Johnny Michaels/The Tender Bar

[Rance Butler]

Recently watched The Tender Bar movie on Netflix, based on the memoirs of writer J. R. Moehringer. It's revealed his alcoholic deadbeat dad is the famous NY DJ Johnny Michaels. Young JR only meets his father a couple times and mostly just hears his voice on the radio.

I'm not from NYC, so I know little about him. Anyone here have any memories about him and his radio presence in NY? Toward the end of the movie it's mentioned he's down south doing a talk show? Anyone know what town he migrated to?

 

[davideduardo]

Recently watched The Tender Bar movie on Netflix, based on the memoirs of writer J. R. Moehringer. It's revealed his alcoholic deadbeat dad is the famous NY DJ Johnny Michaels. Young JR only meets his father a couple times and mostly just hears his voice on the radio.

I'm not from NYC, so I know little about him. Anyone here have any memories about him and his radio presence in NY? Toward the end of the movie it's mentioned he's down south doing a talk show? Anyone know what town he migrated to?

"Search" is your friend.

"WOR-FM Remembers: Johnny Michaels was our original all-night DJ when we launched our contemporary music format in 1966. "

"Johnny Michaels who came from WOR-FM. He was at WMCA in 1969/70. After WMCA went talk in 1970, he moved to WNBC, and then worked as a national promotion man for AVCO Embassy records in 1972. As of 1996 he was doing talk radio in North Carolina."

He reportedly passed away a few years ago.

 

[Rance Butler]

I was hoping to find out more about the man himself. What kind of guy never sees his kid while being abusive to women? Anybody reading this ever meet him?

 

[TheBigA]

Before my time, but I've noticed that marriages and their offspring tend to be casualties of the radio business.

 

[Marcos_C]

What kind of guy never sees his kid while being abusive to women?

A guy who is abusive toward women is a horrible role model for any kid of his, whether he sees the kid or not.

 

[Wimmmex]

Anyone see/hear any airchecks of this Johnny Michaels WOR-FM or WMCA online?

(I keep seeing airchecks that are labeled "not THAT Johnny Michaels". Apparently there were many "Johnny Michaels".)

 

[Theater of My Mind]

(I keep seeing airchecks that are labeled "not THAT Johnny Michaels". Apparently there were many "Johnny Michaels".)

Typical fake radio name -- just use two first names. And those two happen to be about as common and generic as can be.

 

[tom butters]

I was hoping to find out more about the man himself. What kind of guy never sees his kid while being abusive to women? Anybody reading this ever meet him?

Knew him "well." He was a charming pathological liar. Became my Marine son's godfather under the guise of having been a Marine (he was Air Force), purchased son's costly officer's sword for him and attended his OCS graduation. His tale about marriage and fatherhood differed from JRM's. Some things were true: he was on air before Imus' daypart; he opened and operated a small restaurant in the shadow of Grand Central, where his backers (as I presumed them to be) sat in the back glowering; Johnny called me one day at work and asked if he could borrow money to blow town, I suspect because the backers wanted something....

 

[Weiserguy]

"Search" is your friend.

"WOR-FM Remembers: Johnny Michaels was our original all-night DJ when we launched our contemporary music format in 1966. "

"Johnny Michaels who came from WOR-FM. He was at WMCA in 1969/70. After WMCA went talk in 1970, he moved to WNBC, and then worked as a national promotion man for AVCO Embassy records in 1972. As of 1996 he was doing talk radio in North Carolina."

He reportedly passed away a few years ago.

I don't know who wrote this, but I was an avid listener to WOR-FM in both the "progressive" and "Drake" iterations back in the 60's. At the beginning of the progressive ('66-67) era, there was no overnight shift. They simulcast WOR-AM's Rambling with Gambling show until 9am, and then Johnny Michaels did 5 hours until 2pm (IIRC). Then it was Scott Muni from 2-6m, Murray the K 6-10p, and Rosko 10p-2a. At 2am they went back to simulcasting the Barry Farber program.

A few months later they started breaking off from Gambling at 6am, and had this weird split-shift schedule where Michaels worked 6-9am and then Noon-3pm. Muni had 9am-Noon and 3-6pm. Then Murray and then Rosko as stated above. Jim Lounsbury handled fill-ins and a weekend shift, and at some point in the run I think Dick Burch joined the air staff. (Though it's possible he was their first PD and I'm misremembering that.)

However, Johnny Michaels was never the overnight guy at WOR-FM. Possibly at WMCA or WNBC, but not 'OR.

 

[Weiserguy]

I was hoping to find out more about the man himself. What kind of guy never sees his kid while being abusive to women? Anybody reading this ever meet him?

I was invited by the then-PD, Art Wander, to come up to WOR-FM and hang with the air staff on Memorial Day 1967. I was probably there for 7 or 8 hours. I distinctly remember Scott Muni as being friendly, outgoing, and quite funny when the mic was off. (He let me sit in the air booth with him for periods of time.)

Johnny Michaels was very much the opposite: cold, controlled, standoffish. He gave off a vibe of "leave me alone and let me do my job." (During his shift I stayed in the control room with the engineers/board ops.) Considering this was a major holiday and the suits were nowhere to be found, not to mention that it was also the day WOR-FM introduced the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album to New York (IN STEREO!!!), he seemed to not want to be there.

I saw part of The Tender Bar last year. (I thought it was Amazon Prime, but I could be wrong and it might have been Netflix.). It was hard to believe that character was the same guy I met that day in 1967. But people have a fascinating ability to compartmentalize, and maybe that was his deal. And as much as it pained him growing up, Moehringer might have been better off being kept at a distance from his father. I sure wouldn't have wanted "Johnny Michaels" to have been my father.

 

[Weiserguy]

Some things were true: he was on air before Imus' daypart...

Which would have been when he was at WNBC in the mid-70's. (One of the jocks who got swept out when Bob Pittman arrive from Chicago with his "FM-on-AM concept in 1976 or '77, along with Imus, Bruce Morrow, Joe McCoy, Walt Baby Love, etc.) A decade later than his WOR-FM stint, and by then the only shift he should have had on a station like 'NBC..

 

[tom butters]

I think Johnny was terribly insecure. He took me and wife to Lutece (then Manhattan's primo eatery), but because he'd gotten sunburned he had to drink his Chateaux Costly through a straw and nibble on bits. He was truly a fine chef, though, hosting a cable cooking show, The Happy Cooker- which also was the name of his restaurant where pals had sandwiches named after them; he came to our home in New Canaan one afternoon, wife was on her way as I recall and kids were at sitter, and said he'd fix dinner; we'd not shopped and I said there's nothing to eat. He said hold my beer, and proceeded to fix the best gnocchi I ever had, and chocolate mousse, and bless him he washed the pots and pans as he went, leaving no mess when wife arrived home. He was always interesting, could be a difficult drunk, was a prodigious fabulist, had magnificent pipes and all in all added to the fabric of our lives without a real downside. My contact with him began at an airport in Indiana ("Does Indianapolis have an airport?" he asked) and ended years and miles later when he was living with a gal in, I think Pa, passing from I think congestive heart failure or a respiratory malady.