In Indiana’s largest market, an FM licensed to Danville, Ind., west of downtown Indianapolis, and a pair of AMs and their respective FM translators, have been transferred to a trust.
A FCC filing made Tuesday (5/25) offers a little insight as to why: the licensee of the stations passed away a couple of months ago. But what wasn’t shared is perhaps more noteworthy, as it involves the head of Connoisseur Media and the legendary Wolfman Jack.
Marvin Kosofsky, the controlling member of Continental Broadcast Group, passed away on March 5.
The Commission was notified by letter dated April 1.
Kosofsky had established a trust for the bulk of his assets prior to his death, including the interest in Continental.
Upon his death, his wife, Jacqueline Kosofsky, became the sole trustee of that trust and is now in control of the company.
There’s a whole lot more to the story.
Mr. Kosofsky owned WEDJ-FM 107.1 in Danville, a Class A that is today the home of regional Mexican “Radio Latina.” His other Indianapolis-market holdings include WNTS-AM 1590 “La Pantera” in Beech Grove, which covers all of the market from a three-tower array; WSYW-AM 810 and W232DM, branded as “Exitos 94.3”; and unbuilt Danville translator W280FR at 103.9 MHz.
There will be no changes at the three Hispanic radio brands serving Indianapolis’ emerging Hispanic community. And, Mrs. Kosofsky will continue to own them.
That information came directly from the man who has been operating the stations for his Uncle Marvin — Connoisseur founder and CEO Jeff Warshaw.
This explains why Warshaw’s contact information is listed alongside Kosofsky’s address in the FCC filing.
David Oxenford of Wilkinson Barker Knauer is handling the Commission paperwork.
Kosofsky is described by Warshaw as “an ultimate radio legend.” He tells RBR+TVBR, “The ultimate compliment was to be a ‘Radio Man.’ They don’t make ’em like him anymore.”
Kosofsky had been an owner of broadcast radio stations since 1962, when he teamed with his best friend, Bob Smith, for the purchase of a Shreveport, La., radio property.
Bob Smith is better known as Wolfman Jack.
This was the genesis for what became Universal Broadcasting. In the mid-1960s, the Wolfman managed 1kw daytimer KUXL-AM 1540 in Minneapolis for Kosofsky. Mr. Smith was not the star of the station. As Kosofsky once explained, according to Kip’s American Graffiti blog, “Robert W. Smith, A.K.A. ‘Wolfman Jack’ was the manager and the rhythm and blues program was conducted by a disc jockey called ‘Preacher Paul.'”
From that experience came an opportunity for the Wolfman and Kosofsky to build studios in Los Angeles that would serve a Mexico-based “border blaster,” XERB-AM 1090. Come 1966, the Wolfman would become wildly popular, and free of U.S. “Payola” laws. That said, Wolfman merchandise and advertising drove the success of XERB.
The success of XERB would end in April 1972, as Mexican broadcast regulators put an end to religious programming on stations licensed to the country. With much of the revenue tied to paid religious programming outside of Wolfman Jack’s program, XERB came to an end.
The Wolfman and Kosofsky would eventually split as business partners, with Kosofsky referred to as “Mo Burton” in the Wolfman’s biography.
In 1973, Universal’s holdings would include KPPC-AM 1240 in Pasadena, Calif., a station that ceased operations in the final weeks of 1995.
While Universal’s holdings faded into the radio history books, the Indianapolis stations remained, with Warshaw overseeing them.
