Montana Years (1925-1941)
William L. "Bill" McGee was born September 30, 1925 in Livingston, Montana. He grew up on ranches in Park and Phillips counties in Montana.

Bluejacket Years (1942-1946)
In October 1942, like so many eager and patriotic youths, he enlisted at the age of 17 in the regular Navy. He had to agree to serve in the regular Navy until he was 21. These minority enlistments were called "Kid's Cruises." He attended boot camp at Farragut, Idaho; took gunnery training in San Diego, California; and was then assigned to the Naval Armed Guard, the branch of the U. S. Navy that protected merchant marine ships and their valuable cargo and crews from enemy attacks and sabotage. He served in three Liberty ships (Nathaniel Currier, David Belasco and Thomas Nelson) and in one Victory ship (Yugoslavia Victory) in the Pacific Theater between 18 March 1943 and 28 November 1945.

McGee participated in the Pacific campaigns to take back the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, plus the Marshall, Mariana and Philippine Islands.   After the war, he served in the USS Fall River (CA-131) while she was the Target Fleet flagship for Operation CROSSROADS, the Bikini atomic bomb tests in the Marshall Islands.

On August 20, 1946, McGee was discharged from the Separation Center in Shoemaker, California, with the rank of Gunner's Mate second-class.   He earned the Asiatic Pacific medal (5 stars), the American Area, Victory, Philippine Liberation and Philippine Independence medals, and the Chief Bureau of Naval Personnel Commendation for enemy air action off Guadalcanal on 16 June 1943.

Cowboyin' Years (1946-1950)
McGee enrolled at Montana State College on the G. I. Bill with thoughts of becoming a veterinarian. Wanderlust was with him, however, and he left college after a year, taking a job as a horse wrangler in Yellowstone National Park. Following a flare-up of the malaria he'd contracted in the South Pacific during the war, he hitchhiked to Reno and checked into the new Veterans Hospital for treatment. Released from the hospital, McGee started looking for work. In summer of '47, he hired on at Lake Tahoe as a trail and deer hunting guide.

Eventually, a chance conversation at Reno's Round Up Bar led to a job at the Flying M E in Washoe Valley. The Flying M E was an exclusive dude ranch twenty-one miles south of Reno that catered to wealthy Easterners and the occasional Hollywood celebrity seeking a "quickie" six week divorce. As the head dude wrangler at the ranch, the young and handsome cowboy, surrounded by so many wealthy and attractive women, said he thought he'd "died and gone to heaven."

In the winter of '49, during one of Reno's severest snow storms, McGee was helping a neighboring rancher round up his straying cattle. In the deep snow, McGee's horse somersaulted on him. McGee suffered a serious back injury and was ordered to recuperate in Reno where the doctor could check him daily. Several weeks later, and wearing a back brace, McGee took a job driving for Star Taxi. When an insurance company executive heard the cowboy's deep voice, he asked him to audition for Reno's KOH-AM radio. Bill was hired to spin records and do commercials for the insurance company. He was known on-air as DJ "John Friendly" and announced the births of new babies each morning. After the show, "John Friendly" delivered free baby books to the mothers.

McGee became interested in the entertainment field. At the Flying M E, he had the opportunity to talk to the many guests who worked in the television and film industries.

Automobile Years (1950-1951)
Although fraternizing with the guests at the Flying M E was frowned upon, McGee met Joan Allison Borg, a young and beautiful Eastern divorcée, who became his first wife. They left the ranch for Joan's hometown, Englewood, New Jersey. McGee sold automobiles and found he had a talent for sales. Their first daughter, Lucy, was born in Englewood.

Restaurant Years (1952-1953)
The McGee's returned to the West and settled in Marin County, California. The family grew with the births of Elizabeth (Betsy), William Allison (Billy), and Katherine (Kak). McGee owned and operated the popular Ranch House restaurant in San Anselmo.

World Trade Years (1953-1957)
McGee entered the world trade business in San Francisco where he developed a new import division for Thomas D. Stevenson & Sons. Later, he founded Ferrostaal Pacific Corporation which he sold to his German partners in order to enter the broadcasting business.  

Broadcasting Years (1957-1990)
McGee made a successful transition into broadcasting, and enjoyed a 35-year career during which he held various sales and management positions:

Independent Television Corporation ("ITC"), Los Angeles, Calif., division manager, 1958-62;
NBC Radio, New York City, New York, spot sales representative, 1960;
Peters Griffin Woodward ("PGW"), San Francisco, Calif., branch manager, 1962-67;
KBAK-TV, Kaiser Broadcasting, San Francisco, Calif., general sales manager, 1967-69;
KEMO-TV, U.S. Communications, San Francisco, Calif., general sales manager, 1969-1970;
WATL-TV, U.S. Communications, Atlanta, GA, general manager, 1970-1971.

At ITC, he licensed syndicated television programming to advertisers and stations from coast-to-coast, selling programs such as "Lassie," "Fury," "Four Just Men," "Cannonball," "Danger Man," "Best of the Post," "Our Miss Brooks," and "My Little Margie." He helped pioneer major-market UHF independent TV with Kaiser Broadcasting and U.S. Communications.

In 1971, McGee founded Broadcast Marketing Company (BMC) to provide affordable sales support and training services to radio and TV stations and, later, for cable systems.   He was considered a leader and innovator in retail sales and co-op advertising. In 1975, he created and produced the first nationally syndicated, monthly co-op advertising information service, Broadcast CO-OPPORTUNITIES. In 1976, McGee pioneered the use of the film medium to sell radio advertising with "Get It On! Get It On Radio Now!!" The film was licensed in 137 markets within one year.

In 1976, McGee wrote his first book on broadcast advertising, soon followed by eight more on retail advertising, broadcast advertising sales, and the new electronic media:

•  "A What, When and How Guide To Broadcast Co-op: The Untapped Goldmine"

•  "A Primer on Broadcasting and the New Electronic Media"

•  "Changes, Challenges and Opportunities in THE NEW ELECTRONIC MEDIA

•  A Marketing Approach to BUILDING STORE TRAFFIC With Broadcast Advertising"

•  "Electronic Media Glossary"

•  "The Professional's Guide to Consultant Selling"

•  "1001 Creative Sales Ideas"

•  "Management Guide and Sales Training Manual"

•  "The Definitive Guide to Broadcast Co-op: STILL The Untapped Goldmine"

In 1984, he sold Broadcast CO-OPPORTUNITIES to Jefferson-Pilot Communications.

During his broadcasting career, McGee received numerous awards and honors including PGW's "Television Colonel of 1964" and Broadcast Pioneer's "Pioneer Award" in 1982. In 1986, he was honored by the Builders of Broadcasting for "vision, dedication and achievement in the field of broadcasting." He is one of six charter members of the Cooperative Advertising Hall of Fame.  

Bill McGee has conducted hundreds of workshops and seminars from coast-to-coast, and has been a guest speaker at national broadcasting conventions. He is a member of Broadcast Legends, Western Writers of America, and the Rotary Club of Tiburon-Belvedere.

Military Historian Years (1990-2002)
Since retiring from broadcasting in 1990, McGee has garnered critical recognition as a World War II military historian for his autobiographical "Bluejacket Odyssey, 1942-1946" and two-volume series "The Amphibians Are Coming!" and "The Solomons Campaigns." The Library Journal applauded McGee for "a thoroughgoing historical record and analysis that historians and scholars will find invaluable."   The Marine Corps League declared, "Enough gripping drama, heroism, and heartbreak in McGee's almost encyclopedic 'The Solomons Campaigns' to supply Hollywood with material for a century." In December 2001, McGee was one of several noted authors invited by The National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, to participate in events commemorating the 60 th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.

Return to Cowboyin' Years--A New Memoir (2002-present)
In 2004, McGee and his current wife Sandra co-authored "The Divorce Seekers: A Photo Memoir of a Nevada Dude Wrangler." The book recounts Bill's years in the late 1940s as the dude wrangler on the Flying M E, an exclusive dude ranch twenty-one miles south of Reno, Nevada, that catered to wealthy Easterners and Hollywood celebrities seeking a "quickie" six week divorce. Drawing on personal memories, dozens of interviews, and the resources of archives and special collections, the McGee's have written a text that the Nevada Historical Society calls "the best book yet about Nevada's dude-divorce ranch business."

Bill McGee has four children from his marriage to Joan Allison Borg: Lucy (McGee) Haynes Jr., Elizabeth (McGee) Clarke, William Allison McGee and Kathryn McGee; and one granddaughter: Susan Haynes, Jr.

In 1986, Bill McGee married Sandra Von Bauschinger. Bill and Sandra are often described as "The Cowboy and the Lady." Sandra is from Southern California and pursued studies in ballet and classical music. She is a veteran publicist for performing arts groups. As marketing director for BMC Publications, she handles advertising, promotion, and publicity.  

Authors/Historians/Publishers
The McGee's share a love of history and writing, and own small press BMC Publications located in Tiburon, California. They are frequent guest lecturers for historical societies, military groups, Western organizations, and on cruise ships. They have appeared on numerous radio and TV programs. They are working on a film treatment of their latest boo

For a list of Special Interest Lecture Topics, please visit the Press Room.

To contact Bill and Sandra McGee, call 415-435-1883 or email bmcpublications@aol.com.