Bob Liddle a true friend to radio listeners

He met Elvis, and Ricky Skaggs, and talked the Northwest through some pretty big moments — President Truman's election, the Kennedy assassination, the Seattle earthquake of 1965.

But Bob Liddle would be the first to admit: It wasn't about him. Mr. Liddle always focused on his audience.

Mr. Liddle, who spent much of his nearly 60-year radio career announcing, spinning big-band records, hosting easy-listening shows and reading the news on Seattle's KIXI-AM 880, died Wednesday, May 19, of natural causes after suffering from dementia. He was 88.

Mr. Liddle is perhaps best known for his years hosting KIXI's "Sunday Brunch." But in his long career he also worked as the station's program director and often hosted New Year's Eve "Tuxedo Junction" celebrations at the downtown Seattle Westin Hotel.

"Bob was a true gentleman, possessed of a quiet dignity," one station host said during a recent on-air salute. "His passing is the loss of a genuine radio friend, and that kind of personality, sadly, is becoming more and more scarce."

Mr. Liddle found his life's calling almost by accident. He was born in Iowa and was a boxer in the military during World War II. Eventually, he wound up in Spokane, where he attended Gonzaga University.

He was acting in local theater and had met the woman he wanted to marry, but she wanted to know how he was going to make a living. Friends suggested radio.

"They all told him he had the perfect voice," his son, Tim Liddle said. "He had this clear, precise baritone."

The elder Liddle had an idea he'd attend broadcast school. He visited with the staff at a Spokane station in 1946 looking for advice. Instead, they hired him.

He stuck around for a while spinning country records until moving to Portland in the mid-1950s, where he worked at a station that had visits from all the big names, like Presley and Ricky Skaggs.

But Mr. Liddle was a 1940s guy. He liked Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra, Cole Porter and Judy Garland. He wanted to get back to a place that played the tunes he loved.

He was offered a job at KIXI in 1961. It fit.

"He liked public speaking, though he was a little shy in person," his son said. "But on air, he just came alive. He loved communicating with an audience through the microphone."

KIXI would remain his home until he officially retired in 2001 at age 80. Even then, he couldn't give radio up — at least not entirely. KIXI kept him on part time as a host until 2006.

During his signoff on his last show in 2006, Mr. Liddle offered the following farewell:

"So long. I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places, and we'll meet somewhere along the line."

Besides son Tim, of Snohomish, Mr. Liddle is survived by his wife of 64 years, Betty Liddle, of Bellevue, and daughters Lory Huck, of Olalla; Nancy Rasmussen, of Kenmore; Sheila Metz, of Kent; and Jan Philips, of Kent; and six grandchildren. The family is planning a private memorial in June and asks that any remembrances be sent to Mr. Liddle's care facility, Cascade Vista, 7900 Willows Road N.E., Redmond, WA 98052.

Craig Welch: 206-464-2093 or cwelch@seattletimes.com