Tom Campbell (radio personality)

Tom Campbell (nicknamed Tall Tom Campbell, fl. late 20th century) is an American radio announcer and commercial voiceover talent.

His career began in Minneapolis, Minnesota and later took him to WONE in Dayton, Ohio. Upon his move to KYA 1260 AM San Francisco in the late 1960s, Campbell quickly rose to become one of the Bay Area's most popular late night radio hosts. He was accessible to his listeners, perhaps too much so. He was known to loan his personal phonograph, record collection and even his car to individual listeners under the caveat that they simply return them, which they apparently did. His home and car phone numbers were publicly listed in the white and yellow pages, and he would receive calls from listeners at home.

Some of his devoted listeners and regular callers included "The Queen of Darkness" and "The Queen of Lightness" of Oakland, "The Mad Bomber" of Berkeley, and "The Wizard" of San Francisco.

Campbell had been offered jobs in both New York City and Chicago; his last broadcast on KYA took place September 9, 1968. However, he would continue to work in the Bay Area and make public appearances to promote Pizza Hut while affiliated with KLOK radio 1170, before relocating to Southern California in the early 1970s, becoming a ubiquitous commercial voiceover artist. Campbell also did weekly broadcasts through the Armed Forces Radio Network and visited troops stationed overseas. He also emcee'd concerts at Bay Area venues such as the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, California (Tom Jones/Engelbert Humperdinck), Sandcastle nightclub in Los Altos (Zola Taylor and the Platters, The Coasters and Clyde McPhatter), and several Oldies Rock and Roll concerts with scores of headliners. He also briefly hosted a game show taped in Hollywood. For all that Campbell was involved in, he remained approachable and "real" to his fans. He was also instrumental in the marketing of HDTV throughout its development and welcomed questions at the electronics trade shows in Las Vegas.

Campbell continues to work in Southern California in both a marketing and voiceover capacity, most recently for Legacy Home Furnishings and Legacy Rooms Express, with stores in the Coachella Valley and San Diego areas.

External link and reference

* [http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/kya/1968/kya_tom-campbell_sept-9-1968.shtml Tom Campbell's bio at bayarearadio.com; archived recordings of his final broadcast with KYA may be found here]