Warren Moran worked in broadcasting for 40 years, spending more than a decade as a radio and television newsman in the islands. This month we look back at his career and see what he is up to today.
Moran was born and raised in the New York City borough of Queens. After serving in the Marines, he enrolled at Fordham University in New York City in 1951 to major in philosophy. An elective course in broadcasting led him to work at the campus radio station and steered him toward a career in radio.
"I always had an interest in broadcasting since I was a kid," said Moran.
His first broadcasting job was at a small radio station in North Adams, Mass., where he had a program called "Music with Moran" that played classical and easy listening music. Moran would later go on to anchor newscasts at WHIZ television in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1953.
From there he worked four years at WLDW television in Dayton, Ohio, where he met his future wife, Kit, who also was an employee at the station.
Then came a move to Cleveland at WJW television, where his colleagues included an up-and-coming comic actor, Tim Conway, and the longtime "Voice of ABC," the late Ernie Anderson. Moran would also work with Jim Doney, who later went on to work at KGMB as head of community affairs and human resources.
"But the goal always was to get to the Big Apple," said Moran. And he did just that, starting in 1961 when he was hired by the CBS Radio Network.
While there, Moran was the commercial announcer and broadcast partner for the legendary Lowell Thomas on his longtime radio program. "He was great, a very fascinating man, very normal and down to earth," Moran said.
A memorable moment for Moran would be in 1965 when he covered the New York City blackout live on radio.
In the early 1970s Moran grew tired of New York City and bought a 120-acre farm in the Vermont countryside. While attending an airplane pilots group conference in Honolulu, Moran, on a lark, decided to apply at a couple of local TV stations and landed a job as news anchorman at KITV, starting in 1973.
"Returning to Hawaii was special for my wife, Kit. She attended Punahou while her dad was stationed at Hickam from 1947 to 1952," he said.
During his time at KITV, Moran anchored and produced the news six nights a week. His KITV co-anchormen at various times were the late Terry Zahn, Tom Coleman and Don Rockwell. Moran also worked at KITV with Tom McWilliams, Don Baker, Greg Lucas, and Chuck and Jim Leahey.
Moran left KITV in 1976 and worked for KHVH radio reporting the news for several years. Some of his radio colleagues were Don Robbs, Art Shotwell, Dave Curtis, Irv Beach and Ed Michelman. Rockwell worked with Moran at both KITV and KHVH radio.
"He is the consummate professional. You get from Warren exactly what he says he will do, and he is totally dependable," Rockwell said.
Moran also did commercial voice-overs for Aloha Airlines and Hawaii National Bank and appeared in Tire Warehouse ads with the late Hal "Aku" Lewis.
In the early 1980s, Moran moved to San Diego, working at KSDL, an all-news radio station. He returned to Honolulu in 1984, resuming work at KHVH radio doing the morning-drive news and headlines.
Out of all Moran’s years in broadcasting, perhaps his toughest on-air job was to deliver the tragic news in 1989 that his KHVH colleague Gary Welter, a traffic reporter, had died in a plane crash in the Koolau Mountains.
Moran retired from broadcasting for good on April 13, 1990. That same year, the Morans bought a motor home, dubbed the "Vagabond’s House," and toured the mainland before finally settling down in Florence, Ore., in 1993. Florence, a small town on the central Oregon coast, suits the Morans perfectly. "It is quiet here and we love the fresh air," said Moran.
They have come back to visit Hawaii in recent years and look fondly on their years spent in the islands.
"Some of the best years of our lives were spent in Hawaii. I’ll always have a soft spot for Hawaii," he said.
A.J. McWhorter, a collector of film and videotape cataloging Hawaii’s TV history, has worked as a producer, writer and researcher for both local and national media. Email him at flashback@hawaii.rr.com.
