Dex Allen was a member of
KQV's Fun-Lovin' Five in the mid 60's. Dex was heard nightly on KQV
from midnight to 6 am. Dex worked with John Rook in Denver and joined
John in Pittsburgh at KQV.
Former KQV Fun Lovin' Five
member Dex Allen has passed away at he age of 75 in San Diego, California.
Dex (born Claude Turner) had a heart attack in January and passed away
May 5, 2018 as a result of complications. Dex was the all-night host at
KQV from February 1964 until September 1965. Born Claude Turner, Dex had
a career that included radio ownership for many years. The name Dex Allen
was given to him by former pd. the late John Rook. Rook wanted to create
this concept of an all-night guy who was a rich California playboy who
had moved to Pittsburgh. I was supposed to be that guy. He said,
"I want you to be Dexter Kilbride' - swear to God. I said, 'Where did you
come up with that? He said it just sounded like a real rich name. We split
the difference. We went from Chip Allen to Dexter Kilbride to Dex Allen".
Starting out in radio as
a high school senior, Dex won a DJ of the Week contest and his first on
air appearance was at KLAC in Los Angeles.
Thanks to former KQV Program
Director John Rook for this picture inside the KQV lobby. (top left to
right) John Rook, Hal Murray, Don Shafer, unknown, unknown and Chuck Brinkman.
(bottom row) Dave Scott, Bobby Vee and Dex Allen (in bottom right corner).
Dex was featured in the August
1965 edition of Teen Life Magazine.
Dex sold his last multi station
compay in 2005. Dex sold his last station in Glen Falls, NY to his
partner in 2012.
In a Radio & Records
interview with R&R's publisher Erica Farber, Dex was asked if Dex Allen
was his real name. "No. if you were a child of the '60s like I was, and
you wanted to be a disc jockey, and your real name was Claude Turner, you'd
probably change it too."
"I was using the name Chip
Allen on the air, which was another great stupid name. (John) Rook
wanted to create this concept of an all-night guy who was a rich California
playboy who had moved to Pittsburgh. I was supposed to be that guy.
He said, "I want you to be Dexter Kilbride' - swear to God. I said, 'Where
did you come up with that? He said it just sounded like a real rich name.
We split the difference. We went from Chip Allen to Dexter Kilbride to
Dex Allen. My wife calls me Dex most of the time. When she's really, really
mad at me, she'll call me Claude. That's the tip-off, but it rarely happens."
Dex Allen left KQV in 1965
for the Pacific Northwest.
Information
in this article and the
Dex Allen interview are
copywrite
2001 by Radio & Records.
The complete interview is
in the
August 3, 2001 issue of
R & R.
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