Growing
up in Hollywood, Lee used to hang around the old KFWB studios
and made friends with L.A.'s original Rock & Roll DJ's such
as Gene Weed and Gary Owens. By the time he was thirteen, there
was no doubt that Lee wanted to be on the radio, but no Los
Angeles radio station was going to hire a thirteen year old
kid
even a thirteen year old with a prematurely deep voice.
Lee's family had relocated to Phoenix and in 1964 when he was
a fourteen-year-old high school sophomore, he convinced a local
radio station that he was actually eighteen and had on-air experience
in Hawaii. He chose Hawaii because he didn't think the station
would pay the long distance charges to verify his story. The
station Program Director hired Lee to do the Monday-Friday 7pm-Midnight
show. The Program Director thought he had hired an 18-year old
with a car, not a 14-year old riding a Schwinn.
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In
the early 80's, Lee abandoned music radio and re-invented
himself as a TalkRadio personality. For more than a dozen
yeras, Lee and his partner, "The Steamer," Bud
Furillo, ruled the afternoons with "SportsTalk"
show at KABC Radio as they generated the largest ratings
in the history of Los Angeles Afternoon Drive Radio. Lee
and Bud also did the pre-and-post game Dodgers shows on
KABC and The Dodgers Radio Network.
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By
1968, Lee was doing the morning show at legendary Phoenix radio
station KRIZ. Although only eighteen at the time, Lee already
had four years of on-air Rock & Roll radio experience. Industry
big shots started paying attention to "The Kid In The Morning"
in 1968 when KRIZ was honored as "Billboard Magazine's
Major Market Radio Station of the Year".
In
the late 60's, things started happening quickly in Lee's career.
He was hired at KCBQ in San Diego to do evenings on a station
that revolutionized Top-40 Radio. It wasn't long after that
when Lee was hired at the radio industry's most legendary Top-40
station. Lee returned home to Los Angeles to join Robert W.
Morgan, The Real Don Steele, and the staff of "Boss Radio",
93/KHJ. In the early 70's his bosses at RKO-General sent Lee
back east to WOR-FM in New York and CKLW in Detroit. He returned
to L.A. in the Mid-70's, where he worked with his radio hero,
the one and only Wolfman Jack at "The World's Most Dangerous
Radio Station", 1580-KDAY. Lee returned to 93/KHJ in the
late 70's to team with a new DJ from Memphis named Rick Dees.
Lee also became a national programmer for RKO and the RKO Radio
Network.
By
1980, Lee didn't like the lack of creative freedom that had
infiltrated music radio. He essentially re-invented himself
and joined the industry's leading Talk Radio station, KABC Radio
in Los Angeles. For more than a decade, Lee teamed with "The
Steamer", Bud Furillo to host the afternoon "Sports
Talk" Show, as well as the pre-game and post-game "Dodger
Talk" shows on the Dodgers Radio Network. Lee was also
involved in the creation and programming of the ABC-Talk Radio
Network.
In
the early 90's, Lee accepted the position of Executive Vice-President
of Programming for Shadow Broadcast Services. At Shadow, Lee
created, oversaw and even hosted a number of nationally syndicated
radio shows.
As
many people know, Lee has always had an involvement with professional
wrestling. Lee's grandfather was a professional wrestler, so
Lee grew up knowing some of the legends of the early ring wars.
Because of his knowledge of wrestling and his broadcast experience,
Lee has been doing play-by-play for various professional organizations
since 1968. He hosted the first ever nationally broadcast network
professional wrestling shows on ESPN. For five years, Lee was
on the road with Turner Broadcasting as he co-hosted wrestling
shows on the TNT and TBS networks, as well as four nationally
and internationally syndicated shows.
Lee
is one of the most respected Voice-Over actors in the industry.
His voice is heard on hundreds of national TV and radio commercials,
as well as dozens of TV shows and movies. Six years ago, Lee
started doing the voice of one of advertising's true icon characters.
Although he's not allowed to do "the voice" on anything
other than commercials and special projects, all you have to
do is listen closely to Lee to know that he is "the voice"
of a very famous "tiger".
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A
Birds-Eye view into Lee's office. It's filled with photos
of some of the biggest names in Rock & Roll history.
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Lee
is one of the most honored and respected broadcasters in the
history of radio, having received awards and accolades from
virtually every radio related publication and organization,
and in 1997, he was inducted into the Radio Division of The
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Despite his success as a programmer
and on-air personality, Lee had actually retired from radio,
saying that it had lost its heart and soul. However, he had
created a format in 1975 that he always wanted to put on the
air. Cumulus Broadcasting asked Lee to implement his ideas and
take over an under-performing AM radio station in Ventura, California.
In
2000, Lee turned KVEN into "1450, THE BOOMER" as he
launched a music format reflecting the good old Rock & Roll
of the 50's and 60's. Unlike a traditional "Oldies"
station, which plays the same 300-songs over and over and over
again, THE BOOMER play list consists of almost 17-hundred songs,
and each one of them is a hit. You won't hear the same song
played on the same day on THE BOOMER.
The
radio industry took notice of the success being enjoyed by THE
BOOMER. In fact, The National Association of Broadcasters named
THE BOOMER as a nominee for the prestigious Marconi Award for
Oldies Station of the Year 2004-2005.
It's
quite common for many of Lee's Rock & Roll icon friends
to drop by the station. At any given time, you're likely to
see Jerry Lee Lewis, Al Jardin & Bruce Johnston of The Beach
Boys, Phil & Mitch Margo of The Tokens, Gordon Waller of
Peter & Gordon, Freddy "Boom-Boom" Cannon, Chubby
Checker, Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, Dean Torrance of Jan
& Dean, Chris Hillman of The Byrds, Mary Wilson of The Supremes
or Dave Sommerville of The Diamonds sitting in Lee's studio
for a friendly visit.
As
Lee often tells his staff and colleagues, "If you're not
having fun on the radio then, you're not doing it right."
VISIT LEE'S LOUNGE
and see what's going on with the Lee Marshall's Class Reunion
Show
VISIT LEE'S HALL
OF FAME PHOTO GALLERY to see pics