Ailing Burl

Please have Burl Barer www.adoraburl.typepad.com in your thoughts and prayers, Burl who like me was raised in Walla Walla is having surgery to have a couple stints put into his arteries. As near as I can tell, that means they will try to widen a couple of arteries to help take pressure off of his heart. A couple of weeks ago Burl had a heart attack while on the shuttle to the Sea Tac Airport. By the sake of a miracle the shuttle was making a stop at Valley General Hospital , perhaps the driver had notice Burl looking funny (no jokes now) and could tell something was not right, more than likely though, it was a devine coincidence because if he was further away and paramedics were summoned, he would not have made it. Burl's Dad (my uncle Dave) had a history of heart trouble that he fought valiently until 20 years ago when we lost him. I would like to see Burl kick the smoking habit. That is up to him, but we certainly do not want to lose our Burl.

Wa-Hi Memory--The Return Of Burl Barer

The Class of '76, Walla Walla High School will return to it's old stomping ground this week to celebrate it's 30 year reunion. This memory was not from my senior year, but my sophomore year. My cousin Burl had left KOL radio and had decided that for the time being, he would go out on some independant ventures. He struck up a partnership with Alex Merklingar on a project known as Mind Development Inc. Burl would tour the Northwest holding seminars. He came to Walla Walla I believe in the spring of '74 to teach a seminar at what was then the Black Angus-Marcus Whitman Hotel--the town's premier venue.
Burl was also able to hold a lecture at our school where he had graduated in '65. Burl's incredible talent was getting a group of restless high school students to give him their undivided attention.
Burl cut an interesting figure, his hair was shoulder length, he had on jeans and a denim jacket with a rose on the chest. Of course in a couple of years everyone would dress like that or similar.
He had us sit on the floor, we had to uncross our legs and arms and then put our thumb against our first two fingers. We would close our eyes and then count backwards from 10 to 1. We would visualize a bouquet of roses in a vase. The vase would change sizes and shapes, Burl said that was because we where getting interference from other's thoughts. The theory behind that is in a certain mental state your mind can do much more than you can perceive.

Pat O'Day Remembered.

I have spoken a lot about Pat O'Day in this blog.  I was fortunate to work for him.  I remember the excitement of working at a Seattle station.  It was not long after college and I was working for my father, at the same time, my cousin, Burl was working with me in that business in Walla Walla.  Burl was working weekends in Seattle at KYYX, flying back and forth.  Burl had told me about an entry level job at the station, which was owned by Pat.  I went to interview in the Spring, not hearing back from them.  That is until one August day, Burl came out and said, Mike, Elvin (the station manager) is on the phone.  There was a job open at KYYX if I could come up.   Having always wanted to live in Seattle, I enthusiastically accepted.  It was there, that I learned about how big Pat O'Day was.

I have been friends  with Pat's son Garry ever since we worked at the station.  I have been to the family ranch in the San Juan Islands a couple of times.  

Burl and Pat worked together at KJR   and formed a great friendship.  

With KJR bringing such a high share of the radio market, Pat was able to bring many Seattle acts to the national scene.    Pat became a close friend and confident of Seattle based Rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix (pictured with Pat below).  I was touched be hearing about how when Hendrix died in England, O'Day found there were no plans to bring his body back to the States. The record execs had bailed on him and his family couldn't afford to.  O'Day flew to England and paid to have Hendrix's body returned.

Pat was recently famous as the voice of Schick Shadel, the alcohol and substance abuse clinic. 

He was very present on Facebook.  He praised me for a video I posted a few years ago, thanking me for keeping memories alive.  

In a status update about a year ago, he chastised the mayor of Seattle and the city council, as he felt that the city government was letting the homeless problem get out of hand.    

Pat had a need for speed and loved Seafair, the Seattle Summer celebration.  He was the voice of unlimited hydroplane racing in Seattle for over 4 decades. Pat died two days after what would have been the Seafair unlimited hydroplane race.  This year's Seafair was cancelled because of the Corona virus. 

LA III--Trip To Lighten Up Lounge

I told my cousin Burl that I would be in town and was invited to the infamous Lighten Up Lounge to watch him do his internet radio show "True Crime Uncensored".   The show, on internet radio, allows Burl to combine his two passions, radio, he was a  former DJ for KJR and KOL in Seattle and writing "true crime" in which he has won awards for his many books.
These days, Burl lives in the LA area and teams up with another former Seattle area DJ, Magic Matt Alan, to do his own show as well as appearing on Matt's show, Outlaw Radio.
True Crime Uncensored has riveting true stories of notorious crime. I don't know if you could find anything like it anywhere, the show runs Saturdays at 2:00 pm Pacific Time.  You can also listen on podcast by clicking on mixcloud to Burl Barer.
The Lighten Up Lounge is an 1876 Virginia City Type bar in a backyard somewhere in the LA area.
Since I also love radio and had not seen Burl in well over 10 years, it made for a fun afternoon.

Ho Ho Ho A Jewish Santa Clause?

When I was 6 or 7, Cousin Burl Barer was still going to High School in Walla Walla where I lived at the time. He also was working nights and weekends at the local radio station KTEL. Burl's official title was "staff announcer" , it consisted of playing country music during the day, then at night, he could play the rock and roll that he and his peers wanted to hear. We did not know that this would be the beginning of a successful radio career for him. KTEL was small and a somewhat cornball organization, it had a tradition of doing a remote broadcast at Christmastime. One of the staff announcers would be Santa Clause at JJ Newberry's ( a well known national departments store with a huge toy department) he would ask children to tell what they wanted for Christmas and it go out over the radio. Probably so the real Santa would hear (rumor had it that he was a listener--Oh well). One year that duty went to Burl, my parents took me to Newberry's and told me not to tell anyone that "Santa" was really my cousin. When it was my turn to step up to see Santa, he asked if I was "any relation to Burl Barer", that was a difficult concept for me to fathom at the time so I said, "that's you"
Because he made a great Santa, Burl got to hand out gifts at the family Chanukkah party that Saturday night.

Burl Barer Interviews Mind Development Partner

 In a blast from the past, on his True Crime Uncencored podcast, Burl Barer interviews his old partner from his days teaching for Mind Development, Alex Merklinger. 

Burl would tour the area with classes on stretching the human mind, back in the early 70s.  At the time, I lived in Walla Walla. 

Burl would conduct classes at random times at the Black Angus, a sparkling new addition at the time of the Marcus Whitman Hotel. 

The weekend classes would cost $150, with moneyback guarantee, but as a family member, I got to take them for free. 

Burl Barer Featured On Local Blog

Blatherwatch, a Seattle based blog that reviews local talk radio, recently began a Saturday feature highlighting old time Seattle radio personalities. Last Saturday, Burl Barer was "topic du jour", it was a well received post until a "shoot from the hip" comment from an anonomous reader suggested friction between Burl and Seattle radio king Pat O'Day. The comment was, of course, a total fabrication and both Burl and Pat apeared on the blog to deny it. Taking things a little farther, Pat made an additional post, both praising the left-leaning Blather Watch blog and extolling the career of Glen Beck, whose roots are in the Puget Sound area. That inspired another post on blatherwatch.

Burl Barer Interviewed On Podcast

Randy Roadz · The Radio Conference Call with Burl Barer

Burl Barer, who made a name for himself in Seattle radio, working at KJR and KOL, and whom I grew up with in Walla Walla, is interviewed for a Seattle radio history podcast, known as Radio Conference Call, while doing his own True Crime Uncensored internet radio program.  Paul Thompson is the interviewer.  I can tell from the interview that Thompson did his homework. 

Thank you to Randy Roadz, who tagged me with this on Facebook with the interview and Puget Sound Media.  

Burl is asked about his Walla Walla radio days, as well as his experiences in Seattle.  It is worth a listen.

 

The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Hails Burl's Return

 

Right before I graduated from college, Burl Barer moved back to Walla Walla with his wife and daughter.  He had been a DJ in Seattle for many years and operated a production company in Bellevue. 
Burl worked at B. Barer And Sons, and did consulting work at KUJ, a top 40 station at the time.  He would later set up a cable advertising business in Walla Walla and the Tri Cities.  Eventually, he would do consulting work at KEXI, at the time, an FM station in nearby Milton-Freewater. 
Just after he moved, the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin did a feature story in it's Friday TV supplement.
Burl currently resides in the Los Angeles area.  He also has a son. 

Burl With Sean Young

Burl Barer poses with Sean Young, I believe that Burl met Sean, when she was a guest on Outlaw Radio, the internet radio program that Burl does weekly in the LA area.

Howard Lapides--True Crime Sidekick Passes

Howard Lapides  was an agent representing A-list stars, but he had a passion for true crime investigation. Lapides was heard with Burl Barer on the Internet radio program True Crime Uncensored.  Howard was heard asking very pointed questions to various guests who were writers, investigators, victims and in rare instances, criminals themselves.   

Lapides died Thursday after battling cancer. 

I met Lapides a little over two years ago, when Deb and I visited the Outlaw Radio studios in the Los Angeles area to sit in on Burl's show.

Ironically, only weeks ago, Howard filled in as main host while Burl was undergoing heart surgery.

Burl said on his facebook page that True Crime Uncensored would continue today (Saturday) at it's scheduled time (2 pm Pacific), 

My KTEL Days

My first commercial radio job was something to remember. The station was KTEL and it was where my cousin Burl cut his teeth in the business. It was 1978, the station had been remodeled since Burl had worked there as they had moved the offices from downtown to the transmitter. It was still a real dilapidated place. When Burl and Lee came to visit one time, Burl pointed to the little holes in the wall and said--"that is where I fired a pellet gun at the bugs crawling on the wall". When I got on board the station was all country which took some getting used to, they had just stopped playing rock. My friend Jeff recently told me in the rock days, everytime a jock would play In-a-Godda-Divida (the classic 27 minute song) the Cranky Engineer would screech into the parking lot fearing that the DJs were partying.
KTEL was also the station where my Grandfather gave gardening tips on Tuesday morning as part of the "Men's Garden Club". The station was totally run by Jack Keating an elderly man who was rarely at the station. I only saw him 3 times during the year that I worked there. Once was when he hired me.
I was the last DJ to sign off of the old board. We were the Seattle Super Sonics station and I was working the board running the game when they won their NBA title in '79. Also the cranky Engineer was terminated after working there for 25 years during that one year. I later went back to WSU to get my degree and returned to KTEL for a brief time 6 years later.

Stan Barer's Bar Mitzvah

From Burl's "youtube" page, this video features both sets of my grandparents, My Uncle Dave and Aunt Dorothy (Stan and Burl's parents) my Mom and Dad  before they were a couple, my Uncle Phil and Uncle Arny, Cousins Burl, Stan, and Jan and many old family friends who are no longer with us.  Filmed in 1952 at the old Walla Walla shul on Rose and Tucannon Streets, it was torn down in the early 1970s for an Elks Lodge.  The shul was moved to it's present site on Alder and Roosevelt.

Burl Barer From The Mid 1980s

In this picture from 1986, my cousin, Burl Barer is pictured with family friend, Bill Grant and then Washington Governor Booth Gardiner.  Burl is leaning against the wall, third from the left.

At the time, Grant was campaigning for the Washington State Legislature.  He would be successful and serve until his death in 2009.

This was taken in front of Walla Walla's old Liberty Theatre, which had closed years before and was used as a campaign headquarters. 

This was on the Bygone Walla Walla blog. 

Burl Barer From Decades Ago.

Cousin Burl Barer appeared in this ad, from his days at Seattle rock station KOL.  Probably from the late 1960s or early 70s. Burl is on the right side. Thank you to Randy from Facebook. 
 

Burl Barer Gets Facebook Fan Page

In spite of being out of commercial radio for more than two decades, a facebook fan page honoring former Seattle disk jockey Burl Barer is growing in leaps and bounds. The page was established by former KJR DJ Kacie Sommers and myself. In addition to Burl is a published novelist. He can still be heard every Saturday from 2:00 until 6:00 on the internet.

A Toy Burl Barer

Burl Barer, true crime writer, former Seattle radio DJ, etc, etc recently unveiled a bobble head version of him on his facebook page, the picture was shared by relatives including myself.  You can hear Burl, Saturdays on Outlaw Radio at3pm PST.

Burl Barer's New Radio Endeavor

You can listen to Burl Barer's new internet radio show by clicking here. Saturdays at 2:00pm Pacific Daylight time. For those of us that work at that time, there are some past broadcasts there as well. Burl is also a regular on Outlaw Radio which is heard also on Saturdays with an array of characters at this site.

Burl Interviews Sergio Barer

Burl Barer interviewed Composer Sergio Barer in this fascinating segment  of True Crime Uncensored.  We may or may not be related.  He pronounces his name Bar-er with emphasis on the second syllable.  He is obviously a student of history and heritage.  He is also the father of  Libe and Ariela Barer, who are both TV actresses.   You can hear Burl interview Sergio here.

Burl Barer--"The Day...."

Burl Barer took his readers down memory lane on his blog with this recollection from his youth.

"The older I get, the more I admire my parents and their friends, almost all of whom have passed away. My father was, above all, a good man. His honesty and integrity were without question, and his quiet kindness was a living example to me. There was only one time in my childhood when he broke my heart and reduced me to tears. That single event troubled me for years, and I never knew how to bring it up and resolve it.
About forty years after that event, my father and I were chatting and he asked me if there was anything he did, as my father, that I resented. “Yes, actually, there is only one, and I have never mentioned it. I also have never been able to let go of it ever since I was a kid.”
My father was immediately fascinated. “Tell me,” he encouraged. “Please, what was it?”
I was still a little kid - I was in grade school, and there was a party at our home. We had those often, and my parents would invite their friends. There would be food and drinks and wonderful conversations and eventually the men would play gin rummy. It was one of those nights, a lovely party, and in the living room Mr. Sam Taylor and Dr. Phillip Siegel were having a fascinating conversation about God, and our obligation to be of service to humanity. Every time Mr. Taylor said, “God” I found myself moving closer to him. I wanted to hear everything. I wanted to understand. I was drawn as if I were a a chip of iron and the word “God” was a powerful magnet.
As Mr. Taylor spoke, I inched closer. He saw my interest and encouraged me to move towards him. My dad happened to walk by, and noticing me standing in front of Mr. Taylor, said, ”Burl, move back. You’re standing too close to Mr. Taylor.” I dutifully moved back, straining to catch every word.
As much as I wanted to be a good boy, and keep my distance, I couldn’t resist. Bit by bit, I worked my way back until I was close enough to hear every word. It was then my father saw my manifest “disobedience.’
Dad lost his temper, swept me up and reprimanded me. “No, Dave,” said Mr. Taylor, “It’s all right. Really.” Too late. I was paddled on my little rear all the way down the stairs and into my bedroom where I sobbed and sobbed for what seemed an eternity.
My father listened to his adult son recount an episode he never remembered, and one I would never forget. “If it is not too late, “ said my father, “may I apologize? I was wrong. Please forgive me.” He meant it. Apology accepted. I hugged him, and held on tight. I still remember his arms around me, but most of all I remember his scent.
There are times when the longing to be with my father again almost overwhelms me. I replay memories of my childhood, adolescence, and adulthood -- significant events and insignificant moments. I watch old home movies occasionally, and there we are: my mom, dad, brother Stan and sister Jan. Then my nostalgia expands and encompasses grandparents and aunts and uncles, and friends of the family. All of them live on in my mind and my heart. There are times when time itself is malleable, my parents are young and vibrant, my brother and sister are living their high school adventures, and I’m the peculiar younger child standing amidst adults, fascinated by Dr. Siegel and Mr. Taylor talking about God.
“Tell me something funny you remember from when you were little,“ Dad requested, and the following brief anecdote popped into my mind. One Sunday evening my family had dinner at the Siegel home. They had a dog named Spot. After dinner, we watched Macbeth on the Hallmark Hall of Fame. When Lady Macbeth said “out, damn spot,” the dog got up and left the room. "