William B. Williams (DJ)
| William B. Williams | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | William Breitbard |
| Born |
August 6, 1923 Babylon, New York, USA |
| Died | August 3, 1986 (aged 62) New York, New York, USA |
| Show | Make Believe Ballroom |
| Station(s) | WNEW |
| Style | Disk Jockey |
| Spouse(s) | Dottie Mack |
| Children | Jeffrey B. Williams |
William B. Williams (August 6, 1923 - August 3, 1986), was an American disc jockey on New York City radio station WNEW for over four decades. He hosted the popular program Make Believe Ballroom. Williams is particularly noted for coining the title "Chairman of the Board" for Frank Sinatra.
Unusually, Williams appeared in the November, 1966 issue of Detective Comics, in a story which involved Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, the civilian identities of Batman and Robin, appearing on his show. He was given a prominent appearance on the cover for the occasion.
Born William Breitbard in Babylon, New York, Williams graduated from Babylon Senior High School and attended Syracuse University for one year before dropping out. In 1944, he was hired as a staff announcer at WAAT in Newark, New Jersey while visiting a friend at the station. According to Williams "the guy who did the all-night show had just been fired for being bombed on the air." Six weeks later, a staffer at WNEW heard Williams on the air and invited him to apply for a job at the station. He was hired at WNEW and worked several time slots before being fired by station manager Bernice Judis in 1947. An article in the New York Daily News suggested that Williams was fired for his aggressive tactics with management in his role as shop steward; however, WNEW's official story was that he was fired after Judis caught him one evening in the studio with his feet propped on the desk clad in bright red socks. She was apparently horrified by his lack of style.
Williams worked at several other stations, including WOR, but was rehired at WNEW in 1953 following a management change. He hosted the William B. Williams Show in the morning hours, and Music in a Sentimental Mood in the afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
In 1954, the originator of the Make Believe Ballroom program in New York, Martin Block, left WNEW for a new job at ABC Radio. Jerry Marshall took over the show for three years, after which Williams was tapped to host the program. He marked the broadcast as his own, using the distinctive sign-on, "Hello, world", and occasionally identifying himself as "Guilliermo B. Guilliermos" or "Wolfgang B. Wolfgang," although to listeners and friends he was known simply as "Willie B." He combined intimate knowledge of music with his personal anecdotes to create a smooth style that captivated listeners. By 1965 Billboard reported Williams was earning $105,000 a year, tops for the station at that time but slightly less than the other famous Williams, Ted, earned at his baseball peak ($125,000).
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