Chris Rathaus (also known as Chris Randall) (March 22, 1943 – May 18, 2006) was an American

radio producer A radio producer oversees the making of a radio show. The job title covers several different job descriptions: *Content producers or executive producers oversee and orchestrate a radio show or feature. The content producer might organize music cho ...

, program director and

talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

host of radio programs in the United States. Rathaus passed on the Paul McCartney death hoax, to an associate radio dj,

Roby Yonge Roby Yonge (July 25, 1943 – July 18, 1997) was an American radio DJ, most notable in the 1960s. He was best known for being fired from New York City station WABC in 1969, after he reported over the air that the singer Paul McCartney might have d ...

at WABC in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Early life and education

Chris Randall was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

on March 22, 1943

Career

Randall started his career at WPTR/Albany, New York. Next he moved to

WKNR-FM WNIC (100.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Dearborn, Michigan, and serving the Metro Detroit media market. Owned by iHeartMedia, WNIC broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format. Each year, usually on the first Friday of Nove ...

“Keener 13”/Detroit. From Detroit, Rathaus moved to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

to become production director and assistant program director at Westinghouse's KDKA Pittsburgh. In 1974 he became program director of

WOWO WOWO (1190 AM) – branded News/Talk WOWO 92.3 FM 1190 AM – is a commercial talk radio station licensed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, serving primarily the Fort Wayne metropolitan area. Currently owned by Federated Media via licensee Pathfinder ...

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

. Later he moved to

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, where he directed programs at

WDAE WDAE (620 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida and serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a sports radio format. WDAE is one of the oldest radio stations in Florida still broadcasti ...

Tampa. As Chris Rathaus, he formed the audio production companies MediAide and Studio C in Tampa. During this time (late 1980's) he also worked as an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida (Main Tampa Campus) where he taught a class in audio production. He was also the host of a nationally syndicated talk show, “The Rat House”. It was syndicated on 100 stations through the Sun Radio Network in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...

. Rathaus moved to Beasley Broadcasting's

WQAM WQAM (560 AM broadcasting, AM, "AM 560 Sports") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Miami, Florida. It broadcasts a sports radio radio format, format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The studios are in Audacy's Miami office on Nort ...

Miami, and Clear Channel's WRMF-WJNO/West Palm Beach. He was also the producer of the

Radio Ink ''Radio Ink'' is a radio broadcasting industry trade magazine owned by Streamline Publishing. ''Radio Ink'' serves the management community of the radio industry in the United States and in 43 countries worldwide. The focus of the bi-weekly ma ...

audio program: “Radio Ink Live” series. Becoming intrigued by new possibilities in changing technology, Rathaus left Palm Beach for the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

radio start-up RadioCentral in San Francisco. He was then hired at

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Latin script: ), meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbr ...

Satellite Radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than te ...

, where he worked as a producer and helped expand their offerings to the unprecedented number they have achieved.

Death

Rathaus, at age 63, died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in New York in 2006. Rathaus was best known for his audio production skills.

Legacy and honors

*1998, he was awarded the International Radio TS Worldwide Gold Medal for best audio production.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathaus, Chris 2006 deaths American radio personalities American radio producers Deaths from cancer in New York (state) 1943 births