SOCIETY MEMBERS
The Gold Circle is not an award; it’s a society of honor.
Television professionals are inducted to recognize significant contributions made by these individuals to our industry for 50 years or more.
Phil Alvidrez
INDUCTED: 2023
Phil Alvidrez is a partner and general manager of MagicDust, overseeing both content and business development. He recruits talent, oversees budgets and manages contracts and business relationships with the company’s partners and clients. He was instrumental in the creation of the first two nationally-syndicated television shows ever produced in Phoenix, NASCAR Angels (2006-2010) and RightThisMinute (2011-2022). During its 11 seasons, RightThisMinute became America’s #1 daily viral video TV show airing on more than 200 stations across the U.S.
A journalist at heart, Phil ran the newsroom at KTVK in Phoenix from 1986 through 2003. The station grew to become the market leader and one of ABC’s top affiliates. When ABC moved its affiliation from KTVK in 1994, Phil was a leader in the group that built the most successful independent station in America. A creative approach to news would become the backbone of KTVK’s survival and growth. As VP/News, Phil managed a staff of more than 160, producing nine hours of local news each weekday. He oversaw creation of Arizona’s most- watched morning news program, Good Morning Arizona , and the nation’s first local, Spanish-language all-news cable channel, ¡Más! Arizona . Under his direction, KTVK remained first in news ratings, allowing the station to hold its overall #1 position, sign-on to sign-off.
Phil began his career in 1973 as a producer and reporter at the CBS affiliate in Phoenix (KOOL/KSAZ) and later worked as executive producer and assistant news director before joining KTVK. Phil graduated with honors and a degree in Radio-Television from Arizona State University in 1975.
Phil was the first television journalist to receive the Freedom of Information Award given by the Valley of the Sun Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. In 1996, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University and is a longtime member of the Rocky Mountain Southwest Silver Circle Society. Phil lives in Phoenix with his wife Mary. They have two children and four grandchildren.
Jack Clifford
INDUCTED: 2007
Jack Clifford was born on Sept. 13, 1933, in Gary, Indiana. His mother was a homemaker and his father a railroad detective. Frequently bored in school, he was voted “The Least Likely to Succeed” by his high school classmates in Grand Rapids, Mich. (In 2015, their prediction became the title of his memoir.)
While attending Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, Jack helped build the school radio station, which got him interested in broadcasting. He worked for a local radio station as an overnight disc-jockey, where his show was called “Cruising with Clifford.”
In 1957, he went on vacation to Phoenix, Arizona to visit his parents and his sister and stayed, taking a job as the first sports anchor at KTVK-TV, Channel 3. In 1962 he began working at KTAR-TV, Channel 12, also in Phoenix, in the sales department and eventually became the station’s president and general manager. In 1974, he became president of a station in Atlanta, then two years moved to Sacramento to work. In 1977, he was hired by the Providence Journal Co. to help build its broadcast and cable holdings, which eventually put him in a position to help start the Food Network.
Clifford then worked in several media markets until he moved to Rhode Island with the Providence Journal Company, as executive vice president. He worked to develop the company’s electronic media business into one of the nation’s largest broadcast & cable television, programming companies. He later founded and was chairman of both the Food Network (1993) and Northwest Cable News.
Jack retired in 1997, moving back to Arizona, with his first wife, Marguerite, where they pursued a variety of passions, including competitive ballroom dancing and thoroughbred racing. In 2006, they bought a second home on Coronado Island, California. Marguerite passed away in October 2007 after 49 years together. He and his second wife, Beverly were married in 2010 and bought a home in Chula Vista better adapted to his decreased mobility from Parkinson’s Disease.
His many philanthropic endeavors included involvement with Arizona Opera, Challenger Space Center, ASU Cronkite Foundation & Endowment, Arizona Kidney Foundation, House of Broadcasting Museum and a host of other community activities.
Jack was a member of both the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter’s Silver Circle & Gold Circle Societies and a member of the Arizona Broadcasters Association’s Hall of Fame. Jack passed away on July 28, 2019 at his home in Chula Vista, California.
Bill Close
INDUCTED: 2006
Bill was born in Grand View, New York, May 20, 1921, the son of first-generation immigrants. He grew up in and around Oakland, California. Despite an unfortunate encounter with a train at age 15, he lived a full and active life. He attended Stanford University, was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, and married Carol Joy Norling.
He began his broadcasting career on his 22nd birthday at KLS in Oakland, worked at KCBS in San Francisco and WAIT in Chicago, then came to Phoenix in 1946 to work for former Governor Jack Williams at Radio Station KOY. He was hired first as an announcer, later earning his own Morning show, ” Close to You,” taking its name from a song that was popular at the time. Bill was promoted to Sports Director and for 10 years his radio program ” Close-ups in Sports” was broadcast 5 days a week. He was honored as Arizona Sportscaster of the Year in 1952. Bill’s final promotion was to News Director, a position he held for the remainder of his tenure at KOY. In 1964, Bill moved to television and Channel 10, then known as KOOL-TV where he was Vice President – News, News Director, and Anchor and Commentator of the 6pm news for over 28 years. He retired from Channel 10 (now KSAZ-TV) at the end of 1992, completing 50 years in broadcasting.
Bill’s interests were many and varied. He served on the Scottsdale School Board; charter member of the Phoenix Press Box Association (held all offices including President); board member, Jane Waylan Child Center; member of the Phoenix Press Club, the Arizona Press Club, the National AAU Public Relations Committee, the Roosevelt Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Radio and Television News Directors Association, Sigma Delta Chi, and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, where he was inducted into the Gold Circle Society. He was also inducted into the Arizona Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame. He co-founded the Bola Tie Society of Arizona, serving as its president for 36 years. With Governor Rose Mofford, he co-chaired the Zane Grey Cabin Foundation and was honored with the Zane Grey West Society’s Purple Sage Award. He served on (and chaired) the Governor’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, and was appointed to the Arizona State Pardon and Parole Board. With good friend Phil Rulon, he co-edited the book “The Many Faces of Zane Grey”, and in 2003 he wrote his own autobiography.
He loved sports of all kinds and held season tickets to ASU football and basketball for several decades. Bill was an avid stamp and coin collector, and a member of the Southwest RedWingers Society. With his wife, Joy, he traveled to all 50 states, as well as several destinations in Europe. Bill passed away on January 27, 2013.
John Craft
INDUCTED: 2012
Dr. John Craft is Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University, having taught mass
communications and broadcasting at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass
Communication for nearly 50 years, including a 12-year stint as Director of Graduate Studies,
and was the senior faculty member of the School.
Prior to arriving in Arizona, Craft was a video quality engineer, camera operator, producer, and
the Director of Staging and Lighting at station WOUB-TV in Athens, Ohio, the Director of
Educational Television and Audio Visual Services for the Hancock County Schools in West
Virginia, and the Director of Instructional Television at Ohio University.
While at Arizona State University, he served as a media consultant for many corporations and
school districts, including employment as Director of Video Services for Samaritan Health
Services, corporate video consultant for Allied Signal and for Leisure World among others, and
was a cable consultant for Tower Communications and for Times-Mirror Cable. He also has served as an educational media consultant for school districts in Arizona, Maryland, Ohio, and West Virginia.
In addition, he has produced EMMY® nominated television documentaries that have been
shown on public television stations across the country, and has had his television programs
distributed internationally, as well as having been broadcast on “The History Channel.” He is
also the author of several media studies and broadcast textbooks as well as having articles
published in Broadcasting and Billboard magazines. He has often been called on by many
national and international broadcast and print media publications for his views on mass
communication issues and has been a public speaker for the Arizona Humanities Council as
well as for many other civic organizations.
Craft is a past trustee of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, has served as
president of the regional chapter, and a current ex-officio member of the board, and the Gold
and Silver Circle chair of the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of
Television Arts & Sciences. He has served as president of the Phoenix Chapter of the
International Television Association, treasurer of the Phoenix Cable Television Forum, and is a
member of the board of the House of Broadcasting.
In 2008 he was awarded the “Excellence in Broadcast Education Award” from the Arizona
Broadcasters Association. In 2022 he was awarded the “Governor’s Award” for his exemplary service to the Academy and to the broadcast community — the prestigious EMMY® award given each year by the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Craft is a member of the NATAS Silver Circle and was inducted into the
Gold Circle in 2012.
John is married to Adela (Lelis) Craft, who is a university professor of management and the
Director of Education for the Phoenix based DAS Foundation. He is the father of Dr. Lauren
Craft of Fallbrook, California and Jennifer Hurst-Craft of Chandler, Arizona as well as step-
daughters Ana Lucia Monet of Montreux, Switzerland and Alejandra Fernandez of Madrid,
Spain. His granddaughters include Abigail Hurst and Carlotta Fernandez.
Robert Davies
INDUCTED: 2006
Robert ‘Bob’ Davies worked at KOOL Radio & TV (now KTSP TV) for 26 years. Bob’s many television assignments included weatherman, host, narrator, commentator, radio announcer. Fiesta Bowl parade emcee, program director and finally vice president.
On the radio, Bob’s many hats included disc jockey and sports coverage of the Phoenix Open and ASU football, basketball and baseball.
After KOOL sold, Bob went to work as the Vice President of Community Affairs for Times Mirror Cable, and then on to the Sun Angel Foundation, a booster group for ASU since 1969. Bob served on the Fiesta Bowl board, including being President in 1983. He also served on the boards of Florence Crittenden, Boys & Girls Club, Boy Scouts of America, and the ASU Alumni Association.
Davies was inducted in to the Arizona Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter’s Gold Circle Society, where he also served as chapter president in the mid 1960’s.
Manny Garcia
INDUCTED: 2014
In 1964 Manny Garcia was teaching photography at Phoenix College. KOOL-TV General Manager, Homer Lane, called one day and asked, “Would you have any interested in helping us build our news department at Channel 10?” He interviewed, got the job and became one of the first television news photographers in Arizona. He also ran the film processor and edited stories for Channel 10’s Newscasts.
In 1965, Manny was the Director of Photography for one of the state’s first major documentary projects, a one-hour, prime-time special titled Illegitimacy, The Sudden Fact of Life. The program won numerous awards including an Emmy® for Best Documentary. Garcia says, “I was named Director of Photography for the station in 1966 and took part in hiring the best group of videographers in the region. I’ve been lucky enough to do special reporting and documentary production all over the world. I have seen some incredible images in some very remote places on this lovely planet. But I think I am best known for the scenic shots and scenes of this beautiful state in which I was born. I am a fourth generation Arizonan. And I love this place with both my heart and my eyes.”
His father was a sheepherder for a good part of his life. He grew up listening to his stories of old Arizona. Manny’s mom came to Phoenix in 1929 and quickly became a historical part of this community by joining a dance troupe in the then “new” Orpheum Theatre. He is married to his wife, Irene, has three grown children, Anne, Christie and Jon, along with several grandchildren.
Garcia is a Rocky Mountain Emmy®, Peabody and Gabriel Award recipient and has more than 20 press association awards. He is also the recipient of the coveted National Emmy® Award.
As the Director of Photography for “RightThisMinute,” Arizona’s first daily national syndicated television show, he is still teaching and still helping to shape new ways to share the world’s stories. Today it’s for millions of daily television viewers in the United States and growing web audience throughout the world.
Maurie Helle
INDUCTED: 2009
Maurie is an Award-winning writer-producer-director. He has Co-produced and directed over 200 documentaries and specials, as well as more than 23,000 commercials. Helle also created two weekly children’s programs which aired for over 12 years. In 1990, he was selected by Food for The Hungry International, to go on location in Ethiopia and Kenya and document the organization’s efforts on the African Continent. This resulted in Helle, writing, producing and directing the acclaimed, “Seeds of Survival” documentary.
Maurie Graduated near the top of his class from Northwest Broadcasting School in 1959. He then worked as Chief Director at WHIZ-TV in Zanesville, Ohio until 1960. Upon moving to Arizona, he became the Chief Director and Production Manager at KOOL-TV, now KSAZ-TV. During his long tenure there, he directed all specials, including Sports for Arizona State University, the first televised College World Series from Omaha, Nebraska and the new National Basketball Association (NBA) team in town, the Phoenix Suns. In 1987 he retired from Channel 10 and became the president of Helle International Inc. Maurie is now fully retired.
He has won many awards and accolades over his life and career, including the Arizona Broadcasters Hall of Fame, both the NATAS Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter’s Gold Circle and Silver Circle Society inductions, Lifetime Honorary Member Arizona Production Association, Lifetime Honorary Member of Phoenix Ad Club, International, “Best of Show” Redevelopment Award for Williams Gateway Airport Video, Arizona Chapter of AWRT: Producer/director of the Year, Emmy® Award (regional) Coverage of Papal Visit to Arizona, National Iris Award for “Chapter Ten” weekly children’s program Subject: “Juvenile Justice”, Who’s Who In The West”, CBS-TV Children’s Workshop Panelist, Phoenix Advertising Man of The Year, and First Honorary Life Member Ad 2 Phoenix.
Helle International, Inc. Clients have included Chapman Auto Dealerships (7), Shasta Pools & Spas, Barclay Communications, HandsOn Marketing, Dr. Paul Dentistry, RacerWorld, Cricket Communications, Children’s Miracle Network, Bisbee Museum (Smithsonian Institute), Fahey/Black Communications, Xerox Corporation, Prudential Insurance, Mayo Clinic, House of Broadcasting Museum, Illinois Harwood Lumber Association, First National Bank of Arizona, and Citizens Communications Corp.
Maurie enjoys community service and has given back in many ways including as volunteer director for Central United Methodist Church videos, Arizona Heart Association, Lupus Foundation, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, House Of Broadcasting Museum (board member), Arizona Production Association (Past President, founding V.P.), Gompers Foundation (former board member), Arizona Education Association (public service producer), Phoenix Chamber of Commerce (public service producer), and Scottsdale Community College (film board member).
Jack Jacobson
INDUCTED: 2006
Jack began his broadcasting career in 1929 on WHAM radio in Rochester, NY, at the tender age of eight on the Uncle Bob Pierce and Company Radio Show. For a while, he and his brother Jay, who went on to become a well-known writer as “Jay Williams”, had their own act together. In 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, which led to him and best friend, Murray Davison, forming the first Combat Special Services Entertainment Unit, the Famed Sky Blazers, who played with such notables as Jack Benny. He was awarded the Army’s Bronze Star Medal for his service, along with the Jubilee of Freedom Medal from the French Government. After the war, he returned to the U.S., married his sweetheart, Doris Erhard, and in 1945 formed The Ultra Tone Recording Company in Dallas, Texas. Four years later, he became executive producer and on-air talent at WHIO-TV in Dayton, Ohio, serving as producer of The Wendy Barrie Show, and also performing for pint-sized viewers as Nosey the Clown. In 1962, he was hired as program/promotion manager for Tucson’s KGUN-TV, and among his many duties was playing “kindly, lovable Dr. Scar” on the station’s Chiller Theater. He moved to Phoenix to manage KTVK-TV in 1979, and then returned to Tucson as general manager of KTTU-TV, a post he held until his retirement in 2002.
Jack was very active in the community. He served on the Executive Committee for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Additionally, he was appointed as a member of the Corporation (for MDA), and later served as a vice president of MDA’s National Association. He was a member of the advisory board of the Tucson Salvation Army, Casa de los Niños’ advisory board, KUAT-TV’s advisory board, and served as executive director for the performing group Kids Unlimited. He was elected to the ABC Television Network’s first Promotion Advisory Board and served as president of the Metropolitan Phoenix Broadcasters. Additionally, he was the recipient of the Tucson Ad Club’s Silver Medal; a member of the Arizona Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame, and in 2002, prestigious Gold Circle Society of the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He was the published author of two young adult novels, “Miriam” and “No Ordinary Boy”, as well as a memoir about his World War II experiences, “Introducing The Sky Blazers.” He continued to record voiceovers for TV and radio commercials, handle public speaking engagements, and even acted as on-air spokesman for KUAT-TV’s pledge drives until a few months before his death from cancer. Jack passed away on March 23, 2009, at the age of 87.
Dick Knipfing
INDUCTED: 2013
Dick Knipfing came to Albuquerque in the early 1960s as a University of New Mexico student. Since then he reported on hundreds of events which changed the direction of Albuquerque and state history. He has seen incredible changes in technology, the style of network news, and the methods by which news is collected.
Homer Lane
INDUCTED: 2007
Homer was born in New York City in 1923. He graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1941, and served in the US Army during World War II. He joined the CBS radio station in New York in 1944. In 1946, he and his family moved to Marshall, Minnesota where he began working for KMHL as Program Director. In April 1951, Homer joined KOOL Radio in Phoenix, AZ as an Account Executive. He remained with the KOOL organization until 1986. During his more than 30 years with KOOL he served as Radio Program Director, Radio Station Manager, General Manager of both radio and television, Member of the Board of Directors, Treasurer of the Corporation, Executive Vice President, and was the station’s Chief Charter Pilot. For the last ten years of service he was one of the three stockholders of KOOL with Tom Chauncey and Gene Autry. Homer wrote and delivered the Station Editorials for 25 years. After leaving from management of KOOL-TV in 1982, he continued to manage KOOL radio stations until 1986. Following his services at KOOL, Homer helped in the restructuring of television stations in Tirana, Albania, and in Kiev and Kharkov, Ukraine until his retirement in 1994. Along with his military service, Homer served in the Broadcasting Industry for 50 years.
Homer was an outstanding citizen as well as a pioneering influence in the Phoenix area. He was a charter member and president of the Board of Governors of the Arizona Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences where he served several terms. Homer was one of the first members to be inducted into the Silver Circle Society of the Academy in 1992 and later went on to become a Gold Circle Society Member in 2007. Homer also served as a member of the Inspection Team for Radio Free Europe Installations in West Germany in 1963, and was an Honorary Blue Angels Member. In 1970, with his late wife Doris, Homer served as a member of a five-person delegation in Paris to speak with the North Vietnamese and the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) regarding the treatment of POW’s held by both sides during the Vietnam War. Homer was personally thanked by the late Senator John McCain for this work. Homer was an officer and/or member of over 65 community organizations including: Arizona Broadcasters Association, League of United Latin American Citizens, The Rolls Royce Club, and Sigma Delta Chi. He was also a member and past president of the Arizona 100 Rotary Club. In his lifetime Homer received approximately 125 different awards including Volunteer of the Year, Distinguished Citizen of the Year and the Abe Lincoln Award for exceptional Achievement as Broadcasters and Citizens. In addition to these awards, Homer was inducted into the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1982. He also received special citations from the following: United States of America, State of Arizona, City of Phoenix, Maricopa County, US Navy, US Army and US Air Force. In recognition of his services in Washington D.C., the late Senator Barry Goldwater presented Homer with a US flag that was flown over the US Capital Building on our nation’s bicentennial. With a passion for life and love of community service, Homer left a real mark on society far beyond the Phoenix metropolitan area. During the 1970`s he was voted as “the most recognized person in the state of Arizona” in a survey conducted by one of KOOL TV station’s competitors. Homer passed away in 2008 at the age of 85.
Al McCoy
Inducted: 2022
Dubbed the dean of NBA play-by-play and now in his 50th season as the “Voice of the Suns,” Al McCoy holds the NBA’s longest consecutive run as a team broadcaster. He first hit the air during a 1972 preseason game and is now an indelible part of the Suns brand. From “Shazam” to “Zing Go the Strings” to “Heartbreak Hotel,” McCoy has cultivated an unparalleled style that fans love. Just last year, Phoenix Magazine readers named McCoy the best play-by-play announcer for the 23rd consecutive time.
His list of awards is long: in 2017, he was inducted into the Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor. He received the 18th Annual Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, was honored by the Suns with the dedication of the Al McCoy Media Center, received a Silver Circle Award from the Arizona chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the House of Broadcasting. He is also the first play-by-play announcer to be inducted into the Arizona Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.
A native of Iowa, McCoy played basketball and admired legendary sports broadcasters growing up. As fate would have it, he is one himself now, having done play by play for many Arizona teams, including the Phoenix Giants, Phoenix Roadrunners, ASU football and basketball, Arizona Diamondbacks and the Phoenix Mercury.
In his spare time, Al is an accomplished jazz pianist and culinary critic scouting gourmet restaurants around the league. He and his beloved wife Georgia, a Valley artist who passed away in 2012, have three sons: Mike, and twins Jay and Jerry.
Pat McMahon
INDUCTED: 2009
If anyone ever told Pat McMahon, “You simply can’t do it all” he wasn’t listening! Pat McMahon’s career at KTAR radio spans over 30 years as award-winning talk show host of such memorable shows as, “The Pat McMahon Show”, “The McMahon Group” and “The God Show”, now on the Star Worldwide Networks.
Pat McMahon’s kaleidoscopic life has always been full. As a child he traveled the world with his show business family, which proved excellent training for his multi-faceted career as an actor with legends like Orson Welles, John Huston and Dick Van Dyke, a producer, recording artist, writer, broadcaster and one-third of the unforgettable comedy team that was the 35-year TV legend, “The Wallace and Ladmo Show” as well as Television Talk show Host for KAZ-TV where Pat hosts a stimulating live daily hour of compelling conversation with Arizona newsmakers.
Since 1972, Pat has also managed to find the time to head his own creative company, The Idea Factory.
Pat’s professional and personal contributions have been richly rewarded with seven Emmy® Awards, major national and international radio awards along with numerous civic, educational, religious and humanitarian awards. He is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Ottawa University, the Arizona Broadcasters Lifetime Achievement Award, the only two-time Hall of Fame recipient of the Arizona Broadcasters Association, and his bronze likeness hangs alongside Hugh Downs and Leslie Nielsen in the rotunda of the Herberger Theater in recognition of his contributions to Communications and the Arts. The local theater community named the McMahons, “the First Family of Arizona Entertainment,” and Phoenix Theatre recently honored him with their Lifetime Achievement Award. Even with all that, Pat, no doubt, feels most comfortable simply being thought of as someone you continue to trust in Arizona broadcasting.
Larry Martel
INDUCTED: 2008
Larry began his career as a radio announcer in Corning and Elmira, NY from 1956-1961, then moved to KPHO in radio and television in Phoenix. He was an inductee of the Gold Circle Society of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Larry was an exceptional writer, cartoonist and artist. His students at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism benefitted from his passion for news writing.
Larry loved his holidays, especially Christmas. His exceptional artistic abilities led to the creation of the Pickwick Pussycats Christmas display enjoyed by many over the years. He also used his talents on Halloween pumpkins, Easter eggs and his cartoon lines, Axel and Mr. Ming. He volunteered for several charity events as an amateur demolition driver, parachute jumper, chasing greased pigs, cow dragging, chili judge and other sundry events. He lived with the homeless for a while to prepare a documentary about living on the streets. He never said no to a challenge. He served on boards for various non-profit organizations.
He gave his children an appreciation for music, arts, theater and movies and instilled in them their strong work ethic and value of education, not to mention his sense of humor and the joy of eloquent sarcasm. He loved his Superheroes, Batman, Superman, Captain Marvel and the rest. Larry was married to his wife, Carol for over 60 years, had 2 daughters and a son, along with many grandchildren & great-grandchildren. He passed away in 2017 at the age of 82.
Bill Miller
INDUCTED: 2015
Bill Miller began his career in broadcasting in 1962 at KOOL-TV in Phoenix, where he started as a member of the floor crew and earned the then-minimum wage of $368 a month. Bill worked newscasts and live commercials in the studio and on an outdoor set that was used for car commercials. Over the next 24 years at KOOL, Bill worked a variety of jobs before becoming News Director. In 1986, Bill joined KTVK-TV as station manager and two years later was named vice president and chief operating officer. Bill was named president and general manager of KTVK in 1999. During his time at KTVK, Miller also managed KASW-TV (WB), the Arizona NewsChannel, a cable news joint venture with Cox Cable, KESZ-FM radio and Phoenix Magazine. When KTVK lost its network affiliation in 1994, Miller led the effort to transform KTVK into one of the more successful independent stations in the country. This included the creation of Good Morning Arizona, which quickly became the model for local TV morning shows throughout the country, as well as several locally produced programs,
Bill helped found MagicDust Television in 2000. Today, MagicDust produces RightThisMinute, Arizona’s first daily, nationally syndicated television show, which currently airs in 141 markets.
Bill has served on the ABC Affiliates Board, the Board of Directors of Northern Trust Bank and has served as board chairman of the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona, the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Barrow Neurological Foundation and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix.
Jack Miller
INDUCTED: 2008
Jack Miller has been created Arizona’s soundtrack for more than 50 years. In the mid-1950’s Jack went to work at Ramsey’s Recording Studio in Phoenix as chief engineer and audio mixer. By playing with the audio equalization and running the sound through a 10,000-gallon water tank behind the studio, he was able to “shape” and “color” the music. It became the “Phoenix Sound” and a string of hits put the city, the studio and Jack on the industry’s map.
The success was Jack’s ticket to Hollywood and RCA’s Studio Center of the World. He mixed and produced records, commercials, movies and television shows for dozens of the biggest stars in the world: Henry Mancini, Dean Martin, Jefferson Airplane and The Rolling Stones.
After his stint and rising career, Jack wanted to return home to Phoenix. As Chief engineer and audio producer for Audio Recorders of Arizona, he was the first choice of every ad agency in town and made radio and TV commercials for Lou Grubb Chevrolet, Hallmark Homes, Bashas’ Markets and a hundred other advertisers.
In 1975, working with the engineering departments of KOOL-TV and Motorola, Jack produced the first quadraphonic audio broadcast in history. In 1977, he started his own Jack Miller Productions.
Jack was always a leader in audio technology. He was one of the first recording engineers in Arizona to adopt digital recording. Long before the major studios in Los Angeles and New York, Jack replaced tape recorders with computers.
In 2000, Jack Miller Productions merged with Canyon Records, one of the world’s premier producers of Native American Music. His work has been honored with a Grammy Award and five Grammy Nominations. Jack retired from Canyon Records in 2014 and passed away in 2016 at the age of 83.
Jack Parris
INDUCTED: 2005
Jack Parris joined KUAT in 1988 as assistant general manager for the Video Services unit and became director and general manager in 1998.
Television and radio staff members won numerous local and regional awards under his leadership. Among many forward-thinking accomplishments, he oversaw the launch of the first digital television station in Southern Arizona, KUAS-DT.
In April 2005, Parris became the inaugural inductee into the Gold Circle Society of the National Television Academy, Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter. To be selected for the Gold Circle, individuals must have served in broadcasting for at least 50 years and have made major contributions to the industry. Parris was inducted into the Academy’s Silver Circle Society in April 2003 for his achievements during more than 25 years of broadcasting. In October 2003, the Arizona Broadcasters Association inducted him into its Hall of Fame.
He was a broadcaster continuously throughout his 51-year career, with 19 of those years spent in public broadcasting. Parris served as station and program manager at Tucson’s KGUN-TV from 1978 to 1983, and as the station’s general manager from 1983 through 1987. He began his broadcasting career in 1954 as a member of the student crew for the University of Nebraska’s public television station, KUON-TV.
Parris joined his first commercial station, KOLN-TV in Lincoln, Neb., in 1956. “Everybody wore a lot of hats in those days. We were inventing TV,” he said. “Everything was black and white. There was no videotape, and I remember when it was introduced. They wheeled in this big monster. In 1961, we got color videotape, and we thought we were big-time.”
He has been a member of the Rotary Club of Tucson, the Salvation Army Advisory Board, the Pacific Mountain Network Board of Directors and the Saint Luke’s in the Desert Board of Trustees.
Larry Schnebly
INDUCTED: 2006
DECEASED
Larry retired in 1994 after a long career in television management and broadcasting including early work
for KGPH & KWRZ Radio in Flagstaff and ultimately retired from KGUN TV9, Tucson's ABC affiliate in April
1994, after 34 years in varied areas from On-Air, to Sales Management, Production Manager and
Program Director.
Larry also worked as the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations, the editor of PINE and the
Director of Housing for Northern Arizona University early in his career. Larry received numerous honors
and awards over the years including both Silver and Gold Society memberships of the National Academy
of Television Arts and Sciences, as well as induction into the Arizona Broadcasters Association Hall of
Fame and the 1952 Gold Axe Award from NAU. He organized affiliations including Grand Canyon Trust,
Southern Arizona Roadrunners, and Adlerian Society of Arizona. He was president of the board for the
Beckner Foundation and co-hosted the Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon, beginning in 1969.
Larry is the grandson of Sedona Schnebly, for who the town of Sedona is named. He and his wife Lee
lived in Tucson and had four children and three grandchildren. He passed away in Tucson on Friday,
October 28 , 2022 at the age of 94.
Bill Thompson
INDUCTED: 2009
Bill was born in New York City on Dec 18, 1931, the son of William and Marie Thompson and the eldest of three brothers. In 1934, the Thompsons moved to Bronxville, 20 miles north of New York City in Westchester County, where the three brothers — Bill, Boyce and Tony — attended school.
In first grade, Bill was a gingerbread man in the school’s production of “Hansel and Gretel.” His mother told him he was the best gingerbread man in the show. He believed her. As a result, many elementary, high school and college plays followed over the years. “I never knew my lines and never hit my spot-on stage, but I always managed to get a laugh and easily won the title of class clown form sixth grade on.” Being the class clown meant “going to the principal’s office a lot.” In seventh grade, Bill wrote a six-page vocational report in a green folder. The first sentence was, “I want to make people laugh.” The report went on to explain that he wasn’t sure if he would be a cartoonist, comedy writer or funny guy on the radio, little knowing he’d end up doing all three. He got a C-minus on the report and his teacher, Miss Wetzel, told him, “It’s time to get serious with your life.” ”If I had taken Miss Wetzel’s advice,” Thompson said, “I’d probably be selling vacuum cleaners at Sears.”
A pattern had been set. Through high school and later at DePauw University, he took all the courses he could on art, writing and performing — “any class I thought would help me later in a comedy career.” During the late ’40s, Thompson started writing kids’ stories featuring a character named Wallace Snead. Bill graduated from Bronxville High in 1950. The yearbook stated, “the class clown will be missed by his classmates, but not his teachers.” The next year at DePauw, he had a part in a Noel Coward play. “I was still missing my marks and forgetting my lines. By then I had perfected the art of wandering around stage and ad-libbing. Later on, Lad, Pat and I were to elevate this style of performing to a science.”
In 1952, Thompson married Donna Cope, headed west to Arizona and had three kids: Carrie, Annie and Tony. His first job in Phoenix was in the circulation department of The Phoenix Gazette, but every couple of months he would stop by KPHO-TV in the hopes of landing a job. In January 1954, KPHO hired him for two jobs. He began creating a character called Wallace Snead and appeared on “The Goldust Charlie Show.” In January 1955, “It’s Wallace?” premiered, a kid’s cartoon show. After a few months of going solo, Bill decided he needed a partner. In January 1956, Ladimir (Lad) Kwiatkowski joined him.
In the summer of 1956, the Wallace Watchers Fan Club was created. Through the 1960s, the show kept evolving. On June 15, 1970, the program officially became “The Wallace and Ladmo Show.” On April 3, 1974, the show celebrated its 20th anniversary. Through the 1970s, Bill and the cast won Emmy® Awards for their productions. On Dec. 29, 1989, the show went off the air. Bill spent his later years going to the movies and entertaining his grandchildren. Bill passed away on July 23, 2014, at age 82.
Ray Thompson
INDUCTED: 2007
Ray was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota, November 1, 1921, to Harald and Bertha Thompson. He was the first anchorman at KTVK, Channel 3 and the first news director/anchorman at KTAR, now KPNX, Channel 12, both of Phoenix. Later, Ray was promoted to Vice President of News at Channel 12. A member of the Arizona Broadcaster’s Association, “Hall of fame”, he was awarded six Emmy® Awards for achievement in news and documentaries while at KPNX, Channel 12. He was a member of both the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ “Silver and Gold Circles” in recognition of both, 25 and 50 years of service to the local industry and community. A founder and charter member of the Valley of the Sun Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists…Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, Ray also served a term as a president. He also served as a founding member of the Minnesota Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was awarded the Arizona Press Club “Distinguished Service Award” in 1981.
Ray also authored two books, “And Finally” dealing with his broadcast recollections and humorous stories used at the end of his newscasts, and “Cactus Corners, Arizona” a humorous journey through a fictional Arizona town as a young radio newsman, in which he relates his experiences with colorful townsfolk and fellow broadcasters. He served several years as a member of the editorial advisory board of Phoenix Magazine and was a contributor of articles to that magazine. In 1976, he served on the City of Phoenix Bicentennial Committee. Later, he served as a member of the Board of “Friends of Arizona State University Libraries.” Ray started his career in Minnesota as a newspaper reporter. His first job was for a chain of weekly papers. After serving in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, Ray sought a job in radio. Ray discovered the only opening was in engineering so he took a correspondence course and gained a first-class broadcast engineer’s license. He, then, found employment at KROC in Rochester as an engineer. Before long the station, recognizing his journalistic ability, named him KROC’s sportscaster and later news director. When KROC-TV went on the air in 1963 he became News Director and Anchorman. He also served as a stringer correspondent for the United Press and Newsweek Magazine and served as a president of the Northwest Radio News Association, with headquarters at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. After retirement from TV, Ray served as Executive Producer of Samcor Video, a unit of the then…Good Samaritan Hospital Association. He also did freelance work as a writer-producer of monthly videos for Arizona Bank, Security Pacific and First Interstate Bank. In 1986, he produced a video magazine for Arizona Bank which was awarded, “Best National Corporate Video” in Public Relations Society of America competition. During the same period, he broadcast a daily program “This Day in Arizona History” on Radio Station KTAR. Ray passed away in 2012 at the age of 90.