Larry "Long Tall Lean" Dean was considered "The Dean" among the pioneers of Black Radio. He was loved and respected throughout this nation.

Lawrence Dean Faulkner was born in Society Hill, South Carolina on Febrary 22, 1924, the only son of James Durham and Theresa Faulkner. The family moved to Wilmington, Delaware, where Larry finished Howard High School in 1942. He also lived with his family in Long Island, New York. A true pioneer, Larry was among the first blacks to be accepted into the Marine Corps in World War II. Upon his Honorable discharge in 1946, Larry entered Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, majoring in English. He became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity while at Fisk. He graduated in 1951 and received his first job in radio with station WERD in Atlanta, Georgia. With the experience gained at WERD, he was highly sought after and climbed the radio corporate and broadcasting ladder in numerous cities, arriving in Baltimore in the sixties at station WITH. Larry went on to pioneer at station WWIN. He then began work at station WEBB in Baltimore as Station Manager. Then in 1972, he and friend Eddie Castleberry headed over to Washington, D.C., where they became the first Blacks to work and start a Black Mutual Network, which spanned America and the Caribbean Islands. In July of 1977, Larry joined the Morgan State University station WEAA as its News Director, a position he held until his death. His final broadcast was aired on December 6th, 1985.