Isabel Holt

Original host, Morning Becomes Eclectic

Shortly after Ruth became general manager at KCRW she invited me to a production of La Boheme at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The Argentine tenor, Luis Lima, sang Rodolfo. It was for me a revelatory introduction into the world of opera—I have never forgotten it. 

Ruth saw the possibilities of that little station on the campus of John Adams Junior High School (at the time) and began to entirely revamp the daily schedule. 

She encouraged talented program producers such as René Engel, Mara Zhelutka, Roger Steffens, Alan Geik, Sandy Jules, Bo Liebowitz, Will Thornbury, Deirdre O’Donoghue, Joe Frank and gave us a free hand. 

Meanwhile she was working to build a state-of-the-art facility at Santa Monica College. We had a performance studio with a grand piano; our chief engineer was John Huntley; and KCRW became part of National Public Radio—all due to Ruth’s vision.