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Apr 7, 2009 6:47 pm US/Central
Co-Workers Remember Cannon's 'Theater Of The Mind'
(WCCO)
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Steve Cannon of WCCO-AM radio.
Pavek Museum Of Broadcasting
Tuesday was a sad day for many fans of WCCO radio. One of the legendary broadcasters of our time has passed away.
For 26 years, Steve Cannon was the afternoon drive host on WCCO-AM.
He passed away Monday night at his home in Minneapolis at the age of 81 after a brief battle with cancer.
From the moment Steve Cannon's barking dog theme song boomed across radios, listeners knew they were along for a ride.
There were no co-hosts or callers, only Cannon, broadcasting from what he called the basement studio and his cast of characters, Ma Linger, Morgan Mundane and back lash La Rue.
"He gave you great theater of the mind. And whenever he talked, if you were listening, you pictured something -- basement studio -- whatever it might be, he was magical," said WCCO's Dave Lee said about Cannon.
Co-workers also remembered him as a wonderful friend.
"He took me under his wing and I will never forget it as long as I live and I am trying not to moist up," said Longtime WCCO meteorologist Mike Lynch.
In 1997, as he was about to retire, Cannon was asked what the secret was to making it in radio.
He said, "You got to have some cojones if you really feel strongly about stuff -- say it, and use your intelligence."
And in that interview he had a thank you for listeners.
"I appreciate you listening and supporting me all these years, and not blindly. A lot of you have written me critically, or talked to me critically, and I appreciate it and I am gong to miss you," Cannon said back in the 1997 interview.
WCCO anchor Don Shelby said when he first moved here he called the station to complain that Morgan Mundane was giving Steve Cannon too hard a time about drinking too many Grain Belt beers.
Shelby said he had no idea Cannon and Mundane were one in the same. Like so many listeners, he had been lured into Cannon's theater of the mind.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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