During my formative years, Murphy Martin had a major influence on me. I looked up to him as I might have to an older brother. Murphy was a distant cousin. We both were born in Groveton, a small, relatively insignificant saw-mill town in east Texas.
For a few years, my daddy (Alton Thompson) sang in a couple of gospel quartets on the local radio stations in Lufkin. If the buildings still stand, you're likely to find my "nose-print" permanently embedded in the multi-panel studio sound-proof glass. Much of that "nose-time" was watching Murphy Martin at the controls of radio station KTRE in Lufkin -- learning, soaking up every nuance, every motion, every word.
A while later, in junior high school, my friend Larry Bills somehow finagled a weekly radio program, oriented toward our school mates, and invited me to be his assistant host. Larry moved on, and I kept the program going in various guises through most of my junior year. When I began to "solo", Murphy Martin was the one who took me into the Control Room, sat me in the "Air Chair" and taught me how to operate all the mysterious controls and spin records. Gave me some pointers on reading the news.
I did not realize at the time what profound effects this kind, simple instruction would have on the rest of my life.
Fast forward to about 10 years later. Murphy is assigned by WFAA-TV in Dallas, to covering the Billy Sol Estes scandals during the Lyndon Johnson administration. I was then in the news department of WFTV, Channel 9 in Orlando. Before long, Murphy had been moved by ABC to New York, where he became the iconic "anchor" of their prime-time evening news. "Murphy Martin and The News" became one of the highest rated network news shows of the mid-sixties era.
During his stint, he arranged for me to meet Tom O'Brien, at the time, News Director of ABC Radio News, and a friend of Murphy's.
O'Brien subsequently invited me to New York, where he offered me my "dream job", Science Editor / Reporter for ABC radio.
For a number of reasons, I never took the job, but both started and reached the pinnacle of my profession through the care and tutelage of Murphy Martin.
And now.... he is gone. If there is such a position in the life to come, he's reporting on current events from his "Front Row Seat".
Farewell, old friend. See you again!! That's my time. Thank you so much for yours.
