[RIP] Mark Stevens of "Stevens and Pruett" Dead

Jturbofuel · Oct 13, 2010

Anyone who grew up in the 70's and 80's this hits home. The morning drive shows all took from what Stevens and Pruett did. They were Howard Stern before there was a Howard Stern show.

droxford · Oct 13, 2010

Jturbofuel said:

Anyone who grew up in the 70's and 80's this hits home. The morning drive shows all took from what Stevens and Pruett did. They were Howard Stern before there was a Howard Stern show.
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.... but S&B was better.

Tb-Cain · Oct 13, 2010

Hippieloser said:

Used to wake up to Stevens and Pruett every morning in 8-10 grade. Eventually, I grew to hate them, but they still remind me of the final great period of rock radio in Houston before Nirvana begat Bush begat Creed begat Nickelback.

Did anyone else first hear over the air that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center from Eddie "The Boner" Sanchez, or was it just me?
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This.

I feel the same, but I'd rather not piss on the man's grave.

Fortunately , I was listening to John Granado and Lance Z that morning.

Pistol Pete · Oct 14, 2010

Tb-Cain said:

This.

I feel the same, but I'd rather not piss on the man's grave.

Fortunately , I was listening to John Granado and Lance Z that morning.
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That sucks. I loved listening to them back in the day too. Toward the end of their days at KLOL, I do remember that Stevens got axed. They brought in the jagoff from the afternoons to pair with Pruett and the Boner but it blew.

Stevens got a little grouchy on air toward the end but that show always had some wacky crap going on. I was a sales guy back then and I stopped at a few of their "events" nothing like seeing naked chicks in public to get your day started.

DonkeyMagic · Oct 14, 2010

Mulder said:

Sad day for Houston radio.

Reminds me how much Walton & Johnson SUCKS, especially now that they are just right wing nut jobs who bash Obama non-stop now.
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that's hilarious considering they bashed bush left and right as well.

ima_drummer2k · Oct 14, 2010

Ill-Skillz said:

That sucks. I loved listening to them back in the day too. Toward the end of their days at KLOL, I do remember that Stevens got axed. They brought in the jagoff from the afternoons to pair with Pruett and the Boner but it blew.
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Yeah, I remember that too. The show was never the same without BOTH of them. They had such great chemistry and worked off of each other so well. Pruett and the Boner was just depressing to listen to compared to the original S&P.

Pole · Oct 14, 2010

I remember back in the 70's when Stevens and Pruitt were Hudson and Harrigan on an album rock themed KILT. Cut my teeth on that station.

boomboom · Aug 14, 2013

Sorry for the necro-bump...

...wasn't a huge S&P listener, although I did listen to quite a bit of them on my morning commutes from Clear Lake into UH everyday. Thought I remembered that one of them had previously passed...so I did a little googling and stumbled across a recent chron story that had relevance. Never knew this ranch was a legit resource/charity. Much more respect for them pushing this thing endlessly all those years. Hopefully it can be resurrected and put to good use again.

http://blog.chron.com/thetexican/2013/07/the-stevens-and-pruett-ranch-begins-stirring-again/

In 1980, Houston radio “gawds” Mark Stevens and Jim Pruett of KLOL fame founded the Stevens and Pruett Ranch, a 38-acre facility on County Road 59 near Texas 288. The ranch, which includes a quaint chapel, ranch house and two barns, at one time provided a home for troubled and abandoned young men ages 12 to 17.

Stevens, who with on-air partner Pruett created what a colleague described as “radio magic” for Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth listeners for more than a quarter-century, died in October 2011 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 76.

The S&R ranch was also known for rescuing and rehabilitating rescued farm animals — horses, goats, and pigs — which some of the boys cared for as their own. As many as 12 young men lived on the ranch at one time, looked after by a caretaker.

The boys mostly came referred by Children’s Protective Services. These days the funding for the ranch has dropped off, and the licensing to look after children lapsed as permitting rules changed. There have been no boys staying on the ranch for about two years. Pruett feels mistreated by the CPS for not informing the ranch of changing guidelines in foster care, but he is doing his due diligence to come up to code.

The only children on the grounds are the high-school age sons of the current longtime ranch managers, Rob and Valerie.

Part of Pruett’s KLOL contract called for four rock concerts a year to be held to donate money for the ranch. Pruett would take less money on his contract in order for more money to be thrown the ranch’s way.

He’s been off the air since 2002, and he currently runs Jim Pruett’s Guns & Ammo off Huffmeister. Oddly enough, he says he does more media now than ever before. He has a gun safety segment on CW39′s NewsFix and is called upon often by other news outlets to speak on gun rights issues. He was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2003, just as KLOL signed off the Houston airwaves and shuffled off into radio lore.

On Feb. 24, Pruett suffered a massive heart attack in his backyard, and he says he died for brief period, brought to back by emergency personnel and the quick thinking of his son, Zac. He only puts in a few hours at the shop these days, doctor’s orders.

In 2004, it was reported by the Houston Chronicle that the ranch needed $7,000 a month to operate.

“Right now it costs around $3,500 a month, without kids on the ranch,” says Bill Powell, treasurer of the Stevens And Pruett Foundation.

Now it could take thousands of dollars now just to bring it back up to code and restore its former luster. Little by little it is happening.

“$70,000 or $80,000 could be enough to get the ranch and the buildings on the property to where Pruett wants them to be,” says Powell. He adds that feed for the dozen or so horses on the property is getting expensive too, as donations are almost non-existent.

The chapel has been beaten by the elements, with rotted wood sticking out in places. A local Boy Scout troop has been working on the barn that tended to the medical needs of the animals.

“I think the reason God brought me back was to fix up this chapel,” says Pruett, still recovering from his February health scare.

Just a few rescue horses remain on the property. These are horses that have been abused and neglected, and will not be adopted out, but they do get to live out there remaining years safe and cared for. A sort of horse rest home.

Pruett has kept up with some of the kids that stayed at the ranch over the years, with some even catching up with Pruett at this gun store. Some of them are now military veterans just like Pruett is.

Pruett says donations have dropped off considerably since he left radio. Much of the donations were generated from radio publicity, reminding people daily of the need. These days his old KLOL colleague Outlaw Dave pulls together a charity motorcycle ride each fall to raise cash, sometimes pulling in up to $30,000. The next one is scheduled for this upcoming Halloween weekend.

It will take at least $20,000 to install a sprinkler system in the ranch house so that it can once again house young male residents and be up to state standards.

Since Pruett began putting word out on his Facebook page that the ranch needed help, he’s had people coming forward to donate time, money, and materials to the cause. The sprinkler system has all but been donated, labor and all. New development in the area could be bringing city water to the ranch, which is a shot in the arm for revitalization.

“People that don’t have money are asking if they can at least work on the ranch to help,” says Pruett.

The chapel had an excessive bee problem, it needs a new air conditioning system, and a restroom installed. Pruett doesn’t want to send wedding parties to a portable toilet on their big day.

In a funny twist, initial work on the chapel’s ceiling was paid for by giving some carpenters 10 passes to one of Stevens and Pruett’s infamous holiday balls in exchange for doing the work.

There have been offers to buy the million-dollar property, but Pruett long ago pledged that it would only be used for kids and animals, something that the potential buyers, of course, could not promise. Since he has been slowed physically but not spiritually by the heart attack, Pruett cannot spend as much time on the ranch as he once did.

“I used to mow it all myself. I spent several years out there building it up. I even had a trailer out there,” Pruett says. “I was in great physical shape then.” Most times Pruett would drive in from the ranch to do radio before dawn, and then drive right back out to get back to work until dusk or after.

There are other plans that Pruett has for the ranch, like making it a popular wedding venue again, which Powell says could mean thousands of extra in income coming in a month. Holding shooting competitions and putting on smaller music festivals would be feasible due to the ranch’s secluded location and Pruett’s Houston connections.

Pruett wouldn’t mind working with the Wounded Warriors on ranch events either.

“Military guys know how to make things work,” he says.

He wants more houses built on the ranch, like a mini neighborhood for vets with families. The addition of city water would make that a possibility.

“I want to get back to having events at the ranch, but it’s a big undertaking,” Pruett says. “Now that I don’t work as much I have time to work on other things, like the ranch.”

Pruett is also mulling throwing another holiday ball, maybe not this year though. Does he miss radio? Not that much. As he sees it, his radio show is now holding court on Facebook, talking to thousands of people at once.
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Illegal Machine · Aug 14, 2013

I live, literally, 2 miles from the Stevens and Pruett Ranch in Pearland/Manvel.

MoonDogg · Aug 14, 2013

LonghornFan said: ↑

Whatever happened to Locke Siebenhausen?
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Is this the same Locke Siebenhausen?

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[RIP] Mark Stevens of "Stevens and Pruett" Dead

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[RIP] Mark Stevens of "Stevens and Pruett" Dead

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