Flashback: "Governors" article from '89; Howie's aft debut ('94?)

[raccoonradio]

An article orig. from the Boston Globe by Scot Lehigh (as Scat He-Lies as Severin calls him) about "The Governors", from 1989. Jerry Williams would have Barbara Anderson and Howie Carr on every Tue.
afternoon (theme song: "Mod Squad" theme)

http://www.jerrywilliams.org/articl...ame=Governors on the airwaves spread cynicism

Lehigh talks about how Jerry, Barbara, and Howie spread "cynicism" about state government. He implies
that maybe they weren't as listened to as most people would think, and felt that with Dukakis leaving
(decided not to run for re-election in '90) their form of talk radio would probably die out. Not so, as it
turned out.
Jerry is quoted as saying that he's hasn't really turned from liberal to conservative--he felt liberals
turned into "statists" (more gov., higher taxes/fees/fines/control) and he felt he was the last true
liberal left.

Barbara is quoted as saying she wasn't quite happy with Howie' nicknames for people, btw.
And Howie is mentioned for his attacks on hacks. He's described as a "lower middle class kid"
who is not so fond of "anything that smacks of privilege". (These days he's making 800 large of
course, but note that it's private money, not public...)

Howie: "My feeling is I am like a sports fan at a game. I pay my money to get in here, I pay my money every week in taxes, I think I have a right to boo who I want to boo since I bought the ticket."

Now let's remember Howie's debut in the aft time slot at WRKO which was right around this time
in 1994. Trying to remember, was it American Tower who owned 'RKO at the time, and did they
also own 850? Anyway, from what I can recall:

--Howie and Barbara appearances as "the governors" on Jerry's show, late 90s. Bob Katzen took over
for Howie when Howie left

--Howie did morning show on 'RKO--three hours,and one hour overlapped with a show done together with
Victoria Jones, a British liberal.

--Howie moved to WHDH 850 which also had Rush on at one point, 12-3 pm, followed by Howie. If you go
to Howie's site you can hear a clip of a show he did in Aug of 94 (interviewing "Chappaquiddick diver")
and you'll hear a bumper with "Crystal Blue Persuasion" and what I think is Jim Cutler's voice introducing him

--Sept of 94--in a deal, the sports intellectual property of WEEI 590 is bought and sent to 850 which
will become the new 'EEI, and Rush and Howie move to WRKO. Howie gets Jerry's afternoon slot
(insert remarks here by Casablanca about Howie figuratively stabbing Jerry in the back) and Jerry
moves to mornings ("fastest two hours in radio") and then weekends, and then off (with no "last show"
done...though 'RKO does allow Jerry back for one last goodbye a bit later. I have it on tape.)

--And now it looks like Howie's moving to FM. Jerry is in talk show heaven. Barbara is still out
there (writes columns, etc.)

I did have Howie's debut on tape but drat, taped over it later. I do remember them playing "Welcome
Back" by John Sebastian as bumper music. Now, I didn't get much chance to hear Howie's show
on WHDH 850 because I was at work and WHDH didn't come in too well (so I heard Jerry instead,
or bits and pieces of Howie). Who was this "Virgin Boy" character that Howie was working with...?
Hmm.

I also remember when Howie would fill in for Jerry and I would eagerly listen; while I did like Jerry
I liked Howie a bit more. "Good afternoon New England, this is Howie Carr from the Boston Herald
and I'm filling in for the Dean today."

 

[raccoonradio]

Apparently Dukakis had referred to JW, BA, and HC in saying "Mass has one governor, not three" (i.e.,
they thought THEY were in charge). Jerry then turned Dukakis' own words on him by starting to
refer to the three of them as "The Governors". Also "the unholy trio"

Interesting fact: in 1994 there was so much disdain for "politics as usual" in MA that Bill Weld, a
Republican, was re-elected (figures acc. to Wikipedia) with a total of 71 per cent of the vote
to Mark Roosevelt's (D) 28. As Castiglione would say, can YOU believe it. In Mass!

Remember Howie making fun of the Duke as “Pee Wee”?

Jerry would have an impersonator on—Jim Flaherty, I
think his name is?—doing the Duke complete with all
the “errs” and “very, very”s. Once Flaherty was on
with Brudnoy and I called in. He joked (in the Duke’s
voice) about turning the Golden Dome of the State House
upside down and having people throw money in, etc.
One reg. joke he did: “We’ll er, er, look at the
numbers and talk to the people, and then we’ll
talk to the numbers and look at the people.”

Jerry was suddenly let go but later when a new regime came into WRKO they let Jerry
do one last goodbye show. I have it on tape. March of ‘03
I think? Jerry died a couple months later (and I have
Howie’s tribute show from around then)

I also remember Jerry trying to do a show on “WMEX AM 1060”
(now a biz talk station). he sounded confused and a bit
slow; some of it may have been trying to get used to
a new station/board but he also was suffering from some
kind of disease—Parkinsons or something—and that may have been a part of it.

Jerry’s obit in the Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/daily/29/williams_obit.htm

 

[raccoonradio]

Jay Severin, for the record, has nicknamed the author as "Scat He-Lies".

We grew up with Jerry, who was originally seen as a liberal but later re-branded himself a populist.

Jerry would rail about hacks and cronies, fees, fines, and taxes, and Gov. Dukakis running for President ("Unelectable...", sang one of Jerry's listeners, to the tune of "Unforgettable"). Sound like a modern liberal to you?

By the way I read someone's comment about Margery Eagan's recent column about Jon Keller's new book The Bluest State--apparently there's a bit in there about angry libs marching to Barbara Anderson's house to protest her involvement in trying to reduce taxes (Citizens for Ltd. Taxation). They're surprised to find this big conservative figure had a really...modest...house in Marblehead (and wasn't home, she was at work).

My God! The big bad conservative actually wasn't living in a mansion? She was out...working? (not on a trust fund like some libs!)

The article does mention the activism Jerry had engendered: get out there and call your Legislator! Not necessarily used these days.

Nynex= the then-current name for the local phone company.

Lehigh felt apparently that talk radio hosts like Jerry (and Barbara and Howie, regular guests at the time) would be "cutting their own throats" because people would be angry for a different reason: tax cuts would mean many service cuts. In other words, big government is what really matters, acc. to him. (Howie
admits that services are needed but govt can get greedy...)

And (conservative) talk radio has NOT died...

>>It was, as the State House idiom goes, "classic Howie." Which means two things: funny and unfair.

No, funny and COMPLETELY fair. Unfair in the minds of the hacks, maybe.

---
>>In one recent episode, WRKO's $200,000-plus-a-year talkmaster

They were paying Jerry 200 large back then? I am shocked, shocked...
He was worth every penny and more.

 

[brassband]

A couple of Jerry memories:

1. He used to talk about one of his early jobs in radio broadcasting high school football for some station that was in the western part of Virginia near the Tennessee border, and the state line actually ran through the town. I can't remember the name of the town, but whatever it was it was described as being in Virginia-Tennessee.

2. For many year he would run a replay of a tribute he had done to JFK called "Dear Jack."

3. He was often aggravated by the fact that, over the years, whenever news broke on one of his programs, the Globe or Herald would often leave out his name and the name of the station he was on and just describe him generically as "a talk host." He speculated that when he died, he would be listed in the obituaries as "Talk Host," without his name. That sure didn't happen!

4. In addition to all the political stuff, he would also interview entertainment figures who were touring in Boston or pushing books or movies, etc. He had a great moniker for second-tier stars who were not "big names;" he would refer to the person as a "semi-name." Don't know whether he thought of it, but it really captures the concept.

 

[Casablanca]

This reads like Howie Carr's obituary which is what many on us have been looking forward to for year. After all, Howie is not a well man; he is fat, near 60 Years Old, has Osteoporosis and often repeats himself - or at least does the same programs over and over and over again. Can drooling and a nursing home for this old codger be far behind?
When are visting hours. If he were Jewish and his family held Shivas do you think anyone would come?R.I.P.

An article orig. from the Boston Globe by Scot Lehigh (as Scat He-Lies as Severin calls him) about "The Governors", from 1989. Jerry Williams would have Barbara Anderson and Howie Carr on every Tue.
afternoon (theme song: "Mod Squad" theme)

http://www.jerrywilliams.org/articl...ame=Governors on the airwaves spread cynicism

Lehigh talks about how Jerry, Barbara, and Howie spread "cynicism" about state government. He implies
that maybe they weren't as listened to as most people would think, and felt that with Dukakis leaving
(decided not to run for re-election in '90) their form of talk radio would probably die out. Not so, as it
turned out.
Jerry is quoted as saying that he's hasn't really turned from liberal to conservative--he felt liberals
turned into "statists" (more gov., higher taxes/fees/fines/control) and he felt he was the last true
liberal left.

Barbara is quoted as saying she wasn't quite happy with Howie' nicknames for people, btw.
And Howie is mentioned for his attacks on hacks. He's described as a "lower middle class kid"
who is not so fond of "anything that smacks of privilege". (These days he's making 800 large of
course, but note that it's private money, not public...)

Howie: "My feeling is I am like a sports fan at a game. I pay my money to get in here, I pay my money every week in taxes, I think I have a right to boo who I want to boo since I bought the ticket."

Now let's remember Howie's debut in the aft time slot at WRKO which was right around this time
in 1994. Trying to remember, was it American Tower who owned 'RKO at the time, and did they
also own 850? Anyway, from what I can recall:

--Howie and Barbara appearances as "the governors" on Jerry's show, late 90s. Bob Katzen took over
for Howie when Howie left

--Howie did morning show on 'RKO--three hours,and one hour overlapped with a show done together with
Victoria Jones, a British liberal.

--Howie moved to WHDH 850 which also had Rush on at one point, 12-3 pm, followed by Howie. If you go
to Howie's site you can hear a clip of a show he did in Aug of 94 (interviewing "Chappaquiddick diver")
and you'll hear a bumper with "Crystal Blue Persuasion" and what I think is Jim Cutler's voice introducing him

--Sept of 94--in a deal, the sports intellectual property of WEEI 590 is bought and sent to 850 which
will become the new 'EEI, and Rush and Howie move to WRKO. Howie gets Jerry's afternoon slot
(insert remarks here by Casablanca about Howie figuratively stabbing Jerry in the back) and Jerry
moves to mornings ("fastest two hours in radio") and then weekends, and then off (with no "last show"
done...though 'RKO does allow Jerry back for one last goodbye a bit later. I have it on tape.)

--And now it looks like Howie's moving to FM. Jerry is in talk show heaven. Barbara is still out
there (writes columns, etc.)

I did have Howie's debut on tape but drat, taped over it later. I do remember them playing "Welcome
Back" by John Sebastian as bumper music. Now, I didn't get much chance to hear Howie's show
on WHDH 850 because I was at work and WHDH didn't come in too well (so I heard Jerry instead,
or bits and pieces of Howie). Who was this "Virgin Boy" character that Howie was working with...?
Hmm.

I also remember when Howie would fill in for Jerry and I would eagerly listen; while I did like Jerry
I liked Howie a bit more. "Good afternoon New England, this is Howie Carr from the Boston Herald
and I'm filling in for the Dean today."

 

[Casablanca]

The town is Bristol Tennessee. He also told the story of crashing his new Hudson there as well. The car was a tank or at least as heavy as one if you have ever seen those late 1940 versions.

A couple of Jerry memories:

1. He used to talk about one of his early jobs in radio broadcasting high school football for some station that was in the western part of Virginia near the Tennessee border, and the state line actually ran through the town. I can't remember the name of the town, but whatever it was it was described as being in Virginia-Tennessee.

2. For many year he would run a replay of a tribute he had done to JFK called "Dear Jack."

3. He was often aggravated by the fact that, over the years, whenever news broke on one of his programs, the Globe or Herald would often leave out his name and the name of the station he was on and just describe him generically as "a talk host." He speculated that when he died, he would be listed in the obituaries as "Talk Host," without his name. That sure didn't happen!

4. In addition to all the political stuff, he would also interview entertainment figures who were touring in Boston or pushing books or movies, etc. He had a great moniker for second-tier stars who were not "big names;" he would refer to the person as a "semi-name." Don't know whether he thought of it, but it really captures the concept.

 

[Casablanca]

Jerry Williams was right about not getting any coverage [ positive coverage] from the Boston Globe or Herald or TV except on one occasion.

In early 1982 Vanessa Redgrave's contract to do a reading of Peter and The Wolf or a similar reading at the BSO had been canceled by the stiffs at the BSO because of her avowed PLO leanings.

It was a major story at the time but no one at interviewed her locally.
So, as Jerry's Executive Producer I tracked down Redgrave's agent and found out from him that she was flying into New York City the next week. He gave me her phone number in London and I called her and invited her to come to Boston while she was in the States for an interview with Jerry. She accepted without hesitation.

So, we flew her in from New York, picked her up at Logan in a Rolls Royce and put her up at the Copley Plaza. Later in the afternoon I met her - chauffeured Rolls Royce and all and escorted her to WRKO's studios at 7 Bullfinch Place for a 2 Hour interview with Jerry Williams, live and unedited on WRKO.

The studio was packed with reporters from both the Globe and the Herald as well as every local television and RADIO stations and some national feeds as well to cover Jerry Williams "Exclusive" interview with Redgrave.

Later in the day Channels 4,5 & 7 led with Jerry Williams interview in which as much as they would have liked to could not edit Jerry out of the picture.

The next day, the Globe and the Herald also gave Jerry Williams credit grudgingly.

It was with much glee we heard the then news station WEEI 590 report what their competition up the dial had done. WBZ had to do the same thing too.

As Steve Mindich told me later, this was the first time in Boston radio history that other radio station had to cover what another radio station was doing because of the news value of the story.

A few weeks later, the likes of Peter Meade, who was then on WBZ Radio had Redgrave on and had the nerve to call it an "exclusive". Yeah, an "exclusive" to WBZ Radio perhaps weeks after Jerry and I had pulled the real "exclusive".

Again, the printed press and the broadcast media were caught in a bind. We made news and they had to report it like it or not that they had to give attribution to The Jerry Williams Program.

Today, what does talk radio consist of...."exclusive" death pools and 'chump lines'. Yeah, we really have outstanding talk radio today.

 

[raccoonradio]

>>Howie Carr's obituary which is what many on us have been looking forward to

Casablanca, you sound like Julianne Malveaux, who once said of Clarence Thomas, "You know, I hope his wife feeds him lots of eggs and butter and he dies early like many black men do, of heart disease."* I guess
you just can't wait for him to kick the bucket, eh. Well, may you, and Howie, both live to see 100.

Have you seen Howie lately? I saw him in June of '06 when he appeared at The Paper Store in Beverly.
Sorry to tell you but Howie looks just fine.

>>Can drooling and a nursing home for this old codger be far behind?

I can only hope that your mental and physical capacities would be as good as Howie's. Howie will live
to a ripe old age, just so you can be tormented by him

>>which is what many on us have been looking forward to for year

Forgot the s. It's in the middle row between the "a" and the "d"

It's too bad I never got to hear the JFK tribute. That was probably something.

>>He speculated that when he died, he would be listed in the obituaries as "Talk Host," without his name. That sure didn't happen!

Thankfully, he did get proper notice and respect when he passed away. Though sometimes he'd
get a protest together, like the ones against the New Braintree prison, and the papers would "lowball"
the attendance count.

>>he would also interview entertainment figures

Indeed he would. Pasquale Caputo, ladies and gentlemen, better known as Pat Cooper!

Good work Casa on helping to get Redgrave to the studio!

>>As Steve Mindich told me later, this was the first time in Boston radio history that other radio station had to cover what another radio station was doing because of the news value of the story.

Wow!

>>Today, what does talk radio consist of...."exclusive" death pools and 'chump lines'. Yeah, we really have outstanding talk radio today.

That's OK, I like it and so do many others. There's NPR if you want to zzzzzzzz...sorry, tuned to
90.9 for a second and I dozed off...
Casa, may you live many, many more years so we can continue to read your entertaining posts
and typing mistakes (fret not, happens to me, too) and may Howie do the same. Hey Howie--
write a bio of Jerry (full book)!

*--cf. http://www.mrc.org/notablequotables/dishonor1999/welcomeaward6.asp
Malveaux, for the record, is also an African-American.
"I’m a Compassionate Liberal But I Wish You Were All Dead Award (for media hatred of conservatives) "

 

[Casablanca]

I dunno about yous but me wordprowsesser tipes missteaks

As to the Howie Carr "obit" that was of course a bit of hyperbole or if your prefer hyper bolie...
Jerry was just about Howie's age now when Carr started his ageism routine on him. So, Howie is just getting a dose of his own medicine

>>Howie Carr's obituary which is what many on us have been looking forward to

Casablanca, you sound like Julianne Malveaux, who once said of Clarence Thomas, "You know, I hope his wife feeds him lots of eggs and butter and he dies early like many black men do, of heart disease."* I guess
you just can't wait for him to kick the bucket, eh. Well, may you, and Howie, both live to see 100.

Have you seen Howie lately? I saw him in June of '06 when he appeared at The Paper Store in Beverly.
Sorry to tell you but Howie looks just fine.

>>Can drooling and a nursing home for this old codger be far behind?

I can only hope that your mental and physical capacities would be as good as Howie's. Howie will live
to a ripe old age, just so you can be tormented by him

>>which is what many on us have been looking forward to for year

Forgot the s. It's in the middle row between the "a" and the "d"

It's too bad I never got to hear the JFK tribute. That was probably something.

>>He speculated that when he died, he would be listed in the obituaries as "Talk Host," without his name. That sure didn't happen!

Thankfully, he did get proper notice and respect when he passed away. Though sometimes he'd
get a protest together, like the ones against the New Braintree prison, and the papers would "lowball"
the attendance count.

>>he would also interview entertainment figures

Indeed he would. Pasquale Caputo, ladies and gentlemen, better known as Pat Cooper!

Good work Casa on helping to get Redgrave to the studio!

>>As Steve Mindich told me later, this was the first time in Boston radio history that other radio station had to cover what another radio station was doing because of the news value of the story.

Wow!

>>Today, what does talk radio consist of...."exclusive" death pools and 'chump lines'. Yeah, we really have outstanding talk radio today.

That's OK, I like it and so do many others. There's NPR if you want to zzzzzzzz...sorry, tuned to
90.9 for a second and I dozed off...
Casa, may you live many, many more years so we can continue to read your entertaining posts
and typing mistakes (fret not, happens to me, too) and may Howie do the same. Hey Howie--
write a bio of Jerry (full book)!

*--cf. http://www.mrc.org/notablequotables/dishonor1999/welcomeaward6.asp
Malveaux, for the record, is also an African-American.
"I’m a Compassionate Liberal But I Wish You Were All Dead Award (for media hatred of conservatives) "

 

[raccoonradio]

>>So, Howie is just getting a dose of his own medicine

Howie is about 10 years and one month older than me (Jan of '52 vs Feb of '62) so he'll turn 56 early
next year. Howie has said his father is still alive--over 100 years old. Wikipedia says Howard Carr Sr.
was 47 when Howie was born in '52. (His mom was only 29 at the time). It says he was raised by
his aunt Mabel. If Howie's dad is still kicking around at 100 +, there's a sign that longevity could
be in his genes. Just don't overdose on the fried clams and tar-tar sauce, HC...