Murray The K
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Murray Kaufman (February 14, 1922 – February 21, 1982) professionally known as Murray the K, was a famous and influential rock and roll disc jockey.
Kaufman came from a show biz family—his mother played piano in vaudeville and his aunt was a character actress on the stage and in film—and he claims to have been a child actor in films, though never as a featured player. When he was inducted into the Army during World War II, he arranged entertainment for the troops and, following the war, he worked as a tummler in the Borscht Belt, doing warm-ups for the headline performers.
In the late '40s and early '50s, he worked in public relations and as a song plugger, helping to promote tunes like Bob Merrill's "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window." From there, he worked as a radio producer and co-host, working with personalities such as Laraine Day on the late night interview program "Day At Night" and with Eva Gabor. At the same time, he was doing promotion for several baseball players, including Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, and his radio beginnings may be attributable to his connection with the New York Giants whose manager, Leo Durocher, was the husband of Laraine Day. His work on those shows earned him one of his own, a daytime slot that, in an era when husband/wife teams were extremely popular, often featured his wife as co-host.
Kaufman's big break came in 1958 after he moved to WINS-AM to do the all-night show, which he titled "The Swingin' Soiree." Shortly after his arrival, WINS's star disk jockey, Alan Freed, was indicted for tax evasion and forced off the air. Though Freed's spot was briefly occupied by Bruce Morrow, who was known as Cousin Brucie, Murray was moved into the time period and remained there for the next seven years.
Kaufman reached his peak of popularity in the mid 1960s when, as the top-rated radio host in New York City, he became an early and ardent supporter of The Beatles. For a time, Kaufman was billed as the "Fifth Beatle," a moniker he was given by George Harrison during the train ride from New York to the Beatles' first U.S. concert in Washington, D. C. When the Beatles came to town in February, 1964, Murray was the first DJ they befriended. He was invited to the set of A Hard Day's Night in England and made several treks to England during 1964, giving WINS listeners more Beatle exclusives.
Murray resigned from WINS in December and did his last show on February 27, prior to WINS's change to an all news format in April. A year later, in 1966, Murray led the FM rock radio revolution as program director and primetime DJ on WOR-FM—the first FM rock station.
Throughout his New York radio career, Kaufman was renowned for the rock 'n' roll shows he produced three or four times a year, usually during the Easter school recess, the week before Labor Day, and between Christmas and New Year. Those shows featured the top performers of the era and introduced new acts, such as Dionne Warwick, Wayne Newton, Bobby Vinton (who was the leader of the house band when he asked for a chance to perform as a singer), The Lovin' Spoonful, Cream, and The Who.
In the mid-'60s, Kaufman also produced and hosted television variety shows featuring rock performers. The best known was a national broadcast entitled "It's What's Happening, Baby" which was made under the auspices of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. That show also introduced the first music video-style programming, pre-dating MTV by 15 years.
After WOR's switch to a Top 40 format, Kaufman left New York and hosted programs in Toronto and the Washington D.C. area before returning to New York on WNBC radio where he was joined by Wolfman Jack and Don Imus. During that time, he acted as a special consultant to the stage show Beatlemania (musical), and he toured the country giving interviews on behalf of the show. His final New York spot was on WKTU-FM before he moved to Los Angeles where he hosted the syndicated "Soundtrack of the '60s" until ill health forced him to resign and forced the cancellation of "A Salute to Murray the K," a tribute concert slated for Madison Square Garden.
Kaufman was parodied in the film All You Need Is Cash as a radio host named Bill Murray the K, played by actor Bill Murray. Kaufman appeared as a guest star on a 1960s series entitled "Coronet Blue," receiving very good reviews, and also appeared as himself—to not-so-good reviews—in I Wanna Hold Your Hand (film), a film by Academy Award winner Robert Zemeckis.
Kaufman, whose Valentine's Day birthday may have explained his six marriages, succumbed to cancer a week after his 60th birthday on February 21, 1982. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1997.
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