Chris Rathaus (b. 1940s- d. Nov 2006) was an American a radio producer

Radio producer

A radio producer oversees the making of a radio show. There are two main types of producer. An audio or creative producer and a content producer. Audio producers create sounds and audio specifically, content producers oversee and orchestrate a radio show or feature...

, program director and talk show

Talk show

A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....

 host of radio programs in the United states. Rathaus passed on the Paul McCartney death hoax

Paul Is Dead

"Paul is dead" is an urban legend suggesting that Paul McCartney of the English rock band The Beatles died in 1966 and was secretly replaced by a look-alike....

, to an associate radio dj, Roby Yonge

Roby Yonge

Roby Yonge was an American radio DJ, most notable in the 1960s. He was best known for being fired from New York station WABC-AM in 1969, after he reported over the air that the singer Paul McCartney of The Beatles might be dead....

 at WABC

WABC (AM)

WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...

 New York.

Career

Randall started his career at WPTR/Albany, New York. Next he moved to WKNR-FM “Keener 13”/Detroit. From Detroit, Rathaus moved to Pittsburgh to become production director and assistant program director at Westinghouse’s KDKA

KDKA (AM)

KDKA is a radio station licensed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Created by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation on November 2, 1920, it is one of the world's first modern radio stations , a distinction that has also been challenged by other stations, although it has claimed to be the first in...

 Pittsburgh.

In 1974 he became program director of WOWO

WOWO

Located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, WOWO is an independent news/talk radio station transmitting on 1190 kHz at 50,000 watts during the daylight hours and 9,800 watts during the nighttime hours. An application is on file with the Federal Communications Commission to add a fourth tower to the three...

 Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...

. Later he moved to Tampa, Florida

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

, where he directed programs at WDAE Tampa. As Chris Rathaus, he formed the audio production companies MediAide and Studio C in Tampa. He was also the host of a nationally syndicated talk show, “The Rat House”. It was syndicated on 100 stations through the Sun Radio Network in Clearwater, Florida

Clearwater, Florida

Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...

.

Rathaus moved to Beasley Broadcasting's WQAM Miami, and Clear Channel’s WRMF-WJNO/West Palm Beach. He was also the producer of the Radio Ink

Radio Ink

Radio Ink is a radio broadcasting industry trade magazine owned by Streamline Publishing. Radio Ink serves the management community of the radio industry in the United States and in 43 Countries worldwide...

 audio program: “Radio Ink Live” series.

Becoming intrigued by new possibilities in changing technology, Rathaus left Palm Beach for the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 radio start-up RadioCentral in San Francisco. He was then hired at Sirius

Sirius

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, it is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek: Seirios . The star has the Bayer designation Alpha Canis Majoris...

 Satellite Radio

Satellite radio

Satellite radio is an analogue or digital radio signal that is relayed through one or more satellites and thus can be received in a much wider geographical area than terrestrial FM radio stations...

, where he worked as a producer and helped expand their offerings to the unprecedented number they have achieved.

Rathaus, at age 63, died of cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

in New York in November 2006. Rathaus was best known for his audio production skills.

Legacy and honors

• 1998, he was awarded the International Radio TS Worldwide Gold Metal for best audio production.