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Disc jockey, promoter
Ted Sax dies at 73OBITUARIES
By Leila Fujimori
Services tomorrow for Kucin
Star-BulletinShirley Sax wanted people to know her husband's personality and pushed him to be a radio talk show host.
So Ted Sax, a Honolulu radio personality since the late 1950s, returned to the airwaves on radio station K108 as a talk show host until a couple of years ago when his health failed him.
He suffered from advanced stages of diabetes, Parkinson's disease, kidney failure and, finally, heart failure. The 73-year-old died yesterday at home in Honolulu.
Born in New York and raised in the Bronx, Sax always said what was on his mind, often stirring up controversy. But his wife says that underneath he was a big pussycat.
Sax was a disc jockey with radio stations KORL and KGMB. In the 1960s he started up the Battle of the Bands.
As concert promoter he also brought over many mainland acts to Hawaii. His wife recalls how he had lined up the Beatles, but the Honolulu Fire Department said if the kids jumped on the stands at the old stadium, the whole thing would collapse.
Sax also portrayed an Asian man on "Hawaii Five-O."
Sax is also survived by sons Drake and Larry Beil, an ESPN sportscaster, and Dru Sax; daughters Elyse Sax and Jan Sage; and six grandchildren.
Burial will be tomorrow at 3 p.m. at Hawaiian Memorial Park. Mass will be held at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church Friday at 5:30 p.m.; visitation will follow.
Services scheduled
By Lori Tighe
tomorrow for veteran
broadcaster Kucin
Star-BulletinVeteran broadcaster Allan Kucin's heart, which had "loved life to its fullest," gave out on the first tee at the Hawaii Kai Golf Course this weekend. He was 72.
"His buddies were upset he didn't make it to the 18th hole," joked Patricia Kucin, his widow.
Then in seriousness, she added, "They've been wonderful to me. They stayed with me all day Saturday and are taking care of me. I've been overwhelmed with everyone's caring."
Kucin, originally from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., built his career around radio and TV. He began at a radio station in Indianapolis, where he and his wife also owned three dinner theaters. The other love of his life was community theater.
He joined RKO General's Chicago radio station and rose to vice president and general manager.
The Kucins came to Hawaii in 1977, when he took the position of manager at KPOI.
He spent the last 14 years of his life as national sales manager for Oceanic Cable.
"He loved everything about Hawaii," Patricia Kucin said. "When he first got here he called me up and said, 'I walked down the street and it's just like I'm on vacation.' "
He moved on to become general sales manager at KITV. He worked as general manager at KIKI Radio in the mid-'80s.
Kucin started at KIKI on St. Patrick's Day, which he considered a good luck omen. Both his grandmothers were born in Ireland and he met his wife on St. Patrick's Day.
"He was just about the most wonderful guy," she said. "I was honored to be his wife. We never wasted time arguing."
She said he had an "unusual personality. He never complained about anything. Everything was going to be all right."
He is also survived by brothers Joseph and Thomas, and sisters Jane Walsh, Alice Yorks, Margaret Solferino, Nancy Messinger and Therese Esposito.
Services are at 9 a.m. tomorrow at St. Augustine's Church. The ashes will be scattered at Waikiki Beach.
