Thomas “Al” Bland, 88, a pioneer radio performer and executive, died Feb. 7 in the Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y. Mr. Bland, one of the first radio show hosts in the Midwest, wrote and performed for radio starting in 1928 in a weekly series on station WSAZ in Huntington, W.Va. After co-hosting a morning show in Cincinnati and being program director for KMOX Radio in St. Louis, he came to Chicago in the early 1950s. He served first as program director for WBBM and then became vice president of corporate programming for WLW radio in Cincinnati, as well as for five AVCO Broadcasting television stations. Survivors include his wife, Marguerite; a daughter, Ann Knapp; a son, Lee; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and a brother. Services were held in Rochester.
