Don Pitts

Disk Jocky and Talent Agent

Spring 1946 Graduate

Click to hear Don Pitts -- on the Air!

        Don Pitts was born in San Francisco in 1928. Grew up on 17th Avenue and Santiago Street in the Parkside District. After attending St. Cecilia's Grammar School he enrolled at Abraham Lincoln High School as a freshman and graduated in 1946 from the San Francisco Opera House.

        Don's first job in radio was at KYA, emceeing the "High School Sports Page of the Air". All the high schools in San Francisco had their representatives giving the sports report on their school. Typical sport reporters were students such as George Moscone who was attending St. Ignatius at that time. The sponsor was Price's Shoe Store where every shoe in the store sold for $9.95.

        Don broadcast a weekly radio show from the auditorium at the downtown Emporium Department Store. The audience was made up of high school students and featured weekly appearances with visiting national celebrities.

        Don started as a disc jockey on KYA in the late forty's and continued to be on the radio until 1958. In addition to KYA, Don was also heard on KSFO and KGO radio and TV. During these years Don also served as a dance time host on KPIX and KGO TV. His theme that was recorded for him by Slim Gailard, "Don Pitts On the Air" (also wrote "Cement Mixer, puti, puti) became well known if for no other reason that the frequency it was played on the air. Several times a day for a ten year period.

        During this time Don wrote a newspaper column for the San Francisco News. As the Entertainment Editor his job was to review the hotel and club shows that came to San Francisco. At the time, major hotels were booking Tony Bennet, Nat King Cole and other stars of the day to appear in their spacious dining rooms.

        In 1959 Don went to see the Ice Follies and by chance saw the girl, who he was to marry, skating in the show. His bride to be was Gail Foster from Larkspur. They married in 1959 and have two children, David 39 and Dina 37.

        Don and his family moved to Los Angeles in 1965 and he became a commercial talent agent, representing some of the top names of the day for television commercials such as Agnes Moorhead, Telly Savalas, Lloyd Nolan, Robert Stack, Mike Connors, Casey Kasem, Orson Welles, Mel Blanc, Wolfman Jack, Adam West (Batman), Judd Hirsch, Lou Rawls, Frank Sinatra Jr., William Shatner, Stan Freberg, Henry Corden the Voice of Fred Flintstone, Paul Winchell who created the voice of Tigger in Winnie the Pooh, and countless other recognizable performers.

        Don recently sold his interest to one of the top commercial agencies in Los Angeles (KSA) to concentrate on special projects from his office at his home. He also keeps an office at his former agency.

        In recognition of his accomplishments, Don Pitts was inducted into the Abraham Lincoln High School Wall of Fame in May 2000.