Ed Mann Biography
Personal Website : |
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Employment Dates(KFXM/KDUO): |
Mid 1980 through Spring 1982 |
Time Slots while at Station: |
Weekends 6pm-12mid., fill-in and on the street promo man. I was the "KFXM Millionaire." |
Stations prior to KFXM/KDUO: |
KWRM/Corona, CA |
Stations right after KFXM/KDUO: |
KUTE-102, Los Angeles |
All other Stations after KFXM: |
KIK-FM, KIIS-FM, KBIG, KEZY, co-founder of Premiere Radio Networks. |
Current Employment: |
President. MannGroup Radio, a national syndication company. |
Born: |
Born in Long Island, NY, then Saratoga in Northern California. |
Birthday: |
January 28th |
Children: |
2 boys, 7 and 4 |
Education: |
U.C.L.A., 1979 Grad. |
Hobbies: |
Writing (2 books), reading, travel and exercise. |
Favorite song(s) of all time? |
"Hello it's Me ", Todd Rundgren, "So Very Hard to Go ", Tower of Power. |
Favorite artists of all time? |
Tower of Power, Chicago and the Beatles. |
Meet the "KFXM Millionaire"
Virtually all radio stations do promotions. Virtually all radio stations do promotions. At KFXM, our sales crew left us, the almost famous airstaff, to think up a promotion that might generate some excitement in our small town. We loved doing stuff for the listeners, and I believe it was Rich Watson, our chain-smoking, expletive-shouting PD who thought of an idea that would send a jock out on the town by car with a tape recorder to speak with everyday listeners and ask them, “What station plays more-better music?” If they answered the grammatically impaired question by replying, “KFXM plays more-better music,” they would receive fifty dollars. The dope that drove around with these mounds of cash was deemed the “KFXM Millionaire,” and that dope was me.
First of all, what millionaire gives money away in fifty-dollar segments? If I was the listener and somebody calling himself the KFXM Millionaire came to me, I’d want some serious cash. “Fifty dollars? Are you joking? All for listening to the station that speeds up my favorite songs beyond recognition? Up yours.”
Twice a week I’d cram my 200 pound body into a beat up little Datsun B-210—there’s a dead giveaway—haul my sorry butt to the Inland Center Mall and inform unsuspecting strangers that I was really a millionaire. I’m lucky I wasn’t mugged and killed. But the listeners were so sweet and unsuspecting, they were thrilled to meet me and get the money. And back in the early 80’s, fifty dollars was a good hit of money for saying nothing more than our syntax garbled slug line. I was seriously tempted to ask myself the questions and give myself the money.
After I had taped about a dozen segments and gave away about six hundred dollars, I trudged back to the station and edited the pieces together to form a “promo,” and made it sound like thousands of excited fans getting unheard of money. “Here’s fifty for you, and you, and YOU!!!” “WOW, thanks KFXM Millionaire. You’re the greatest millionaire ever! WOOOO HOOOO!!!” We’d play it on the air about once per hour. Our fans met the millionaire, got money, got on the air, all because of me!
Meanwhile I’m driving 150 miles round trip to and from West LA, twice a week to perform these shenanigans, and I received $4.40 per hour, no benefits. My parents thought I was a lunatic. I had a degree in economics from one of the top 10 universities in the country and I was driving to a mall 75 miles from my apartment giving away fifty-dollar bills. But still, I stayed in LA and kept my dream alive of getting to KIIS, the dream that got me in the business in the first place, and I'll be damned if it didn't come true.