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- About the Story
- A remembrance of long-time television journalist Ralph Story. (TRT: 2:57)
- Blogcritics.org’s “Groundbreaking Broadcaster Ralph Story Dead at 86” Blog Post
- Doran’s “Goodbye Ralph Story” Blog Post
- IMDb’s Ralph Story Web Page
- Inner Toob’s “The Hat Squad: Ralph Story” Blog Post
- POV Online’s “Ralph Story, R.I.P.” Blog Post
- The Rip Post’s “The Daily News Story — Ralph Story, That Is…” Article
- USA Today’s “TV, Radio Broadcaster Ralph Story Dies” Article
Ralph Story: 1920-2006
Last updated: May 11, 2009
Reporter's NOTES
Val Zavala
He was a one of a kind, a man whose manner and words were as inviting and comfortable as your favorite arm chair. He is Ralph Story and he passed away on Tuesday, September 26th at age 86 after a long struggle with emphysema.
Ralph was the host of two memorable KCET specials looking back at southern California’s fun and unusual history, “Things That Aren’t Here Anymore” (1995) and “More Things That Aren’t Here Anymore” (1997).
Ralph Story gave TV journalism a good name. He was an Emmy-winning reporter who started his career in Buffalo in 1948. He then headed for the warmer climates of Los Angeles where his voice could be heard on KNX radio in the ’40s. He went on to host the very popular “Ralph Story’s Los Angeles” that ran on KNXT – now KCBS – from 1963 to 1970. Then in the ’70s and ’80s he went on to host a morning show called “AM Los Angeles” on KABC. He was part of television’s youth. He and other pioneering broadcasters got the business off to a great start.
I had the privilege and pleasure of working with Ralph Story on the KCET specials. And in a strange coincidence we both discovered that I was living in a guest house that was once his office behind a Toluca Lake house. (I always hoped the association would improve my writing.)
Ralph’s lovely and devoted wife, Diana, called me with the news of this passing. He died at his home in the Santa Ynez Valley, where he loved sitting on his porch enjoying sunsets. We will miss him dearly.
We invite you to share your thoughts and memories.
COMMUNITY VIEWPOINTS
I was just tellling a friend about my recollection of Ralph Story during this time of the year. As a kid growing up in the valley, I think he was on CBS and he would tell that NORAD had picked up Santa on their tracking, and to me, if Ralph was talking about it, it was TRUE and I’d be so excited. I’m sorry to hear that he has passed away.
It certainly looks from the comments that I’m not the only one who loved him. God bless his family!
ThatKimGirl - San Diego, California
Hi Mimi,
Thank you so much for commenting on the Life & Times Blog! Please contact our Viewer Services Department about DVD copies of Things That Aren’t Here Anymore and More Things That Aren’t Here Anymore at viewerservices@kcet.org or call 323.953.5238.
I hope this information helped. Thank you again for your support!
Life & Times Blog Editor - Los Angeles, California
I would like to purchase Things That Aren’t Here Anymore and More Things That Aren’t Here Anymore. Do you have them for sale?
Mimi - Redlands, California
Why, oh why, did KCET present the long-awaited rebroadcast of More Things That Aren’t Here Anymore in a SHRUNKEN, impossible-to-view aspect ratio on its STANDARD DEFINITION channel? This was absolutely stupid and NOT APPRECIATED by MOST viewers with standard definition TV sets. Thanks for forcing us all to squint at the postage stamp-sized experience!
Unhappy Viewer - Los Angeles, California
I grew up in the 1970s watching Ralph Story. He was like a member of my family and was always a welcome presence in our home. We’ve lost someone who will never be replaced.
626gal - Glendora, California
I was (still am) a huge fan of Ralph Story. Like many others, I grew up watching him in my Southern California home.
He was like part of our family, always a welcome face and familiar voice. Someone has left us who cannot be replaced.
626gal - Glendora, California
I grew up with Ralph Story’s Los Angeles. He was a great storyteller, and I loved watching him spin those yarns.
I am a history buff, so I suppose that is why I enjoyed watching him and his smooth delivery on TV. He just seemed like a very nice guy.
TJS - Laguna Niguel, California
I found this site while looking for archived copies of Ralph Story’s Los Angeles. I enjoyed the show as a child living in the valley. The Rodney Bingenheimer reference brought back memories of driving down from Vegas as a teenager and going to his club.
Keith - Las Vegas, Nevada
Ralph Story was my second cousin once removed (his grandfather was a brother of my mother’s grandfather). We only met him once, when he was the MC of the dedication ceremonies 50 years ago of the Mackinac Bridge opening.
My mother, Sarah M. Snyder, who never did anything like this before or since, took me by the hand and walked up to Ralph Story and explained our relationship. He lit up and treated her like it was his great honor to meet her, which–to me–seemed natural and geniune.
I have several newspaper clippings from the Kalamzaoo Gazette about our local boy making good in radio and TV, and also articles about him receiving the Air Medal for “meritorious achievement while serving as a fighter pilot during an exteneded period of aerial combat over Germany and German-occupied Continental Europe.” He flew a P-51 Mustang fighter on duty with the Eighth Air Force, 353rd fighter group.
One article includes a photograph in his uniform that I can pass on to those who are interested. Although, it is newspaper quality.
Jim - Battle Creek, Michigan
Hi, I was the managing editor of Ralph Story’s A.M. on KABC-TV and had been an enormous fan of Ralph’s since my childhood. I listened to him on KNX and watched him on KNXT and loved Ralph Story’s L.A. and his nightly commentary on the news.
I think it’s a shame that all we have these days is Huell Houser doing such an amateurish and lowest common demoninator way what Ralph used to do with such style and humor. There’s no comparison.
It took multiple cameras and editing and writing and a budget to bring it off, and mostly, Ralph’s humor and wit, all things that Huell lacks. Our media has really gone astray.
Bob Shayne - Los Angeles, California
The entire “Ralph Story’s Los Angeles” is available for viewing on video in the UCLA media building. My favorite episode so far was the one on the Hollywood Ranch Market.
Trivia note: When the clerk who is interviewed speaks about the strange customers who come in after 2 AM, you will see a teenage Rodney Bingenheimer in a purple nehru jacket grabbing a Diet Rite soda! I wish this series were available to the general public. Thank you, Huell Howser, for carrying the torch passed on by Mr. Story.
Mark London - Los Angeles, California
Hi Dan and Mary,
The theme music used for Ralph Story’s LA had no title. According to producer Dan Gingold, it was just a piece of production music from the channel 2 music library.
I don’t know if Ralph’s father was in the movies or not. Ralph’s birth name was Ralph Snyder.
David Schwartz - Los Angeles, California
Hi Dan and Mary,
Thank you so much for commenting on our blog. Unfortunately, we don’t have answers to your questions. However, if you click on any of the websites and blogs we’ve provided under our “Related Resources and Links” section, I’m sure that they’ll be able to provide you with answers to your questions. Thank you again for commenting on our blog!
KCET Admin - Los Angeles, California
Does anyone know where I might find a picture of Ralph Story from the 1970s or earlier in his career? Also, does anyone know if Ralph’s father was in silent movies and played the role of a sheriff? Thanks.
Mary Bell - Kalamazoo, Michigan
Does anyone know the name of the theme song (or artist) that ran during the end credits on Ralph Story’s LA?
Dan Fitzgerald - Canyon Lake, California
In 1995, I loaned KCET my family home movies for the special “Things That Aren’t Here Anymore.” One thing I meant to bring up, but didn’t, was my father’s heroism in saving a small child from a fire at a famous white mansion on the way to the beach.
This was before freeways, and we were going down Sunset Boulevard or Santa Monica Boulevard. The mansion was engulfed in fire, but the fire department had not yet arrived.
My father raced into the building and rescued a child. The documentary mentioned the name of the mansion.
Aldo Panzieri - Alhambra, California
Hi Steve,
Thank you so much for commenting on our blog! We are unaware of any Ralph Story CDs that are available for purchase. However, you can probably log on to the IMDb Website and look up any movies and TV shows that Ralph Story may have done, and then look up the titles of the movies on a site like Amazon.com to see if they are available for purchase. I hope this information is helpful to you!
KCET Admin - Los Angeles, California
Are any of the Ralph Story CDs available for purchase?
Steve Abrams - SHERMAN OAKS, California
I vividly remember the lively trumpet music at the beginning of “Ralph Story’s L.A.” — it called me from whatever room I was in to the TV room, so I could sit and be enthralled with learning things about my own city than I would never have discovered otherwise. I saw Mr. Story in other shows and could never mistake his voiceovers for anyone else. He made a profound mark on my life, and I will always remember him as a vital part of the childhood that became my adulthood.
Kiva Catalina - Tujunga, California
I was a kid in elementary school during the run of “Ralph Story’s Los Angeles.” My parents and I watched the show faithfully.
They are 80 now and enjoyed Mr. Story, too. I appreciated Mr. Story’s skill, warmth and subtle irony in presenting stories that are tailored to adults and making them interesting to a kid of tender years.
His death reminds me of a more skillful, less frantic, hype-free news and commentary style. Alas, we won’t see that again in our lifetime. Take care, Ralph.
Pete McNall - Diamond Bar, California
Our family moved to Los Angeles in 1966, and I became a regular viewer of the brilliant “Ralph Story’s Los Angeles.” Mr. Story’s series made me nostalgic for a past I had never had. My condolences to his family, for a time I had never experienced.
Bruce Reznick - Urbana, Illinois
My strongest memory of Ralph Story, aside from his prominence on “The Big News” on KNXT, was his work on “Storyline,” a mid-day news-talk show on KNX radio in the mid-1960s. He deftly mixed news and interviews in a format widely copied by the CBS radio stations and set the standard for the station’s later conversion to all news. But nothing could match his sly wit, smarts and unfailing amiability.
Harry Shearer - Los Angeles, California