Radio's 'Shotgun Tom' Kelly Receives Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

KRTH-FM (101.1) afternoon host "Shotgun Tom" Kelly received the 2,496th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Tuesday in connection with his 40th anniversary in radio.

Singer Stevie Wonder, a longtime friend, and KRTH program director Jhani Kaye joined Kelly in speaking at the 11:30 a.m. ceremony near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.

The star is next to the one honoring the late Real Don Steele, a previous afternoon host on KRTH.

"Just look around you," Kelly told the crowd. "You've got Cary Grant. You've got Marilyn Monroe. You've got Stevie Wonder's star just down the street here. You've got Tom Jones, you've got Carlos Santana. I mean, how about K.C. and the Sunshine Band? They're even here. So it's great to be in this good company."

When Kelly was 10 years old, his mother told him a disc jockey was broadcasting from a shopping center, interviewing people, and that he should go there and see if he would put him on the air. Kelly went there and was interviewed, prompting him to build a mock radio station in his bedroom, with two record players and a microphone.

Kelly then visited radio stations to watch disc jockeys do their shows. When he was 13, Sonny Jim Price, a disc jockey and program director, called him into his office to ask his opinion of a new song he was going to add to the playlist, "California Dreamin'" by the Mamas and the Papas. Kelly said he liked the song, Price asked him if he would like to work at the station, an offer Kelly quickly accepted.

Kelly has been the afternoon host at KRTH since 1997 after working at a series of stations in his native San Diego and KFRC in San Francisco.

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