[1] Prior to joining KFRC, Rose had been a prominent broadcaster at WQXI (AM) in Atlanta, Georgia, and WFIL in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Rose was born Donald Duane Rosenberg in North Platte, Nebraska, and got his first experience in broadcasting at age 15 while reporting on his trip to the 1950 Boy Scout National Jamboree in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, for KODY in his hometown.
His next employer, the Union Pacific Railroad, offered only manual labor — pounding spikes into the railbed — but he continued to pursue work in radio, and acquired a job at KTUL/Tulsa.
From Iowa he went on to WEBC/Duluth, Minnesota, followed by his first taste of big-market success, as morning host at WQXI/Atlanta ("Quixie In Dixie"), his fame made ever-lasting by his inclusion as the 1967 entry in the popular series of "Cruisin’" LP records.
Originally hired for the nine-to-noon slot, he was shifted to morning drive shortly after his arrival, and soon became the number-one radio personality in town.
In addition to his radio broadcasting work, he hosted cartoon shows on Field Communications television stations in Chicago (WFLD 32), Detroit (WKBD 50), Philadelphia (WKBS 48) and San Francisco (KBHK 44) for over a decade.
In 1972, he underwent a botched heart surgery, which caused chronic knee infections that required 11 more operations and led to his losing his kneecap.
After a failed attempt at buying the station, Dr. Don moved to mornings at San Francisco's K101 (KIOI); four months later, he suffered a heart attack while on the air.