FOUNDER

Yes, there really is a Specs Howard and it’s a name that has served him well both on-air and off.

On-air, Specs enjoyed a 22-year career on Cleveland radio, and later Detroit, as one-half of the "Martin & Howard Show" throughout the 1950s and '60s.

Off the air, Specs has quite literally become an institution since he opened doors to aspiring broadcast professionals in 1970. He saw a need within the industry for practical, hands-on training and delivered it in the form of the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts.

Now thousands of grads are enjoying their own careers in radio and television. Specs Howard has become quite renowned in the broadcast industry and he isn't done yet by any means. Although he has turned operations over to his son, President/CEO Jonathan Liebman (pictured above left with VP Dick Kernen & Specs), Specs chooses to spend his golden years at the school. He arrives every day with a smile, a kind word and plenty of work yet to do.

Do you recall a significant moment that you realized the school would have such a far-reaching effect?
The school opened its doors on January 14, 1970 but it took about five to seven years for the placement department to really take root. Helping grads get their start was tricky business in a major market like Detroit so it wasn’t until we focused our efforts on making contacts outside the area that we really began making headway.

The zany morning show team -- "Martin & Howard" in 1967.

The smaller markets provided a great starting place for our grads and as they acquired experience and moved up the ladder, their vacated positions made room for more grads to enter the industry.

The moment I realized this would be a continuous process, I got my first inkling of how far it could go. Today we’ve got grads working in the industry as far away as California, Hawaii, Africa, South America, China … You name it – they’re everywhere.

After putting in 20 years at the mike, the school was in many ways a second career. Did you ever entertain thoughts of returning to radio?
You’re right, it really is a second career. But I still freelanced and did voice over work in radio and TV for many years, especially in the school’s early days.

Specs met "Sonny & Cher" in 1966.

When I started in radio in 1948, there was no such thing as a DJ. You were an "announcer" and there was a certain pomposity about it I didn’t like. I never really was that enamored with being an "announcer" but my partner, Harry Martin and I did a show in Cleveland for many years that I enjoyed. Our show was #1 in ratings but eventually our success priced us right out of the market.

New up-and-coming talent was willing to work for 25-30% of our salary so it was time to take my career in a new direction. Originally, I wanted to go into management so I looked into buying a few stations before the opportunity to establish the school came up. I never had any desire to go back on-air full-time.


I am assuming you were an instructor yourself for many years. How long did you teach at the school before becoming completely immersed in operations?
I did everything. The first classroom was smaller than my office now and I had two students, two days a week for two hours. I was a teacher for 14 years but I also swept the floors and emptied the trash every night. The night classes were our biggest classes so I’d be here as long as 10-14 hours a day. It was a necessity. I had a wife and four kids at home.


What did you learn most from your students? Did anyone ever make a particular impression on you?
From my students, I learned to be sensitive to a person’s talent because everyone has a dream they hope to bring to fruition. And it’s the students who’ve shown there’s no stopping them no matter what obstacle they’ve faced that have left the biggest impression on me.

The school is constantly evolving with new technology and growth. Everything seems to keep getting bigger. Where do you envision the school to be in another 10-20-30 years?
I wish I had a crystal ball. I don’t know about bigger, but everything is certainly more high-tech, state-of-the-art, futuristic… look at cell phones, who would’ve thought people would be walking around with them like they do. How goofy -- it’s nuts! I think we’ll experience as much growth in the next five years as we have since I got into radio 52 years ago. We certainly can’t use the last 30 years as a measuring stick.

You’ve really kept this a family affair. Obviously, most people are aware your son Jon is President at the school. In what other more subtle ways is your family involved?
It isn’t by design. The school was simply a means for putting my kids through college so they could do whatever they wanted. If my family was to come in, it was because they wanted to -- not because I intended it. For awhile I thought I might wind up selling the school but then Jon expressed an interest in it so I began preparing him to run it by having him spend considerable time in each department. In 1999, I made him President and CEO.

It's a family affiar - 1962 Specs reads to (l to r) Marty, Alisa, wife Celia, Jon and Shelli.

All four of my kids are stockholders, but the others contribute more on an as-needed basis. Marty has Media Power – the only certified Avid (digital editing) training center in Michigan – so he does any editing we may need for commercials and things like that. My daughter Shelli is a speech pathologist and she did, for awhile, help prospective students overcome speech problems. Alisa is very organized so she helps out with marketing and event planning once in awhile but her girls keep her pretty busy. And my son-in-law, Randy, has worked in education, marketing and admissions in several different capacities.


Many visitors and prospective students are amazed by how friendly and happy everyone (staff and students) here seems to be, with one in particular asking if we’re all for real. What would you attribute to such a positive environment?
Well, no one wants to work with a grouch! Therefore I hire nice people. I think the industry itself attracts happy, friendly people. After all, you can’t go on-air with sadness in your voice.

Specs gets the evil eye from none other than Sir Graves Ghastly in 1957.

What are some of the highlights in your 50-year career?
I went to work for NBC in Cleveland back in 1954. Sir Graves Ghastly, their national program director, was the person who hired me. Not long after, Bob Hope was in town to purchase Cleveland’s baseball team, the Cleveland Indians. And so it came to pass that I was sent to interview him. Now I was just a young farm boy and had no idea how I was going to do this. I said, ‘Mr. Hope, I’m afraid I’m really new at this,’ and he said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Just introduce me, kid, and I’ll take it from there.’ And that’s exactly what he did!

Barbara Streisand, however, was a tough one to interview! She was only 18 or 19 at the time and she was really, really shy. When my partner, Harry Martin, and I were on the air in Cleveland, all the stars would come in and do their bits with us when they came to town. I met a lot of people that way – Mohammed Ali, the Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry, Sonny & Cher…

Share something about yourself that would define Jerry Liebman.
Throughout my entire career, I have made a conscious decision to separate Jerry Liebman from Specs Howard. My personal life has nothing to do with Specs Howard. Our circle of friends does not include any industry people and I’m happy with it that way. I think it’s been good for my kids and my wife. Apart from the occasional question or two, we don’t talk shop. It’s a private life – there’s no showbiz involved.


Share something about yourself that would define Specs Howard.
Specs Howard is a professional side. This is what I do. My first 20 years, when I was on the air, was what it was. That was a whole different era than it is today. Now I want Specs Howard to be synonymous with the school as the place to go if you want to start a career in broadcasting. The school has to speak for itself.