Scott Ellsworth (''née'' Harvey Charles Ellsworth, January 4, 1927) is an American radio personality, news presenter, and actor. The host of ''Scott's Place'', a jazz radio broadcast that came to prominence in the late 1960s, he has been on the air at
Financial News Network
The Financial News Network (FNN) was an American financial and business news television network that was launched November 30, 1981. The purpose of the network was to broadcast programming nationwide, five days a week for seven hours a day on t ...
,
KFI
KFI (640 AM) is a radio station in Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered, clear-channel Class A stations. It was the first U.S. station west of Ch ...
,
KCOP-TV
KCOP-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship (broadcasting), flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned-and-operated station, ow ...
,
KNX-TV in Los Angeles and
KWXY in
Cathedral City, California
Cathedral City, colloquially known as "Cat City", is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. Situated between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, the city has the second lar ...
.
Early life and education
Scott Ellsworth was born Harvey Charles Ellsworth in
Plymouth, Pennsylvania
Plymouth is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located west of Wilkes-Barre, along the Susquehanna River. The population was 5,763 as of the 2020 census.
History
Plymouth was first settled in 1769 by the Susquehann ...
in 1927.
[ He moved with his family to ]Pompton Lakes, New Jersey
Pompton Lakes is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 11,097,[Pompton Lakes High School
Pompton Lakes High School (PLHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the borough of Pompton Lakes in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Pompton Lakes School District. The sch ...]
in 1944. His father, Harvey Warren Ellsworth, was as a "song plugger
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...
" who also played the trumpet and led Ellsworth to his first inspiration to go into the arts and entertainment.[ His father was also a vocalist first at KDKA in Pittsburgh in and then to New York City on NBC radio, movie theaters and stage productions.][ Ellsworth would play the trumpet and ]cornet
The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...
during high school up until he entered the Armed Forces during WWII
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Directly following high school School Ellsworth served in the United States Merchant Marine
United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...
, he would serve in the Pacific Theater of the war.
Following his military service, Ellsworth moved to Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
, New York in 1948 and enrolled in New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
in Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
. He signed up for a speech class, and was told by the professor he had a "'professional sounding voice" and could make it "his profession".[ Ellsworth earned a ]Bachelors of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in both Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
and Drama from NYU in 1952. After graduating Ellsworth moved to Montrose, Colorado
Montrose is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,291 at the 2020 census, within a total area of 18.5 square miles. The ma ...
to pursue his dream in broadcasting after having cut an audio, audition disc for producer Pat Kelly at NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
studios in New York.[
]
Radio and television career
1952–1965: Colorado and Utah
In 1952, Ellsworth moved his family to Montrose, Colorado
Montrose is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,291 at the 2020 census, within a total area of 18.5 square miles. The ma ...
where he worked in numerous capacities as newscaster, program manager and announcer for KUBC at $400 a month. They allowed Ellsworth to exercise a number of ideas he had for the station. In 1955 the KUBC owner bought KVOD
KVOD (88.1 MHz) is a public radio station broadcasting a classical music format. Licensed to Lakewood, Colorado, it serves the Denver metropolitan area. The station is owned by Public Broadcasting Of Colorado. Its programming is broadcast ...
in Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...
and wanted Ellsworth to become program director; he moved to Denver and worked in radio and T.V. broadcasting for the next 5 years for KBTV and KVOD. Ellsworth eventually resigned from his position at KVOD and moved to station KLZ in Denver. He would create successful shows such as "Active Radio" which was an on the spot news and events broadcast. He would soon move back to KVOD (now KHOW
KHOW (630 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Denver, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KHOW is one of three iHeart-owned stations in Denver with a news/talk radio format. ...
) as operations manager. Another ownership change and other difficult circumstances with management prompted Ellsworth to eventually move to KALL
KALL (700 AM) is a sports radio station in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area licensed to North Salt Lake, Utah, though in station identifications and the FCC database, the station is listed as being licensed to "North Salt Lake City". The ...
, an ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
affiliate in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
.[
In 1963 Ellsworth resigned from KHOW and moved his family from Colorado to Salt Lake City where he served as a newscaster and program director at KALL (1963–65). KVOD was an ABC affiliate station, the primary ABC network business manager helped Ellsworth secure the position at KALL at the top of the pay scale (ABC affiliate in Salt Lake City). In 18 months of moving there Ellsworth and his family realized this was not the right position or the location they ultimately desired to live in.][
]
1965–1984: Los Angeles, California
On June 12, 1965, Ellsworth traveled to Los Angeles looking for work and was doing taping for TV commercials, he visited the KFI
KFI (640 AM) is a radio station in Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered, clear-channel Class A stations. It was the first U.S. station west of Ch ...
studio (affiliate of NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
), where he was offered a job after auditioning for KFI station manager Pat Kelly. He was given duties of being a staff announcer going from studio to studio doing commercial and station IDs, as well as other on-air responsibilities.[ On June 5, 1968, Ellsworth was the on-site reporter for ]KFI
KFI (640 AM) is a radio station in Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered, clear-channel Class A stations. It was the first U.S. station west of Ch ...
during Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...
's victory speech for the California, Democratic Party primary.[Pasik, Herb. "As Newsman, actor, Ellsworth was there when..." Weekend Desert Post. May 6, 1988. pp. 36] He was literally within arm's distance of witnessing and reporting on Kennedy's assassination at the hands of Sirhan Sirhan
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (; ar, سرحان بشارة سرحان ''Sirḥān Bišāra Sirḥān'', born March 19, 1944) is a Palestinian Jordanian man who was convicted for the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Kennedy, a United States Sen ...
.
Ellsworth moved his family to the Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...
/Los Angeles region settling in the Reseda area in the San Fernando Valley, just north of the KFI, Burbank studios. He worked for KFI
KFI (640 AM) is a radio station in Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered, clear-channel Class A stations. It was the first U.S. station west of Ch ...
radio and then KCBS-FM in 1973. He later worked for KCOP-TV
KCOP-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship (broadcasting), flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned-and-operated station, ow ...
as a newscaster, sportscaster, writer, announcer and talk show host for several years. At KCOP-TV Ellsworth produced, wrote and hosted ''Daybreak'' and ''Who Can I Turn To'' which were weekly talk shows dealing with financial and medical topics. For 2 years he was the talk show host for KNX-TV's (Los Angeles) ''Noontime'' midday show. In 1974 Ellsworth lent his talent to the Toshiko Akiyoshi
is a Japanese–American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader.
Akiyoshi received fourteen Grammy Award nominations and was the first woman to win Best Arranger and Composer awards in '' Down Beat'' magazine's annual Readers' Poll. ...
/Lew Tabackin
Lewis Barry Tabackin (born March 26, 1940) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flutist. He is married to pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi with whom he has co-led large ensembles since the 1970s.
Biography
Tabackin started learning flute at age 1 ...
Big Band album '' Kogun''. His voice is heard on the track ''Memory'' as part of a narrative and story telling relating to Japanese folklore
Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, customs, and material culture.
In Japanese, the term is used to describe folklore. The academic stud ...
. ''Memory'' is also included on the 2008 Mosaic
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
3 CD compilation, '' Mosaic Select: Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band''.[
In 1965 KFI's station manager Pat Kelly who suggested Ellsworth use the name "Scott." In August 1984 Ellsworth officially changed his name from "Harvey Charles Ellsworth" to his professional and stage name, "Scott Ellsworth."
In early 1981 Ellsworth signed on with the ]Financial News Network
The Financial News Network (FNN) was an American financial and business news television network that was launched November 30, 1981. The purpose of the network was to broadcast programming nationwide, five days a week for seven hours a day on t ...
as news anchor. In 1983, Financial News Network
The Financial News Network (FNN) was an American financial and business news television network that was launched November 30, 1981. The purpose of the network was to broadcast programming nationwide, five days a week for seven hours a day on t ...
(FNN) established a 24-hour feed on cable TV only. At night, it added SCORE (television), a mini-network that aired sports events and news. Ellsworth become the evening news anchor and interviewer for FNN, broadcasting out of their Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
studio. FNN was sold to CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sh ...
around 1991, and Ellsworth went back to being a jazz music DJ, hosting ''Scott's Place'' on KWXY from 1992 until the station traded hands around 2012.
''Scott's Place''
Ellsworth created and hosted on the radio program ''Scott's Place''. It aired on KFI-AM 640 in Los Angeles from 1968 through 1974, Monday through Saturday for 4 hours live midnight to 4 am.[Hellman, Jack. "Light and Airy" Variety Magazine. April 5, 1971] Ellsworth moved the show to KWXY near Palm Springs
Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...
during the 1990s, and broadcast from KWXY for ten years. He left KWXY when the format changed in 2011. Ellworth continued his on-line radio program from his own studio, which he initiated in April 2014.[
NBC was trying to finally get out of the radio business in 1968. During this transition their affiliate KFI was losing numerous DJs to include Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins who would eventually move to the ]San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, California, San Jose, and Oakland, Ca ...
area.[ With the sudden exit of Collins, Scott Ellsworth was able to obtain a program time slot. The new show, ''Scott's Place'', aired midnight until 4:00 am daily and featured jazz and big band music, interspersed with interviews with musicians and entertainers.][ Due to KFI's wide distribution, the show was heard across the United States and gained national attention.][Hall, Claude. Billboard Magazine "Vox Jox". December 12, 1970. pp. 36]
Artists would bring some of their favorite recordings to ''Scott's Place'' and talk about their music and careers over a 2 to 3-hour period.[ ]Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and th ...
recorded a song written especially for Ellsworth, ''Scott's Place'' composed by Sammy Nestico
Samuel Louis Nistico (February 6, 1924 – January 17, 2021), better known as Sammy Nestico, was an American composer and arranger. Nestico is best known for his arrangements for the Count Basie orchestra.
Early life and education
Samuel Luigi ...
(recorded on the Basie '' Have and Nice Day'' LP) This became the opening theme music for Ellsworth's show.[ Ellsworth also did special broadcasts from the ]Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...
, Disneyland
Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisi ...
's "All That Jazz Weekend" and other live locations featuring jazz artists.[Chilton, John. "Let The Good Times Roll:: The Story of Louis Jordan and His Music" University of Michigan Press, 1997. Louis Jordan, KFI interview with Scott Ellsworth, April 26, 1971 cited throughout book. Chapt 1, 2, 6 and 8][
In early-1972, Ellsworth was approached by KFI to change his format to popular ]Rock & Roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
. His last guest was Johnny Mercer
John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...
.[ Ellsworth's interviews from the show are archived at the American Jazz Institute in Pasadena, California.][
As an extension of the radio program, for a short time Ellsworth hosted his own music performance venue at "Torches West" in Woodland Hills starting in June 1972.][Reference to Ellsworth being host of June 1972 performance. Coda. Volume 10, Issues 6–11, 1973, pp. 38.][ ]Tex Beneke
Gordon Lee "Tex" Beneke ( ; February 12, 1914 – May 30, 2000) was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. Hi ...
offered his band for the first weekend and the venue also hosted the bands of Freddy Martin
Frederick Alfred Martin (December 9, 1906 – September 30, 1983) was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist.
Early life
Freddy Martin was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Raised largely in an orphanage and by various relatives, ...
, Charlie Barnet
Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader.
His major recordings were "Skyliner", "Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffle ...
t and vocalist Kay Starr
Katherine Laverne Starks (July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016), known professionally as Kay Starr, was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multip ...
. It only latest four weeks due to less than desired attendance and the heavy financial burden taken on by Ellsworth. For starting this venue and his past support of artists, he received the "Friend of the Musicians" honor from the American Federation of Musicians
The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM/AFofM) is a 501(c)(5) labor union representing professional instrumental musicians in the United States and Canada. The AFM, which has its headquarters in New York City, ...
(AF of M) local 47 in Los Angeles due to his continual support for the preservation of jazz.[Sippel, John. ''Billboard''. June 10, 1972. pp. 12]
Acting career
Ellsworth began working as an actor in the early 1970s. His credits include TV shows and movies, including ''Girls Are for Loving'' (1973), '' The F.B.I.'' (1972–1973), ''Cannon
A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder duri ...
'' (1975), ''The Moneychangers'' (1976), '' 79 Park Avenue'' (1977), ''The Rockford Files
''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigat ...
'' (1977–1978), '' Grandpa Goes to Washington'' (1978–1979), ''H.O.T.S.
''H.O.T.S.'' is a 1979 sex comedy. The film stars three ''Playboy'' Playmates — Susan Kiger (January 1977), Pamela Bryant (April, 1978), and Sandy Johnson (June, 1974), as well as former Miss USA of 1972, Lindsay Bloom, sexploitation ac ...
'' (1979), '' Beyond Westworld'' (1980), and ''The A-Team
''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court m ...
'' (1985), among others. He has been featured in theater productions to include ''Hostile Witness
A hostile witness, also known as an adverse witness or an unfavorable witness, is a witness at trial whose testimony on direct examination is either openly antagonistic or appears to be contrary to the legal position of the party who called t ...
'', '' The Best Man'', ''Becket
''Becket or The Honour of God'' (french: Becket ou l'honneur de Dieu) is a 1959 play written in French by Jean Anouilh. It is a depiction of the conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England leading to Becket's assassination in 117 ...
'', ''Move Over, Mrs Markham'', ''Social Security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
'' and ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...
''.[Graham, Elizabeth. Review: Move Over. ''Los Angeles Times''. June 20, 1986]
Education career
Ellsworth was an adjunct professor in the Communication and Media studies department at California State University, Long Beach. He was also an instructor at College of the Desert
College of the Desert (COD) is a public community college in Palm Desert, California. COD enrolls about 12,500 students, of which around one third attend college full-time. It serves the Coachella Valley of Riverside County. The college is fed ...
, Santa Monica College
Santa Monica College (SMC) is a public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Although initially serving primarily pre-college high s ...
and the Don Martin School of Radio and Television Arts and Sciences.[
]
Radio and T.V. program/station affiliation
Television appearances (partial list)
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
*
American Jazz Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellsworth, Scott
20th-century American male actors
Radio and television announcers
Radio personalities from Los Angeles
Radio personalities from New Jersey
American male radio actors
Television personalities from Los Angeles
Television personalities from New Jersey
1927 births
American radio DJs
Radio personalities from Pennsylvania
American male voice actors
American talk radio hosts
New York University alumni
People from Pompton Lakes, New Jersey
Pompton Lakes High School alumni
Living people
United States Merchant Mariners of World War II