Thanks for this great tribute to a great woman. I met Norm and Mary when I was the Director of Operations at the Great Western Forum in 1988. There was an article in the LA Times about Norm and how Westwood One's stock was tanking, and I walked by Norm and Mary never having said a word to him and stated, "Nice Press". Since, back then I knew nothing about stocks and corporations, I was referring to the great photo of Norm as part of the story. We became best friends instantly sharing both their love of the Lakers, weekend boating on their boat "The Vixen", rain or shine, and in the early days traveling to every away Laker playoff game. We used to joke that the 3 of us could find the sun on the boat no matter how socked in it was with fog. Our Laker playoff deal was Norm would get the courtside seats and private plane and I would, through my NBA connections get us credentialed for all access. The great story, amongst many, about both is that Norm remade himself after being a pioneer in the syndication industry pivoting to becoming a pioneer in Podcasting and Mary overcoming addiction to get her PHD from UCLA and becoming the Chairwoman of the Betty Ford Center amongst other accolades. There were many a weekend boat rides where we discussed our lives and how we got to the places we were in over the 35 years we were close. I was fortunate to take Norm on his last boat ride on the "Vixen 2" in December and arrange for one last Laker game before he passed. I'll always remember us matching our storytelling skills, and trust me when I tell you we both had many a story, on the boat and the fact that I would have to listen to his same stories every week albeit with another group of "boaties" on the Vixen. And Mary for her dry sense of humor, incredible knowledge, and the stories she would tell once I coaxed them out of her as she was a very private person and most of all putting up with both Norm and my stories every time we were together. They both played a major role in my life the past 35 years and will be missed and not just by me. I can't tell how many people have reached out to me wanting details. If you are one to believe in heaven you can take solace that they are now reunited. Stay safe Bob and continue your writing and enjoying every minute we have left as our "trips around the sun" dwindle.
Lee Zeidman
President
Crypto.com Arena/Microsoft Theater/LA Live
________
Regarding my recent email to you. I stand corrected by Mary’s best friend who read her obit in the LA Times. I was partially correct. She received her counseling certificate from UCLA and her MA and PhD from California Graduate Institute in 2008. I did not remember that but then again after seeing over 6500 events in my career I can't remember last night's score let alone what happened in 2008. And there you have it the power of instant fact-checking in a digital world.
Lee Zeidman
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Mary Turner was the “real deal” as far as being a wonderful air talent. I became friends with Mary while she was at KMET.. Frequently we’d hang out after my promotion visits. She loved going to concerts and I was flattered when she would come to one of my shows….
Unlike most rock stations of that era it behooved you to promote the D.J’s at KMET. Mary loved my stories and would always inquire about doing an interview with the artists that I repped … BTW. She interviewed Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple/Rainbow, who was known as not being the warmest guy in the world. After the session Blackmore was ecstatic and he was eating out of her hand!
Here’s a delightful story…. I was working for Polygram at the time.. I was back East for national meetings…
The Scorpions were playing at a festival at Angel Stadium… some Monsters of Rock deal… Turner was to introduce the band as they walked on stage… Their manager at the time said, “I don’t want no girl introducing my band”! It did not go well to say the least……
I got word while I was in NYC that there was a meltdown at the gig and KMET would no longer play The Scorpions…
My trip back to LA was miserable… I didn’t know what to do….
I walk into the station attempting to do damage control… Turner had taken a Scorpions album and stuck a fork in it and hung it on the wall.. There were pieces of plastic on the floor from the albums that she smashed… Not pretty….
In time things passed by….but I’ll never forget the album with a fork in it….
Jeff Laufer
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Nice tribute sir. It's always great when somebody is really good at the gig they are into.
Mary Turner #608W Part 1 AFVN 1980
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3FJX_CHzoY
Eddie Gordon
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Yo Bob,
I am hearing about Mary Turner’s death for the first time here. I am not a social media guy, so I get my information the old fashion way, through email. I did several guest spots with Mary on KMET, and one memorable in-depth interview which ended up on an LP, and always felt like I was being heard. REO was far from a press darling, so we counted on our friends at rock radio to spread the word for us. Years later, while sitting in Irving’s floor seats, I saw Mary and enjoyed a nice half-time hug. She was a true lover of music and the people who create it. Mary Turner was right up there with Jim Ladd, Bob Coburn, and JJ Jeffries…all giants of LA radio. She is gone too soon…
Kevin Cronin
P.S. Pardon me for leaving my friend Uncle Joe Benson off of my LA Rock Radio Mount Rushmore. He surely belongs up there with Ladd, Coburn, Turner, and Jeffries…
______________________________________
Bob: I remember her too. Loved her on the air and got to meet her when The Kaleidoscope presented a benefit for the disc jockeys who got kicked out of a church in Pasadena. Every major California band played for free, including the last L.A. gig for Buffalo Springfield. The Beatles sent a 35MM copy of "Magical Mystery Tour" which we played at the event. We helped keep the D.J.s alive while KMET was being formed.
Thanks for the memories.
As ever, John Hartmann
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Turner the Burner. She and Sam Bellamy, Jim Ladd, Paraguat Kelly all did so much for the music. They lived the music like we all did.
It was an era that will never be lived again and the music they so passionately played is still being enjoyed. Their support on all levels was so important.
Mary Turner was a beautiful lady through and through.
RIP Mary Turner
Cheers
Charlie Brusco
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Met Norm and Mary in the early 70s every year for Christmas in Hawaii. Started MAP with Mary in 1986 which became the now Musicares organization. Norm asked me to join the Westwood board which I did . We both loved boating and went with Norm almost every sat on his .They were a great couple and can’t watch a lakers game without thinking about them. RIP. Jerry Greenberg
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I can tell you one thing about Mary “The Burner” Turner. She was as nice to me when I was in the mail room at Fun productions, writing copy for radio spots, and press releases as she was when I was the President of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Bill Gerber
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You touched my heart when talking about Mary Turner and Alison Steele. I first heard Alison on WNEW in NYC as a 17 year old student of acting at HB Studios, listening to her late at night when I got home from my waitress gig. At the time she was 2-6am. In true theatre of the mind, she made us believe she was on the radio live in the middle of the night from the jungle playing everything from Mose Allison to the Rolling Stones. She was the Nightbird.
But Mary was Turner the Burner, rocking LA from 6-10 at night. Mary was the everywoman who loved rock and roll music and we couldn’t wait for her to throw the latest Creedence Clearwater Revival CCR record on the turntable. Driving down Sunset Blvd with windows down and the radio turned on full blast cruising past
Randy Thomas
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Very sad news. I knew both Mary and Norm quite well. They were very good friends of Don Johnson who has been my dear friend since the early 70s.
I was always struck by the duality of Mary. She was extraordinary, chic and yet rock and roll through and through.
She knew every nuance of rock ‘n’ roll music. Utterly unique, dirty and sweet.
Both Norm and Mary were very good to me.
The rock ‘n’ roll flag continues to wave, even if it is somewhat tattered.
Rock in Peace…
Michael Des Barres
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When I was in high school my alarm would wake me for school around 7am at my parents little house in Oceanside Ca. I had figured out that if I put my big clunky stereo in one certain spot in that room I could get KMET. The radio would always come on after the alarm and I would lay in a fog for a bit while listening to the most amazing music…That was the first time I heard YES Goin For The One. I mean who plays a 10 minute song with no chorus at 7:15am on radio?? That moment and song has stayed with me all these years and so has this jingle
A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN 94.7 KMET TWEEDLE DEE
May The Burner Mary Turner Rest In Power….
Stevie Salas
______________________________________
Hated to read the news of Mary’s passing, but thanks for the heads-up. Mary and I began our careers in parallel. She in San Francisco at WSFX and then KSAN with \the legendary ‘father of FM radio’ Tom Donahue. I was working at Blue Thumb being mentored by Bob Krasnow and Tommy LiPuma. They knew Donahue and sent me to SF to meet my ‘first radio’ station PD. He introduced Mary and I (along with Dusty Street). Her authenticity, sense of humor, and love of music planted the seeds of a (ouch) fifty year friendship.
Mary was kind, thoughtful, talented, and now, very missable. Smiling just thinking of her...
Bruce Garfield-Executive Director
Music Columbus
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I knew and appreciated Mary Turner. She was easy-to-know from the git and I will remember her forever. Mary The Burner was in the Royalty Of Rock and gave us good reason to listen to her show! Jerry Sharell
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Thanks for the memories on Mary Turner. It brought back many late night shifts, starting out in radio broadcasting on Q-98FM in Fargo, ND. Mary was a natural interviewer and I devoured every artist she spoke with on “Off the Record”. She had the access and I could only dream. Her voice helped me through some long 12 hour shifts and when I eventually met her in the early 90’s at a Jeff Pollack convention in L.A., she couldn’t have been more generous with her time. Just like every show I aired of hers, we had a conversation together- just as she had done countless times with rocks biggest names. From Jagger to McCartney, her smooth delivery had me engaged from start to finish. A true pioneering voice for the ages. They just don’t make them like Mary any more…..
Jon Erdahl
3D MediaVentures/Futuri Media
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Thanks, Bob, for revisiting LA rock radio in the 70s.
The last time I saw Mary was some time in the 80s. She had a syndicated interview show and was heralded as the most listened to DJ in the world thanks to the global reach of Westwood One. She trekked out to the Warner offices in Burbank from Culver City to spend an hour with one of our artists, can’t remember which one.
While we were waiting for the previous interviewer to wrap up, she showed me her new pride and joy – an Aiwa two-track, ultra-small cassette recorder with all the bells and whistles – EQ, compression, remote stereo mic – everything one would need to record an interview (or a song) and have radio broadcast quality.
I went out and got one the next day and used it well into the 90s, recording radio ID’s with all of the Warner artists on tour.
A belated thanks to Mary for that and an R.I.P.
Larry Butler
Nashville
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? ?I was a student at UCSB, 1973 to 77…not too many of us from Northern California. My friend, David Zarider from Woodland Hills, turned me onto KMET: B. Mitchel Reed, Steven Clean and the amazing Mary Turner.
These were the days of ‘sets’, where are the DJs knew the music Cold and could string together a series of songs with a common theme or musicality. We learned so much from these DJs, a great counterpart to our study of the Masters in the Music Program at UCSB.
Her peers up this way included the equally talented and knowledgeable Kate Hayes and Bonnie Simmons.
I remember her, too, 50 years on. Thanks for your fitting tribute.
"A Little Bit of Heaven, Ninety-Four Point Seven - KMET - Tweedle-Dee"
Louis Roth
Rockaway Beach, Pacifica
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"A little bit of heaven,
Ninety four point seven
KMET
Tweedle dee!"
As a kid growing up in the 70's, KMET and its DJ's were a one-stop shop for great music. Mary Turner, Jim Ladd, Paraquat Kelly, Mike Harrison...I'm still listening to the artists they introduced me to. Your letter was spot on, Bob. They loved the music as much as we did. RIP Mary, RIP KMET. Thank you for the great tunes. The influence is still felt all these years down the line.
- Dan Heenan
______________________________________
Loved to hear about Mary Turner. I remember her well from KMET. Great station in a great town full of great rockers. I was shocked and depressed when they converted to no-DJ soft pop format. But, like you, I will never forget the station.
"A little bit of heaven, 94.7. KMET. Tweedle dee!"
John Julius
______________________________________
When I was in high school my alarm would wake me for school around 7am at my parents little house in Oceanside Ca. I had figured out that if I put my big clunky stereo in one certain spot in that room I could get KMET. The radio would always come on after the alarm and I would lay in a fog for a bit while listening to the most amazing music…That was the first time I heard YES Goin For The One. I mean who plays a 10 minute song with no chorus at 7:15am on radio?? That moment and song has stayed with me all these years and so has this jingle
A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN 94.7 KMET TWEEDLE DEE
May The Burner Mary Turner Rest In Power….
Stevie Salas
______________________________________
That was a really good one, Bob.
I can hear Mary Turner’s voice so clear in my head. I was only in high school then, but loved KMET, and, as you said, would tune to KLOS, when the commercials came on, unless it was one of the good commercials, or the good host-read ones. And dabbled in KNX-FM when I needed to get mellow.
Eventually KROQ became my favorite station but I’d still pop down to get my fix of “little bit of heaven, 94.7… KMET… Tweedledee!” The Burner and the Beamer (BMR) were both one of a kinds when it came to making intimate, personal connections with their listeners; as opposed to KROQ which felt like a performance (Albeit a good one).
Rusty Hodge
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Thanks for this note, Bob.
I grew up in the Midwest in the 70's and 80's, but I still remember listening to Mary Turner (and Alison Steele, too) because my family flew frequently on TWA.
Both DJ's (as well as other famous LA DJ's) used to be the announcers on what passed for the "pop music" channel on TWA's flight. In those days, the audio was on a continuous 1 hour loop, so when you're a kid who can't sleep on a long distance flight, with only a couple of cassettes of my own to listen to, you wound up listening to them and their adult contemporary songs over and over. Partly because they were so different, so much smoother than the DJ's in my mid-sized Ohio city, but also because of the repetition, they were burned into my consciousness as what a great DJ was. It wasn't until I moved to the SF Bay Area for college that I heard anyone close to their sound.
Unfortunately, I don't think we'll ever hear anything like the radio jocks of that era again, even/especially on podcasts, because Gen Z doesn't care. My kids never listen to curated music other than what pops up in the algos of their Spotify feeds, so there's no reason for anyone to put in the time and effort to both learn about music and craft their voice the way they did. Maybe they're listening to things in their discords, but I tend to doubt it.
Greg Heibel
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"Little bit 'o' heaven, 94.7 KMET...Tweedle-dee!"
I can still hear that station liner coming out of the console stereo in my room in Long Beach.
At twelve years old, I had no idea what Mary looked like but I was sure she was a Goddess and I was in love.
Philbillie,
San Francisco
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Oh man. The KMET lineup, mid 70s made me fall in love with radio. B Mitchell Reed (long gone), Shadoe Stevens (the only one left), Mary Turner and Steven Clean (died last year). The origins of west coast fm radio is all tied in with that group. KMET, KLOS (before you got here Bob) and KPPC. Great radio that will never be repeated. Rock in Peace, Mary.
Bruce Greenberg
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Wow. This just makes me sad. A name I haven’t heard in a very long time. I fondly remember listening to her as a teenager on into adulthood and it seems just like yesterday when I was finished with my homework, on went the radio to 94.7 so I could listen to Mary. For a good while, I wanted to be a deejay on a rock station just like her (and Cynthia Fox). I knew I could hold my own with the boys like they did as I had learned so much about rock music in the 70’s/80’s, but alas life took me in a different direction. I still mourn the loss of KMET even though it’s over 35 years since they went off the air. Who could forget the station ID "A Little Bit of Heaven, Ninety-Four Point Seven - KMET - Tweedle-Dee"?!? And the all-star deejays!! Mary Turner, Cynthia Fox, Rachel Donahue, Jim Ladd, Paraquat Kelley, Bob Coburn, The Gonzer, Frazer Smith and of course Dr. Demento on Sunday nights. Dear Lord, we were lucky and I am thankful I got to experience it. Truly glory days.
Thank you Mary for keeping this teenage gal company during those important years.
“I'd sit alone and watch your light
My only friend through teenage nights
And everything I had to know
I heard it on my radio”
Karen Votava
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Thanks so much for writing a piece on Mary. We were good friends back in the day. Not since the passing of David Bowie and Tom Petty have I been so shook.
Mary was a trailblazer for sure and she was one tough cookie. I used to call her The Lauren Bacall of Rock and Roll.
I loved listening to the beginning of her air shift. Every night it was the same. In a very sincere and welcoming voice she’d say, “Hi everybody!” And then often play an up tempo ZZ Top song. All of Los Angeles knew the party was on.
When I was making a name for myself as an FM promotion man for Columbia Records and having a difficult time trying to convince programmers that Bruce Springsteen was much more than an “East Coast" artist, Mary was the first to really embrace his music. You could hear a Bruce track at least once a shift on Mary’s show. Bruce wouldn't do many interviews back then but I convinced him Mary was someone special. When they met an authentic rock and roll bond took place.
One of my favorite Bruce quotes is from the first time I brought him to KMET. Mary asked him, “What does your band do while you are out doing this kind of promo work?” Bruce thought for a moment. “My band? My band is probably back at the Sunset Marquis catching all the television sets the English bands are throwing out the window!”
As I say, we were good buddies and I’ll never forget one very special moment in my career that not only made me feel great inside but also kicked me up a notch in the eyes of the Columbia Records execs. Back when we had an overabundance of personnel, Columbia decided to promote one of the FM specialists to head of Artist Relations. The thought was that this fellow could relieve some of the workload by being responsible for artist promo tours. We were at a dinner one night where I was introducing him to the key KMET disc jockeys.
Mary asked, “So what is it you do again?” The reply was, “Well, I am going to be setting up a lot of interviews and bringing the artists to the radio station.” Mary replied, “But Rap does that.” The fellow retorted, “Well, now I’m the guy.” On my behalf Mary schooled him. “Yeah… but you can’t do it like Rap does it.” That moment meant so much to me and I’ve kept it in my heart throughout my career.
In later years Mary fought drug addiction and earned a doctorate in clinical psychology. She helped many musicians and others get sober and remain healthy. I was so proud of her. But once at a lunch we were having I had to pose the question. “Look, I know everyone now refers to you as Dr. Pattiz, and I couldn’t be more proud for you. But to me, you’ve always been Burner. I mean no disrespect, but can I please still call you Burner?”
“Yeah Rap. For you, I’ll be Burner.”
Pretty much says it all. What a gal.
Paul Rappaport
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Why are music’s most integral people only recognized after they are gone?
I have taken issue with this before, while trying to get Americana radio to honor Jessie Scott, the godmother of the format.
I had no idea about this format until I discovered X Country on XM.
Americana is a mystery to most but Jessie started it, yet Americana radio pays no heed to her ground breaking achievement.
KMET and its DJ lineup were made of legends, is it only Jim Ladd who still lives on radio?
But….in my not so humble opinion, there was no other station more important than WPIX in NYC.
Yes, most think of of KROQ as radio's most important, and it was.
I syndicated KROQ when I left Elektra in 82, but always said it was WPIX that matter most to me.
We had 12 major markets playing Rock of the 80’s, likely sold more records than many formats, and certainly broke out bands that no-one heard of.
Yet when the Rock Hall did their Alternative salute, I called to get Rick Carroll & Co some acknowledgment, crickets.
Yet, for me it was Meg Griffin and Joe at WPIX in the 70’s, that made the greatest impact on new, modern music.
Salute those still doing it, pay respect and heed those who made a difference.
Meg and Jessie are both still on air, pay heed to them. They are treasures.
Do it NOW before they (we) are all gone.
Martin Schwartz
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