Gordon McLendon
| Gordon Barton McLendon | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 8, 1921 Paris, Texas, United States |
| Died | September 14, 1986 (aged 65) |
| Residence | Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater |
Harvard Law School Yale University |
| Occupation |
Businessman Investor Intelligence Officer |
| Net worth | US$ 250 million (1986) |
| Political party |
Democrat Libertarian Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Gay Noe (Divorced) Susan Stafford (Divorced) |
Gordon Barton McLendon (June 8, 1921 – September 14, 1986) was a radio pioneer and pirate radio broadcaster. He was nicknamed "the Maverick of Radio." McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, during the 1950s and 1960s, the commercially successful Top 40 radio format created by Todd Storz. He also developed offshore pirate radio broadcasting to both Scandinavia and the British Isles. In addition, he was active in circles of conservative business-political power in the 1960s until the time of his death.
McLendon was born in a hospital in Paris, Texas, and spent his early childhood in Oklahoma. The family moved to Atlanta, Texas where he attended high school and began to develop his interest in broadcasting. He covered sports events and broadcast commentary over the school's public address system. He graduated from Kemper Military Academy. He won a nationwide political-essay contest judged by journalists Arthur Brisbane, Henry Luce, and Walter Lippmann. After being accepted to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, he decided to attend Yale because it was the only school that didn't offer him a scholarship. At Yale, he was editor of the Yale Literary Magazine and a member of Chi Psi, a Yale fraternity. McLendon fought in World War II and was commissioned as an intelligence officer in the Office of Naval Intelligence. He was later reassigned, giving him the opportunity to extend his style of commentary to political events over a United States Armed Forces Radio Service station. He then briefly attended Harvard Law School but left prematurely to buy an interest in a station in Palestine, Texas, KNET.
McLendon was married in 1943 to Gay Noe, daughter of James A. Noe, former governor of Louisiana; in 1973 he married Susan Stafford, a syndicated columnist, radio talk-show host, and actress.
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