One of my favorite Bill Elledge Lines was .. “…and if your’e a pirate KUCRRRRRRgg… make those Neo-Cons walk the PLANK !”

Dear Louis:

The news of Bill’s death comes as a terrible blow. It’s like
reading a headline, “A big and fundamental part of your life
has just been removed.” He was so steady, going about his
business of keeping things working, that it was like a cycle
of nature–the weather, only more reliable. Bill put buckets
under the leaks. Bill went on the roof and straightened the
antenna. Bill carried out the stray opossums. Bill shushed the
skunks off the lawn. And all the while the station kept
running, with equipment that was crisp and floors that were
clean. Bill vacuumed too.

Bill was a man of the old school, the old values, not as a
political program or ideology of any sort, but rather as a
living embodiment of honesty, steady work, sincerity. He kept
newspapers, phone lists, a lot of the stuff that gets thrown
away, not just because he was a pack rat, but because he
appreciated the life that was lived, both his own and that of
others. He knew that the day an item was ready for the trash,
it might constitute a record of what we were doing. He was our
archivist. Who else in the world cared that much about us?

He took photos too, completely professional photos, black and
white, developed and printed by himself. His collection might
chronicle some forty years he spent on campus; if UCR alumni
were ever to see it, they would be surprised. No doubt they
would see images that would bring back memories, bring back
people and give much delight. Once again, he was there, often
not noticed, and he cared.

Bill read history deeply and widely, and retained everything
with a steel-trap memory that was legendary among his friends.
When doing research on a historical matter, I often would ask
him before going to the library or to Google. It was just
easier to see if he knew. His answer, without fail, would
either exhaust the question for me or direct me more
specifically to where I needed to go. He described President
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s illness in his last year and loaned me
two recently published books that turned out to be crucial for
my project. He told me about FDR bugging the oval office and
explained the technology involved. When I obtained an FBI memo
about a Soviet defector of 1944 and the recording of his
debriefing on 16-inch records, I asked Bill. “Ah, yes,” he
said, “they had a special turntable and they could be used for
voice recordings…” And he told me the technology, the date
German audiotapes came into usage, and so on.

He could have written books himself, but chose not to. I think
it was probably because he had too much reverence for history
and too good an understanding of its many-sidedness. He always
tried to soften my criticisms of FDR, which would cause me to
become even more virulent. At that point he would wag a finger
and say, “Now, now.” He devoted more than one of his programs
to the problem of Wilhelm Furtwangler, the great conductor who
chose to remain in Germany under the Nazis. He would touch on
the moral issues, the difficult choices in a real situation,
the good that Furtwangler could do for others, including
Jewish musicians, while serving as Hitler’s prize conductor.
He wrestled with this case, which has no final resolution.

I suspected that his hero was Winston Churchill, probably
because he had something of the Brit’s single-minded, but
jocular character. And also because Bill was something of an
Anglophile. He frequently played the music of Ralph
Vaughn-Williams on his show, especially the “London Symphony”
with the chimes of Big Ben. His favorite conductor was
certainly Sir John Barbirolli, whom he had interviewed for the
Highlander newspaper when the great man came to UCR. He had a
recording of that interview, and we used to play a snippet of
it to publicize the station, followed by Bill’s resonant
voice: “Listen to KUCR–you’ll hear many good things.”

When I listen to classical music now, it hurts to know that he
isn’t around and listening to it himself. This is the way it
is with others too, whose tastes in music I know. One odd
thing about Bill is that he stopped going to concerts. I
couldn’t persuade him to go, even to Mahler’s Symphony of a
Thousand when it was performed at the Crystal Cathedral in May
1996. (I still have the commemorative tee-shirt.) The station
had free tickets, but Bill said he had work to do. He loved
the music, he cared about everyone, but he remained very much
a loner, with his own ways and routines. His pick-up truck
rumbled through the empty streets at night.

It was easy to regard him as a character, and many of us did
at first. But with the years the true character (in another
sense) showed through. The thing I am thinking about Bill is
that he actually meant everything he said. He was perfectly
sincere. He didn’t use irony or sarcasm in his humor that I
can recall. It was just old-fashioned wordplay or
double-entendre. I found it rather quaint, but increasingly
charming. I could go to Bill to relax from the dazzling spin
of digital culture, and talk about music, history, culture,
politics as if with an older and wiser man. Sometimes I would
remind him: “Wait a minute, Bill, I remember that event! I was
a little kid, and you weren’t even born then.” He never
acknowledged that remark.

What the hell, I needed an older brother. We would talk at the
station till 2 or 3 in the morning, then go out in the parking
lot, with the balmy breezes and smell of night-blooming ivy,
and talk a half-hour more. As I turned to my car, I would hear
his standard parting: “Now, you take care.” I knew that he
meant it.

Gary Kern Las Cruces, NM

I’m just stunned. I had heard that Bill was in bad shape, and this is not surprised, but I still feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach. Maybe the heart is more like it.

Bill was here the very first time i set foot in KUCR more years ago than I care to divulge here. He trained me to use the equipment (and no, the bad engineering of my show is my fault, not his.) Any time someone passes on that you’ve known for close to 30 years, it’s a blow.

What I’ll miss most is Bill’s vast knowledge of, well, everything. That’s not meant in a snippy way — he was knowledgeable in many things far beyond radio. So many nights, Bill and I would sit and discuss history and politics. He could go on at length, and in many people, this is an annoying quality.

But not in Bill. He kept me fascinated many hours, both in person and on the radio. I wish I had a dime for every time I was about to leave the station, and Bill would start on some subject I hadn’t thought much about, and an hour later I was still here.

Thanks Bill, wherever you are. You will be missed.

Robert Kreutzer

This came as a surprise, naturally. May his efforts live on.

Hans Wynholds
Former UCR Student, A KUCR Founder
KUCR’s Founding Station Manager 1966

Louis, I know that as time goes, it will ease the loss. If you look around you might see alot of Bill in all the young students that worked with him.

Take Care

Dennis Bailey
UCR Equipment Manager

I remember Bill and recall at how you guys got along with a humor that was very personalized and unique. Sorry to hear about this. I had no idea how far he went back with the station. Amazing.

Gerit Vandenberg
Brother of KUCR Director Louis Vandenberg

Louis,

Well said. Would you let me know about the funeral arrangements when they’re finalized?

Thanks,

Lafayette C. Hight Jr.
Former KUCR Staff Member

Louis,

Although I know you had anticipated this loss, I still wanted to extend my sincere condolences.

Rest assured that we will include an acknowledgement of the passing of this special member of the university family in the upcoming issue of the university magazine as well as our Alumni Association’s e-newsletter.

I hope you find some comfort knowing that Bill will be fondly remembered by so many.

Kyle Hoffman
UCR Assistant Vice Chancellor Alumni Affairs

Louis:

What a moving tribute. It is clear from your words on the page, what he meant to you.

Dr. Yolanda T. Moses

UC Riverside

On Wednesday, March 11, 2009 Bill passed on… I believe that we must never forget to be grateful for those that helped paved the path before us. Bill Elledge was one of the founding members of KUCR Radio, a radio station at the University of California, Riverside. The station started in the 1960’s and continues today to educate, entertain, and celebrate music, current affairs, and cultural events.

I will never forget Bill’s humor, encouragement and assistance at KUCR. A long time ago, I had asked Bill his advice about whether or not I should apply for Music Director, and he totally encouraged me to give it a try, without his words I may have never have done it. Although the music director position went to somebody else, I knew I had a friend in my corner.

In the early years of doing my show, I had broken a few needles on my turntable at home, and I needed help finding some new ones. Those were pre-internet days (at least for me) and Bill had his own super information highway that helped me find exactly what I needed.

Whenever Bill was doing his show I would pop-in, say hi, and talk a bit before he was getting on the air. I enjoyed our conversations, and I will miss Bill very much! Bill, may you rest in peace. We will miss you at KUCR! ~tina bold

I was very sad to hear of Bill Elledge’s passing. I spent many an hour getting a deeper understanding of the world from this man on KUCR. People like him are a very rare commodity within the human race…

Davey
KUCR Listener

Ahh, Bill, a real character! I’d never met him ’til he began coming in to “pre-empt” my show on Sat. evenings (“Space Does Not Care”, ’99-’03) w/UCR Highlanders basketball games. My greatest memory (and on tape thankfully) is the night he came in for a game and had some technical difficulties w/the kid at the other end at the game-sight…when they’d finally properly connected, he shouted ironically “Slick As Snot Out of a Canary Bird!!”, unaware that he was still on-air!. Cheers, Bill

Oh this crushes me. I learned so much from his shows (and had to unlearn a little bit here and there…). His commentary was priceless. Even though I don’t live in Riverside anymore, I am sorry to hear that when I come home to visit he won’t be there to welcome me.

Cheers Bill. I’ll miss you.

Hilary Thompson
Hertfordshire, England

Hi Louis,

I logged into the website today because my cousin’s son, Eric, has been accepted at UCR in the Fall and will be studying Electrical Engineering and I wanted to check and see who was still around at KUCR, so I could refer him for some practical experience.

Needless to say, I, too, was shocked to read about Bill’s passing,

I want to join the others in expressing my sadness at the loss of Bill. He was very patient with me when I, perhaps the klutziest, un-hip, fill-in DJ and engineer, was drafted to staff the booth during a baseball (or was it basketball???) broadcast from our home field/court. Though it was all a couple of decade in my past, just reading the news and everyone’s reminiscences made me realize what a special time I had with you, Bill, and our own late-70s Show that was KUCR while I was there. It’s a shame Eric didn’t have a chance to learn from and experience Bill.

Rest in peace, Big Bill. Your legacy lives on!

Russ Leavitt
KUCR News 1976-1979

I recently heard of Bill’s passing through a friend I met while at KUCR 30 years ago. Wow. I had kept in contact with Bill for many years after I left, but I’m sorry to say that it waned.

My recollections of Bill are simply that he cracked me up daily! I have a big, fat folder of KUCR memorabilia, including a pile of notes he left me in my box when I was a staff member. I wish I could share them but this is a “family” site. A number of them were written on toilet paper and paper towels, emphasizing his point that I needed to get some proper scratch paper for the station.

Quotes from Bill taken directly from staff meeting minutes that I kept:

Bill E says he has no idea when Prod Room B will EVER get done.

Bill E says Over-emotionalism is not appropriate over the air.

Bill E says KUCR is really HOT so people working here must do their best work.

Who can forget the time we were watching a movie in LS1500 (is it possible I remember a room number on campus from 30 years ago??) and suddenly we hear the unmistakable bellow of Bill, “THERE’S A HAIR ON THE SCREEN”. The entire room erupted in laughter.

And so much more…..Bill, I miss you.

Mari Perrone
Santa Monica, CA

Even though I had heard Bill was in ill health, it was still very upsetting to hear that he passed away. Although I was at KUCR from 1969-71, I never met Bill then, but I did see him quite often in later years at what was then KWDJ, later changing to KQLH and finally KPRO. Bill was one of those people that called it like it was, which is why I liked and respected him so much. I loved his wry sense of humor. My favorite story of Bill is one day while I was on the air at KWDJ, one of the two lightbulbs overhead in the control room burned out. Ever the fix-it man, Bill came in to the control room between breaks and replaced the lightbulb. That should have been the end of the story. But one of the owners, Ollie, walked by to see what was going on and asked Bill what he was doing. “I’m changing a light bulb, Ollie.” She snapped back “Well, why do you need to put in a new one? Can’t you just fix it? You ARE the chief engineer aren’t you?” Bill’s classic reply: “Ollie, this bulb is so old it has Thomas Edison’s signature on it.” I nearly died of laughter and couldn’t talk on the air for half an hour after that.

What I always liked about Bill was that he seemed to genuinely care about what he was doing, and he cared about the people around him. At the same time, I saw a man torn between the things he would like to have done, and what he was allowed to do, and I think that was a major frustration for him. But for what it’s worth, I think he really cared about a lot of things, far more than any of us could have imagined. I will always think of him as a kind-hearted giant of a man, someone who ultimately enriched the lives of a lot of us because of his many contributions. I think it’s safe to say that we will all miss Bill, but we know that now his suffering is over, and he’s in a better place. Thanks for everything you’ve done Bill, we won’t forget you!

Bill Powers
Former announcer, KUCR, 1969-1971
Former announcer, KACE/KWDJ/KQLH/KPRO, on anf off 1968-2006
Temple City, CA

I dropped by this site to revamp the bookmark and check out the going-on of KUCR.
I’m shocked and deeply sadden to learn of bill’s passing.
I will always remember him for his melodious bass voice and his knack for building and maintaining the “nuts and bolts” of the station with very little at hand.
Peace,
Jimmy Hamamoto
Jamaica Plain (Boston), MA
KUCR programmer 1971-1974

I am sad to hear that Bill has left the airwaves and gone to the heavens. Bill will be missed on the airwaves.

I used to have my show after his for a while from 11pm – 1am. He would always be considerate and was a dedicated engineer to KUCR. Each evening before my radio show and after his 9PM show was complete, I remember him calmly introducing my show: “stay tuned for Radio Daze… that’s daze with a “z””.

Do you still have that picture with him interviewing Ronald Regan?

His countless years of dedication to KUCR were appreciated.

Dan Morookian
KUCR 1996 – 1998 “Radio Daze”
UCR Alumnus 1998
KZSC 2004 – present “Here There & Everywhere”

We at the Bates household mourn the loss of Bill and pass on our condolences to Louis, the staff of KUCR, members of the UCR family, and the rest of the Inland Empire. His loss is keenly felt by all.

As a member of the KUCR staff, I had the good fortune of being at the station as it moved from the lowly FM transmitter atop the building to the bright and shiny world of stereo broadcasting from the top of Box Springs mountain. There I was, manning the board for a remote broadcast of Highlander basketball when the phone rang and there was Bill. “Flip this switch, turn this knob, and adjust this dial” (or words to that effect) and suddenly KUCR had moved into the 20th Century. I remember Bill’s excitement at having completed what was a long and perilous multi-year journey through the process of FCC approvals and construction; in seeing that his dream of making KUCR a true voice of the Inland Empire had been fulfilled.

Upon reading of Bill’s passing in the recent edition of UCR magazine we commemorated his passing with a moment of silence, a bit of classical music, and what will forever be an “Elledge-ism” used when testing the station’s equipment (pardon the language but after all, we are talking about Bill)…”testicle, testicle, testicle”

Tim Bates

Class of 80

KUCR staff – program host, “Theatre of the Mind” engineer, basketball broadcasts engineer
tim@tdbates.com

Well, I just saw the item today (July 15), too. I only knew Bill a little bit. I was there at KUCR pretty much at the start, and I worked around Bill at the Highlander. This was in the 1967-1970 period, when it seemed like everybody except Bill was a pot smoker, a hippie, and a socialist/communist. Bill was a guy who had 1935 written all over him, and it was like he was from another planet – especially with that penchant for going on and on in that amazing voice. Back then I rolled my eyes, but I secretly liked Bill, because I had the intuition that he really WAS the person he projected – completely decent, incredibly hard working, without a trace of guile or ill will. I wish I had been a little more mature back then, because I would have appreciated Bill more. A true original, in a very good way. Thinking of him makes me smile.

Greg Marshall

As a part-time board operator/broadcaster at AM-1570: KPRO-Riverside, CA., I saw Bill occasionally when I worked an over-night
shift for one of the full-timers. Bill would usually come to the station at around 1:00a.m. looking at transmitter logs; to-do lists, etc.

I enjoyed talking to him on a variety of subjects, (including his long-running classical music program on KUCR). He was a bit coy
talking about himself-or his fine radio program; yet, one could easily recognize that this was a man of keen intellect and erudition.

Bill was always ready to defend KUCR and its broadcasters. KPRO Radio for many years was the broadcast home for University of
California, Riverside Highlanders’ Men’s Basketball. One evening I criticized KUCR’s student play-by-play broadcaster and
game analyst as not being very good, (in comparison to KPRO’s very own Dale Parsons). Immediately Bill upbraided me for my
comments and said those two young men were, “outstanding!” Who could argue with that?

Bill Elledge would be proud of the fact that he brought “outstanding” broadcasters-and-programs to the Inland Empire for the past
forty-four years.

Arthur J. Uvaas
KPRO Radio
Riverside, California

Dear everyone at KUCR,

I just learned of Bill’s passing and am very saddened…I wish we hadn’t lost touch over the years. My morning chats with Gary and my evening chats with Bill kept me entertained, kept me sane, and made me a much more thoughtful person. I still have a letter from Bill that I often re-read, it is dated New Year’s Eve, 1993, my first year of grad school in Boston after graduating from UCR. It is typed with key sections heavily underlined in black felt tip pen. I must have sent him a Christmas card admitting that I was struggling in grad school and in his letter Bill stated that he wished he had done better academically (one of the underlined sections) and encouraged me to stay in Boston, finish my degree, and watch out for the weather. He also shared the latest KUCR gossip at the time, including Louis’ never ending struggle with VC Leo, the controversial music director decision, the scaling back of live basketball game broadcasts to home games only, how my replacement as news director had vanished and he and Gary were left to train an entirely new news staff, and this gem that still makes me laugh: “Right now, Louis is home with the flu. He sounds like hell, like the girl in ‘The Exorcist’.” However, the end of the letter is the reason I keep returning to re-read it, it is classic Bill. Although I dropped out of grad school then, I did go back later and finish, partly because of his words: “I think you’ve got a real ability to get things done, a sharp mind, and writing talent. Turning these into a successful life will be the trick because life has a way of often being unfair — I know this isn’t an original phrase, but it’s the best I can do at 5 a.m. I would, however, offer the further advice that it’s wise to learn different skills, so that if one area seems blocked, you have other paths to follow. Anyway, be good, stay warm, take care. My very best. – B.E.”

This world is a lesser place without Bill Elledge. May he rest in peace.

– Anna Rakstang, KUCR news director 1991 – 1993

Sorry to hear of Bill’s death.

I met Bill way back in 1966 when he had his classical music show and also was the news director. Possibly we met in ’65 before the station actually went on the air.
Bill and I had our differences in some areas, mostly about his news broadcast running overtime… AGAIN! but he always did his best for the station, even if it sometimes frustrated some of us.

I had left the area before the station made the big move to more power and a stereo signal, so I have no memories of the changeover process, but I do have an appreciation of it since I was involved with getting the station up and running in 1966 along with Hans Wynholds and Kerry Kelts. The changeover must have taken a great deal of effort, and I now read that Bill did a great deal of that work.

Bob Clevenger
Sometime Station Manager, Sometime Chief Engineer, Sometime DJ
KUCR 1966-1970

Hello John and others,

I’ve been in touch with other old KUCR staffers especially from the 70’s.
Anyone who wants to e-mail me can, at bobkucr ( AT ) mail.kucr.org.

Best to all,
Bob Murphy