In St. Louis we had to start a whole new category for Bob Richards.
He was an extremely popular weatherman at the top-rated station. He had a very friendly approach, did a lot for charity and played the accordian. Off camera he was known to be temperamental, to use an understatement.
Then a woman claimed he was stalking her, and had taped phone calls to back up her claim. She got a restraining order and when word of that leaked out, all hell broke loose. Richards sent his wife and child off on vacation and then, one night after the late news, hopped in his airplane, took off and then power-dived right into the runway. He left a family, a smoking mess and a reputation behind.
Does Al Sharpton count? He’s local and he’s always on.
Many years ago, when I was but a wee pest, there was a TV weatherman on WABC named Tex Antoine whom, even my inexperienced eyes realized, was consistently drunk. One night he came on after the news had just done a horrifying rape story. Tex had a piece of advice for the victim which I shall not enunciate but which remains the classic inappropriate remark in these circumstances. Exit Tex.
And, say what you will about Al’s signature greeting, but he almost single handedly saved independant television in New Hampshire. WNDS had sold out to a home shopping channel, but the purchasers couldn’t come up with the cash after the deal was made. Al came running back and not only revived The Weather with Al, but also managed to start a full newscast, as well.
I lost all respect for Radnich after I saw him give hockey scores one time. He clearly doesn’t like hockey, and you can hear the disdain in his voice as he quickly reports the scores and mispronounces every single name.
But my vote for SF has got to be Dr. Jang, the grinning dentist moron. Come see Dr. Jang, and he’ll take good care of ya!
Another NW figure from the days of yore… Lou Guzzo. He used to do “editorials” on a news show out of Seattle. He was a real old school curmudgeon, and often editorialized about what was wrong with “the kids these days”. At one point in pre-grunge Seattle, one of his editorials was about the evils of “punk rock”… this in turn led to a Seattle band, The Dehumanizers, to record a song called Kill Lou Guzzo… which led to a lawsuit.
Keith Davis/“The Swami” - Mush-mouthed bloated wannabe sports anchor who used to appeared on the earlier mentioned Jamie Cooper’s programs. Would read the sports, mostly local high school sports with some college (Alabama, Auburn, Tenn) and pro ball (“Braves won. Braves won.”) thrown in. Wore a tuxedo on air every day, for a show that aired 5AM-7AM, and whined that he was being picked on whenever he was interrupted.
His other persona, “The Swami”, was a screaming, howling moron who made sports predictions for the weekend while dressed in a metallic cloth turban and what looked like a velvet mumu.
“I SEE VISIONS! VISIONS OF SCORES - brought to you by Newtritional Health Care, go see them today folks! VISIONS! VISIONS! IN THE NIGHT! AHH! AHH! I CAN’T TAKE THE SCREAMS! A VOLUNTEER WILL BE POUNCED ON BY A TIGER, 27 TO 6! AHHH! AHHH! THE WEREWOLVES ARE CRYING OUT…” He also used to take this act to local bars and clubs until, people would walk out be cause he would get drunk and keep doing the character even when people wanted him to stop.
He used to brag of an 80% accuracy rate on sports picks. They ran an “outpick the swami and win a t-shirt contest” one year, figuring on maybe ten winners for the whole season - they wound up with 100 winners in one week alone, and ended the contest early.
Davis has retired the Swami, but still reads local sports scores on a radio station on Friday nights during high school football and basketball seasons.
Amy Wood IS supremely annoying and self-absorbed. She really really believes that all people should kiss her ass because she is a news anchor. My ex-boyfriends mother used to be her nanny. Man, that was one mal-adjusted child.
I saw his commercials in Syracuse. My favorites were the ones where he stood in front of a blue screen that showed footage of car accidents, people falling, and explosions. Hilarious. BTW, is it true that he has NEVER gone to court? I heard he specializes in settlements.
And I will also second David Pingalore (WNEP-ABC). He gestures wildly with his arms and his ratio of words spoken to information conveyed is very poor. Dude needs to switch to decaf.
I feel like the rest of the country needs to feel sorry for L.A. since we have Jillian Barberie. Ugh. She snipes at people and then says “I was just joking”. THEN when you see someone joke back at her, she get all pouty and offended. She tells the viewer everything about her personal life, wayyyy more than we ever needed to know. So we of L.A. beg of you, maybe your city can offer her a job.
I’ve been seeing those ads for the 24 years I’ve been in the Los Angeles area. I hear he has to do his ads from a chair now.
I think ever single person I’ve asked thought it was “pussy cow” as a little kid (if they were hearing it AS a little kid, of course).
L.A. people should also remember Al Greenwood, The Bedspread King. “An entire city block in Long Beach!” You’d have this veeeery old looking man barely getting out the words, while wearing a “king’s” robe and a crown.
Oh, and you L.A. people, complete this phrase: Pete Ellis Dodge, Long Beach freeway…"
I was going to vote for Richard Wilkins the ubiquitous entertainment report on Network 9 in Australia. His interviews are meaningless, his reviews more of an “I saw it before you did” crapfest.
But then I remembered Eddie McGuire, it is not possible to turn on the TV in Victoria without at some point having Eddie McGuire appear or be referenced to. From memory in a recent survey of Victorians about 70% thought he was overexposed and have had enough of him.
Damn I even previewed, that’ll learn me to post from work and get all distracted by my boss wanting stuff.
Try again -
I was going to vote for Richard Wilkins the ubiquitous entertainment report on Network 9 in Australia. His interviews are meaningless, his reviews more of an “I saw it before you did” crapfest.
But then I remembered Eddie McGuire, it is not possible to turn on the TV in Victoria without at some point having Eddie McGuire appear or be referenced to. From memory in a recent survey of Victorians about 70% thought he was overexposed and have had enough of him.
In the greater Baltimore/Washington, DC area it could be a two-way tie:
Pat Collins, field reporter for NBC 4 in DC. They put him on all the human-interest stories because the man turns everything into the most melodramatic reading you could imagine. It’s scary the number of awards he’s received.
In the Baltimore metro area, without a doubt, it’s Scott Donahoo of Foreign Motors, a local Suzuki/Kia/any other random used car make. I quote from the City Paper’s annual “Best of Baltimore” contest, in which he won “Best Local TV Personality” in 2002:
If only I could remember the name of the “Brain Damage Alert” attorney…
Mort Crim. He was big in radio, then was anchor at Detroit’s NBC affiliate for 20 years.
He gets my vote because he started these pieces called “Second Thoughts” designed to be “messages of hope and inspiration.” It’s like a little two-minute essay about some thing His Dad Always Used to Say, or how seeing the crocuses in spring make him think about rebirth of the world in general. ARGH! It’s so corny.
I had remembered him from my little kid days in LA and then when I saw him in Houston, my brother and I went, “Huh?” like Joel Hodgson.
I had recorded some movies off of channel 39 in Houston and was watching one of them with some friends when I moved to Guthrie Oklahoma. A commercial came on and it was Cal hawking his cars. I was like “What? He followed me to Oklahoma, too?” until someone reminded me where I had recorded the show.
If you asked ANYONE in the Richmond metro area, they’d all give you the same answer:
Andrea McDaniel, the morning anchor for the local NBC affiliate. She’s an obnoxiously perky little number. A stereotypical soccer-mom who’s made it to TV. She could be reporting the second coming of Christ on his golden throne, complete with an exclusive interview, and I’d mute the sound until she was finished. The affiliate also had a perky little traffic reporter/fluffer who mangled every street name in the area until they canner her. The new traffic girl’s name is “Tracy Lynne,” which always reminds me of a porn star.
Now Andrew Friedlin, the weather guy, he’s pretty hot AND he’s entertaining.
WJZ in Baltimore did a promotion of the news team a year or so ago (you know, with idiots going “I feel like he’s talking right to me” and “he’s like a little part of the family that we invite in at 6:00 every evening”). Anyway, the news team was at a picnic and some guy is eating corn-on-the-cob and he says to the camera, “the community is like all the kernels of corn, and Sally, Bob and Kai are like the cob holding the community together.” (or that general effect)
I’ve lived several places, and the car salesman really crack me up. We have one here, Scott Donahoo, who does these little skits and songs. Too numerous and insane to describe. One has a “voice over” saying “who has the biggest selection of new kias and subarus in town?” and then this woman sitting at the wheel of a minivan says, real sexy-like, “scott donahoo”. then the voice “who can get you behind the wheel of a new blah blah blah for no money down?” and the woman says again, like the name realllly turns her on, “scott donahoo can”. It goes on like that until you puke.
In Maine, there’s “Jolly John”, always yelling at the camera.
When I lived in upstate new york, there was a guy who was shrunk down walking across a desk with a country-western jingle playing, “He’s got the sharpest pencils in town. He just sits around. . .making deals. . .and whittlin’ those ol’ pencils down.” I love that crap.
Pittsburgh has a bunch, because on-air talent arrives and never seems to leave. Two immediately spring to mind.
The first, Myron Cope, is a little unfair. By now he only seems to annoy out-of-towners. He’s a color commentator for Steeler football.
The man has a face made for radio and a voice made for print. But he’s been doing broadcasts so damn long, nobody seems to mind.
Yoy, and double yoy.
The second one is a classic story. Nick Perry had worked his way up from just being a laborer and station hand at WTAE to being a recognized and respected on-air personality, best known for hosting Bowling for Dollars. But it all came undone when he figured out a way to fix the Pennsylvania Lottery drawing, which was held at the station at that time.
The ensuing scandal, better known as the infamous “666” case, landed Perry in federal prison and ended his broadcast career.
