Mr. Richard C. "Dick" Thrall Jr.'s Obituary
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Richard C. “Dick” Thrall, Jr, 90, of Hendersonville, Tennessee, passed away on Thursday, May 14, 2020. Born November 13, 1929 in Delaware, Ohio, he was the son of the late Richard C. Thrall and Pauline Taylor Thrall.
Dick was the Senior Vice President of Operations and Administration at Multimedia Entertainment, Inc. He originated the concept of television syndication with The Phil Donahue Show and was instrumental in on air innovations for Phil Donahue, Sally Jesse Raphael, and Rush Limbaugh. He served for 13 years as National Awards Chair for the National Television Academy. Dick was also the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Multimedia Entertainment in Nashville, producing Country and Western music and associated television projects.
Dick was Chairman for the radio-television department council in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1964-67; producer and director at WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio and at KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1951-59 where he later became public affairs director and assistant program manager 1959-67. Dick was the program director at WLW-C in Columbus, Ohio and manager of corporate programs Avco Broadcasting Corporation in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1967-68. He was a member of the Pittsburgh Radio Television Club (director 1967) and National Academy Television Arts Sciences (Board of Governors 1968).
Dick enjoyed traveling, fishing, writing, and spending time with his family. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Shirley Thrall, in December of 2019.
He is survived by his children Vallerie (Bert) Alm, Cynthia Graser, Laurie (Steve) Woodward, and Jim (Tracey) Hochberg; brother Jesse (Jane) Thrall, and sister Miriam Hanson; grandchildren Robert, Alanna, Ashley, Calvin, Christopher, Jeffrey, Nick, Corey, Jordan and Ryan.
A Celebration of Life Funeral Service will be held at Spring Hill Funeral Home in Nashville on Friday, May 22, at 11:00 AM. Burial will follow in the Historic Spring Hill Cemetery. Due to Covid-19 restrictions for group gatherings, attendance is limited to 10 people. The service will be livestreamed. A link will be posted to the top of this obituary at SpringHillFH.com that will allow you to view his service.
Arrangements entrusted to Spring Hill Funeral and Cemetery, a Nashville landmark since 1785. “Where Nashville Comes to Remember”
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