Bay Area radio legend Dr. Don Rose, Adventist

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Death of former disc jockey impacts fans

By Tanya Rose

STAFF WRITER www.CONTRACOSTATIMES.com

CONCORD - Fans poured onto Internet message boards the minute they heard about the death of Bay Area radio legend Dr. Don Rose two weeks ago.

They wrote in from all over the nation, some saying they hadn't heard of him since worked in Philadelphia in the 1960s -- and yet he'd still made a significant mark. Others said he symbolized an era when radio DJs were non-sarcastic, hard-working and truly funny.

He was the doctor who wasn't really a doctor, a man who loved making people laugh, including himself.

To all, his death March 30 in his Concord home hit hard.

The morning disk jockey, whose real name was Donald D. Rosenberg and who entertained Northern California audiences for nearly two decades, passed away in his sleep from complications of pneumonia. He leaves behind Kae, his wife of more than four decades, and five children and 13 grandchildren. He was 70 years old.

Rose became a household name in the Bay Area and the Central Valley as a morning radio host on KFRC, KKIS-FM and K1O1-FM from 1973 to 1989. His shows were famous for his one-liners, goofy gags and crazy sound effects. A passionate collector of old jokes and bits, Rose's fans from Sacramento will always remember him as the man who coined the term "Sacra-tomato."

"These guys didn't use shock; they used good, old-fashioned, clever, laugh-so-hard-as-to-almost-drive-off-the-road humor," one fan wrote on a message board sponsored by FreeRepublic.com, referring to the old-time DJs.

"The mid-'70s were a dreary time and he made it easier to get on with each new day," the fan continued.

The Nebraska native started his broadcast career not knowing he'd be the person new DJs would emulate, the talent everyone would remember from the 1970s and '80s. In his early days at a radio station in Iowa, he met his wife just as his morning show was gaining an audience. He broadcast in Duluth, Minn., Atlanta, and then spent six years at a station in Philadelphia. Then, he burst into the country's fourth-largest radio market in San Francisco.

He was rated number one from his October 1973 start until the late 1980s. After retiring from KFRC, he joined his son Jay, who was chief engineer at KKIS-FM in Concord. Then, he moved over to K1O1-FM in 1988, but just a short time into his morning show there, he had a heart attack and stopped working for good.

He was known for making people laugh, but for also being a sensitive, gentle soul. He helped raise money for the March of Dimes Superwalks and Special Olympics.

Those who knew and loved him talk now about that gentle, quiet side.

His wife said he loved to go hunting, golfing and sailing, and loved spending time with his children and grandchildren.

"He was a very sweet, gentle person," Kae said.

"On the radio, he was loud. But at home, he was a quiet man and had time for anyone and everyone. If you had a problem, he would help."

She said that in addition to long hours spent at the station, he would work up to six hours a day at home getting ready for shows. People might not know that, she said.

Alex Horvath, a local freelance journalist who knew Rose from morning swims at the Concord Community Pool, said everyone at the pool loved seeing him.

"As a teenager, I'd listened to him faithfully," said Horvath. "Sometimes in my car, I'd have to pull over because he was so funny."

Then one day two years ago, Horvath heard a familiar voice in the locker room at the pool.

"There were two men standing there talking, and I recognized his laugh. I just interrupted and said, 'Excuse me, are you Dr. Don Rose?' It was him, and he was the nicest person. So gracious."

During his 13-year career at KFRC, Rose hosted close to 3,000 shows. During his time at KFRC, after a near life-threatening injury, Rose even asked to have his studio equipment brought to his hospital bed at home where he continued to host his morning show.

Horvath said he remembered him broadcasting from his bed.

"I'm a journalist, and I didn't want to sound too fan-struck the day I met him," he said. "But he truly was special."

During his reign as the number one host in Bay Area radio, Billboard magazine honored him twice as Disc Jockey of the Year -- once in Philadelphia and again at KFRC.

"We moved to Concord in 1973 and KFRC was the Top 40s radio station," said one fan, who had logged on to the Internet to listen to Dr. Don Rose sound bites after hearing of his death. "He was always energetic, funny and entertaining."

He is survived by children David Rosenberg, Kelly Olson, Dan Rosenberg, Jay Rosenberg and John Rosenberg. plus 13 grandchildren. Services were held last week at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Pleasant Hill.

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