KSQD’s Billie Harris, the voice of Saturday’s Child, heard every Saturday morning since the station began, has passed away at age 90. The program was founded originally by Marilyn Patton and later was hosted by JoAnne King. Billie became a regular and recognized voice on the program shortly after its inception. Her son, Clifford Harris, said her passing was peaceful. She was a talented actress with a marvelous and versatile voice, which elevated her readings of children’s literature to a fine art. Billie had enormous enthusiasm for public radio and was a long-time contributor to KUSP as well as KSQD. In addition to Saturday’s Child, at KUSP she also curated and hosted a short story program called From The Bookshelf. Billie Harris was a beloved part of the Santa Cruz community for decades and ran the office of the History of Consciousness program at UCSC for many years. She was a woman of great warmth and humor. We will miss her.
We are collecting remembrances for her family and for our listeners. Those wanting to send these in audio form are encouraged to record them and send to info@ksqd.org or phone our office line and leave a voice mail at 831-900-5773.
-Gary Shapiro, host, Shapiro at Large, Shapiro at Night, Creative Bandwidth
