Howard Tullis - A Legendary Man who Built and Empire
Howard
Tullis was very connected with advertising and media people in Hollywood
and Los Angeles. He an his own advertising agency in LA and Hollywood
and handled prestigious accounts such as; Cutty Sark Scotch and Marc
C. Bloom Tire stores. He had also represented several other large car
dealerships like the Kelley Motor Co. He also booked radio and television
spots for the car dealerships. Someone said that it was Howard Tullis
who came up with the idea of having cars “drive into” the live TV commercials,
with the host describing the car and the “low-low price.” He had
a working relationship with Chick Lambert who did the Maywood Bell Ford TV
talking about the dog because he said Chick Lambert hated the dog but it drew
in customers so he kept using him. Howard Tullis was a dynamo when it came to
work. I’m not sure if he was being frugal (cheap) or he just valued his
clients and the very generous income they provided because he did many things
by himself. As an example, Howard would buy billboards for Cutty Sark and Jose
Cuervo Tequila all across the country and rather than rely on the words of others,
he would personally go to the cities and locations to verify that he got what
he paid for. Sometimes he would fly to New York after being assured that “forget
about it...the boards are up and where you wanted them” only to find that
they were not in place or were in the wrong locations. I’m sure there
was many a billboard company owner who was shocked that a client (Howard Tullis
for Cutty Sark and Jose Cuervo) would fly across the country to check out the
situation.
Howard’s hands-on approach to almost every aspect of a business venture was misconceived as obsessive or fanatical. Most people are uncomfortable with a hands-on and in-your-face style of management. Howard was very outspoken and straight forward and not afraid to tell you his opinion or decision. Today in retrospect, the success of KFXM in both audience ratings and advertising revenue is greatly due to Howard Tullis’ drive and commitment that he instilled in Roy Cordell and Norm Keats in the early days and Al Anthony and Bob Bunnell. Later on, Howard Tullis did NOT like to lose and he had the financial resources, plus tremendous negotiating and bargaining skills, intestinal fortitude and a whole lot of luck.
Howard earned everything the hard way and he was born in Iowa and endured the depression. Like many other men who survived after the depression, they have a different outlook on life and tend to do what ever it takes to succeed. There have been some very remarkable success stories from the depression and the stock market crash.
George Lucas has "Star Wars" with KFXM & K/men it was "Car Wars"
Back in the days of intense competition, KFXM and K/men were constantly coming up with contests and prizes to out do each other. Ever more imaginative, the stations trying to out think and out spend one another. One of the big duels could be described with the statement, "George Lucas made Star Wars, but with KFXM and K/men it was Car Wars"! Giving away a Corvette, a Jaguar XKE, countless Mustangs, a Barracuda and a Oldsmobile Tornado. Bob Bunnell would take the cars home at night for safe keeping and his neighbors always looked on in amazement. KFXM was airing Bill Ellis Ford spots constantly because we traded the advertising for new Mustangs.
Howard was keeping track of the cost of all these cars and he decided to see if there was a way to stop the madness. He contacted Al Anthony and Bob Bunnell and arranged a meeting. Howard proposed that Bob Bunnell arrange a private meeting with K/men Station Manager, Jerry Jolstead. (Background: Jerry Jolstead had worked in sales at KFXM/KDUO previously for Bob Bunnell. This is a little known fact that Jerry worked first at KFXM/KDUO before going over to K/men and eventually becoming the General Manager). Howard suggested that Bob ask Jerry if the two stations could make an agreement and put and end to the "Car Wars." Howard told Bob that if Jerry decided to continue the car give-a-ways that Bob was to tell Jerry that Howard Tullis has very deep pockets and it's going to cost K/men a whole bunch of money. Bob met with Jerry Jolstead a short time later in a discreet location as it was fairly unusual for the Managers of the fiercely competitive stations to meet. Jerry eventually agreed to the "pact" and that basically put an end to the massive car give away.
Howard Tullis steals Jack Kent Cook's Hollywood Hills Home
As mentioned before, Howard was a very hands-on type of radio station owner. He monitored both KFXM and KDUO constantly from his home high in the Hollywood Hills. Just a tid-bit, Jan Murray the comedian was Howard's next-door neighbor. Howard’s home was previously owned by Jack Kent Cook who was the owner of the LA Lakers and the LA Kings hockey team. Apparently, Howard had put the word out to his bankers and real estate people that he was looking for a new home. In typical Howard Tullis fashion, a banker called late one Saturday night telling Howard he could steal this house in the Hollywood Hills. The banker explained that Jack Kent Cook was looking to liquidate as many assets that he could and the house was one of them. The banker, knowing how Howard Tullis operated, had taken the liberty to draw up the loan papers ahead of time. When Howard asked, "Have you got the papers ready? the banker quickly replied, "Well of course Howard." Tullis and the banker immediately drove into the Hollywood Hills Sunday morning to look at the House. He liked the house and the story goes he signed the papers on the hood of his car in the driveway of his new home that he paid just $ 98,000 for. Howard Tullis literally got the steal of a lifetime. Other neighbors of Howard Tullis was Dianna Ross, the Supremes superstar, the Sister of the Shah of Iran and next-door neighbor, comedian Jan Murray.
The Nortorius Bernie Schwartz - the "Un-official Sherriff" at KFXM/KDUO
Howard also was known to do some very sneaky things when it came to bringing in what we all referred to as "Tullis Spies" One person in particular was Bernie Schwartz that Howard sent out from LA to keep an eye on everything. Bernie would review all incoming contracts from the sales people and make sure their were checks with the contracts. He would run credit checks on all the existing and new clients and was like a dictator when it came to approving a client to go on-the-air. I don't think he was counting the pens and paper clips but I understand that he kept track of just about everything else. Eventually, Bernie Schwartz earned the nickname, “the sheriff with no power.” He eventually started sticking his nose into the programming part of the station and Bernie and Al Anthony started sparring. I'm not sure what was said but one day Al had taken enough. Bob Bunnell got a call from Bookkeeper Norine Dixon on the phone saying, " Bob, you better get back to the station because Al has had it with Bernie and I he says he wants to kill him." Bob asked Norine to get Al Anthony on the Phone. When Al got on the phone, Bob pleaded, "Now Al RELAX, go into your office and lock the door and cool off, you’ve got high blood pressure, you don't want to have a heart attack." Bob jokingly asked Al, “Oh and Al, what are we going to do with Bernie’s body?” Bernie as usual had this puzzled look on his face when he spoke with Bob about the incident. Bernie always talked to you in riddles, you couldn't understand his thoughts or motives while talking with him. He was a very frustrating person to talk to. But as usual, Howard Tullis liked it when the pot was getting stirred. He liked competition, jealousy, tattle-tales and anything else that kept things stirred-up between managers, disc jockeys, sales people, etc. However, Howard Tullis loved hard working people on his staff and would back them all the way. Counter to the popular belief of many people, Tullis was compassionate and caring. He also appreciated and rewarded honesty from his employees.
Like I said, Howard Tullis just seemed to have spies around because he always seemed to know what was going on and if he didn't, just give him a day or so and he'd find out. This was why he was so successful because he made it his business to be totally involved in all aspects. Almost every decision Al Anthony or Bob Bunnell made was reviewed by Howard Tullis. They both knew that it was an unwritten rule to at least advise Howard on things before going ahead. Howard trusted Al and Bob explicitly but he just liked to be part of the decision process.
When they say that many millionaires are frugal or cheap, let me give you an example. Howard knew that Bob Bunnell was an early riser. He would call almost every morning to go over business with Bob. When he called, to make sure that Bob was home, he would call person-to-person for "Elmer or Jethro Bunnell" Bob would answer the call and say, "operator, he's out back slopping the pigs (or some other funny task) can I take a message? Then Tullis (snickering) would say, "that’s OK operator I'll call back later.' Howard would hang up and call back direct. If Bob wasn't home, someone in the Bunnell household would answer and tell the operator, “he's gone to work or something else.”
Bob Bunnell & Al Anthony Let go after Over 20 Years
Some may know the story about how Al Anthony and Bob Bunnell were "let go" after both of them had over 20 years working to build the Howard Tullis fortune empire. As early as 1980 Howard told Al and Bob that he was sending "bankers" out to look at the station and implied that he was getting some financing worked around. Well, little did Al or Bob know that the "bankers" were actually prospective radio station buyers. They toured the facilities and gave everything the once-over. Several months later in 1981 on what has now been termed "the St. Valentine's Day Massacre - Part Two" Howard called a meeting together with Al Anthony and Bob Bunnell next-door at the Holiday Inn dinning room. It was at that meeting that Howard told them that he was extremely pleased with the job they had done for him and how loyal they had been. In the next statement to them, he advised them that he was going to have to let them go because he's selling the radio station. He also said, "You two make very generous salaries and commissions and the new owner won't want that to deal with, besides they almost always bring in their own people." As a gesture of his grief over dismissing his two top executives, Tullis gave them "parting gifts" of a weeks trip for both of them and their ladies in Puerta Vallarta. Both Bob and Al while still in shock, graciously accepted the trips and thanked Tullis.
It was a very popular trend at the time Al Anthony and Bob Bunnell were let go, for companies and corporations to get rid of their senior managers in favor of younger lower paid replacements. Tullis apparently though putting Al and Bob “out to pasture” was only a good business decision. Tullis was able to hire a new General Manager with a salary that was more than half the cost of Al Anthony’s and Bob Bunnell’s salaries over so many years. History has documented just what a poor decision the “put out to pasture trend” really was to companies and corporations. Experience is not a God-given talent or skill. Experience is a developed character trait that is based on more than just the ability to adapt and learn. Experience is like the stripes on a soldier’s sleeve, they are earned through trial and error, victories and defeats. Remember the old rule, “you get what you pay for, and if the deal really sounds to good to be true, it probably isn’t.” In retrospect, Howard Tullis inevitably had to have had regrets over letting his two top executives go.
Howard hired a man by the name of Dewey Hewey to be the new General Manager. Almost right from the beginning there were changes and problems. Bernie Schwartz was still there keeping track of everything to make sure Tullis was apprised of everything.
Howard Tullis Dies of a Heart Attack in Hawaii
Things were deteriorating and it seemed that the radio station would never be the same after Bob Bunnell and Al Anthony’s departures. Eventually the pressure must have taken it’s toll because about 19 months after the firing of Bob and Al, Howard died of a heart attack while vacationing in Hawaii. He was eating at a fancy restaurant and suddenly had the heart attack and passed away.
Al Anthony Returns to Manage KFXM/KDUO
Howard Tullis’ widow, Ruthie contacted Al Anthony and realizing things needed to change, asked Al if he would come back to run the radio stations. She told Al that Howard had deeply regretted firing both him and Bob Bunnell. Al Anthony after some serious soul searching decided to accept Ruthie Tulllis’ offer and return to be the new General Manager of KFXM and KDUO.