Old Walla Walla Radio Remembered Part 33--K-HIT's Arch LeRoux In Studio

The face may not be familiar to everyone who grew up in Walla Walla, but his voice probably was.  Arch LeRoux (La Roo) was the founder and owner of K-HIT, a radio station that broadcast from the Denney Building from sunrise to sunset.  It played what was known as easy listening music, and as long as I can remember, was automated.   

Leroux with a distinct voice would do a newscast at the top of the hour and headlines at the half hour. LeRoux was also known for his tennis playing prowess.   The station was sold to an out of town ownership group in the mid-70s.

This picture appeared on the Joe Drazen's Bygone Walla Walla page, courtesy of Jean Savage, whose father Bill Lilley was the long time photographer for the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. 

Old Walla Walla Radio Remembered Part 22--Broadcaster LeRoux and Cosby Become Tennis Buds

Recent accusations have changed his image, but in the late 1970s, Bill Cosby was one of the biggest stars, so it was a real big deal when it was revealed that the retired owner of K-HIT radio, Arch LeRoux had hosted the actor-comedian at his tennis court in Walla Walla.   Both were avid tennis players.  I had seen Cosby at Coordiner Hall, the Whitman College performing arts center in the late 70s.  About that time, Cosby and LeRoux, who I never met, but was a staple in local radio in the 60s and 70s, formed their friendship around the game of tennis.

Old Walla Walla Radio Remembered Part 7--Arch LeRoux

Arch LeRoux owned K-Hit Radio in the 1960s and early 70s.  It was an easy listening station that had it's studios in downtown Walla Walla.  It had an automated format and only broadcast from daylight to dawn. LeRoux would later sell the station to an out of town group.
  An avid tennis player, LeRoux is pictured on the left with his brother LaSalle in the picture from the late 1930s.  LeRoux would later build a tennis court at his house on Clay Street in Walla Walla. A frequent guest at the LeRoux house was comedian Bill Cosby according to UB stories from the 1970s.  LeRoux had apparently befriended the comedian after an appearance at Coordiner Hall on the Whitman College campus.  Thank you to Walla Walla historian and blogger Joe Drazan for this picture.