Brokenhearted Bill

Appointed by the Marquis Who's Who Publications Board for listing in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in Business & Finance and Who's Who in the World. Also listed in Who's Who in U.S. Real Estate since 1980.

He was educated at Tulane University, University of North Texas, Washington University Graduate School of Business, University of North Texas Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and Rice University Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Administration, as well as Elkins School of Broadcasting and the American Institute of Banking School of Commercial Lending.

He wrote and sold his first feature story at 16 for the April 25 1957 edition of the Sunday Houston Chronicle Rotogravure Magazine. Since then, he has written pieces for Fortune Magazine, The Houston Business Journal, The Baytown Sun, The Victoria Advocate, In-Between Magazine, The Dallas Morning News, The Galveston County Daily News, and The Huntsville Item. He is a monthly columnist for the Internet magazine Texas Escapes, view link

Stage career.

While attending Tulane University in New Orleans in the late '50s, from a Royal Street furniture store's show window in the historic French Quarter, Cherry hosted the famed American Airlines Music 'til Dawn program on 50,000 watt clear channel WWL (AM). 

Personal life.

In 1961, he married well-known St. Louis classical and jazz concert pianist and Vogue fashion model, Judy Fosher. They traveled as a team, each playing different venues. Cherry performed at the piano at such spots as the St. Louis Playboy Club, New York Waldorf-Astoria, Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles, Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Blackstone Hotel in Chicago and the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis.
 
Later business interests.

In 1967 Cherry went to work as the NASD Registered Financial Principal for Securities Management & Research, Inc. Later he joined Guaranty Federal Savings and Loan Association as vice president and head of their real estate investment company, and as their commercial lending officer.

In 1973, Cherry joined Columbia Communities in Houston where he was vice president of residential home building. They built some 5,000 homes, apartments, condominiums and town houses in Houston, Seabrook, and the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex.

The company also obtained Houston's first cablevision franchise and built and provided the first cablevision to the city's homes.

In 1975 along with business partner Steven Jay Rudy, Cherry founded The Old House Company, Real Estate Brokers in Galveston and Houston.

It became the largest real estate brokerage firm in Galveston County and a noted competitor in the Houston Museum District.

For twenty years, Cherry was the historical real estate consultant for George and Cynthia Mitchell who adaptively restored and leased millions of dollars worth of Galveston's rich collection of 19th century iron front buildings in the historic business district known as the Strand.

Adjunct professorships.

Cherry served as an adjunct professor at St. Thomas University in Houston and at Galveston College. Cherry taught finance, economics and investments.

As a historian.

For ten years Cherry wrote a very popular weekly column for "The Galveston County Daily News" titled, Bill Cherry's Galveston Memories. Out of the 500 columns, a book of 60 of the first columns, also titled Bill Cherry's Galveston Memories (ISBN 0-9666438-4-4), was published in 2000 by VanJus Press.

In 2001, Cherry began doing on camera television features titled Bill Cherry's Memories, for News 24-Houston. It was voted the station's most popular feature.

Other post-radio activity.

Cherry remains engaged in his forty year career as a real estate consultant and tax arbitrator.

He is also a highly regarded expert witness in trials involving real estate, business and bankruptcy matters.

His monthly Galveston history columns appear in the web magazine www.texasescapes.com.

Legacy.

Because of his radio work, in 2005 Bill was elected as a Premier Member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.