- He is regarded at the inventor of top-40 radio in America, and a pioneer in the all-news format, the easy listening format, and live broadcasting of baseball and other sporting events on the radio.
- Based in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas, Gordon, with his father, owned and operated several movie theaters (especially drive-ins) throughout Texas, and the Liberty Broadcast network of radio stations throughout the country, including KLIF in Dallas, KABL in San Francisco, XTRA in Baja California, and a station in Pembina, North Dakota that broadcast over the Winnipeg, Canada area.
- In the early 1950s, he founded the now defunct Liberty Radio Network. Based in Dallas, Texas, it was built around Gordon (The Old Scotchman)doing play-by-play recreations of major league baseball games. His "color" man was Lindsay Nelson.
- Mr. McLendon's second wife, Susan Stafford, was the original letter-turner on Wheel of Fortune (1975), before leaving the show to be replaced by Vanna White.
- Gordon McLendon was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1994.
- The very low budget 1968 TV movie, Hell Raiders (1969), directed by Larry Buchanan & starring John Agar, was shot on McLendon's Texas ranch.
- During World War II, he served as a Japanese Language Officer in intelligence for the US Navy from 1943-45.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content