Burl McCarty
Burl was a 1929 graduate of St. Petersburg High School and got his career start in radio at WTSP in 1942. The next year he was working at WFLA and then at WSUN beginning in 1944. He worked there until 1953 except for a period at WDAE in 1945. However, he’s best remembered by Tampa Bay’s baby boomer generation as TV’s Captain Mac.
Each afternoon beginning in the early 1950’s Burl entertained kids on WSUN-TV channel 38’s "Adventure Trails" with Crusader Rabbit cartoons and episodes of Flash Gordon cliff-hangers. He left in 1955 to join Tampa’s new station, WTVT channel 13, but returned to WSUN six months later and continued where he left off until the end of 1959. For several years he worked out of broadcasting, but returned in late 1963 as an announcer and later news director for WDAE.
When Burl left WDAE in 1974 he worked for about a year as press information officer for the St. Petersburg Police Department before retiring and moving to Dunnellon. Following an interview for the local newspaper there, he accepted an offer of a part-time job from the owner and general manager of contemporary easy listening WTRS-FM hosting its "Monday Night Concert," a program that featured mainly classical selections mixed with some easy listening tunes. He also took on the added responsibility of running a Saturday afternoon shift on beautiful music WTRS-AM.
Unfortunately, his retirement and this story don’t have a happy ending. Burl died as the result of a boating accident in 1984.
Station History
1942 - 1953 Other Tampa Bay Area Stations (On Air Personality)
1963 - 1974 Other Tampa Bay Area Stations (News)
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