Once you met him, you’d never forget Steve Parton. That guy was quite a character!

With his bushy red hair and an equally bushy mustache and a stout, fireplug physique, Steve had plenty of presence whether sweeping the studio floor at WCNY-TV or sipping a Pabst Blue Ribbon at a local watering hole.

Steve, who lived in Liverpool over on Melvin Avenue, died Nov. 20 at the early age of 68. In life he walked with that certain swagger exhibited by a man who knows he’s good at his job, and he was!

In his 36 and a half years on the production crew at Channel 24 when it was broadcasting from its original location on Old Liverpool Road, Steve mastered the tasks of set construction, lighting and camera operation.

Sometimes he’d run a directional boom in the studio with its boxy microphone hanging at the end of a heavy pole. At many remote productions, he’d haul a parabolic microphone up and down the sidelines of various sporting events.

As a cameraman, Steve had a feel for framing, focusing and anticipating movement, whether a talking head turning or a quarterback tossing a pass.

Family tradition

Even before he was hired at channel 24, Steve knew a little something about television production. His dad was Red Parton, a longtime sports director, anchor and reporter for WNYS-TV channel 9. Steve himself had no on-air ambitions, but he excelled behind the scenes.

He may have shined brightest as a stage manager, a job that demanded a certain air of diplomacy, tact and – would Steve have ever used this word? – savoir faire.

As he miked each guest, Steve would exchange a few kind words with each often accompanied by a hearty laugh. But it was serious work. Steve’s confident yet conversational tone set the “talent” at ease, and – let’s face it – appearing on television can be a nerve-wracking experience. But Steve naturally knew how to make people comfortable.

He had a hard hat’s rugged attitude but a hair stylist’s delicate touch.

Scottish Games, spelling bees

As a member of his production crew at WCNY, I worked with Steve for nearly three decades.

The work – especially at remote shoots at which we’d have to lay and later strike miles of heavy camera cables – could be exhausting, but seeing the edited program later on the tube could be unusually satisfying.

The broad array of productions we were part of still amazes me.

We covered Empire State Games boxing, high-school wrestling and football, several of Bill Knowlton’s Bluegrass Ramble festivals, Syracuse Symphony concerts at the Civic Center, Scottish Games at Griffin Field, spelling bees sponsored by the Post-Standard, marching band competitions and Syracuse University basketball games at the Carrier Dome and Syracuse Blazers hockey fights at the War Memorial.

One of Steve’s favorite gigs was videotaping The Yoko Ono-John Lennon exhibit “This is Not Here” at the Everson Museum in 1971.

Rusty Jones resemblance

My most vivid memory of him revolves around a certain “bit” he had perfected over several years of stage managing TelAucs, those seemingly endless sell-a-thons that raised big bucks for public television. Anyhow, for several TelAucs in a row, one of WCNY’s regular corporate supporters, Rusty Jones, donated auto-rustproofing packages for channel 24 to auction off.

To promote the product, the company provided a life-size cartoon image of red-headed Rusty Jones himself, sitting almost Indian-style, with his mustache framing his friendly smile and his muscular forearms resting on his knees. But when Steve scrambled over to sit in front of Rusty, you’d swear you were seeing double! It was a sight to behold, dutifully captured by one or more of Steve’s fellow camera operators.

Droll sense of humor

Yes, Steve Parton had a sharp sense of humor. In fact, his favorite phrase simply dripped of sarcasm: “It’s been a slice of heaven.”

His droll jocularity probably helped him through some undeniably tough times.

In his younger years, he lost his brother, Richard, to a motor vehicle accident. In 2000, he lost his wife, Patti Goodman-Parton, leaving him a widower with a full-time job and five lively kids to raise on Melvin Ave. But Steve refused to bemoan the extra responsibilities suddenly thrust upon him. No, he embraced them and his children, of whom he remained forever proud.

Five years ago he lost his 27-year-old son, Allan “Peanut” Parton. 

Rocky’s Pub remembers

In recent years of retirement, Steve often hung out at Rocky’s Pub in the old Ponderosa Plaza, where he enjoyed socializing with friends and watching football games and NASCAR races. Rocky’s owners Janice and Gary Rockdashil planned to honor Steve’s memory on Friday afternoon, Nov. 27.

“He always had his words of wisdom to share,” Janice emailed last week, “and had knowledge about everything. He shared his love for music from the 1960s and ’70s with many of us and seemed to know the words to each and every song.”

Private services were conducted for the family by Farone & Son, and a celebration of Steve’s life will be scheduled at a later date.

Last word

“I worked with Steve Parton for most of the 29 years that I was at WCNY. We worked hard and played hard for many years. Steve was a great guy and a delight to work with.”

  –Richard “Cato” Calagiovanni, former production manager at WCNY-TV.

Contact the columnist at [email protected].