What ever happened to Howard Watson?

(Pictures from the KAAY record album "Silver Dollar Specials)
Howard Watson a/k/a Ken Knight was the first Ken Knight. Howard is one of the greatest wits I have even been around. Howard can find humor in any situation. His show was full of humor and inside jokes that only employees of KAAY would understand. His music tastes really went more to the jazz and "good music" side, but he played top 40 in his own style. I suggest at this point you read previous posts by going to the top left hand corner and enter "Howard Watson" in the search box and search this blog. In those posts you will find a very brief comment by Pat Walsh.

When I became program director, during a staff meeting one day, I brought up a television program "That Was The Week That Was". It was a satirical review of the weeks national news. I ask why we couldn't do the same thing on KAAY only focus on local news. Howard took the ball and ran with it. The name "Ear On Arkansas" was a satire on channel 11's "Eye On Arkansas". The theme music was "baby Elephant Walk" (the music KAAY played over and over when it first went on the air). Howard developed most of the characters and did the bulk of the writing. A weekly 30 minute all talk radio program takes a lot of script. If you had a slow news week, it really became a challenge. Some clips of "Ear" are on this blog. Do the search. Sadly all of the Ear masters were given to University of Arkansas at Little Rock by Pat Walsh with the hope they would be properly archived. Pat told me several years ago, the tapes had been erased by the campus radio station and reused. If anyone has any of the old Ear tapes let me know. The are two 33 1/3 records that KAAY pressed that are still around. Satire is such a great form of humor. Today Fox News has a program called "Half Hour News Hour". Don't miss this program if you appreciate good satire. The writing seems to be getting better each week. Over the years Ear on Arkansas had several writers. After a while each person seemed to burn out from the heavy job of writing and producing the show. Often times at 2 A.M., a frantic telephone call would be placed to Tommy Riggs a/k/a Rock Robbins, to help fill 5 or 10 minutes. Tommy always came through with a song or bit that saved the day. Sometimes we would be forced to use a lot of the theme music opening and closing to pad out the time.

I digress from "the weird beard" as he was also known. When I became program director, Howard had a difficult time dealing with being passed over for program director. I was 19 he was older. Finally Howard left KAAY for KMYO. He tried to take the name Ken Knight with him. Pat Walsh got an injunction to prohibit the use of a name that KAAY had service marked with the state. Howard changed his name to Lynn Day. Much press ensued and I regretted Howard's leaving. The inspiration and as Paul Harvey would say "the rest of the story" needs to be credited to Richard Robinson for the research that netted this article in the Hot Springs Village Voice newspaper:

A setback for the 'Voice of the Village'
By VERLEE WALTER


Gerry and Howard Watson Twelve years ago, when Howard Watson became Len Day as KVRE's morning man, he quickly became the Voice of the Village. His distinctive baritone was a welcome addition to our breakfast tables.
The man knows his music, and knew we knew it, so his selections were geared to our past, awakening nostalgia for high school and proms and special dates with special girls or boys, turning our todays into yesterdays and our yesterdays to todays.
Planning retirement, he changed his mind when he heard of a vacancy at our local station and began a new career.
Watson came to us from Little Rock where he'd been night radio man Ken Knight. To the delight of his new audience, he had a speaking engagement with us between 6 and 10 a.m., presenting "Adult Standards," an expanded version of "The Music of Your Life."
His notoriety as Len Day overwhelms his persona as Howard Watson, man-about-town in its best sense - involved in Masonry and the Shrine Club, charities and foundations, the Hot Springs Jazz Society, and Village United Methodist Church.
Still he found time to stay in close touch with his and Gerry's three sons, and their seven grandchildren and one great grandson.,
For nearly 11 years he sat in his cluttered broadcast room amid the tens of thousands of records and cassettes and CDs he had collected, choosing the music we loved, interspersed with commercials made pleasant through his mellifluous voice.
He commuted from Little Rock to the Village for five years before he found a home here to hold his treasure trove of books and music without disrupting the life of his wife, with whom he celebrated 50 years of marriage in late May.
The mention of which, is the reason for this item.
This was to have been an inspiration piece for those who have survived and taken on new life following a stroke such as Watson had in 2006 after 53 years in broadcasting.
He did a few commercials for the station a month or so ago.
However, a few hours after the joy-filled anniversary party given by the Watsons' three sons, he was stricken again - this time it was much harder on him.
As Len said of his life, "Work is my vocation, my avocation and my pastime."
Sadly, at least for the present, he is deprived of this pleasure.
It is particularly sad when bad things happen to good people, but he and Gerry have much courage and faith, and are set to fight again.
Weeks of therapy will follow his hospitalization, so let him know you're thinking of him by sending mail to 40 Herencia Circle in the Village.

Several recordings of Howard are on this blog, however, I do not have an aircheck of one of his shows on KAAY. If have one please contact me at : ajlinds@yahoo.com.