It was an “open line” Saturday as the community paid tribute to the late Walt Bodine. At a ceremony at the Unity Temple on the Plaza, former producer Kristen Van Voorst invited friends and listeners to step up to the microphone and share their memories.
Friends and audience members celebrated the life of journalist and talk show host Walt Bodine Saturday.
Bodine, born in 1920, lived most of his life in Midtown Kansas City. At the tribute, family and friends recalled his early years when he lived near Linwood and Troost and attended Westport High School.
Bodine worked broadcasting in both radio and television as a news anchor, host and news director. In 1965, he began hosting the popular Night Beat call-in program on WHB. After stints at other stations, Bodine joined Kansas City’s public radio station, KCUR, in 1983 and remained there until he retired in 2012.
Bodine died March 24.
Who’s talking