A final Baugh salute plus short takes

 

The Priest officiating the services for Jeff Baugh arrived about 15 minutes late. The officiant, Father Ronald Schmidt, apologized by saying “the irony was I was stuck in traffic,” prompting fitting laughter from those gathered at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills for the graveside service. “(Jeff) would have cleared the way, and he would have made some jokes, too…This was a man of great kindness, a committed man, a humorous man,” said Father Schmidt.

Baugh passed from complications of lung cancer on June 6.

The retired Marine was celebrated wtih full military honors.

Pete Demitriou, who worked with Baugh both at KFWB and KNX, said his late colleague had “the soul of a journalist…his mission was truth, his mission was telling people what was going on.” Demitriou noted the incongruity of how listeners trusted Baugh to tell the story based on what he saw from his airborne perspective, “yet I never saw Jeff’s eyes, they were always behind Aviators.”

Paul Lowe, Pete Demitriou, Roger Nadel, Jennifer York, Ted Sobel, Steve Kindred, Ken Jeffries

“In some ways Jeff never changed, he was that person who always provided description of the facts.” Yet Demitriou also noted Baugh knew when he had to make a needed adjustment. “Jeff was true to the words of a Marine, ‘I-A-O’ – improvise, adapt, overcome.” As he pointed to the Ventura Freeway in the distance, Demitriou said “Jeff saved minutes off the lives of commuters.”

Mike Sakellarides had Baugh as his traffic reporter on KOST. “I got the opportunity to teach broadcasting at Fullerton College. I called on Jeff, he was one of the best speakers.” Sakellarides then introduced Cathy Moses, a student from the broadcasting course, who credited Baugh as an inspiration to pursue radio as a career.

“Jeff was a mentor, when I first met him when I got started, he was instantly complimentary to me,” said Desmond Shaw. “Jeff bought a Harley as part of his plans for retirement, but we didn’t think that would happen. We thought he’d be in his Cessna until he was 100.” Shaw, who currently reports from the KCAL-TV helicopter, said it can get uncomfortable in an aircraft during hot weather. “Yet no matter how warm it got, Jeff was always in his polo shirt and his jeans.”

Shaw remembered soon after his arrival in Southern California, Baugh took him for a flight to introduce him to L.A. from the air. “It was the coolest thing. Right as we went by the Hollywood sign, Jeff said ‘I’m the luckiest guy in the world.’”

Jennifer York, Nicole Peplinski

Jennifer York was a close friend as well as a colleague of Baugh. She worked with Baugh to help plan his memorial service. She shared her appreciation and acknowledgement of the many pilots and airborne reporters in attendance, noting the uniqueness of their small community. “We traffic reporters are weird people! It’s about 10 cups of coffee every morning – I know every 7-Eleven on my route…so grateful so many of you are here today.”

York shared the podium with Nicole Peplinski, who was Baugh’s neighbor for eight years. “When (Jeff) did his first round of chemo, he didn’t flinch. On Sunday we hung out and made cookies. He was happy and healthy that day.” Peplinski said it was her last conversation with Baugh. “The paramedics came the next day, he went fast (on Wednesday) so he didn’t suffer for very long. He had just flown the Friday before.”

Terry Edwards, Regional Manager for Total Traffic and Weather, said Baugh reached out to his son Ryan before he passed and was happy to reconnect with Ryan. Edwards then noted Baugh’s colleagues in attendance were also his family. “For the past six or seven years, Jeff was looking at retirement property,” said Edwards, “yet of course we knew he couldn’t retire. Jeff loved what he did. He wasn’t going to walk away from the industry that he loved, nor the people he loved.”

Robin Bertolucci, Roger Nadel

Mark Kono, Ginger Chan, Jennifer York, Scott Burt, Mike Chase

Leesa Walker, Paul Lowe

Sioux-Z Jessup, Ginger Chan, Mark Kono

Windy City farewell: He was best known for his work in Chicago, perhaps most notably at WLS, but Dick Biondi had two stops at KRLA. Referring to himself as the “ugliest and skinniest disc jockey in the world” and “The Wild I-tralian,” Biondi received the Gavin Top 40 Disc Jockey of the Year Award in 1961. In 1966, he was Billboard's most popular late evening DJ while at KRLA. Biondi was honored at a 1985 exhibit along with other radio talent at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

The Museum of Broadcast Communications is located in Chicago. Board Chair Dave Plier released a statement about Biondi's death:

We lost a true radio legend. Radio Hall of Fame inductee Dick Biondi was one of the nation's most recognizable disc jockeys with an amazing career that spanned over nearly six decades. He was the first to make an impact on rock radio in Chicago and around the country via WLS radio's 50,000-watt signal. Biondi is credited as the first U.S. disc jockey to play the Beatles, on Chicago's WLS 890 AM in February of 1963. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1998. He was a great friend and longtime supporter of the Museum of Broadcast Communications and will be missed by radio listeners across the country.

Biondi died of natural causes at age 90.

McIntyre in the afternoon: Doug McIntyre, who was known as the host of both “Red Eyed Radio” and “McIntyre in the Morning” on KABC guest hosted for John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou last week on KFI. McIntyre served as a columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News and is about to release his first novel Frank’s Shadow. He retired from KABC and the morning show in 2018.

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