Longtime radio, television personality Reno dies at 75

Thursday, Sept. 12, 2002 | 9:54 a.m.

Services for longtime Las Vegas radio and television personality Walt Reno, who did everything from emceeing local charity events to hosting national broadcasts, will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Davis Paradise Valley Funeral Home.

Reno, a weatherman at KORK Channel 2 -- now KVBC Channel 3 -- in the 1970s, died Monday in Las Vegas of complications from surgery. He was 75.

His broadcasting career spanned a half-century, including the last decade at KLAV 1230-AM. But Reno perhaps is best known locally for his radio and television work in the 1970s and '80s.

Reno admired the Las Vegas of yesteryear. When the Castaways on the Strip was demolished in 1987 to make way for The Mirage, Reno, then a KROL disc jockey, said the resort "represents the way it was in Vegas. And it wasn't bad. It saddens me to see the Castaways go -- it's like an old friend cashing it in."

In addition to his broadcast work in Las Vegas, Reno made his mark on national TV audiences in the 1970s. For two years he was the announcer of the national daily broadcast of the "Mike Douglas Show" that was taped in Las Vegas.

In the mid-1970s, he hosted Paramount Pictures' "The Making of the Movies" series on the Public Broadcasting System.

Born March 25, 1927, in Des Moines, Iowa, Reno graduated from Des Moines' Roosevelt High School.

He served in the Navy during World War II. After the war he attended the University of Iowa, where he was a member of the varsity swimming team. In the early 1950s Reno got his start in radio working at the campus radio station. He graduated with a liberal arts degree.

In the 1960s, Reno found work in the Midwest as an actor and appeared on the stage in dramatic roles. He also worked as an announcer and as a disc jockey.

Reno moved to Las Vegas in 1972 to take a job at KORK radio, where he later became music director.

He branched out to KORK's NBC affiliate, where he did the noon, 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. weather reports in the mid to late 1970s. Reno eventually was appointed promotions manager of the station.

In March 1977, Reno hosted the local Easter Seals Telethon. He went on to serve as a master of ceremonies for several such charity events over the years. He also appeared in local television commercials, selling products and promoting events of community interest.

Reno also wrote a golf column for several small publications and hosted a local TV show about golf.

He is survived by his companion, Diane Salisbury of Las Vegas; two sons, Jeff Reno of Santa Monica, Calif., and Jamie Reno of San Diego, Calif., a daughter, Michele Brown of Des Moines; and five grandchildren.

Interment will be in Rest Haven Cemetery in West Des Moines, Iowa.