St. Louis Media Hall of Fame radio members

The following people were named to the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame in the radio category. The ceremony will be June 8 at Gio’s Ristorante and Bar.

Doug Eason, after working as a broadcast specialist for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, made his mark in commercial radio in a career that spanned more than 40 years. Most of those years were spent in St. Louis radio, where he was remembered by listeners as a gentle-voiced disc jockey and strong presence in his community. However, the man affectionately known to his co-workers as “The Leprechaun” also worked as VP/GM of KATZ and WESL. His undergraduate degree from SIU Carbondale opened doors for him later in his life. While teaching full-time and mentoring high school students, Doug Eason also hosted a daily show on WGNU.

Jim Gates began his career at KATZ in 1968. After three years, he moved to KWK, followed by WESL, where he was co-owner of the station and served as GM and PD. In 1986 he returned to KATZ as GM. He also worked at KXOK in 1993 and then at KMJM where his show was the highest-rated at the station. In 2000 Jim had a show on the Peabody Award-winning KZJZ, and he also worked at WFUN-FM. Known as “The Brown-Eyed Scorpio, Gates earned more than 40 Gold Records from the music industry. He became one of the first jocks in the country to play Hip Hop when he introduced his listeners to the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.” The NAACP presented Jim Gates with its Legend Award in 2008.

Columbus Gregory’s part-time job in 1959 turned into a lifetime career. He began working as a remote engineer at KATZ while attending Hubbard Business School. His duties soon expanded to include work in the station

’s promotions and marketing departments. Four years later he was hired as an announcer at KXLW, where he stayed for 19 years. Shortly after he moved to WGNU-FM, the station was sold to a national chain, and Gregory moved to KIRL in 1979. That station was sold in 2005, and Gregory was soon working for KXEN/WGNU as an announcer and senior account executive. He appeared as the announcer in the movie “Say Amen Somebody” and was named one of America’s Top 25 Disc Jockeys by Dollars and Sense magazine in 1986.

Nancy Pool once worked as administrative assistant to KXOK’s PD Bud Connell in the ‘60s. She learned well, moving on to manage several stations in the St. Louis market, where her strength in ad sales served her and her employer well. She was president of KADI-FM, VP/GM of KSHE, WIL-AM/FM and was brought in to resuscitate the operations of KMOX-FM, KXOK/KLTH, and KWK/KGLD. She was featured in “Who’s Who in Radio and Television,” “Who’s Who in Advertising” and “Who’s Who in American Women.” After leaving radio she went on to a second successful career in real estate sales.

Ron Lipe was the given name of “Prince Knight.” and a generation of St. Louis rock radio fans will smile. His given name was only used on the air a short while during a stint at WIBV, but he soon evolved into Ron Brothers and then Uncle Buck. It was during this time that he managed to corner a rising star appearing in St. Louis for a rare one-on-one interview – Elvis Presley. But it was his work as disc jockey Prince Knight at KSHE that created the legend that still lives. From the deep-voiced on-air philosophizing to the caped personal appearances, Brothers’ prince persona became etched in the memories of his young listening audience.