Isle radio personality later helped create ‘American Top 40’

Tom Rounds, a legendary broadcasting executive and one of the original "Poi Boys," who helped put island station KPOI on the map, died Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 77.

Rounds died from complications linked to a minor surgical procedure he had May 14 at a Tarzana, Calif., hospital, according to the website Radio Ink. His wife and business partner of 49 years, Barbara Rounds, was at his bedside at a rehabilitation facility.

Rounds was thefounder of several syndicated radio shows, including "American Top 40," a music countdown program hosted by Casey Kasem and launched in 1970 by Rounds’ company, Watermark, with partners Kasem and Don Bustany.By the 1980s the show reached 500 U.S. stations and was the go-to chart for music’s biggest hits and artists.

Rounds also formed other production companies with mainland colleagues and was partner of Arena Associates hui with his KPOI colleagues Tom Moffatt, Ron Jacobs and Mel Lawrence — formed to bring a wave of music headliners to the then-new Blaisdell Center.

Hawaii radio fans may remember him best as the afternoon drive personality on KPOI in the late 1950s and mid-1960s. T.R., as he was widely known, also served as music and program director of the pioneering AM station, which hurled the islands into the rock era while heralding the arrival of an FM affiliate, giving the stations a wider audience reach.

"I called him Sunday,expecting him to recover, so his passing was a shock," said Moffatt, a lifelong ally."He was a dear friend and a good man; I’ll miss the chats we had constantly since we were very close. He and I go back to the original Poi Boys era; we did all those crazy promotions together."

The pair competed in a Friday-through-Monday bowl-a-thon, Rounds at the Waikiki Bowl, Moffatt at the Pali Lanes, "all to raise money for charity," said Moffatt. There was even an around-the-island donkey race.

Rounds materialized in the era of personality-driven radio, so promotion was a key part of his game; in Hono­­­lulu he set a mark in the Guinness Book ofWorld Rec­ords of 260 hours without sleep — staying awake in a department store window while on the air.

Rounds, born in Danbury, Conn., had ambition, and became a globally known radio executive after leaving the islands.He left his imprint at KFRC in San Francisco, where he launched the "Boss Radio" format, making the station No. 1. Rounds departed KFRC in 1967 to focus on behind-the-scenes production, joining Charlatan Productions in Los Angeles. Charlatan is credited with being first to blend music and video to promote music — which became known as"music video."

Rounds enjoyed programming formats and specials, and giving up the mic was an easy option.

"A lot of people were intimidated by T.R., but he always treated me so kindly, maybebecause he knew I was from Hilo," saidGuy Aoki, a production assistant for "American Top 40" in the 1980s. "And he had the warmest smile," said Aoki.

Rounds was founder and chief executive director of Radio Express, which he launched in 1985 in Burbank, Calif. The company is now the world’s leading independently owned supplier of entertainment programming to radio outlets outside the U.S. Radio Express also develops branded entertainment programming for such iconic brands as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Ford and Pepsi, and has brought branded programs to markets in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America.

Jessicad’Agostin, vice president of sales for Radio Express, said in a statement, "We are deeply saddened by T.R.’s passing and will miss his humor, his wisdom and his kindness profoundly. He was a great man, and loved his wife, his family, and radio with all his heart. We will continue to move forward at Radio Express in his honor and as a living tribute to the example T.R. set for excellence in all things."

Besides his wife, Barbara, a sales executive at Radio Express, Rounds is survived by daughter Michele, son Tommy, stepdaughter Debbie and four grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday in Los Angeles at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills.Memorial donations may be made to the City of Hope Cancer Center, www.cityofhope.org.