Lan Roberts, Mr. Science & Jimmy, KOL Seattle 1969 (0:02:15)

… a little experiment in beating the odds, Jim …
The highlight of every morning on KOL was Mr. Science and Jimmy. Around 8:10 a.m., an elderly scientist and a little boy were the vehicles for political commentary by Lan Roberts who, many mornings, put it all together himself. Lan Roberts, WTIX, 1961 On this occasion, it is Washington State legislators who are the target of Lan’s wrath. With the latest gambling laws, even charitable bingos in churches were illegal. Another popular religious fund-raiser was the Cake Walk, portrayed here. Lan Roberts arrived at KOL in 1961 from WTIX New Orleans, but moved to KJR within six months. He returned to KOL in 1969, again returning to KJR a few years later, only to move to Hawaii then Taiwan not long after. Lan passed away December 30, 2005 after a decade-long fight with cancer in his home town of Bonham, Texas. Right up to the end, he continued his daily Editorials, which he had moved to written form on the Internet. Some things never change.

Welcome to the new ReelRadio!

This site is now operated by the North Carolina Broadcast History Museum. 

We want to thank the board of ReelRadio, Inc. for their stewardship since the passing of the founder Richard Irwin in 2018.  It has not been easy and they have maintained the exhibits for future generations to enjoy.

I met Richard Irwin, aka Uncle Ricky, when we were freshmen at East Carolina University.  We both had worked at local stations in our hometowns.  No one was more passionate about radio, especially Top 40 radio, than my friend Richard. 

Our goals with this site are to preserve the exhibits and make them available free of charge for people to enjoy.  Over time, we hope to add some airchecks to the site.  This will not happen immediately.  Time and resources will determine the future of new exhibits. 

Many thanks to the web folks at the Beasley Media Group for countless hours of work.  Again thanks to the board members of ReelRadio, Inc. for their faith in us. 

Richard Irwin’s hope was that his site would live on long after his passing. He said, “I hope REELRADIO will survive as my contribution to the ‘radio business’. The business is allowed to forget me, but the business should never forget the great era of radio that we celebrate here”.

We remember Richard and we thank him. If you enjoy this new site, we would appreciate a contribution. We hope you enjoy the new ReelRadio!

Board of NCBHP
North Carolina Broadcast History Project