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Does anyone remember the crank caller in the late 80's known as Fruitcake?

Fruitcake would also call several Tampa shows with his yenta voice... he started following Tampa radio about the time Lassiter crossed the state. I think he was just 15 or so when he was calling Neil and the others. He should write an article about his days of cranking. We lost something when talk radio became mostly one-way ranting and "dittoheads" and callers were de-emphasized (and cranks weeded out). Screening made millionaires out of halfwit hosts who weren't sharp enough to deal with the radio equivalent of hecklers.
 
The link I posted was from a Tampa show. You may not know that Fruitcake put out a radio newsletter. Hopefully I will have them soon and will post PDF's of them.

There is clip of a Miami show that has Bob on because the host is doing the Memorial Bob Lassiter Poll.

IMHO the 1980's to the mid 1990's were the golden age of Talk Radio!
 
ScottBurns said:
Was Fruitcake the jerk who would end his calls to Neil by calling him a "------"?
Click to expand...

Don't think so, although he did piss off Neil sometimes. Fruitcake was in the studio for a couple of Neil's shows.
 
smedge2006 said:
Fruitcake would also call several Tampa shows with his yenta voice... he started following Tampa radio about the time Lassiter crossed the state. I think he was just 15 or so when he was calling Neil and the others. He should write an article about his days of cranking. We lost something when talk radio became mostly one-way ranting and "dittoheads" and callers were de-emphasized (and cranks weeded out). Screening made millionaires out of halfwit hosts who weren't sharp enough to deal with the radio equivalent of hecklers.
Click to expand...

At http://neilrogers.org/ you can see the Bob Lassiter shows, and the WIOD/WSUN simulcasts that we had found.

We are doing what we can to preserve Florida talk radio. If you know anyone who has tapes of talk shows please contact me or the website. The website is owned by a guy who got into talk radio when he lived in Tampa and became a fan of Bob Lassiter.
 
Mike Lantz was never a cranker, he was a chronic!
He always ID'd himself when he called.
BTW...ML is living happily in North Dade.
 
ai4i said:
Mike Lantz was never a cranker, he was a chronic!
He always ID'd himself when he called.
BTW...ML is living happily in North Dade.
Click to expand...

You are correct that Mike was a chronic caller, and I liked hearing him. :'(
 
NeilFan said:
ai4i said:
Mike Lantz was never a cranker, he was a chronic!
He always ID'd himself when he called.
BTW...ML is living happily in North Dade.
Click to expand...

You are correct that Mike was a chronic caller, and I liked hearing him. :'(
Click to expand...

Happy to know he is doing well. Loved his calls to the "Keeper of the Keys".
 
Editing a John McQ show from 1986. John has Fruitcake as a guest. The topic was Crank Calling. Lately Fruitcake has claimed that he was the voice of Miss Miami Shores, but "she" calls in to speak to him. I got cranked by Fruitcake.
 
This is material that should give all programmers today pause. How many 15 year olds in 2013 would be that obsessive about any radio station, period, much less talkers targeting his grandparents? Programmers have done everything they could over the years to push away the Fruitcakes of the world. Today Son of Fruitcake is in social media somewhere. I have no doubt some of them wish they had a Fruitcake or two in their P1s... or just wish they had P1s.
 
smedge2006 said:
This is material that should give all programmers today pause. How many 15 year olds in 2013 would be that obsessive about any radio station, period, much less talkers targeting his grandparents? Programmers have done everything they could over the years to push away the Fruitcakes of the world. Today Son of Fruitcake is in social media somewhere. I have no doubt some of them wish they had a Fruitcake or two in their P1s... or just wish they had P1s.
Click to expand...

Could not agree more. (4th try at responding)
 
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