Bud Ballou

Bud Ballou (December 11, 1942 - April 15, 1977) [ [http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi Social Security Death Index Interactive Search ] ] was an American disc jockey and radio personality active for fifteen years on several commercial radio stations during the 1960s and 1970s.

He was born as Dudley Ballou, and raised in Liverpool, New York, a suburb of Syracuse. His father was Leslie G. Ballou, and he had a brother, James.

After a stint as an electronics technician at Western Electric in Syracuse, Ballou began his radio career as disc jockey at WOLF in 1962. [ [http://www.wolf1490.net/id27.html WOLF PICTURES Page 13 ] ] With Ballou's help WOLF enjoyed a majority share of Syracuse radio listeners in 1963 and 1964. [ [http://www.wolf1490.net/id20.html WOLF PICTURES Page 5 ] ] In 1964 he moved to WNDR radio. He also hosted a black-and-white television version of "The Bud Ballou Show" on WNYS-TV, channel 9, originating from the station's Shoppingtown studios in DeWitt, which premiered on February 8, 1965.

Ballou left the Syracuse area for KBTR in Denver, Colorado in 1966, and in 1967 he moved to WKBW in Buffalo, New York to replace Joey Reynolds. As an April Fool's Day stunt in 1967, Ballou hosted one shift on WPOP, trading places with another DJ for that day only.

Ballou moved to the Boston area in 1968 appearing on WMEX until 1971 and then moving to WVBF in Framingham until 1976. During this period he was an avid hockey fan who sometimes watched games even while broadcasting.

Ballou died April 15, 1977 at age 34 of a massive stroke at Leonard Morse Hospital in South Natick. He is buried in Fulton, New York. He was married and had four children.

Confusingly, a different ex-WOLF disc jockey from the Syracuse area named Howie Castle used "Bud Ballou" as his professional name while working for Radio Caroline in Europe in late-1967 and early-1968. [ [http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/djsb.htm The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame: Disc-Jockeys Ba-Bl ] ] [ [http://www.wolf1490.net/id32.html WOLF AIRCHECKS Page 4 ] ] As of 2002, Castle was the news anchor at KOGO in San Diego.

References

External links

* [http://www.wolf1490.net/id27.html WOLF 1490 Tribute Site]
* [http://www.wolf1490.net/BudBallouTribute.ram Bud Ballou Tribute radio show, 1977]