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Doug Hoerth

PittsburghKid

PittsburghKid

Hey All:

Recently came across some Doug Hoerth shows on YouTube and I realized that its now been two years since he has been gone. Many of these YouTube videos feature his counterpart, Laurence Gaines and its hard realizing that both of this guys who really sound like they are having fun in the studio as the entertained Pittsburgh are both now gone.

Anyways, I was wondering, does anyone know exactly what Doug passed away from? I know the papers said natural causes, I didn't know if anyone knew anything more since its been now two years. It's just a shame that regardless of what your opinion of his show was, how much he struggled in his personal life after leaving 1360. Somewhere I am sure out there are the audio files when he guest hosted on a Internet radio show about a year later after his firing, but that was the last we heard of him. Would love any input you may have on our late Uncle Dougie.
 
PittsburghKid said:
Anyways, I was wondering, does anyone know exactly what Doug passed away from? I know the papers said natural causes, I didn't know if anyone knew anything more since its been now two years.
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Under federal HIPAA laws, that is protected private information.
 
Sadly, you knew Hoerth was really depressed when he said he threw away all his old tapes of his shows.

That's like a poet throwing away all his work. Only this time there was no library for future generations to read the poetry!

Outside of a small circle of friends, Hoerth never knew how to embrace those who would have loved him.
 
Pratte4Life said:
Sadly, you knew Hoerth was really depressed when he said he threw away all his old tapes of his shows.

That's like a poet throwing away all his work. Only this time there was no library for future generations to read the poetry!

Outside of a small circle of friends, Hoerth never knew how to embrace those who would have loved him.
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Pratte, hearing that he threw away his old tapes is hard to hear. From what I once read, Jack Paar did the same thing following his television career. Doug was a talent and even though he is gone, there are still few clips on YouTube which carry on his legacy. He can continue to make us laugh and he can continue to inspire future broadcasters years from now in ways Doug may have never imagined.
 
Not unlike all the major TV networks wiping all their tapes up until around 1970.
At the time you just did not see the future value.
 
What a shame. Even tv stations could have had so many programming opportunities by airing their old, locally produced programs on their digital subchannels. At every tv station I worked, viewers frequently called or emailed to find out if they could get a copy of a popular children's show or news broadcast. Sadly, the majority of those programs weren't saved.

I'm sure KDKA, WTAE, and WPXI could make a lot of money by selling copies of their locally produced shows.
 
FreddyE1977 said:
Not unlike all the major TV networks wiping all their tapes up until around 1970.
At the time you just did not see the future value.
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No comparison at all. Stations re-used the tape because those reels were expensive and huge. In addition to constantly buying new reels, you'd need to constantly add storage space.

Hoerth's stuff was on cassettes that could have fit in a box in a closet. He threw them away because he gave up and his life was in turmoil.
 
Yeah.

We had Rick Starr come on and tell us that he was never a real ratings champ, but he did have a very devoted audience that would have followed him anywhere.

In hindsight, an internet site with his archived tapes along with Doug doing his show online could have been; I don't want to say huge, but successful.
 
Ex-Newz Dude said:
What a shame. Even tv stations could have had so many programming opportunities by airing their old, locally produced programs on their digital subchannels. At every tv station I worked, viewers frequently called or emailed to find out if they could get a copy of a popular children's show or news broadcast. Sadly, the majority of those programs weren't saved.

I'm sure KDKA, WTAE, and WPXI could make a lot of money by selling copies of their locally produced shows.
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I wish some of the old shows had been saved, but the initial investment in tape, along with the cost of storage, cataloging and dubbing would have far outweighed any profit that could have been made selling them piecemeal. That's assuming the original source material would have held up over the years, too.
 
Pratte4Life said:
We had Rick Starr come on and tell us that he was never a real ratings champ, but he did have a very devoted audience that would have followed him anywhere.
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I never really figured out why either (or I wouldn't have hired him, obviously.) I really thought he would work in Cigna's slot after we moved Cigna to mornings, but he didn't. I was influenced by my experience at WBZ in Boston, where Larry Glick had a 10-2 show that was even bigger than Cigna's had been. And the show was actually pretty similar: trivia, light talk, entertainment, blah blah blah.

Well we put Doug on and it tanked. Ad we gave it a little more time and it tanked. And we waited a bit longer and it tanked. And finally had to pull the plug. In fairness, Larry Glick had hosted the overnight show for a decade on WBZ where he developed the audience, which then followed him when we rolled him up by a couple hours. Doug never had that advantage.

And then sometimes things just don't work. I recall when Carolyn Wean went to manage KYW-TV in Philadelphia and dragged Bill Currie along with her as their "new" 11PM sports guy. Disaster. He'd worked we'll in Pittsburgh (not with the hard core, but with the general audience) but again, Pittsburgh had grown up with him, he started off fairly traditional, then went to the crazy suits and hats and stuff - then landed full force in Philly and everybody said "Who is this clown?"

I really thought Doug had a talent, but sadly the numbers didn't confirm it, either at KD it elsewhere, so far as I ever knew.
 
I always thought Uncle Dougie had a strong following, especially when he worked at the old news/talk 1250 WTAE. He spent several years there in different time slots. When I interned there in the late '80s as a young college student, he was nice to me. Maybe Hearst was trying to be patient with his ratings like Mr. Starr at KDKA.

By the way, I loved when Mr. Starr made appearances with John Cigna & The K-Team. That was great radio!
 
Here's my question, though:

Would you rather have a large audience or one that is smaller but fanatical?

It would seem to me the fanatical fan base would be more inclined to patronize sponsors, whereas the people who listen for background music couldn't really tell you who the sponsors were.

Hence, couldn't a station sell Doug Hoerth in a manner similar to how an ethnic show is sold on a small AM?
 
Pratte4Life said:
Here's my question, though:

Would you rather have a large audience or one that is smaller but fanatical?

It would seem to me the fanatical fan base would be more inclined to patronize sponsors, whereas the people who listen for background music couldn't really tell you who the sponsors were.
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I remember listening to Howard Stern when he was available in Pittsburgh. Unlike most other radio personalities, he actively promoted his sponsers and instructed his listeners to support them if they liked his show. And when he lost a sponsor, he would instruct his listeners not to support that product (Snapple comes to mind). I don't think many radio people (Doug included) ever made it as black and white for their listeners.
 
Pratte4Life said:
Here's my question, though:

Would you rather have a large audience or one that is smaller but fanatical?

It would seem to me the fanatical fan base would be more inclined to patronize sponsors, whereas the people who listen for background music couldn't really tell you who the sponsors were.

Hence, couldn't a station sell Doug Hoerth in a manner similar to how an ethnic show is sold on a small AM?
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Much easier to stay employed with a large audience.

Big stations won't invest the resources to make a go of a hard sale unless they have no other options.
 
The other thing is there's no guarantee the product/service being offered by an advertiser is something a listener can or will use. If Joe's Barber Shop is a sponsor of your favorite show, are you going to forsake your corner shop and start driving to Coraopolis to support Joe? Are you going to buy dubious snake oil cures because that's what an advertiser is pitching? You can love the show, but you're not going to buy your next car at Joe's Toyota when another dealership has a price that's $2,000 better. No matter how many spots Joe's Sushi Shop buys, I still don't want sushi.
 
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