For a decade in Tucson, those words marked the start of the 3 p.m. hour when young disc jockey Frank Kalil took over the airwaves on KTKT radio. From 1956 to 1966, Kalil was the voice of the afternoon, a young, rock’n’rolling, doo-woppin’ character on “Color Radio - Channel 99.”
“I referred to myself as the old Arab,” Kalil said recalling his days at KTKT. “It was fashionable at the time, because I don’t think hunting season was going on in the Middle East, at least not like it is now.”
  
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Kalil, who got bit by the media bug when he was 15 years old and a student at Salpointe Catholic High School, landed his first job at an El Paso station that was experimenting with Top 40 radio.
In 1956, the owner of KTKT hired Kalil. At the time KTKT had been on the air seven years but unlike the biggest stations in Tucson, it was not affiliated with a network and instead played music.
That music changed the next year when KTKT introduced “Top 40” radio to Tucson.
“At the time it was radical,” Kalil said. “‘Top 40 radio, we installed that on KTKT and we kind of blew the doors off the market.”
It was called “Color Radio” to tie in with the electronic revolution of the time; color television.
High school students flocked to their radios after the last bell to catch Kalil’s program. His character was known throughout the region as he emceed record hops and did live broadcasts for sponsors, often featuring a camel.
Kalil is Lebanese and the “old Arab” thought the idea of a camel fit with the Tucson desert.
“I had heard that a circus had gone broke and they’d left this camel in El Paso. So I hired a semi and we drove to El Paso, got the camel and brought it back,” Kalil said.
Kalil and KTKT used it for public appearances, parades and grand openings. He eventually sold the camel to some movie producers.
While Kalil entertained listeners on the air, he also became pivotal in management at KTKT.
In 1966 after he left the airwaves, Kalil teamed with Tucson ad-man Jay Taylor to produce a comedy album on Capitol Records titled, “My Plumber Doesn’t Make House Calls.” The collection of one-liners and G-rated comedy sold over 40,000 copies and opened up a career in stand-up comedy for the duo.
“It was a comedy-interview thing,” Kalil said. “I was the straight man, Jay was the comic.”
The pair went on a national tour and performed on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” and “The Andy Williams Show.” At one point they were made offers to try network TV.
“They wanted us to go to Los Angeles but I didn’t want to do that,” Kalil said. Instead, Kalil said he wanted to stay grounded and that meant staying in Tucson.
The Kalil family has been in Tucson since the beginning of 1900s when Kalil’s grandfather had a pool hall on Congress Street, “when Congress was a dirt road.”
In 1971, Kalil founded Kalil & Co. Inc., a brokerage firm that specializes in buying and selling media properties. Kalil remains president of the nationally known firm that still has only one office, at 6363 N. Swan Road.
“We are the middleman, we buy and sell radio, television and outdoor for companies. We represent buyers to buy companies, we represent sellers to sell companies. We’re elite brokers and we do business all over the U.S.,” Kalil said.
With eight brokers and a track record of success, Kalil & Co. Inc., consistently ranks among the nation’s top media brokerage firms. In 2008, Kalil and Co. did more business than all of the other national media brokerage firms combined.
“We’re by far the biggest media brokerage firm in the U.S.,” said Kalil.
His firm has felt the recession, but he is optimistic about the market.
“It bottomed a few months ago, so we’re finding it’s coming back,” said Kalil, adding that the company is going “to continue what we’re doing. We’ve been too busy to make other plans, quite frankly.”
He is considered an expert in current affairs of media companies, often sought out nationally for his opinion on the present market. In Tucson, more than 50 years after he made his radio debut as a young disc jockey, Kalil remains in the industry.
Despite it not being the most convenient place to headquarter a media-based firm, Kalil said Tucson hasn’t been an impediment.
“It used to be, ‘Why in Tucson?,” he said. “They don’t ask anymore.”
Contact reporter Josh Saunders at editor@azbiz.com
Comments
John Breckenridge wrote on Jan 19, 2010 5:38 PM:
John Breckenridge wrote on Jan 19, 2010 5:20 PM:
After the station was sold in 1961, I must have seen some long forgotten 'handwriting' and followed George to KCUB for a few months but radio had lost it's shine and I took a more interesting gig as the local Dictaphone Corp manager (another story on another Tucson site). Thanks for some kind of osmosis from Frank, Guy Williams, Robert E Lee, Jerry Stowe and Dave Nelson, I eventually left Tucson for LA to successfully pursue a 'bright lights and blond haired women life style'. A years-later highlight in life was to have been able to sit for a while with Frank in his office on Swan Road when I visited Tucson as a rep for SIRIUSXM Radio.
What a great business life; it began and ended in radio, with many fun entertainment projects in between. Thanks again Frank! Every time I watch a lunar eclipse, I recall how you promised Tucson KTKT would turn the moon 'Color Radio Red'.
siriusxmrep@gmail.com "
Jim West wrote on Jan 16, 2010 2:11 AM:
Jim West
CBS Radio & Metro Networks
Phoenix "
Charlie wrote on Dec 5, 2009 9:14 AM:
I have spent much time studying Tucson radio broadcast history over the last 20 years. As a researcher I have come to learn and understand how crucial Frank Kalil was in the success that KTKT enjoyed. Frank's drive to ensure the best over the air sound possible made KTKT a great listen for all of Tucson. "
Charlie wrote on Dec 5, 2009 9:07 AM:
Just click on the air checks tab found on the left hand side of the home page. "
Ray Lindstrom wrote on Dec 3, 2009 8:26 PM:
What most people don't know is that he brought the new "Top Forty" format to Tucson. KTKT had ratings that were unbelievable. Over 50% of the market share all the time. The other 10 or more stations shared the other 50%. This was because of Frank's professionalism and making sure the disc jockeys who worked for him shared the same work ethic.
I know, I was one of those DJ's. He was tough to work for but garnered the respect of everybody who did. He wouldn't accept anything less than the best.
When I left Tucson for another Top Forty radio station in Phoenix, a much larger market, I was shocked at how sloppy and unprofessional they were.
Frank knew what he was doing and where he wanted to go and he did it. What a guy! Tucson is one lucky city for what he did and continues to do.
As the man said at the end of his radio show, "Thanky, Frankie!"
For a look at the tribute website to the legendary KTKT, check out ktkt99.com. "
Lee Allen wrote on Dec 3, 2009 12:26 PM:
Jerry took the stance that frogs were gentle critters that made good pets. Frank took the opposite side, that they were mean amphibians who would gum anyone who got close enough.
One Sunday night, some pranksters who had rounded up a bunch of the green leapers somehow managed to sneak into the radio station and dump their jumping cargo in Franks office.
Imagine the expostulations on Monday morning when Kalil opened his door and frogs jumped en masse. The words were in Lebanese, but we understood their meaning. "
John Kalil wrote on Dec 2, 2009 3:51 PM:
Tom Collins wrote on Dec 1, 2009 11:26 AM: