death_date birth_place networth nationality party birth_date spouse residence article_title name occupation alma_mater
14 september 1986 paris , texas , usa us american democrat libertarian republican 8 june 1921 gay -rrb- noe -lrb- divorced -rrb- susan stafford -lrb- divorced dallas , texas , usa gordon mclendon
 gordon barton mclendon businessman investor intelligence officer harvard law school yale university
gordon mclendon

gordon barton mclendon -lrb- june 8 , 1921 -- september 14 , 1986 -rrb- was a radio pioneer and pirate radio broadcaster .
he was nicknamed `` the maverick of radio . ''
mclendon is widely credited for perfecting , during the 1950s and 1960s , the commercially successful top 40 radio format created by todd storz .
he also developed offshore pirate radio broadcasting to both scandinavia and the british isles .
in addition , he was active in circles of conservative business-political power in the 1960s until the time of his death .
