Anybody remember the name of this talk show host?

[johnbasalla]

I remember back in the 1970s, maybe even the late 1960s, an overnight national radio host who, decidedly, put on an easy-going, non-confrontational, non-issues based talk show. It was so bare of interesting content that it was incredibly boring. Like talking about nothing. I can't tell you any specifics about what was talked about because it was sooo devoid of interest, I can't remember a thing about it besides that it was there. It was a show of just passing the time quietly. In Cleveland, Ohio, it probably aired on either AM 1300 (WERE at the time) or WWWE 1100 AM.
Who was the host? Who was the syndicator? How long did the show last?

 

[gr8oldies]

I remember back in the 1970s, maybe even the late 1960s, an overnight national radio host who, decidedly, put on an easy-going, non-confrontational, non-issues based talk show. It was so bare of interesting content that it was incredibly boring. Like talking about nothing. I can't tell you any specifics about what was talked about because it was sooo devoid of interest, I can't remember a thing about it besides that it was there. It was a show of just passing the time quietly. In Cleveland, Ohio, it probably aired on either AM 1300 (WERE at the time) or WWWE 1100 AM.
Who was the host? Who was the syndicator? How long did the show last?

Herb Jepko. Kept the old ladies up and sold them products. Originated from KSL, Salt Lake City, and eventually on the Mutual network.

 

[TheBigA]

Jepko only lasted two years at Mutual. They wanted someone more controversial. They brought in Long John Nebel. He died a year later. Then they hired Larry King.

 

[Gregg.]

I found it interesting that the entire show was just pleasant small talk. No politics, no issues, no author or guest interviews. It was, as I remember it, people phoning in to say hello, we're having some dry weather and my kid's team won their Little League game.

According to Wikipedia, it began on KSL Salt Lake City in 1964. It was called "Nightcap." It was syndicated on Mutual beginning on November 3, 1975. Interestingly, Jepko did the show for eight hours so it would be live overnight on both the East Coast and the West Coast. Mutual dropped it in May 1977, switching to Long John Nebel and his wife Candy Jones from WMCA New York. They only lasted eight months, with Larry King of WIOD Miami taking over in January 1978. (Nebel died in April of 78 and Jones continued the show on her own a few more years on WMCA.)

 

[fybush]

And in a time before social media, a show like Jepko's filled a real void. I saw it to some extent in the waning days of all-night local talk on WBZ. It was rarely political and rarely very deep. It just kept people company when they needed a connection.

I didn't care for Bob Raleigh as a person, but he was tremendously talented at this sort of thing, and Norm Nathan and Steve LeVeille were even better. Larry Glick was a different animal - he made those connections too, but in a way that made it a real "show," if that makes any sense.

By itself, I'm sure it didn't make much money for Westinghouse, but it guaranteed those lonely listeners at 2 AM would still have their radios on 1030 later in the morning or the next afternoon.

The same, I'm sure, was true about Jepko. And even before Mutual, his was essentially a national show by virtue of KSL's huge coverage and at least one eastern affiliate (I want to say WCKY?)

 

[PTBoardOp93]

The same, I'm sure, was true about Jepko. And even before Mutual, his was essentially a national show by virtue of KSL's huge coverage and at least one eastern affiliate (I want to say WCKY?)

According to the 1978 book "That's Not What I Called About", Jepko had "12 strategically placed affiliates".

The first couple sentences of the section on Jepko, retrieved from David E's archives, are below:

If you have never heard Herb Jepko and his "Nitecaps," you
won't believe it when you do. He is the exact opposite of Joe
Pyne and 99% of the successful talk show hosts in America.
If Herb Jepko were any nicer, he would make Mary Poppins
look like a witch. He is a parent's idea of the perfect son.

 

[boombox4]

Stan Evans was similar. An overnight guy who rarely, if ever, delved into politics, if memory serves. He wasn't on in the Seattle area very long. His show was played when conservative talk radio still was in its infancy, but talk radio in general was growing in popularity.

 

[gr8oldies]

And in a time before social media, a show like Jepko's filled a real void. I saw it to some extent in the waning days of all-night local talk on WBZ. It was rarely political and rarely very deep. It just kept people company when they needed a connection.

I didn't care for Bob Raleigh as a person, but he was tremendously talented at this sort of thing, and Norm Nathan and Steve LeVeille were even better. Larry Glick was a different animal - he made those connections too, but in a way that made it a real "show," if that makes any sense.

By itself, I'm sure it didn't make much money for Westinghouse, but it guaranteed those lonely listeners at 2 AM would still have their radios on 1030 later in the morning or the next afternoon.

The same, I'm sure, was true about Jepko. And even before Mutual, his was essentially a national show by virtue of KSL's huge coverage and at least one eastern affiliate (I want to say WCKY?)

WHAS carried Jepko. I thought at one point he was in 4 50kW clears but I couldn't tell you the other 2.