KGO ends ‘Ronn Owens Show’ after 42 years, but host has new gig

Ronn Owens sees his new talk show, which will air weekdays at 12:50 p.m. on KGO-AM, as “a 2018 version of Paul Harvey and Andy Rooney.” Ronn Owens sees his new talk show, which will air weekdays at 12:50 p.m. on KGO-AM, as “a 2018 version of Paul Harvey and Andy Rooney.” Photo: Craig Hudson, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Craig Hudson, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close KGO ends ‘Ronn Owens Show’ after 42 years, but host has new gig 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Ronn Owens has had three presidents and local, national and international celebrities sitting across the desk from him, and taken listeners’ calls for 42 years as the top talk show host on KGO-AM radio. As of Monday, “The Ronn Owens Show” has ended, making way for the debut of “The Ronn Owens Report” the next day.

Owens delivered the news himself Friday at the end of his last show, prompting a steady stream of shocked colleagues, many in tears, as he left the Ronn Owens Studio after his engineer played Earth, Wind & Fire’s “That’s the Way of the World.”

The new, 10-minute show, premiering Tuesday, will air weekdays at 12:50 p.m. and cover whatever topics Owens finds interesting that day. A test version included commentary on President Trump’s vulgar reference to Haiti and African nations, as well as whether a work requirement should be imposed on able-bodied food stamp recipients. While Trump is a reliable source of commentary, Owens said he will work a broader playing field.

“My goal is to be a 2018 version of Paul Harvey and Andy Rooney,” he said in an interview in his KGO office after his final show.

The decision to end the talk show was made by KGO’s financially strapped owner, Cumulus Media, the nation’s second-largest radio operator. Although the company filed for bankruptcy in November, the decision on Owens’ future had to do with the fact that his most recent contract ended in December and he didn’t expect it to be renewed at the same salary level. He declined to reveal his salary, but said, “Fortunately, I’m at a point in my life where I do know where my next meal’s coming from.”

As of this week, Ethan Bearman will move to the 10 a.m. slot vacated by Owens.

Owens said the decision is a “win-win” for him and the station. “They get the credibility of still having me, and it helps me because ‘Ronn Owens KGO Radio’ gets me a better table than just ‘Ronn Owens.’”

In a more serious tone, Owens said he’s pleased with the decision because he isn’t retiring.

“I cannot stand the word,” he said. “I don’t want to hear the word. What this is for me, it’s a perfect transition to retirement.”

Owens worked radio gigs elsewhere before landing at KGO in 1975. Over the years, the station has had a variety of owners, including ABC, Capital Cities, Disney and then Citadel, which Cumulus bought in 2011. In addition to KGO, the company owns KSAN, KSFO, KNBR, KFOG, KCTC and KFFG in the Bay Area.

Asked to name his most memorable guests, Owens was at a loss for a few minutes, joking that “I can’t remember who I had on today.” (It was Rep. Eric Swalwell.)

But the show many listeners recall the most is when he interviewed Burt Reynolds, who was on a publicity tour for his memoir, “My Life,” which was published the same year he and actress Loni Anderson divorced.

It was hot news, so of course, Owens quizzed him on the divorce.

“He was uncomfortable, but he answered,” Owens recalled. After a third question about the divorce, Reynolds blew up and ask why Owens is focusing on the divorce.

“Because it’s in your book,” Owens fired back.

“He went nuts on me, and I went nuts on him,” Owens laughed, adding that the actor immediately canceled the rest of his national book tour.

This isn’t the first time Owens has faced a major career transition. In 1997, Owens agreed to broadcast from KABC in Los Angeles. At the time, Disney owned both KABC and KGO. Although he’d signed a contract for five years, the experiment didn’t work. He candidly admits the L.A. audience “hated me,” and he headed back to San Francisco.

Two years ago, Cumulus announced it would move Owens to KSFO, at the same time it laid off more than 20 staffers at KGO and KFOG. Cumulus changed its mind a month later. Owens, 72, has not only survived multiple bosses, and the diminished profile of AM radio, but major health issues as well. In 2014, he revealed first to The Chronicle and then to his listeners that he had been battling Parkinson’s since 2001. He had looked on it at first as a “death sentence,” but learned to manage the disease with medication. In 2015, he underwent a procedure called deep brain stimulation, which even further reduced the movement restrictions caused by the disease.

Owens, inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2015, holds two Marconi Awards from the National Association of Broadcasters as major market personality of the year. He is married to former news anchor and talk show host Jan Black and is the father of two adult daughters.

He’ll be at the station a few hours a day to work on the new show, but Owens said his biggest concern is what to do with his free time.

“I love what I do. I have always loved what I do,” he said.

David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle. Follow him on Facebook. Email: dwiegand@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @WaitWhat_TV