Bob Zimmerman Passing Away at 73

[ameyer]

I never worked for him, met him several times and he was charming and affable. However, no need in making the man in his death something that he never was in life.

So...let me ask you this..how do you know he is being made into something he isn't? You just said you never worked for him...so you are basing all your info on a few 3rd party comments...note to self don't cross someone who knows the fryman or he will hate you for good afterwards...

Come on you 4 year old, get over yourself!!!

 

[cadillacjack]

Did you know that the call letters for WRKZ in Pittsburgh are based on Z's initials?

Actually, WRKZ were the ORIGINAL calls for Z107 Hershey PA, which was one of Zimmies own stations, but you are right about the initials relating to the letters.

Z107 was probably one of the best ran, programmed, and sounding country stations in the 80's in the Harrisburg/Lancaster area.

Oddly, Robert Kane Zimmerman always went with the story that Z107's calls were not chosen to mirror his initals. Rather that they wanted a "RockZ" name but went country instead.

Just as WRSC and WQWK had a big cartoon mascot that appeared at remotes (Dandy Lion in the case of the SC stations), Z107/Hershey had a black bear Z-Bear (a name which a select few used to call Bob).

 

[Spackler1]

I worked for him. He used to kick the crutches out from under handicapped children, and would randomly set fire to employees hair. No wait, he was a saintly man who built a children's hospital with just his two hands and a rock hammer, and would often confer with Mother Teresa, Bono, and George Clooney about a variety of charitible causes.

 

[edwardabalama]

He was such a terrible man...

...that he spent his free time in retirement trying to shape the lives of misspent youth who were spending thousands of dollars on an education that served as the pretext for failure. Bob believed in changing that. He wasn't being compensated... well, or at all for his time, but he insisted on teaching. He was a Penn State Grad who actually got a REAL education from the university when they weren't handing out degrees to anyone who could afford it. Instead of watching PSU admin prey on binge drinking frat kids whose lawyer daddy was paying for school, he tried to reshape the program to help them make something out of themselves. I personally had a student catch me in a bar who was taking Z's class and, in tears, tell me he was going to make something out of himself and prove Z wrong! Z's method was harsh, but it worked on those who needed it the most. I'm sure this kid went on to something better than where he was headed (with his hippie-locks and tie-died shirt).

At one point, Z had to be carried to the hospital from class by his students. The guy believed so deeply in helping others that he would rather go to class and collapse from illness than stay at home.

Z was a d***. But only in the way a drill seargent is a d***. He was hard on you because he wanted to see you succeed. He had a great sense of humor and was super intelligent. He was the only teacher that had my full attention every minute of every class. Hell, I could sleep through most PSU classes and still get a B+.

I would have hated to come between Z and his money. I'm sure that those who took their employment with Bob didn't last too long.

 

[cadillacjack]

I would have hated to come between Z and his money. I'm sure that those who took their employment with Bob didn't last too long.

I worked for him at two radio stations and only left to pursue a larger market. He did not suffer fools or slackers, but rewarded those who excelled.

 

[scrubnurse]

A definite loss from someone who grew up in town. R.I.P. from a current radio sales exec.

SN




Board Editor's Note:

Some posts in this topic have been moved to Take It Outside.

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[Snafu]

Still have a hard time believing its been more than a year. There have been times when I've walked past Carnegie Building and expected him to pop out of the front door and drill me about the radio markets I have contact with. He would have torn me to pieces as a yonger broadcaster but I learned alot by watching and listening to him. I am a better person for having been around him.

 

[GoToGuy]

I worked for Z.
He was a nightmare.
If you never worked for him, you have no idea and cannot comment on those to whom he treated very poorly.
I guess we have to forgive him for his 10 martini lunches when he would come back to 160 Clearview Ave. and throw things at people and use profanity to women.
Yea, I guess we should just forget all that...and talk about how great he was to people who never worked for him 1 day in their lives or had do endure often unwarranted his wrath.

 

[fryman]

I'm glad to see there is at least one other person on this board who tells it like it is!

 

[LasVegasRadioJunky]

I just picked up on this thread. I worked for him when he was running Eastern Broadcasting and flipped WPJB in Providence to LITE 105. I have a few stories...

First time I met him I was a student at PSU. I asked him my first radio job and he agreed to interview me over lunch, one of the most memorable meals I have ever had. The conversation was amazing. After lunch, he said, "I need to go to the men's room." Z never came back to the table. After 15 minutes, I checked the Men's room and then the parking lot. His car was gone and he was my ride!! I hiked back to the station and he was gone for the day.

I didn't see him again until around 1983. He walked into the new facility for WWLI/WEAN a few days after I started. As he came down the hall, he started shouting things like, "paint this place, rip up this filthy carpet, let's go!!!!" For the next week, that's what we did. Place turned out great. When he came from The Vineyard several days later, he dawned one white glove. YEP, the infamous white glove inspections did occur.

My last story.... Bob in some ways managed through intimidation. In my experience, one of his favorite phrases was "You Are FIRED!" I can't tell you how many times I was fired. On once occasion, I told him he fired me again I was really going to stop working and leave the building for good. His response was, "GOOD!" The next day he fired me because the teletype needed a new ribbon. So, I packed my things and left. The very next day, the GM called and said, "Zimmerman would like to meet with you at the Biltmore." As we sat down, he was quite polite and gracious. It was like nothing had happened. He asked about my family, if I like Providence, we talked about Penn State, etc. At the end of our meeting as he shook my hand he said, "I like you and you were doing a great job. Can I promote you?"

To sum things up, as I sit here typing my memories, I mourn a mentor in my career. I think I learned that day at the Biltmore that we are all wired differently. When you meet someone that rubs you the wrong way on occasion, stand your ground and you just might earn their respect. BKZ earned mine. I am proud to say that WWLI was an immediate success and much of that was due to Bob's vision. I am also proud to say that I knew him, even if it sometimes was like working for a Santa Claus like character that sometime ran low on lithium.

I read with much interest of the fact that he taught at Penn State in retirement. That does not surprise me at all. At the end of the day, Zimmerman was the kind of guy that wanted to make a difference in your career.

Bob, tonight I will left my glass and toast you, your accomplishments and that crazy twinkle in your eye.

 

[fryman]

What's next? A tribute to Hitler because he liked children and enjoyed painting? C'mon. Give the Z man a rest. I only hope that before he left us, he donned an asbestos suit.