Celebrated
broadcaster celebrates Jesus
Emmy-award
winning broadcaster and local business owner Bill Gruber is not so content with
his past that he will cease pressing for his future. When many would be
thinking of retiring, Bill is more intent on returning; returning his God-given
talents back to the Lord. “I pray daily that Jesus will allow my
abilities to impact eternity,” he admits.
Such
a selfless attitude was not an early character trait for this entrepreneur and
the current owner of Total Photo in Solana Beach. “I was always driven
towards broadcasting,” Gruber admits. Born in Pasadena and a graduate of
San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in radio and television,
Bill knew what he wanted and went for it with abandon.
Gruber’s
first job out of school was as an audio engineer and disc jockey at a classical
radio station in Pasadena. “From there, I took a job in 1968 as a DJ at a
San Diego radio station, which is now called KIFM,” he recalls. But this
was still only a small piece of his plan. Bill had his sights on the bright
lights, and soon left for Los Angeles with a friend to unsuccessfully seek
funding for a movie script entitled “We’re Running Out of Heroes,”
which had been optioned by a tinsel town studio.
His
business path led him to Eugene, Oregon, where he co-founded Film House
International, a 16mm and audio production studio. Bill was about to discover
that his failures would be more profound than his illustrious successes.
“It was a time and place in my life where I really got rowdy,” Bill
recounts. “It was the late 60s and the early 70s and my business began
falling apart.”
A
friend had been after him to go to church, but Bill was reluctant. “I
didn’t want any part of it because I knew if I were to become a Christian
I would have to give up everything.” But when Bill Gruber’s
“everything” turned to “nothing” he had second
thoughts. “My company went into bankruptcy, leaving me desperate and
seeking answers.” He found them in the person of Jesus Christ. “As
I look back, it was really part of God’s plan to save me,” Bill
admits.
With
new vision and focus, Gruber returned to San Diego and to broadcasting, working
for KSON, a leading country music station. Moving from one side of the
microphone to the other, Bill excelled in sales and was soon elevated into
management. “I became convinced that God wanted me to use my skills for
him,” he recalls. Bill and his new wife Brenda began attending a church
named Christian Faith Centre, pastored by Jerry Bernard. “I told my
pastor that I would help him get into radio and arranged for a program on the
station I worked for.” From that, Bill worked with the Jerry Bernard
ministry to develop Christian Communications Network (CCN), one of the first
24-hour Christian cable channels in the nation.
Bill’s
success at CCN prompted media giant Cox Communications to hire him as general
manager and director of programming of KCOX-TV. While there, Gruber was in
charge of many live and taped productions required on a weekly basis. After
several years with Cox, cable pioneer Bill Daniels asked Gruber to lend his
expertise to the development of Box Seat, a Southern California regional sports
network. As its vice president of operations and programming, Gruber was active
in program acquisition and production. Box Seat became Prime Ticket, which
later became the Fox Sports Network. During this timeframe Gruber was asked to
preside over the San Diego Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts &
Sciences.
Even
with the world’s acclaim, Bill couldn’t shake the need to apply his
talents towards Christian ministry. His first Emmy came from his work with
Pastor Mike MacIntosh when he produced a program entitled “Wake Up
America.” Bill continued producing and directing Christian telethons,
interview programs, and documentaries. For his efforts, a string of Emmys
followed. His tenth and most recent Emmy came from his development and
production of Dr. David Jeremiah’s Turning Point program, launched
nationally in April 2000 and distributed by satellite to more than 400
television stations worldwide, including the WB Network in San Diego.
Gruber
sees his present involvement as the owner of Total Photo, a film and digital
processing company at 118 South Solana Hills Drive in Solana Beach, as another
launching pad into greater and greater Christian outreach. “I’m
always looking for ways to get back into ministry from an entrepreneurial
perspective, to do things that have more eternal value than secular projects,”
replies Bill Gruber.
Caz
Taylor is a Christian author, worship leader, broadcaster and teacher employed
in the field of marketing. You may email him at cazndaf@attg.net.