“So about fifteen years ago I got a call. ‘Mr. Spendlove,
you may not remember me but you changed my life forever.
This is Robert W. Day, news anchor, Cincinnati Ohio.’ Bobby
had done very well!”
Carole wanted to help at the station and she took on
the role of office manager, but Bill envisioned her in a
bigger role.
“I wanted to do a weekly show for women, about women.
I needed a woman’s voice to read the news. Carole didn’t
want to be on the air so I was pleased that [she] agreed to
do it. It was so popular that Edes Ranch Milk sponsored the
entire program for a year at a time.”
GARLIC FESTIVAL GOES LIVE
In the earliest days of the Gilroy Garlic Festival, organizers
asked Bill to interview people on the air to promote the
event, and to emcee the Gilroy Garlic Queen Pageant. In later
years, Bill and his son Steve televised the Garlic Festival.
“Oh it was lots of fun. I mean, you’re talking garlic!
When it first started, it literally jammed Monterey Highway
with people coming down from San Jose, up from Monterey,
or across 152 from Santa Cruz.”
Bill was always ready to bring his radio gear into town
to cover the Garlic Festival and other special events like
Bonanza Days and the Christmas Parade. His young son
Randy often accompanied him.
“Randy would sit next to me and as a parade float went
by, I’d say, ‘Randy, what do you think?’ He’d say, in this big
huge voice, ‘Well, Bill…’ and start describing the float in
great detail.” Bill described Randy as a little over the top.
In other words, a natural.
ADVERTISING ENTREPRENEUR
By 1976, Bill and his partners had sold KSND Radio and Bill
had launched Advertising Design Services to produce radio
and TV commercials. A number of Bill’s clients, including
grocery chains and automotive dealerships, advertised
regionally or nationally and stayed with his agency for ten
or fifteen years or more.
Bill spoke glowingly of how both of his sons, Steve and
Randy, were involved at one time or another during his ad
agency days when he served Pack and Save, Food for Less,
and other big-name brands.
While Bill was running his agency, Carole went to work
as a hostess at Digger Dan’s, a popular Gilroy restaurant
owned by the Spendloves’ friends Sam and Judy Bozzo.
“Digger Dan’s—my golly. It was the spot to go to. In those
days, First Street was growing. Digger Dan’s was part of that.
Sam and Judy did such a wonderful job and were so active
in the community. My wife loved being hostess there. She
got to know everyone in town.”
A testament to his versatility, Bill also worked for a time
as a news reporter at Channel 36. During his career Bill also
Bill’s Advice :
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had opportunities to interview celebrities including Clint
Eastwood, Phil Harris, Doris Day, Sammy Davis Jr., and
Danny Kaye.
COMMUNITY THEATER & CHURCH
Bill shared fond memories of his family’s participation in
Gilroy’s local theater scene, including Gilroy Community
Theater with Russ and Nancy Hendrickson and community
theater at Gavilan.
“In Hello Dolly, Director George Acosta sat in the back of
the theater and shouted at the cast, ‘I can’t hear you. I can
hear Mr. Spendlove, but I can’t hear the rest of you!’”
At Gilroy Presbyterian Church, members of the
Spendlove family sang in the choir. In Bill’s words, it was
“a wonderful family opportunity.”
One year, Bill and his family created an Easter Sunday
service open to the entire community on the Gavilan
College campus, which was well-received.
“We wanted to attract people from the community who
didn’t have their own church. We invited other churches to
participate. One pastor wanted to pass around an offering
plate. I said, ‘I don’t think we want to ask people for money
on their first visit!’ It was so much fun, we did it for quite a
few years after that.”
Bill was wistful when he added that after their kids had
gone on to begin their own lives as adults, he and Carole
went their separate ways.
A FAMILY LEGACY
Bill said the Spendlove family name has English roots. It’s
unusual and memorable, even by radio and TV industry
standards.
According to Bill, “Being a Spendlove always created a
little apprehension, a little tension. People would ask, ‘Is
that really your name?’”
Reflecting on the intersection of his career and family life,
Bill said he believed his dad would be proud of the path
that he, his children and grandchildren have chosen.
Bill said that his eldest daughter, Carlene, climbed
the ladder to SVP at a major ad agency where she has
worked for many years. Eldest son Steven, now retired,
was an executive with Clear Channel TV and later joined
an investment group that owned a string of TV stations.
Daughter Kimberly married Chuck Gilmore who once
owned the skating rink in Gilroy. They now live in Arnold.
Youngest son Randy worked at A&M Records and Miramax
before joining Paramount Pictures where he is currently
President of Motion Picture Music. Today, Randy’s kids
Brandon and Alex are involved in music as well.
“At one point or another, everyone in the family has
been involved in radio, TV and theater in one way or
another. They all grew up in it. We’ve all enjoyed it.
That’s what is important.”
“Do what you love, practice it well, and share it with others.”
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
june/july 2019
gmhtoday.com