WILL Charette, Account Executive, On-Air Staff, and Sales Manager for several large market Radio Stations. Creative sales representative promotions, wrote the copy, produced commercials for Direct Business, Feature Programs, News, Sports and Weather...AND also handled a large number of Ad Agency clients local, regional and national.
KXOA AM Sacramento, California Top 40
KXOA FM Sacramento, California C&W
KRAK AM Sacramento, California C&W
KKUA AM Honolulu, Hawaii Top 40
KGU AM Honolulu, Hawaii MOR
KNDE AM Sacramento, California Top 40
KSJO FM San Jose, California U/Gnd
KOVA FM Ojai, California MOR/Classical
Will was mentored by some of the finest broadcasters in the history of Radio. Lou Stratton, Jay Barrington, Les Thompson, Jerry Gordon, Bill Whitman, John McRae, Manning Slater, "Joc" Fernhead, Dick Clark, Lou Waters, Al Michaels, Chuck Leahey, Don Metzger, Jim Hawthorne, Bill Baist, Ron Cooper, Jack Thayer, Jim Hilsabeck, Mike Thomas, Jim Barker, Herb Rossin and more.
While performing in a play at the Jayrob Playhouse in Sacramento, California, Charlie Holliday of KXOA Am and FM, introduced Will to Lou Stratton the GM. He was offered a 50% cut in guaranteed salary, no accounts and no ad agency business to start his career. Will said YES! and the first day on the job went out and signed a new sponsor. Six months later he was offered a job at KRAK AM the number one C&W station in Northern California with a great account list, ad agency list, and a 50% increase in guaranteed income. Manning Slater offered to send him to KKUA AM in Honolulu. Slater made an offer that Will could not refuse. Promoted to Sales Manager at KKUA AM, he created a partnership promotion with Herb Rossin of the Curtis Publishing Company of Philadelphia which resulted in a huge windfall of revenue for KKUA. Subsequently, he was offered a position in sales at KGU AM in Honolulu. KGU AM was historically a Golden Age of Radio Station in broadcasting. During a 3 year stint at KGU76 Sportsradio he worked on Sports Staff with Al Michaels (Now ABC Sports) and Chuck Leahy (KGU Sportscaster) to broadcast 96 Honolulu High School Football Games, 16 University of Hawaii Football Games, and 2 Hula Bowl Games. He created "The Checkered Flag Radio Program" and was the voice of Hawaii Pacific NHRA Drag Racing from Hawaii Pacific Sports Park.
When he Returned to the Mainland, Will worked for a brief stint with one of the most positive and charismatic Broadcast Managers in the history of Radio, Jack Thayer. Jack took Don Imus to WOR in New York City...Then Jack became President of NBC Radio. With Jack Thayer, Will brought the Aquarian Effort proposal to light in Sacramento and along with the music of Jesse Colin Young "...Come on people...Love One Another Right Now...." as a theme...The Aquarian Effort project was funded and became a successful social medical program in main stream Sacramento, California. KNDE purchased the station and transferred Will to KSJO-FM in San Jose, California. He worked with Jim Hilsabeck to create "The Cosmic Medium" Agency and produced other events in The Bay Area.
Years later at KOVA FM in Ojai, California, as an Account Executive and weekend On-Air Staff 6pm-Midnight Saturday and Sunday [whoopee], Will did the "rip & read" hourly California Updates. (Thank God the janitor had the broom!). It was at KOVA FM he created his biggest challenge. After convincing 32 out of 36 Merchants to participate in the Ojai Valley Merchant's Association Package, creating a "Generic Jingle" with the music of Maynard Ferguson for the Association, he wrote and produced 32 INDIVIDUALLY CUSTOM TAILORED Thirty Second Commercials. [OUCH] The "Package" was finally approved 24 hours before "Air-Time"...Each Individual Commercial copy had to be Re-written, approved and produced to go "On-The-Air" in less than 24 hours...We made it happen through a collaboration that included EVERYONE (including the janitor) at the Radio Station. I still have copies of the Jingle and the individual commercials." And the janitor is still riding the broom!
Mr. Will has sold and produced hundreds of Professional Voice Over spots yielding hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales for his clients!
ADDITIONALLY:
He has worked successfully with Dick Clark Productions of Burbank, California and Co-Produced Concerts at The Baldwin Memorial Auditorium in Honolulu including: "The Doors," "The Beach Boys," "Mitch Ryder," "Paul Revere and The Raiders," "Blue Cheer," "Bobbie Gentry," "Strawberry Alarm Clock," "Ravi Shankar,"The Silver Bike," and "Love Special Delivery," PLUS others on the mainland including The Birds, Love, HP Lovecraft, Bonnie Delaney and Friends, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Jefferson Starship, The Grateful Dead, Leon Russell, Maria Muldaur, Iasos, Mimi Farina and many more.
He also worked with his friend Actor Richard Boone to produce benefits for Mr. Boone's Hawaii Committee on Alcoholism produced by Ted Scott (Hawaiian Ad Agency) and Donn Tyler (Commercial Recording Hawaii). He produced successful benefits for the March of Dimes on Islands of Kauaii and Maui.
Member of AFTRA and the SAG, Will has appeared in many Local, Regional and National Television Commercials:
SIMMONS HIDE-A-BED
HYUNDAI AUTOMOBILE
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET
VERALUX EYEGLASSES
MACY'S*
ISUZU AUTOMOBILE
This is a sampling of TV Commercials that Will has appeared in. He is usually cast as the "Blue-Collar Guy". He stated that Ann Brebner of San Francisco pointed me in this direction: "It's not WHO you are, but rather who you LOOK LIKE!" She was his First San Francisco SAG/AFTRA Franchised Agent. I will always be grateful for her professional counseling and assistance.
*(MACY'S) One of which won FIRST place in The First AMERICAN SCENE AWARDS competition in San Francisco and Nationally. Directed by Steve Coddington. He hired me on the spot at my audition because I wore EXACTLY what I was wearing in my head shot submitted by my agent (Craig Jones)...I had a San Francisco Yellow Cab parked out in front and READY to go! BELIEVE IT OR NOT while On Location he directed me to drive straight on toward the camera crew (including himself) and make a left turn on his cue. "How fast do you want me to go?" I asked him, on the walkie-talkie. "As fast as you can go!"..."Make the turn in front of us!" He replied. "OK," I gulped. HEY we all lived! TRUST was the key that made this spot the BEST in the country...AND the Actors all looked the part of the American scene we represented. Thanks Steve!
willactsag@webtv.net
Las Vegas, Nevada
United States