Douglas D. Halsey (1952-2005)

The following was written for the newsletter of the college radio station where I had the privilege of working with Doug many years ago.

Doug Halsey, A Memorial Remembrance

Douglas D. Halsey, Earlham Class of 1974 andWECI staffer, died April 18, 2005 of complications related to Multiple Myeloma. Doug was born in Bronxville, New York on June 4, 1952. He graduated Earlham with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and pursued a career in sales which led to the plastics industry culminating in a long term position as Director of Midwest Regional Operations for the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc.

At WECI, Doug hosted classical music programs as well as shows featuring other types of music. Doug had a good sounding voice for radio that was equally well suited to delivering the news. Doug had a great sense of humor which also found an outlet at WECI, including numerous character voices that he used for recording station IDs and show promos. He eventually hosted a long-form comedy special that mixed British humor from sources like the Bonzo Dog Band (an early precursor of Monty Python) with then cutting-edge rock by Frank Zappa and Roy Wood (the Move and early Electric Light Orchestra). His impressions of Ed Sullivan and Broderick Crawford were legendary; he even threw in the occasional comedy bit from Don Imus who had then just released a radio comedy album. Doug's professionalism on and off the air, combined with his musical and comedic sensibilities made him a huge asset to WECI and the Earlham community.

Doug's love of music never wavered throughout his life; he was partial to artists such as Little Feat, John Hiatt, Bruce Cockburn, early Genesis, and Julia Fordham. Doug played acoustic guitar and held a special appreciation for guitar players such as Alan Holdsworth and Sonny Landreth, but his all time favorite artist throughout his life, to whom he introduced many WECI staffers and listeners, was acoustic guitar master Leo Kottke. As recently as the summer of 2004 when Doug, Dave Curtis (Class of '75 and former WECI Station Manager) and I met in Chicago, Doug brought along the latest Leo Kottke cd for us to hear.

Doug fought a long and valiant battle against the cancer that ultimately consumed him, engaging in experimental treatments that together with his energy and spirit, afforded him many more years of life than might have been expected. He leaves behind a wife, Deadra and an eleven year old son Zachary in Elmhurst, Illinois. Doug took a special joy in the 2004 World Series win by his beloved Boston Red Sox, and according to Deadra he has passed that passion on to Zach. Doug is sorely missed by all who knew him.

by William Kates (Class of '75 and former WECI Station Manager)


Doug Halsey at the Duke of Perth Pub in Chicago, shortly after a
Cubs game in August 2002

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering the Main Point, 1964 - 1981

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #5 Begining in 1964, The Main Point in Bryn Mawr provided the Philadelphia area with one of its most enjoyable venues for live music. Although it started as a folk based coffeehouse, all styles of music were presented over the years. Financial problems continually plagued the Main Point, and in spite of frequent benefit shows by artists who loved the place as much as the audience, the club finally closed in 1981. The following brief history is contained in an obituary of Jeanette O. Campbell, one of the founders and owners of the Main Point who died on October 22, 2006, written by Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer Sally A. Downey as reprinted on the Save Ardmore Coalition website. Jeanette Orndoff Campbell, 89, former owner of the Main Point, a music hall in Bryn Mawr where young talents including Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor were introduced to local audiences, died of complications from hip surgery Oct. 22 at Stap
Read more

Cream and Blind Faith at the Spectrum, Philadelphia, 1968 & 1969

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #3 (L-R) Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, & Eric Clapton I could not have foreseen it at the time, but looking back on a concert going history now entering it's fifth decade, my first three concerts were absolutely formative in the development of the music obsession that has driven life as we know it from that point forward. Attending a rock concert pre drivers license was no small feat, that I even got to these shows is the first indication that I knew I was onto something even if I couldn't quite explain it. I've already detailed my first concert (The Beatles at JFK Stadium) in my MMMM#1 . My second and third concerts took place at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, they were less than a year apart, and due to the fact that concerts never end at the time predicted, these concert experiences both ended with a very angry driver stuck waiting in the car outside the venue until the last encore had finished. I shot both concerts with the same starter
Read more

And We Danced - Filming the Hooters Video, 7/27/85

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #4 "And We Danced" (picture sleeve above) was released in 1985 as the second single from the album, Nervous Night , the Hooters' major label debut for Columbia Records. Here's the video. The call went out to the Hooters' mailing list the last week of July 1985 that an audience with cars would be needed on the coming Saturday for a video shoot. Participants would report to the Exton Drive-In by late morning and be prepared to stay all day until after dark. This stage set, early in the day, was a warm-up for the crowd and probably a dry run for the production team for the night-time performance to be filmed later. The banner backdrop does not appear in the video. Some of the antique and custom cars that were on hand for the shoot. The production crew prepares the ticket booth for its shot. This is the film crew shooting the acoustic intro part of the song. The acoustic intro was shot twice, first with t
Read more