General Manager: Perry S. Ury WRKO's First General Manager

Perry S. Ury 1968Perry S. Ury (photo at right is from 1968) was admired and respected by virtually everyone at WRKO. During "The Strike" Perry even did the news on the air!

Mr. Ury shared his behind-the scenes information with me through a series of telephone interviews.  Perry has the real story. Because after all, he had been at the helm of WNAC and was there for...

The Birth of the Big 68
"It could have taken longer from the WNAC-WRKO format change. According to Mr. Ury, the southern California-based consultants from Bill Drake's organization wanted to wait until the cold winter left the Boston area. Had it not been for "...the tremendous contribution of (Promotion Director) Harvey Mednick (Program Director) Bob Henabery (WNAC/WRKO Program Director). Contrary to popular myth, the (new Drake-less Top 40) format was on the air and successful without the Drake organization. They (Drake and his team from warm, southern California) did not want to come to Boston till spring's warm weather, so Henabery and (new WRKO P.D.) Mel Phillips did it on their own."  (Maybe that explains the non-Drake jingles at WRKO's very start?)

"Right after the format went on the air, the engineers forced a strike, and AFTRA (the on-air talent) honored their picket line for several weeks till they realized that the station was going to make it without them. Meanwhile (Program Director) Mel Phillips did the morning show, Roger Allan and I did the news, and the rest of the day was jingles and music. The jocks defied Bob Siegal, their AFTRA guy, and came back to work after several weeks, crossing the picket line. We settled with the engineers about a month later. It really got ugly toward the end."

When the strike was declared (the best thing that could have happened to WRKO!  Board operators and management were unaffected, so they manned the station 24 hours a day. Program Director Mel Phillips did the (weekday-only?) morning show, the rest of the day was simply jock-less music.  I remember the Bill Drake I.D. at the time:

"Ladies and gentlemen, you're listening to wall-to-wall music, on..." (jingle) WRKO/Boston.
That strike was a bonus for the fledgling WRKO as the all-music format attracted lots of attention, so that by the time the talent returned to the air, the station was already number 1.

"Did you know that a James Bond promotion dreamed up by (WRKO Promotions Director) Harvey Mednick almost caused a riot in downtown Boston at midnight on a cold March Saturday? The crowd that showed up was four times more than had been anticipated, and the Sack theaters had to show the (James Bond) movie — twice!"

From the Zanesville, Ohio Times Recorder — Tuesday, September 15, 1964:

 EX-WHIZ Announcer Is Promoted

Perry S. Ury, known to listeners of WHIZ Radio as "Jack Perry" where he worked six years as an announcer and later as a salesman, has been named Vice President and General Manager of WNAC Radio in Boston, Mass. Ury will also manage the Yankee Network, of which WNAC is the key station, and WRKO-FM. He has been general manager of WGMS AM-FM in Washington, D. C., an RKO General Broadcasting station, since 1962. He started his career in 194? at WGPA in Bethlehem, Pa and later joined WHIZ. In 1954, he was named general sales manager of WFMZ Radio and Television in Allentown. Pa.

Ury became president of ATF Advertising. a transit advertising organization serving the Allentown - Harrisburg area in 1956. He joined the RKO General Broadcasting organization in 1958 as sales manager of WGMS in Washington. After four years he was named general manager of the station.

As a member of the Signal Corps, Ury served with various Armed Forces' radio stations in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations during World War II in programming and announcing.

A graduate of the City College of New York with a degree in business administration, Ury is a member of the board of directors of the Maryland-D.C. - Delaware Broadcasters Association, The Washington Advertising Club, the National Press Club and the Washington
Board of Trade.