLendon, Gordon 1921 births 1986 deaths American radio company founders Harvard Law School alumni Major League Baseball broadcasters People from Dallas People of the Office of Naval Intelligence Texas Democrats Texas Libertarians Texas Republicans People from Atlanta, Texas People from Paris, Texas People from Lake Dallas, Texas