The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
More than a voice
‘IF YOU EVER LIVED IN NEW ENGLAND, YOU PROBABLY WOKE UP WITH BOB STEELE,’ THE RADIO HALL OF FAME STATES
The path that led Bob Steele to his induction into the Radio Hall of Fame (and having a street named after him in downtown Hartford) began on the back of a motorcycle.
“He always had a love of motorcycles,” said author Paul Hensler, who write the book on Steele, literally. “At the beginning of the Great Depression he moved to Southern California to work for a motorcycle dealer. He also was a motorcycle racer, hill climber, worked as a motorcycle courier for a bank and even as a stunt man in a couple Hollywood movies.”
Steele became so well versed in the workings of the bike, that he began writing columns for a motorcycle trade magazine. He also pinch-hit as a track announcer.
“With his humorous commentary combined with his extreme knowledge of motorcycles and motorcycling, he was basically an immediate hit and quickly gained favor,” said Hensler. “And that began his announcing career.”
Steele’s notoriety brought him to the East Coast, when a race promoter asked him to be a track announcer at Bulkeley Stadium in Hartford.
“His arrival here in May of 1936 became roughly a five-month season for him, and by the time the racing season ended in September, he was ready to go back to California,” said Hensler. “As he was waiting for his ride back to the West Coast, he wandered into the WTIC studios, where the manager was interviewing candidates for a staff announcing job. Steele interviewed for the job, and the next day he was on the air. He started at WTIC on October 1 and stayed on the air for most of the next 66 years.”
“If you ever lived in New England, you probably woke up with Bob Steele,” the Radio Hall of Fame states. “At one time Steele hosted the number one rated morning show in America.”
The fascinating story about one of Connecticut’s most famous radio personalities — Steele was with WTIC for
over 60 years — will be told by Beacon Falls author Hensler in an event sponsored by the New Haven Museum.
Hensler authored the book “Bob Steele on the Radio: The Life of Connecticut’s Beloved Broadcaster,” and he will speak about the late Hartford radio legend at 6 p.m. via Zoom on Thursday, Sept. 23.
Over the course of his career, Steele hosted the number-one rated morning show in America, with segments like ”Word for the Day” adding to his legacy. “From the days of World War II until his retirement in 1991, Steele’s wit and warmth provided a touch of security for half a million listeners every day. Listeners looked forward to Steele’s regular features like ... ‘Tiddlywinks,’ which offered little known facts of little importance,” the Radio Hall of Fame site states. Steele died in 2002.
The author’s introduction into Steele’s radio persona came about almost by chance. While he was living in New Britain in the late ‘70s, Hensler would catch the Boston Red Sox night games on WTIC.
“Even though I wasn’t a Red Sox fan, it was just something to listen to at night,” said Hensler. “I didn’t bother changing the radio station the next day, so I segued into listening to Bob Steele’s program in the morning. And I became fixated by it, with his quirky style of humor, his love of puns and also, importantly, his real attention to detail as far as doing time checks.”
Hensler was also drawn to Steele’s delivery. “He had a great deadpan style,” he said. “Probably the thing I liked the most about him, especially with regard to his humor, was that he liked making himself a target. Making fun of yourself, you’re not really offending anyone else.”
To register for the lecture, visit eventbrite.com.