Maurie Webster, radio veteran, dies at 85

Maurie Webster, 85, veteran CBS radio executive, one-time executive director of the New York Market Radio Broadcasters Association (NYMRAD), and past president of the International Radio and Television Society, died June 20 at St. Lukes Hospital, Newburgh,, N.Y., after suffering injuries in a fall.

Born in Gibbon, Neb., in 1916, Webster, then 16, began his broadcasting career in 1932 as an announcer for KVI(AM) Tacoma, Wash. He joined KNX(AM) Los Angeles in 1937, shortly after it was bought by CBS. He was 21 and was featured in Broadcasting & Cable (then Broadcasting magazine) as one of the three youngest network radio announcers in the country.

His rise at CBS was steady and ranged from sales to programming to management. He was named GM of KCBS-AM-FM San Francisco in 1958 and, in 1961, became VP and general manager of CBS Spot Sales. He was named VP, division, services, in 1969, leaving in 1973 to join computer billing-analysis firm, Compu/Net.

He left that post in 1975 to start his own consulting company and joined NYMRAD, where he served from 1976 to 1990. Along with daughter, Susan, and son, Scott, Webster also founded research firm The Center for Radio Information in Cold Spring, N.Y.

Funeral Services are scheduled for Monday, June 25, 10 a.m., at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Cold Spring. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to glaucoma research. Webster suffered from the disease.

He is surved by his daughter, Susan Rebentisch; son, Scott; and brother, Gene, of Studio City, Calif. - John Eggerton