Jerry Williams: The Book ?
Is this Alan Tolz promised book about Jerry?
Wonder how he handles Howie Carr's plot to overthrow the Dean.
Tolz gave an interview to the Boston Globe or Boston Magazine about Jerry while Jerry was still on WRKO. In print at least Tolz was not too complimentary to his patron. He was Jerry's producer in Philadelphia at WWDB-FM . Basically, Tolz seemed to have adopted Howie Carr's line that Jerry was old and past his prime and "lost his fast ball".
Always thought the main problem with Jerry's show in his last years at WRKO was poor producers and poor production. You always had to give Jerry enough options that fit into his style to keep his program alive and vital. If not it would fall into a rut as Howie Carr's has fallen into.
Seems Jerry had only "call screeners" in the last years at WRKO under Entercom and no direction from the PD. I think that management at the time was hoping that it would kill the shows ratings and they could dump Jerry. Sort of benign neglect on Entercom management's part. Also, they could get someone for less than they were paying Williams. Well, it worked along with Howie Carr's daily push in print and on-air.
One factor they didn't count on was that killing Jerry's show would also kill Jerry Williams. As his daughter Eve said at his funeral, her dad died the day WRKO killed his show.
Jerry was a complex and ego driven guy but with a native intelligence,skill and talent to tap into the public conscience. He didn't always give his audience what they wanted to hear - such as his early stand against the war in Vietnam that got him on Nixon's enemy list [ Jerry was also Jewish which probably put him near the top of that anti-semite's hate list] and eventually caused his contract at WBZ radio not to be renewed by some cowardly suits at Westinghouse. Jerry was most often ahead of the public on important issues and very rarely pandered as so many pretenders to the throne do now - some even hide they are Phi Beta Kappa so they can pander even more to the lowest common demoninator.
Don't think we will ever see the likes of Jerry Williams again. As the late bandleader Guy Lombardo said when he dies he was taking New Year's Eve with him. Well, Jerry didn't take all of talk radio with him - only the most original.
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> I noticed there are new audio clips up at
> jerrywilliams.org including Grace Queen of the Cockamamies,
>
> the Pop Culture Survey, and a talk with Ted Kennedy in 1990.
> Also it's
> good to find out (via the site) that there will shortly be a
> book called:
> "Burning Up the Air - How Jerry Williams Lit a Fire in Talk
> Radio"
>
> Jerry's induction in the Radio Hall of Fame (complete with
> intros
> by Casey Kasem and Dr. Laura) is also at the site:
>
http://www.jerrywilliams.org/audio/Misc/misc02.m3u
>
