Day: April 8, 2013

ANNETTE FUNICELLO DIED TODAY AT 70

Motor City Radio Flashbacks logoFrom current MCRFB news wire services:

Former Mousketeer and Beach Party had long battled multiple sclerosis

 

 

 

 

NPR logo

 

From NPR news wires | April 8, 2013  1:32 P.M.

 

Annette Funicello in 1962
Annette Funicello in 1962 (Click image for larger view)

Annette Funicello, who was one of the first child stars to emerge out of The Mickey Mouse Club, has died, the official Disney Fan Club reports.

Funicello was known as “America’s Sweetheart.” Her acting career started in 1955 when Walt Disney recruited her at 12 years old. She went on to become a successful film star, starring with Frankie Avalon in the Beach Party films.

Funicello had been battling multiple sclerosis for years. By the end of her life, she was unable to walk or talk. The Canadian broadcaster CTV ran a series of reports about Funicello’s struggle.

Extra reports that her family confirmed she died from complications of MS. Variety reports she was taken off life support Monday morning.

She was 70.

Variety adds:

” ‘Annette was and always will be a cherished member of the Disney family, synonymous with the word Mousketeer, and a true Disney Legend,’ said Disney chairman-CEO Robert Iger. ‘She will forever hold a place in our hearts as one of Walt Disney’s brightest stars, delighting an entire generation of baby boomers with her jubilant personality and endless talent. Annette was well known for being as beautiful inside as she was on the outside, and she faced her physical challenges with dignity, bravery and grace.’

“Diane Disney Miller, daughter of Walt Disney, praised Funicello as a ‘consummate professional’ who demonstrated ‘great loyalty’ to Disney.”

Funicello is survived by her husband, Glen Holt, and three children from a previous marriage.

 

Update at 1:41 p.m. ET. Annette Ballet:

Jimmie Dodd, the host of The Mickey Mouse Club and the composer of its theme, wrote a special song for Annette.

“Who’s the little lady who’s as dainty as a dream? Who’s the one you can’t forget? I’ll give you just three guesses. Annette, Annette, Annette!” he sang. Here’s video of Annette dancing to the song:

Annette Funicello in 1966
Annette Funicello in 1966

(Article adapted from NPR.com; NPR Breaking News, Monday, April 8, 2013).

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‘CK 50 YEARS | CKLW ED BUTERBAUGH ENGINEERING AM STEREO . . . AUGUST 7, 1982

Motor City Radio Flashbacks logoFrom the MCRFB news archives:

CKLW GOING BIG WITH NEW SOUND; ENGINEER SLATED TO REOPTIMIZE 50,000-WATTER WITH AM STEREO EVOLUTION

 

 

 

 

DETROIT / WINDSOR — If CKLW doesn’t succeed in an era when increasing listening to music is done on the FM band, it won’t be Ed Buterbaugh’s fault.

CKLW's engineer Ed Buterbaugh at the Detroit Radio Reunion in Novi, MI in 1998
Former CKLW chief engineer Ed Buterbaugh at the Detroit Radio Reunion in Novi, MI 1998

Butterbaugh, who is vice-president of engineering for CKLW, has been overseeing the technical facilities at the station for 10 years. “I’ve always tried to stay one step ahead of the rest, , be a leader, not a follower,” Buterbaugh says pointing to a state-of-the-art transmitter system.

“We now have an audio prototype system with a redesigned antenna system that is optimized for stereo,” Buterbaugh says, noting that CKLW takes delivery on a Harris stereo system on August 1st.

Butterbaugh says he chose the Harris system because “it is the only system that doesn’t require limiters on the signal in order to maintain protective ratios and emission limitations currently specified. Other systems all need filters.”

Buterbaugh may have chosen the Harris system, but he realizes, like most radio engineers  and management, that it will probably be the receiver manufacturers who will decide which AM stereo system will prevail. The FCC has taken a hands-off stance on competing AM stereo systems and decreed that the marketplace should have such a system. Should some system other than Harris be the winner in the AM stereo race, it will be a minor adjustment for Buterbaugh to adapt the Harris transmitter he is installing next month.

800 CKLW-AM StereoButerbaugh notes that he has “changed the audio processing system five times since I’ve been here, four of them were my own system.” The winner of a 1977 Billboard Radio Engineer of the Year award notes that he is “very conscious of listener fatigue and how it is caused by distortion. “It’s most important to have a good clean signal,” he says.

Buterbaugh is doing a lot of work on the FM side as well. He’s just gotten approval from the stations’ board of directors to upgrade CKJY-FM’s signal. This sister station, which runs the syndicated MOR “Unforgettable’ format, will soon move from a 540 foot tower with a 40kw of power to a 700 foot tower with 100kw. “We’ve already designed a unique audio processing system for it,”Buterbaugh says. END.

 

(Information and news source: Billboard; August 7, 1982).

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