On April 21 of the same year, he married Ellen Beede of Newport. In 1957, an unplanned trip to Little Rock (Pulaski County) television station KTHV with popular rock and roll band Sonny Burgess and the Pacers resulted in his being offered a position as a “booth announcer” for the station. His entry into radio coincided with the beginnings of rock and roll, and Stephens soon became a popular proponent of this new type of music. While in the marines, Stephens was often asked if he had ever been a broadcaster, as he seemed to have a natural “radio voice.” After returning home, he began part-time radio work by becoming an announcer for radio station KNBY in Newport, where he was known as “The Voice of the White River Valley.” Following the Korean War, he returned to Newport to join his father in the furniture store business. Attaining the rank of sergeant, he received three battle stars in Korea and was honorably discharged in 1954. Following graduation, he attended the University of Arkansas until the fall of 1950 when, “looking for adventure,” he joined the U.S. Stephens attended Castle Heights Military Academy and later graduated from Newport High School in 1948. Later his parents opened a furniture store in the same town, which they successfully operated for more than twenty years. Steve Stephens was born on April 22, 1930, as Rufus James Stephens to Owen and Allie Mae Stephens, owners of a restaurant service station in Newport (Jackson County). He remained a communications specialist well into his retirement.
Stephen Owen Stephens was a well-known television and communications pioneer, most famous for Steve’s Show, a popular television program in the 1960s.
0 kommentar(er)
