Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

A Star for Shotgun

Shotgun feels validated by his Walk of Fame star.
Shotgun feels validated by his Walk of Fame star.

“Thirty thousand dollars.” It’s Shotgun Tom Kelly on the phone from his L.A. apartment to talk about the star he will be getting next year on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “That’s what they cost. And then it costs another $500 a year to keep it maintained.”

While the bulk of Shotgun’s radio career was spent in San Diego, for the past 15 years he’s anchored the afternoon-drive slot at K-EARTH 101 in Los Angeles. Are they putting up the cash for the star? No, he says, “I have a sponsor.” He’d rather not say who it is just yet. “We’re working out the details.”

Next year, when the bronze emblem is set in concrete, Kelly (he’d rather not divulge his real name) will have joined a short list of K-EARTH jocks, including Charlie Tuna, Robert W. Morgan, and the Real Don Steele, who got stars as well. “But let’s approach this from a San Diego angle. Raquel Welch got a star, and so did Regis Philbin (he started at channel 10), Art Linkletter (KGB radio), B-100 jock Ellen K., and Marion Ross,” otherwise known as Mrs. Cunningham on the ’70s TV series Happy Days. Is Kelly excited?

Sponsored
Sponsored

“I’m thrilled. Are you kidding me? I feel really good because my predecessors at K-EARTH all have stars.”

A graduate of Mt. Miguel High School in Spring Valley, Shotgun Tom, 62, was born at Mercy Hospital. He comes home on the weekends to Fletcher Hills, where he has lived for decades. Here, he worked for KCBQ, KGB, K Best, and KFMB. In the day, he made a loud exhortation between records (brrrrreeeeeeeeahhhhh!), and he wore a Smokey Bear ranger hat. He still does. “I get them from a place in San Diego called Ace Uniforms.”

Shotgun Tom also hosted an Emmy Award–winning children’s show at KGTV/Channel 10 called Words-A-Poppin’ and another at KUSI TV, a show that ran for 12 years called Kids Club. He says the application for the star was filed two years ago and that he was denied twice before winning. What will the honor mean for his career?

“It validates everything I’ve done in radio in San Diego and in L.A. And that I’m happy for. As you know, these gigs aren’t forever. One day this one will go away, too. I don’t know when, but when it does, there will be a star on Hollywood Boulevard with my name on it.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tuétano and Mujer Divina: two storefronts, one famous birria

Burritos and coffee or tacos and tortas, marrow or not
Shotgun feels validated by his Walk of Fame star.
Shotgun feels validated by his Walk of Fame star.

“Thirty thousand dollars.” It’s Shotgun Tom Kelly on the phone from his L.A. apartment to talk about the star he will be getting next year on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “That’s what they cost. And then it costs another $500 a year to keep it maintained.”

While the bulk of Shotgun’s radio career was spent in San Diego, for the past 15 years he’s anchored the afternoon-drive slot at K-EARTH 101 in Los Angeles. Are they putting up the cash for the star? No, he says, “I have a sponsor.” He’d rather not say who it is just yet. “We’re working out the details.”

Next year, when the bronze emblem is set in concrete, Kelly (he’d rather not divulge his real name) will have joined a short list of K-EARTH jocks, including Charlie Tuna, Robert W. Morgan, and the Real Don Steele, who got stars as well. “But let’s approach this from a San Diego angle. Raquel Welch got a star, and so did Regis Philbin (he started at channel 10), Art Linkletter (KGB radio), B-100 jock Ellen K., and Marion Ross,” otherwise known as Mrs. Cunningham on the ’70s TV series Happy Days. Is Kelly excited?

Sponsored
Sponsored

“I’m thrilled. Are you kidding me? I feel really good because my predecessors at K-EARTH all have stars.”

A graduate of Mt. Miguel High School in Spring Valley, Shotgun Tom, 62, was born at Mercy Hospital. He comes home on the weekends to Fletcher Hills, where he has lived for decades. Here, he worked for KCBQ, KGB, K Best, and KFMB. In the day, he made a loud exhortation between records (brrrrreeeeeeeeahhhhh!), and he wore a Smokey Bear ranger hat. He still does. “I get them from a place in San Diego called Ace Uniforms.”

Shotgun Tom also hosted an Emmy Award–winning children’s show at KGTV/Channel 10 called Words-A-Poppin’ and another at KUSI TV, a show that ran for 12 years called Kids Club. He says the application for the star was filed two years ago and that he was denied twice before winning. What will the honor mean for his career?

“It validates everything I’ve done in radio in San Diego and in L.A. And that I’m happy for. As you know, these gigs aren’t forever. One day this one will go away, too. I don’t know when, but when it does, there will be a star on Hollywood Boulevard with my name on it.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Yellowtail show off La Jolla, Big tuna south

Spiny lobster doing well
Next Article

How Much Time Do I Get With My BetterHelp Therapist?

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader