Al Hart was born in Minneapolis, MN and attended the University of Minnesota, launching his radio career in Rhinelander, WI. At a later gig in Shreveport, LA he became known as “Your pal Al, the guy with a Hart”.
Hart had a side gig: he sang. He recorded a few singles for Mercury Records but radio paid the bills. As Hart told a newspaper interviewer in 1964, “You see, I like to eat.”
In 1960, Hart had arrived in San Francisco to become program director of KABL. He was part of planning the offbeat promotional stunts that kept the “beautiful music” station in the news.
In 1965, Hart shifted to KNBR, where he served as program director and read newscasts. A year later, he became KCBS legend Dave McElhatton’s morning show producer and sidekick. Hart played characters such as Larry Fatooker, coach of a Milpitas sports team, and the Mystery Troubadour, who sang the headlines.
When KCBS switched to the all-news format in 1968, Hart became a news editor and then afternoon co-anchor. McElhatton’s departure for television in 1975 opened the morning anchor slot, which Hart held for many of the next 25 years.
He left KCBS in 2000 to care for his wife Sally, who was diagnosed with ALS. Hart would eventually return once a week to join the KCBS morning team for the John Madden segment, finally signing off for the last time in 2009.
Al Hart died in 2016 at age 88.