Dick Whittinghill

Dick Whittinghill (born March 5, 1913, Montana – died January 24, 2001, Los Angeles, California) was an American movie and television actor, recording artist and radio disc jockey in the United States. His early music career included membership in The Pied Pipers vocal group which sang with Tommy Dorsey's big band.

Beginning in 1950, Whittinghill was for almost three decades a popular disc jockey at radio station KMPC-AM in Los Angeles. After his retirement, he was heard on a recorded Sunday program on KMPC, and later as afternoon drive personality at KPRZ, Los Angeles, reversing his traditional KMPC role, as former KMPC afternoon DJ Gary Owens was then KPRZ morning man.

Among the features of his program were the "story records," sent in by listeners, in which a short anecdote was completed with a line from a song. For example, the spider told Little Miss Muffet, "You can keep the curds but give me...All the Way (whey). (using Frank Sinatra's song).

Helen Trump

Whittinghill also spoofed the long-running radio serial, "The Romance of Helen Trent" with "The Romance of Helen Trump", written and narrated by Whittinghill and Foster Brooks. "Helen Trump" was "The story that asks the question 'Can a woman of 35?... 'Find love and romance with a man twice her urge?'" One of Helen's suitors was a politician named C. Dewey Detterwick, with whom, Whittinghill said, Helen doesn't drive any more, because when C. Dewey drives, he sees spots—lonely spots.

Television appearances

Whittinghill made television appearances as well, including a number of appearances on Dragnet in the 1960s, once as himself. He always signed off from his morning show with "I'm walkin' out the door, with you on my mind..." from the Nat King Cole record, "Walkin'". A sly punster and a master of double-entendre, longtime listeners knew that Montana-born Whittinghill was really "walkin' out the door with ewe on [his] mind".

His morning traffic reporter was Paul Pierce. Dick nicknamed him Panther Pierce. Whittinghill made great use of Freddy Fill and his Orchestra to fill the last few seconds of air time before news broadcasts. Upon his retirement from KMPC in August 1979, he was succeeded in morning drive by another legendary Los Angeles radio voice, Robert W. Morgan.

Dick Whittinghill was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame as of November 8, 2008.

External links

• Radio Hall of Fame website
• Industry Central profile of Dick Whittinghill
• Dick Whittinghill at the Internet Movie Database

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Name	Whittinghill, Dick
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Date of birth	March 5, 1913
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Date of death	January 24, 2001
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