WHOO – In the Beginning

WHOO’s on the air!

While this may sound like the opening salvo in an old Abbott and Costello routine, there was really a radio station in Orlando with the call sign WHOO!

WHOO, Orlando’s first 10,000-watt radio station, began broadcasting from the Fort Gatlin Hotel building at 563 North Orange Avenue on December 5, 1947, at 990 on the dial.

The Federal Communications Commission issued the license for WHOO to The Sentinel-Star publishing company. As an affiliate of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), WHOO broadcast national programs and local talk shows and entertainment.

Gala Celebration Opening Day

Broadcast Day

Early on, the local newspapers each day featured a large advertisement with the schedule of that day’s radio programs. In the beginning, it also listed the Central Florida business sponsoring local programs. This was similar to early television when a large company would be the sole sponsor of a program like Greyhound Lines or Texaco who sponsored the Texaco Star Theatre hosted by Milton Burle.

Often the daily advertisements in the Orlando Evening Star featured photos of celebrities who hosted or performed in the American Broadcasting Company’s nationally broadcast shows. These included dramas, game shows, music performances and sports programs broadcast on WHOO AM 990. This advertisement features the Dinning Sisters, Nancy Douglas, Professor Quiz and Harry Wismer.

WHOOT OWLS

They even had a Western band called the WHOOT Owls who performed live on WHOO every morning at 7:30 a.m. and were also available for private engagements. Booked at Shorty Shedd and the WHOOT OWLS, the group performed music in the Western, Hillbilly and Folk genres.

WHOO Personalities Behind the Shows

An advertisement in the April 2, 1948, edition of the Orlando Evening Star featured photographs of all the WHOO personalities behind the shows broadcast locally – both on-air and behind the scenes. The advertisement includes photos of WHOO General Manager John Buning, Program Director Martin Bowen, Commercial Manager Clarence Bracey, Musical Director, John McLees, Musical Director, Ruth Smith of Radio Society, Charles Thomas with WHOO Quiz; Betty Lee and Bill Berry, Dan Daniel of Sports Journal, The WHOOT OWLS, and Georgia Yarborough, Orlando’s Youngest Disc Jockey.

High School Sports on WHOO

WHOO claimed to be the first radio station to broadcast basketball games live between local high schools and out of town teams. The advertisement, below, published in the Orlando Evening Star on January 11, 1949, promotes a game that night between the Orlando High School Tigers and Lakeland High School and features WHOO sportscaster Dan Daniels.

Community Involvement

WHOO was active in the Central Florida community; often broadcasting sporting and political events and especially charity events from what was called the Orlando or Kemp’s Coliseum.

In January 1949, WHOO began a year long series of performances at the Municipal Auditorium, later named the Bob Carr Municipal Auditorium, for the purpose of raising funds for the Goodfellows organization to provide toys for needy children for Christmas, December 1949. The advertisement in the January 10, 1949, Orlando Evening Star, p. 10, announced the series.

Reserve your tickets now for the
PEGGY FAIRCHILD CONCERT SERIES
Presented by WHOO

Starting on February 7th Orlando will be due a real musical treat. The first of the “Peggy Fairchild Series” with James Melton will be the first of the great artists to appear on this series. Now is the time to arrange to see and hear the entire series at economy prices. Here’s a cultural experience you can’t afford to pass by.

The concerts will be held at the Municipal Auditorium with these great stars participating… James Melton, Jascha Heifetz, Nan Merriman, Shaw and Morgan. WHOO’s share in the profits of these Concerts goes to Goodfellows, Inc. Charities for distribution Xmas of 1949 this year. [All advertising, all clerical help, cost of ticket sales and half of all other expenses are borne directly by WHOO and not charged against cost of attractions.]

BOX OFFICE: WHOO Studios, Fort Gatlin Hotel. Ph. 3-1543.
Convenient Downtown Office: Mezzanine, San Juan Hotel, Edna Paul. Ph. 5536

Coverage Area

An advertisement in the Orlando Evening Star, January 10, 1949, p. 6, indicates that the 10,000-watt station, now at 990 on both the AM and FM dials reaches all the way to Leesburg in Lake County!

News and Commentary

It is hard for many today to imagine a world without internet, podcasts, online news services and even television, but in the 1940s most Americans did not own a television set. The news of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, was delivered on radio as families pressed close to the radio in their living rooms for any news about their loved ones serving in the Pacific Theater. Radios were often turned on first thing in the morning and left on all day until they signed off at night, and the nightly news and commentary was important to listeners.

The advertisement in the Orlando Evening Star on December 12, 1949, promotes Elmer Davis, former Chief of the Office of War Information, who was considered one of the nation’s foremost radio commentators in his day. His daily show, Monday-Friday from 7:15 to 7:30 p.m. provided Up-To-The Minute News Commentary.

Explore a Grokepedias overview of the WHOO call sign and history of the FCC license holders from 1947 to today.