Voting Home / People / BEST Local Radio Personality / 2010 Top 5 Slideshow
Born to German immigrant parents, Marty didn't speak much English until he was six years old, so radio was a perfect career choice. As the son of a Boeing engineer, it seemed as if Marty would follow in his dad's footsteps -- he even got a masters degree in electrical engineering from UW – but he'd been fascinated by radio since the age of 13, when he weaseled his way into weekend work at KGRG, the radio station at Green River Community College in Auburn.
For three years he perfected his craft there after school and on weekends, until the fateful day when a shrewd campus administrator caught Marty cruising without a license through downtown Auburn in a college ("For Official Use Only") van filled with his little junior-high hoodlum friends. Later, part-time jobs at KZOK and KJR financed his college education; he then spent six years at the legendary KXRX, where he was literally the first person in the world to break the sad news about Kurt Cobain's death, thanks to a phone tip from an electrician who'd been working in the singer's house.
After the demise of "The X", Marty developed his own TV/video production company, where his projects have included an outdoors series with hydroplane racer Chip Hanauer that's aired in more than 40 countries. Now he's your morning host on The Mountain, preserving commuters' sanity on the sometimes dreary ride to work. And as you'll notice, his English has gotten quite good.
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