Drag Car Racing Past
Legendary Houston radio DJ dies on Hall of Fame induction day
Iconic Houston radio DJ "Crash" Collins died Sunday after an extended battle with prostate cancer. He was 68.
A Nashville native, Dennis Maurice Collins relocated with his family to Houston in the early 1960s, eventually graduating from Lamar High School. While attending the University of Houston, he hosted an afternoon music show on KUHF AM and played bass guitar for a range of popular local rock acts, including Beaumont's own Johnny and Edgar Winter as well as "Hooked on a Feeling" performer B.J. Thomas.
When Collins joined the staff of Houston's beloved free-form rock station KLOL in 1971, he earned him the nickname Crash as co-workers heard about his brief stint as a drag car race driver. Throughout the '70s, Collins ruled the rock airwaves with carefully-selected tracks, a laid-back voice and his infamous "Crash in Your Dash" tagline.
Hundreds of Texas radio staffers learned of the DJ's death at the 2011 Texas Radio Hall of Fame induction awards, held this Sunday in northwest Houston. Collins himself was inducted last year for his four decades of radio work as well as his constant charity work throughout the state. He earned the title "Volunteer of the Year" in 1988 for Texas Children's Hospital.
Throughout the '70s, Collins ruled the rock airwaves with carefully-selected tracks, a laid-back voice and his infamous "Crash in Your Dash" tagline.
The constantly changing tides of radio ownership eventually led Collins to the IT world, where he ran the Katy-based software company DAISI.
Collins is survived by his wife of 26 years, Roxana Marx Collins, his children, Lacy Collins Price and Travis Lee Collins, and his mother Ann Grummer.
On Sunday at 12:30, a Bash for Crash benefit for the Collins family will be held at The Concert Pub (5636 Richmond), followed by a memorial service.
