Posted by Bud on November 09, 2009 at 11:37:13:
Peasley: Broadcasting legend turns 90
Don Peasley | Northwest Herald
Created: Monday, November 9, 2009 1:15 a.m. CST
Join me in wishing Mal Bellairs a happy 90th birthday. The career radio and TV broadcaster marks that milestone today. Bellairs and his wife, Maria, returned to live in Woodstock in 2007.
Bellairs was a pioneer in TV broadcasting and made notable accomplishments in Chicago radio before buying WIVS radio station in Crystal Lake in 1969. He bought an FM station in Woodstock in 1974.
Bellairs' local programming for two decades was a unifying force, providing information and shaping opinions among county residents. He was an outstanding interviewer and had the patience and skill to allow guests to talk without interruption.
I recall with a smile his comment during a 2008 interview. A high school teacher noticed he "read loudly very well and suggested I join the drama club." That was the beginning of his memorable radio-TV career even though his parents told him "a career in radio was nuts."
With Veterans Day this week, it's timely to recall that Bellairs was in the Army during World War II teaching field artillery. He traveled to Japan with the 77th Infantry division. He recalled being in charge of the repatriation of about 50,000 Chinese and Korean slave laborers who had been taken to the Island of Hokkaido to work in the Japanese iron mines.