RICHARD LAWRENCE'S BIOGRAPHY BY: JAN PAWEL LUBEK BD, DLT ------------------------------ Richard Lawrence was born in March of 1925, in Chicago, the only son of Jewish-German immigrants. He died in Evanston where he lived, on March 20 1992 in St. Francis Hospital in that suburb (he was almost 67). He began doing a 1920s (The Roaring 20s) music show in the early 1970s at WXFM along with more general announcing & engineering duties. At first the show was rather loosely organized. He played a lot of recreation songs which were popular during that "nostalgia era." His show in general was very nostalgic. In time the show became more refined & thematic. Thanx to new friends & listeners, Dick had access to a great number of original 78 RPM recorings. Sometime in the mid-1970's he switched over to WNIB, 97.1 FM in Chicago. During the 1980s, he syndicated the Dick Lawrence Review nationally. His show lasted until 2001, when the station was sold out & changed its classical format to classic rock format. There are about 300 separate programs which circulated in weekly installments. Dick Lawrence, 66, host of the weekly 'Dick Lawrence Revue' on Saturday nights on WNIB in Chicago & WNIZ in Zion, was also a writer & vintage music historian who had earlier programs featuring the 1920s vaudeville & the big bands. His programs featured commentary and often music that had not been heard for many years. They represented, he once wrote: "audio archeology, a restoration of antiq sounds." His historical efforts provided, he said: "intimate glimpses into the lives of plain people who populate a timeless obscurity somehow related to our own," Mr. Lawrence broke into the radio after High School, 19 & eventually served as a producer, director & announcer for stations WBEZ, WAAS & WIND. He also wrote for many popular radio & tv personalities, including Arthur Godfrey, Danny Thomas, Arlene Francis, Groucho Marx, etc... During the Korean War, he worked on film & broadcast productions for the Army Department of Public Information. In the 1970s, he subsequently wrote & produced the nationally syndicated "1920s Programs" that could be heard in Chicago (locally) on WXFM. In the 1960s, he won the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company award for outstanding achievement for a syndicate feature for the national safety council. He is survivoed by 2 daughters, Lisa & Tracy Ventura + 2 grandsons. DIGNUM LAUDE VIRUM, MUSA VETAT JAN LUBEK, SANTA WANDA NIDA ET DICK LAWRENCE MORI!!! http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-03-31/news/9201290546_1_popular-radio-personalities-waas-public-information Dick Lawrence and the Sound of the 1920s Topics Dick Lawrence This is one of the few surviving examples of a great program that was broadcast on station WXFM in early 1970s, then on 97.1 until 2001 when the station was sold for over 70 million dollars. Reviewer: unheard of - - January 23, 2017 Subject: Dick Lawrence Dick also worked at WXFM-FM in Chicago. He was a board engineer at the station when I did a show there too. He also did his "The Sound of the 20's" program there once a week. It would be great if someone would upload his programs, they were really enjoyable. Reviewer: harron68 - favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - January 5, 2016 Subject: DICK LAWRENCE THE SHOWS WERE VERY GOOD, FEATURING TRUE STORIES INTERMINGLED WITH OLD MUSIC. I, TOO, HAVE MANY OF THE SHOWS ON CASSETTE AND WISH I HAD THE ENERGY TO PUT THEM UP HERE. KEN ALEXANDER AT WDCB HAS INFO ABOUT WNIB (CHICAGO) AND KNOWS A BIT ABOUT DICK LAWRENCE TOO. Reviewer: MattC2 - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - April 18, 2014 Subject: Dick Lawrence Just found this collection. A little late to the OP's question. Mr Lawrence passed in 1992. I used to enjoy listening on Saturday's. I recall seeing a posting regarding his family somewhere. Apparently they couldn't wait to get rid of all that "junk" (their words). It's a shame because I thought they were treasures. Reviewer: jim vaughan - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - October 8, 2012 Subject: Dick Lawrence I am a big fan of 'The Dick Lawrence Review'. This is the program that was aired on WNIB and WBIZ in the Chicago area. I am hoping to upload at least 30 of these one hour shows to 'The Archive'. Do you have any info regarding Mr. Lawrence's heirs or estate as i would like to seek their approval. James Vaughan ATTN: DAUGHTERS OF RADIO DJ DICK LAWRENCE, THE HOST OF SOUNDS OF THE 1920s/20s & DICK LAWRENCE WEEK IN REVIEW/WEEK IN REVUE ARE READING THIS, GET IN TOUCH WITH ME: ROCKYMEMORIAL@GNAIL.COM