Memories of My Life with NBC
by Bill Roddy

NBC New York, 1952

I had left NBC in San Francisco when the Korean War started. The merchant marine desperately needed radio operators and as a World War II "sparks" I was asked by the government to return. The law allowed me to return to my civilian job so I went back to sea for ports in Korea and Saigon, French Indo-China. (more on merchant marine memories later.)

In the summer of 1952 I took a trip off and drove to New York City. I had been born there thirty years earlier and decided to see my old home town and perhaps get back into radio.

I went to Greenwich Village and got a room at the Hotel Earle. It was the cheapest room they had. The only window looked out on a light-well and had no air conditioning.  Saigon was cool in comparison.

The first place I went to was NBC at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. In the lobby I saw a large plaque with the names of all NBC employees who had served in World War II. My name was on it.  (The plaque is long gone.)

I met Pat Kelly, the chief announcer, and asked him if there were any openings.  He said there might be a job as vacation relief and he gave me an audition. A week later he called and said I had the job.

If there are any radio people reading this they will know how I felt at that moment. I had started as a 20 year old page boy for NBC in San Francisco in 1942 and now ten years later I was an announcer at Radio City, New York. That night I went to the top of 30 Rock and looked out on the lights of Manhattan. I said to myself,  "You're mine!"

How wrong I was.

My assignments at NBC