It was for the 1964 Dublin High School Yearbook, that two pictures were taken of Ron Chapman known at that time as Irving Harrigan. He made the long journey to Dublin on that winter evening for the school Junior - Senior Prom. At that time he was he was one of the top DJs working for KLIF, the 50,000 watt blow torch station in Dallas. Irving Harrigan was the on-air name he was given as he worked there. Students from that long ago time tell me he worked the midafternoon shift. When kids got out of school, they hopped in their cars, turned on the radio and there was Irving Harrigan, playing their favorite hits. Since KLIF was THE station to listen to at that time, students asked if Mr Harrigan could come to the Dublin prom to DJ and play records. He was gracious enough to say yes. That was a big deal since he had movie star status to the students in a town such as Dublin. At a book signing years later, he related how he had a Ford Falcon car that he would drive to proms and other venues where he could pick up a few bucks, play a few records and increase his on air personality.
As time changed and radio changed, he left KLIF, and because the radio station owned the on-air talent name, he was asked not to use Irving Harrigan after that. By that time he was also working for WFAA-TV and hosting “The Group and Harrigan” show. He said at that point that it seemed like a good idea to use his real name of Ron Chapman. WFAA-TV alumni know the rest of the story. The Group and Harrigan show that aired at 9:30 on Sunday evenings changed to The Group and Chapman.
The show was an interesting experiment in local television. College students would come to Channel 8 and sing along with popular songs on camera. This early MTV type of show must have had enough ratings, because the show stayed on the air for several years. This took place in the era of television history when video tape machines were as big as a small car and a reel of tape must have weighed 50 pounds. WFAA was a talent factory for this new medium called color television. The ideas and images created by the young talent that WFAA attracted created a new standard for local television. Later, Chapman would also host an afternoon dance show called Sump’n Else. Bud Buschardt later wrote a book about the show and all the personalities who starred in it.