'Austin City Limits' Founder Bill Arhos Dead at 80
Longtime KLRU-TV executive served as 'ACL' producer from 1974 until his retirement in 1999
By Daniel Kreps April 13, 2015



http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/austin-city-limits-founder-bill-arhos-dead-at-80-20150413

Bill Arhos, the founder of the long-running PBS performance series Austin City Limits and the inspiration behind the Texas capital's now-annual music festival, passed away April 11th at the age of 80, the Austin City Limits site reports. A longtime executive at Austin's KLRU, Arhos helped create the Austin City Limits concept in 1974. That same year, the show's debut episode, featuring a performance by Willie Nelson, aired on the public television station.

"I've never met anyone like Bill Arhos," ACL executive producer and longtime colleague Terry Lickona said in a statement. "He was a real character, known and loved not just in Austin but throughout the PBS system. The idea for Austin City Limits was not just his alone, but he brought it to life, and he kept the show going and growing through some difficult times. Whether they know it or not, millions of music fans, artists and PBS viewers owe a debt to him for his enormous contribution to what's become a cultural institution."

Arhos served as ACL's executive producer from 1975 until his retirement in 1999. In that time, Austin City Limits's reputation grew from a Texas mainstay to one of the most revered music programs in television history; ACL celebrated its 40th season on air this past year. In April 2014, Arhos was among the inaugural class of inductees into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame, joining Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble and University of Texas football coach Darrell Royal. "It's a little intimidating to be in a class of the first inductees, and three of the four have bronze statues around town," Arhos said of the honor.