Arthur E. Pallan (May 11, 1923—January 22, 2007) was an American

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. Born in

Braddock Braddock may refer to: Places England, United Kingdom * Braddock, Cornwall ** Battle of Braddock Down, 1643 Canada * Braddock, Saskatchewan * Braddock Lake, Saskatchewan; a reservoir United States * Braddock, New Jersey * Braddock, North Dako ...

, PA, he graduated from Brentwood High School. He landed his first radio job at

WWSW WWSW-FM (94.5 MHz) – branded 94.5 3WS – is a commercial FM radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It airs a classic hits radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. For most of November and December, WWSW-FM switches to all- Chris ...

. Upon graduating from high school, Pallan took an office job with

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. But he dreamed of being in radio and would spend his lunch hours watching the announcers working at KDKA and

. He auditioned several times at WWSW and was finally hired when the station had a shortage of announcers because of World War II. He served in the military himself and was a decorated veteran. Pallan moved over to KDKA in 1956 where his popularity would grow in the Pittsburgh market during the 1960s. Like Cordic, Pallan was mentored by

Bill Cullen William Lawrence Francis Cullen (February 18, 1920 – July 7, 1990) was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades. His biggest claim to fame was as a game show host; over the course of his career, he host ...

, who was on staff at WWSW before he left for New York and found national fame as a game show personality. Pallan spent much of his time at KDKA assigned to the midday slot. He featured a cheerful, upbeat style and referred to himself as "Your Pal Pallan", and often appeared on television promotional announcements for KDKA in his trademark white goatee and brightly colored Hawaiian print or bowling shirts. Pallan was the first disc jockey to play The Skyliners' "Since I Don't Have You," airing the record on Dec. 26, 1958 at precisely 10:20 a.m., the time designed to coincide with KDKA's 1020 position on the AM dial. Pallan was also close to singer

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and regularly featured Vinton's music on his show. When

Rege Cordic Regis John Cordic (May 15, 1926 – April 16, 1999) was an American radio personality and actor, also known and credited as Rege Cordic. His career in entertainment was divided roughly in half. From 1948 to 1965, he was the dominant mornin ...

left KDKA for

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in 1965, Pallan and former Cordic sidekick

Bob Trow Robert E. "Bob" Trow (February 6, 1926 – November 2, 1998) was an American radio celebrity, actor, and craftsman. Raised in the Beltzhoover neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, Trow began his career in radio. He later ...

were given the morning show. "Pallan and Trow, Two For The Show" debuted on Nov. 29, 1965 and ran through April 1968. At that time KDKA changed the direction of the morning show by hiring Jack Bogut from

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. Pallan then returned to the familiar midday slot, where he spent the rest of his KDKA career. He retired in February 1985, and Doug Hawkes took over the time slot. Pallan said his favorite broadcasts were the Christmas season shows that KDKA originated daily from the downtown department store windows as a fund-raiser for Pittsburgh's Children's Hospital. Pallan was also a singer who cut several records in the 1950s. In 2014 on his 7th year death anniversary, his recording of the song "Land of Dreams" was published onto Youtube. He had a style that was similar to that of

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. He had a gift for dialects and was an exceptional joke teller. Pallan and his wife Agnes had three daughters and a son.

References

*http://communityvoices.post-gazette.com/arts-entertainment-living/get-rhythm/item/39759-kdka-legend-art-pallan-sings-and-very-well *John Hayes (2007)
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'': Obituary of Art Pallan
Retrieved January 24, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pallan, Art 1923 births Journalists from Pennsylvania 2007 deaths Radio personalities from Pittsburgh People from Braddock, Pennsylvania 20th-century American journalists American male journalists