My Mentor

It's hard to remember back to your 20s and 30s when you're in your 70s!

Events are fuzzy, details are obscure and reconstruction is frustrating.

However, I will never forget George Cooper, who had one of the smoothest voices I have ever heard in radio.

Additionally, Coop was a genuinely nice guy–a rare quality in the radio business.

Not only was "Super" Cooper my mentor, but he also was to others who worked at KONO.

While still stationed at Lackland AFB, I remember introducing myself as a struggling “propeller head” anxious to learn from the best. George would invite me into the KONO building, and I’d sit at the control room door listening to that smooth delivery and observing his every move.

After Doug China hired me on April 15, 1961, he soon learned that Cooper's influence had produced a clone! I was emulating his voice and mannerisms so much that Doug China threatened to fire me if I didn't modify my presentation.

Doug’s threat provided the motivation I needed to develop my high-energy style, which served me well for the rest of my radio career.

Skinny Don Green

George "Super" Cooper

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