Groundbreaking broadcasts were the domain of Berger

Fifty years ago KHVH, which is now KITV, became the first local television station in the islands to receive a live satellite feed from the mainland, during the broadcast of the Notre Dame-Michigan State football game. That groundbreaking moment happened because of station owner Lawrence Sherwin “Bob” Berger, who seemed constantly one step ahead of the other local stations when it came to achieving accomplishments. This month we look back at the life and career of Berger.

Berger was born July 17, 1925, in Fargo, N.D. Berger’s father, Ben, owned 19 movie theaters throughout Minnesota and North Dakota. He also was co-owner of the Minneapolis Lakers, the first dynasty in professional basketball, winning six championships with star George Mikan. In 1957 Berger sold the team for $150,000 to Bob Short, who moved the franchise a few years later to Los Angeles.

The younger Berger would became an executive vice president and general manager of television and radio stations in Wyoming and Montana. In 1964 Berger’s Western Telestations Inc. purchased KHVH radio and television for $4 million from Henry J. Kaiser. KHVH would became the most watched television station in the islands with the top 20 television shows and No. 1 news station featuring anchors Bob Sevey and Mason Altiery.

KHVH also became the first local TV station to emphasize sports, with “Kaiser Sports Central,” anchored by Jim Lathrop and Gene Good. The station was the first in the islands to broadcast its entire lineup of local and national television shows and newscasts in color. KHVH also was the first local station to broadcast election coverage in color, in 1966.

That was also the year Berger arranged the first live satellite broadcast from the mainland. During halftime of the Notre Dame-Michigan State football, game Altiery interviewed U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink, and suddenly Hawaii, in terms of broadcast television, no longer seemed an isolated place thousands of miles away from the mainland.

The following month KHVH also broadcast nationwide the 25th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, and in 1967 Berger had Altiery visit the Middle East to cover the Six Day War. KHVH news staff was also sent to Vietnam for stories.

During the Berger era at KHVH, on-air television news careers either began or flourished with a virtual who’s who of local news broadcasting, including Jim Manke, Don Robbs, Jon Anderson, Chuck Henry, Don Rockwell, Bart Fredo, Linda Coble, Al Michaels, Doug Bruckner, Ken Kashiwahara and Tom McWilliams.

Popular shows “Captain Honolulu,” “50th State Wrestling” with Ed Francis, “Conversation” with Betty Smyser, “The Tom Moffatt Show” and “The Don Robbs Show” all at one time or the other aired on KHVH when Berger owned the station.

Berger often broadcast his own anti-war editorials during the Vietnam War. He also was not shy in his editorials to call out politicians — Mayor Neal Blaisdell, Mayor Frank Fasi and Gov. John Burns — if he felt they were doing something wrong. Also not without controversy, Berger hired then-state Sen. Mason Altiery to anchor the news in 1971 for his own station.

Although Berger sold KHVH television in 1973 to the Starr Broadcasting Group, he retained KHVH radio. In 1979 he told KITV that selling the station wasn’t a good idea. “It was a mistake as far as money, at least,” he said. “Who knew ABC would end up with ‘Happy Days’ instead of the junk stuff we had in those days?”

KHVH radio was the first all-news radio station in the islands, and at one time Berger had entertainer Don Ho host his own radio show. KHVH radio was also a longtime home to University of Hawaii-Manoa baseball with Robbs calling the play-by-play. He sold the station in the mid-1990s and moved to California.

Berger died at the age of 90 on April 22 at his home in Solana Beach, Calif. He is survived by wife Maureen, sons Robert and William, and five grandchildren. Berger’s widow welcomes donations, if anyone would so wish, to a charity of their choice in his memory.

AJ McWhorter, a collector of film and videotape cataloging Hawaii’s TV history, has worked as a producer, writer and researcher for both local and national media. Email him at flashback@hawaii.rr.com.