by Juli Oberlander
After 50 years in radio, Otis Twelve is retiring from KVNO this fall, leaving a legacy as a beloved Morning Classics host and champion for the arts.
Known for his wit, charisma and iconic radio voice, Otis grew up imitating radio personalities such as Dizzy Dean and Stan Freberg. Aside from playing for the New York Yankees (and a short-lived goal of entering the priesthood), Otis says his dream as a boy in Kansas City was to become a baseball play-by-play announcer like Dizzy Dean.
“Baseball was my thing, and I loved radio,” Otis says. “I was always pretending to be on the radio.”
In the mid-1960s, Otis attended Creighton University, where he hosted a student radio show, “Revolution,” on KOCU with fellow student Diver Dan Doomey. After college, Otis started a band, The Ogden Edsl Band, and toured the country. He and his bandmates were semi-regulars on KROC in Los Angeles and KSAN in San Francisco.
After 9 years, Otis left his band, moved back to Omaha and reconnected with Diver Dan. The pair started hosting “Midnight Mondo” for KQKQ (98.5) in 1973 along with performing in Omaha comedy clubs. At one of their shows, a local radio executive recruited them for a morning program on Z-92 (KEZO).
“We just did our thing,” Otis says, “this kind of rock n’ roll, vaudeville act that became a radio career totally by accident. It’s all serendipity, and it’s also hereditary because I have this voice. The only thing I did to help that was whiskey and cigarettes.”
Born as Douglas Wesselmann, he says he became “Otis Twelve” because he needed a better show-business name. Otis, his high school nickname, was the obvious choice, and “Twelve” was a nod to Gil McDougald, No. 12 for the Yankees.
“It was just a tag,” Otis says, “and then the tag really worked well.”
After leading Z-92 to new heights, Otis hosted morning shows at KFAB in 1993 and KKCD in 1994 before becoming a talk show host on KKAR from 1999 to 2001. He was also a movie critic for KETV and KPTM from 1984 to 1996, incorporating his unique style of humor into each role.
As the KVNO morning host, Otis says he strives to make classical music accessible for people.
“Music is music,” he says. “Franz Liszt had groupies. It’s just music, and I wanted to make it friendly for people. I tried to do my whole show that way, and I think that’s worked.”
Throughout his career, Otis says he has learned not to take himself too seriously.
He says he has shared this advice with his successor, current Wednesday host of Morning Classics Jeff Koterba.
“It’s radio,” Otis says. “Nobody dies.”
In his new role as morning host, Koterba says Otis’ mentorship will continue to impact him, although he wants to lead with his own organic approach. Koterba’s plan is to gauge listeners’ feedback while expanding on offerings such as KVNO’s Arts Today features, Dish Omaha and the “Jeff Around Town” Friday segments. KVNO will also hold its “Otis Twelve Days of Christmas” campaign one last time this December.
“I don’t expect there to be some major shift,” Koterba says, “but to keep doing what KVNO does best, to be me and to find fun ways through the arts and music to connect with Omahans.”
A longtime friend and admirer of Otis’, Koterba says Otis is an icon and legend due to his storytelling abilities, as reflected by his 2023 induction into the Nebraska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.
“He tells stories with humanity,” Koterba says. “People respond to that.”
Sherry Brownrigg, KVNO general manager, says Otis is like the face of KVNO. For listeners, Otis brings assurance that everything will be OK.
Brownrigg says he provides that sense of comfort in her own life, as well. While Otis’ departure will be an end of an era, she hopes Omahans will remain attached to KVNO.
“We’ll do our best to keep everybody’s trust in us,” Brownrigg says, “and continue to bring just great, uplifting classical music — and not take ourselves too seriously.”
Leading up to Otis’ last day on Oct. 4, the KVNO team is planning fun events, tributes and surprises that will give Omahans the opportunity to celebrate his career, culminating in KVNO’s fall pledge drive.
On Otis’ last day, Brownrigg says she plans to be in the booth with him.
While she knows that day will be emotional, Brownrigg says she expects Otis will return as a guest host sometime in the future.
“He loves communicating with people,” she says. “That’s just so much a part of who he is.”
In his retirement, Otis says he plans to sleep in until 6:00 a.m. His dream of becoming a baseball play-by-play announcer is also still very much alive.
Additionally, Otis looks forward to spending time with his family and traveling with Debbie, his wife of 47 years whom he affectionately calls “Dagmar.” A published author and freelance writer, Otis says he also wants to write more books.
“I want to rewrite Faust,” he says. “How pretentious is that? I want to do a thrilling, scary novel about Faust. It’s a fascinating story.”
Over his 18 years with KVNO, Otis says he has enjoyed working with the staff and connecting with the community.
His career highlights include narrating for the Omaha Symphony, holding a Stradivarius violin and meeting artists like Joshua Bell, who Otis says is “Jimi Hendrix in his own way.” Additional noteworthy moments involve working with Omaha Symphony conductors Bruce Hangen and Thomas Wilkins, and encountering celebrities such as Paul Newman, Ray Bradbury and Dennis Hopper.
Perhaps above all, Otis says KVNO’s listener support has impacted him personally and professionally. In times of economic plenty and scarcity, he has been inspired by Omahans’ dedication to keeping KVNO alive as a public-funded radio station.
“There were so many great people along the way,” Otis says. “That’s really the highlight. It’s the people. I’m just really lucky.”
Help us honor an Omaha legend!
Otis Twelve’s final broadcast will take place on October 4th, 2024, and KVNO will be honoring him over the next two months with special events on and off the air. Share a memory or message for Otis.
