Vernardo Steven Watts Sr. was born in Chicago, IL on May 25, 1953; he was the fifth child of seven, born to Eugene Robert Watts Sr. and Agnes Ann Kelly Watts. Chicago would be his home through most of his 20’s and this is where he would graduate from Carver High School as well as Chicago State and DeVry, eventually obtaining a degree in audio engineering. He obtained what was at the time cutting-edge video training in the late 1970’s at Bell & Howell.It was his uniquely combined audio and video training that would allow him to leave his mark in the television and radio broadcast industry no matter where he went. In 1980, Vernardo left the Chicago area in order to make a new life and provide better opportunities for himself and his television career and he would go on to build, innovate and operate television and radio stations all over the country.
Vernardo worked in Bloomington, IL, Cincinatti, OH, Nashville TN and the country of Mexico. His footprint in the West extended to KOLO-TV in Reno, NV, then to KCRA-TV in Sacramento, CA and then to KCOP-TV in Los Angeles, CA. At all these stations, he learned the basics of operating a television station, including maintenance of all equipment needed to keep a station on the air and what each on-air position needed to have a successful broadcast. His career advanced when he undertook Director of Engineering and Chief Engineer positions at various private companies and radio stations throughout Los Angeles and Burbank. He did everything at the station from maintaining all the equipment that kept the station on the air to running the satellite truck and being a cameraman. He had the opportunity to build a few radio and television stations from the ground up by building their gigantic broadcast antenna, maintaining it, and installing every piece of equipment to make the station operable and FCC-compliant. His audio, video, and engineering talents were tapped by the U.S. Dept. of Defense where he worked on the development and perfection of some of America’s most secret weapons, for which he had Top Secret Clearance. He was a Master Engineer that could fix anything that requires electricity to operate.
Vernardo was a multiple Emmy Award-winning Production Engineer and he worked for 45 years in the television and broadcast industry; he also received California’s prestigious Aurora Award among others.He worked on iconic shows like Joker’s Wild, Solid Gold, Romper Room, The BET Awards, The Oscars and so many more. He made many friends in the industry including Mr. T. and Comedian George Wallace.
Vernardo had a few hobbies and interests, mostly centered around electronics, video and audio productions, music, and cars. He also was an avid pool player, especially in his younger days and wherever he lived he always had a pool table as a permanent fixture in the house. He liked to watch true crime television and he loved to watch boxing as well as The L.A. Clippers. His favorite music artist was Stevie Wonder but he also loved The Isley Brothers and Jimmy Hendrix. Vernardo enjoyed the company of good friends and family members, especially the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He liked to engage the kids in trivia, help build things, show them his new toys and tell them jokes (although several of thegreat-grandkids are still very young, and as we all know most of his jokes are not suitable for little ears!). He was always happy to share knowledge, information, and wisdom and many of his family and friends valued his guidance and insight and often sought his counsel.
Vernardo left behind dozens of family and friends who will remember him fondly in various ways:
