Adoption & Fostering · Life in General · The River Series

Who is Ben Hunter? Discovering the inspiration for Nate Hawthorn

rmsniderthewriter

So, if you’ve read all four books in The River Series, you know who Nate Hawthorn is. If you haven’t read the books then, take heart — this is not a spoiler alert of, perhaps, the biggest twist in the entire series.

So, who is Nate Hawthorn? In short, he’s a fictional overnight radio host. But I won’t say more than that.

Now, long before I’d ever discovered Ben Hunter, I knew Nate would have to work in radio in some form or fashion. But as soon as I first read about Ben, I knew that this maverick needed to be a part of my story.

Problem was, Ben would’ve only been nine years old when Nate made his radio debut in 1929. (Ben didn’t begin hosting overnight radio until 1949.) To solve this space time continuum riddle, I simply modeled Nate after Ben.

So, who is Ben Hunter?

Though you might’ve never heard of him, Ben Hunter was the guy who changed the public perspective of overnight radio (and radio hosts as a whole). Before him, there were other overnight radio hosts, but none of them did what Ben did.

He spoke into the mic.

While this may seem like an absurd tidbit to bring to light, for overnight radio hosts in Ben’s day, this was monumental. Most laid down to slumber (literally) while their “engineer” changed the records all night.

But not Ben. Not only did he speak into the mic, but he invited his listeners to call in — and he invented a system for putting them live on the air, which had never been done before.

Put some bozo caller live on the air? You must be crazy!

Yep, Ben was crazy.

He almost got fired for it, too. But by the time his bosses were informed third-hand (I guess they never stayed up late enough to listen to his show) that he was putting callers on air live, Ben had already gained a cult following, including well-known celebrities of the day like Judy Garland and Elizabeth Taylor.

There was no stopping this sensation at that point, and it was green lights for Ben to run his show as he pleased.

Ben’s “Night Owl” show was so popular that his fans developed their own support group called the “Night Owl Club”. They met once a month (in the daytime, usually on a Saturday). Planning this was quite a feat considering this was long before the days of social media, texting, cell phones or email. How all those random fans found each other, I’ll never know. But they did. And so did their beloved radio host. To his fans’s delight, Ben occasionally made a guest appearance.

Ben was a likeable guy, too. He listened to the people who called in, and he conversed with them in a natural and entertaining way. He gave his listeners a reason to turn their radios up when the song ended. Ben’s callers, who listened faithfully night after night, felt connected to both their radio host and each other. No longer were they alone in the darkness.

During Ben’s tenure at KFI Los Angeles, overnight radio ads appeared for the first time. This had never been done before because the assumption had always been, “No one’s listening anyway.” What a shock to discover nighttime listeners were as much or more engaged than their daytime counterparts!

Ben Hunter’s Night Owl show ran for about 11 years, but his legacy continues on even today. After he shifted to hosting television shows, Ben once again found a way to do something that had never been done. On his “Ben Hunter Movie Matinee”, he featured orphans who were available for adoption. His compassion and spotlight on the issue helped remove stigmas and pave the way for others to use broadcasting as a means of promoting adoption.

Ben also became an author. In his book, The Baja Feeling, Ben recounted (with humor) what life was like for he and his wife Marge, traveling throughout Mexico, letting that ‘Baja feeling’ guide their journey, and searching for the perfect location to build their retirement house. One of their biggest lessons during their home build was learning that Mañana doesn’t mean tomorrow — it just means “not today”. (You can read the story of modern fans who set out on their own adventure to find Ben’s home here.)

If you have memories of Ben, I’d love to read them in the comments below!

24 thoughts on “Who is Ben Hunter? Discovering the inspiration for Nate Hawthorn”

  1. Have you heard any stories or information about Ben Hunter? I’m trying to find out more about this man, he is my biological grandfather and died one year before I was born. Thank you for any insight you may have 🙂

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    1. Hi, Kris! It’s an honor to hear from you! Basically everything I know about Ben Hunter came from searching the internet. I would guess you know more about him than I do- but he was such an inspiration for my character, Nate Hawthorn. As I’m sure you would, I would’ve liked to have met him. I hope your searching yields the info you’re looking for and fills in gaps for you. Many blessings, R.M.

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    3. hi kris, My mom is martha hunter Bens sister, i run a facebook page for us called Hunter cousins, so feel free to join that. this is such a nice article i only knew “uncle” ben a little he passed away when i was in high school. My mom would tell such amazing stories about him… my favorite is he was “forced” to go law school at Stanford. He hated it and left right away saying best day of his life was throwing the law books out the window of the train on his way home.. laura sarkissian boyd

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      1. Laura, thank you for sharing! I’m in the middle of reading his book The Baja Feeling, and after getting a sense of his carefree nature, I can just picture him tossing those law books out the window. Haha!

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      4. Laura, I just want you to know that I read your mother’s book. It was so beautifully raw and vivid, a cathartic testimony of her happy/sad/traumatic/brave life. Thank you for suggesting it. I’ve given it to my mother to read as well. Ironically I read Living on a Fault at the same time I was reading through The Baja Feeling. The two had such different vibes, but complemented each other in an ethereal way—reading the two in tandem was such a glimpse into their souls and how they dealt with issues that arose. Your mother dove head first into new challenges, swimming through them (sometimes sinking), hoping she would reach the other side—and she did, a braver and stronger woman. Ben’s lighthearted account was never serious (and every story ended happily), yet he embraced new people and circumstances with a wonderful childlike curiosity. I can see why they were so close growing up.

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    4. I lived next door to Margie and Ben in the San Fernando valley for many years, enjoyed their backyard pool and their casa in Mexico!

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      2. Oh that’s so cool! I’m sure you have amazing stories to tell! What are your parents’ names? I just loaned out my copy of The Baja Feeling but I’ll look for your parents when I get it back.

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  2. I worked at K.F.I. and knew Ben Hunter well….I can tell you about his show, how he engaged with personalities and those who worked on the Night Owl Show. E- mail me and I’ll provide a phone #. I don’t do Face Book or Twitter. Thanks Janeen.

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  3. I met your Grandfather when I was 9 1/2 yrs old, ..I was an orphan and he featured us on his TV show as children looking for a home….he took me to Busch Gardens after ..to this day I will never forget his compassion
    and care…..

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    2. wow what a great memory, to this day there is a Ben Hunter form for adoptions in califonia.. (im Bens niece ). i understand that one of his camera men adopted many of the kids like 6 or more!! Ben committed himself to emptying orphanages of los angeles. laura

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  4. Laura, I just want you to know that I read your mother’s book. It was so beautifully raw and vivid, a cathartic testimony of her happy/sad/traumatic/brave life. Thank you for suggesting it. I’ve given it to my mother to read as well. Ironically I read Living on a Fault at the same time I was reading through The Baja Feeling. The two had such different vibes, but complemented each other in an ethereal way—reading the two in tandem was such a glimpse into their souls and how they dealt with issues that arose. Your mother dove head first into new challenges, swimming through them (sometimes sinking), hoping she would reach the other side—and she did, a braver and stronger woman. Ben’s lighthearted account was never serious (and every story ended happily), yet he embraced new people and circumstances with a wonderful childlike curiosity. I can see why they were so close growing up.

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  5. I remember as a little boy in LA, staying overnight with my beloved grandmother in her trailer. She would pu her little radio next to her ear in her bed so as not to disturb me as a slept next to her. As i went to sleep i would hear the nightowl show. I remember once Ben was organizing an ocean cruise for all his nightowlers. My grandmother didn’t go on any such activities but i bet she wanted to. She loved that show all alone in her trailer in the late night hours.

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    1. I savor responses like this — they’re such a testimony to the unique and captivating presence of Ben Hunter, the radio jockey, television host, traveler, and friend. Thank you for sharing!

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  6. I used to watch Ben Hunter’s Morning Matinee on KTTV channel 11 when I was a kid in the sixties. It seems to me it started at 9:00 am and ran until 11:00 am. Then Sherriff John would come on. Such great memories. Life on Earth seemed a lot better back then.

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