Clint Formby

John Clinton Formby, known as Clint Formby (born December 22, 1923), is a veteran radio broadcaster called the "Old Philosopher" based in the small city of Hereford, Texas, the seat of Deaf Smith County in the Texas Panhandle. His daily broadcast has run continuously on his KPAN AM & FM country-music station since October 10, 1955. Now reduced to five minutes in length, Formby's commentary is the oldest continuously-running broadcast by a single host in radio history.

Early life and education

Formby was born in McAdoo in Dickens County, also in West Texas, to John C. Formby (1902-1989), a Rural Free Delivery carrier, and the former Willie Elsby (1903-1994).John and Willie married in 1922, and Clint was their only child. Clint Formby was the paternal grandson of Marshall Clinton Formby, Sr. (1877-1957) and the former Rosa Mae Freeman (1882-1971).After completing public schools in Dickens County, Formby graduated from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where he met and married the school beauty queen, the former Margaret Clark (July 12, 1929–April 10, 2003). Margaret, who was reared on a ranch, founded the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, first in Hereford and later in Fort Worth.

Formby was a nephew of Democratic State Senator and state highway commissioner Marshall Formby (1911-1984). He is a cousin of sitting Senator Robert L. Duncan, a Lubbock Republican. Clint Formby practically grew up with Duncan's mother, Mae Robena Duncan (1921-2009), his aunt who was only two years Formby's senior.

Career in radio

Formby began working at his Uncle Marshall’s radio station for $47.50 per week immediately after he graduated from Texas Tech. He became a partner in the station and eventually bought out his uncle. His persistent broadcasts, called "predictably unpredictable," can touch on nearly any subject. He has urged listeners to tip waiters and waitresses more generously. He refuses to reveal his political party preference, advising viewers that they should be able to tell his inclination from his commentaries.Once Vice President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson contacted Formby to advise him that he would like to hear Formby speak at the First Baptist Church of Hereford, filling in for the absent pastor, but Johnson was unsure if his plane could land in the small Hereford airport. About this time, Marshall Formby, the state highway commissioner, was seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination against Johnson’s presumed favorite and eventual winner, John B. Connally, Jr.

In one broadcast, Clint Formby advocated dropping trade restrictions with Communist Cuba on the grounds that the Fidel Castro government is the only communist regime that has yet to kill an American citizen. On another occasion, he scolded Hereford residents for parking their vehicles in their front yards. A widower, Formby each week advises his married male listeners to kiss their wives goodnight. KPAN calls itself the "only radio station in the world that gives a hoot about Hereford, Texas." Local sports are carried live on the Internet by KPAN. Otherwise, listeners must connect through regular AM or FM radio.

As of 2009, Formby's Monday-Saturday program is in its 59th year on the air. Officially known as the "Day-By-Day Philosopher", the program ran for fifteen minutes from 7:45 to 8 a.m. for the first ten years and during the peak of radio drive time. In later years, Formby reduced the time to five minutes, saying that listeners now have too short of an attention span to justify a longer broadcast. It is the longest-running daily radio broadcast by an individual in America. "The Old Philosopher", as he is usually known, was featured on NBC's The Today Show on December 29, 2007.Formby claims to have not missed a broadcast in more than 16,000 consecutive mornings.His "Most Beautiful Alley" contest raised $89,000 in scholarship money for students attending the Hereford campus of the two-year Amarillo College in Amarillo.

The marriage of Clint and Margaret Formby produced four children, Larry C. "Chip" Formby (born 1953), who works with his father at the station, along with Chip's two sons, Jonathan and Lane Formby. The other children are Brenda Formby, Marshall Clark Formby of Lubbock, and Scott C. Formby (born 1961) of Manhattan, New York City.

In 1984, Formby was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Texas Broadcasters Association.Governor George W. Bush named Formby to the board of the Texas Telecommunication Infrastructure Fund. In addition to KPAN, Formby’s other radio stations include KSAM/KHUN in Huntsville, Texas, and KTEM in Temple, Texas.. Formby is a former board member of Broadcast Music, Inc.