TV RADIO MIRROR ARTICLE OCTOBER ISSUE 1965 pg. 67-68:
"A girl named Sam and a boy named Tommy, and what they're having together is a great big ball of life."
Once upon a time, way back on June 3rd, 1938, on a bright moonlit night in Wharton, Texas, a little girl was born. Her parents were very happy that 1) she had finally arrived and 2) she was a girl, her mother and father being particularly partial to girls. Her grandparents were just plain happy that she was. All they wanted was a grandchild, and the sex was of no great moment to them.
This little girl was standard in every respect but one - she had the regulation number of hands, feet, fingers toes and no teeth - but there was one thing outstanding about her. She was a lot prettier than a lot of girls. This difference, which was immediately noted by doctors and laymen alike, remained with her and as she grew older and older, was more and more outstanding, for she grew prettier and prettier.
Along with this somewhat remarkable difference, this little girl - we'll call her Sam, because that eventually became her name, although she really started out as Mary - this Sam had a very sweet voice, and being what they now call outgoing, found herself something of a child celebrity. For instance, she was only three when she was singing in public. At four, she was the singing mascot for the high school band.
A combo of voice and face being a natural, Sam continued her way up the lovely path that fate had prepared for her. During her last two years in high school, she had a radio show on a local station, KULP, on which she sang Songs Just For You. Also, while still in school, she won a beauty contest and the title of "Miss Rice" and made appearances on Houston radio and television.
And, then Sam met a boy. He soon turned into The Boy, and then there was Sam standing up in front of a preacher and saying, "I do," and all the relatives and friends saying what a handsome couple they were.
That lasted for about six years, and what happened, it was just one of those things. Two charming people, but maybe they were just a little too young for the serious business of marriage and a baby - a cute little boy named Tommy. Tommy Sanders.
So, there was a divorce. Meanwhile, Sam had lined up a job for herself with a Dallas radio station. She was one of the fellas on the station - in fact, the Sam who keeps the KVIL fires burning from midnight to 6:00 AM with her show Night Light.
Or, as the station boss put it when he hired her: "How would you like to be our new midnight man?"
Night Light is just what the doctor ordered for Sam. She loves every minute of it. "I'm crazy about it. I always was a 'night people,' anyway."
As for her listeners, Sam says: "They're all just great. I love them and they know it. They're people from all walks of life: policemen, service station attendants, the nightclub set, musicians, ranchers, oilmen, etc. Everywhere I go, people tell me they listen. I'm still a little awed by the show's success and acceptance."
Of course, working the hours she does presents certain problems. And advantages, too. Sam says, "Like dating. I feel like Cinderella, having to be a t work by midnight. But I never had so many breakfast dates, either!"
And then there's Tommy.
Sam and Tommy share a two-bedroom studio apartment - complete with private, fenced-in patio and pool - with a girlfriend of Sam's, Ann Guinn, and these three characters have a ball together. Ann has even taught Tommy (he's four now) to do The Monkey.
Moving into the apartment presented a big problem. Sam owned a small foreign car, built to hold two and maybe an extra safety pin. So one day, during their lunch hour, a bunch of the men at the station brought their cars over and moved the Sanders family, kid, kit and kaboodle, into their new abode.
There is also a babysitter around who takes car of Tommy when Sam is working. During the day, he attends nursery school, where he tells everyone who will listen that his Mommy is "Sam on the radio." On the few occasions when he was permitted to stay up late enough to hear the show, the babysitter reported that he was quite angry with Sam because she wouldn't answer him when he heard her voice over the radio.
We asked Sam whether she plans to remarry.
Sam shook her head. "Right now, I'm just dating. I think I'd better just try for a career now."
"First, I want to have a very successful career in radio, television or some phase of show business. And I don't mind working hard to achieve my goal, either. The next time I marry, it will probably be to someone in the entertainment field. But that will be in the distant future - after I've fulfilled my career goals for myself."
Meanwhile, it's all a great big ball. Sam loves the people, and they love her right back. "Some of my listeners write saying they enjoy the show. Others call to talk to me. In general, they make me feel that people are pretty wonderful, and that they're all on my side."
Mary Nash Stoddard:
Professional and Volunteer Activities 1964-2002:
. Publicist 1989-2002
. Author Deadly Deception [story of a food additive] Odenwald Press 1998
. International Keynote Speaker 1995-2002
. Member Texas Radio Hall of Fame 2001
. Visiting Professor American University Graduate School of Journalism 1999
. Appointed Judge - State of Texas 1977-1984
. Founding Board Member Dallas' first Public-Access Radio Station 1974
. Dallas Mayor's Task Force on User Fees 1977
. Dallas Mayor's Committee on Citizen Safety 1975 Charter member
. Vice-President Dallas Operation-Get-Involved 1974-1976
. President, Save Open Space 1976 (Board of Directors 1975-2002)
. Steering Committee member for U.S. President Jimmy Carter 1976
. Nationally recognized as First Female Disc Jockey in Dallas, KVIL Radio 1964-1966
. Miss Rice 1956
