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Jess Cain - Recuperating

C

Casablanca

Guest
Got a notice from The Media Gang that Jess Cain has been hospitalized and is recuperating. Not clear if Jess is still in the hospital or home.

In this current age when radio personalities vie to see who can be the nastiest and least humorous one need only to look at the career of Jess Cain to see we have a jewel in our presence.

This writer was fortunate to grow up at a time when his radio alarm clock went off at 6 AM so that he could make the bus to school and later to be able to car pool to school and to listen to the humor of Jesse Dennis Cain.

As it happened we had to pass through "Grossman's Gultch" in Braintree every morning on the way to school [ now a K-Mart and formerly Hilltop Steak House Plaza ] as Jess would either sing about it or report about the Route 3 traffic engulfing the "Gultch.

Jess followed by a few years the great Bob & Ray who were also on the real WHDH- Radio 850 AM and his humor was as creative as their's but he did it all alone. [ maybe with the help of his producer Pudge Flynn] but primarily his own creation. Others could pick out many other bits I am sure including his tribute to the '67 Red Sox and Carl Yastremski..."A Man They Call Yaz".

I don't think in his multi-year career Jess ever intentionally insulted or offended anyone on the air...and probably off as well.

We grew up with his family and the travails of parenthood and suburbia in the 60's [ Hingham to be exact ].

Some of us were fortunate late in May to see Jess be inducted into the Massachusetts Radio Hall of Fame and meet him again at a luncheon in his honor and those of the other inductees. Jess looked great. Trim and straight and as funny as ever.

Let us hope and pray Jess Cain's recouperation is full and complete.
Boston, as we can read in the many posts below, has few radio personalities who can put a smile on your face or a touch of nostalgia in you soul by the mere mention of his name. Jess Cain is one of the few.

Get well soon Jesse Dennis Cain.
 
I remember working one night at WHDH, screening calls for Janet Jeghelian, and this caller came through the regular request lines. He was sort of goofing on her...dropping inside jokes that she'd react weird to.

About 3 minutes into it, he drops the bomb. It's Jess Cain. He told me who he was, but ordered me not to tell her. It was an amazingly cool thing at that point in my career to be on the inside of a joke between the host I was working with, and a guy I grew up listening to.

She asked me if I knew who he was, and said "of course." She was really embarrassed. Gave me a hard time for a few nights.

He was gracious and fun that night. I don't know the man, but can only wish him a quick return to good health.
 
Jess is a Gentleman

Jess is a gentleman and also a gentle man. I had the honor of working with him at the old WHDH. He is a very funny guy, and his talent is being very funny without having to be tawdry.

Even after he retired, we looked forward to his occasional visits to the station. He always made us laugh, made the day a bit less humdrum. He is a breath of fresh air.

I hope you read this and are feeling better, Jess. You are missed!
 
my father, jess cain is home from the hosptial. I will let know about all of the kind words. He is doing better and I am sure that the support will help him in during his recovery.
 
cainiacs said:
my father, jess cain is home from the hosptial. I will let know about all of the kind words. He is doing better and I am sure that the support will help him in during his recovery.
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that is Excellent News! let him know we are all pulling for him!

your dad really is one of a kind, and for those of us fortunate to know him, even if only through a place of business, we all appreciate his friendship, professionalism, wit and candor!

regards from Maine!
 
Thank you all. Thank you, the writer who revealed my Dad's full name. I don't know- 'kinda gives him even a little bit more integrity. My big family appreciates all the pouring in of kind thoughts and memories.
Jess always told me, " Read, fill your mind, do whatever you have to do to ensure you will be your own best company when you get older." I think he's following his orders. Love back at You. Daughter, Amy
 
What good news about Jess and it speaks positive volumes that his children would take time here to respond.

I cannot imagine some future generation waxing nostalgic about that great "Whitey Watch" or an afternoon radio talk show discussion of "Crimalians". What negative memories those poor people will have.

Being a child of the 60's was not easy - Threats of nuclear annihilation, assassinations -an endless war killing the young men of my generation another ' great generation' decimated by war - civil and racial strive... all in all not a fun time to be a teen - but Jess was a consistent source of humor that never degraded others and was always an oasis that would refresh us in troubled times.

Please pass our prayers and positive thoughts and wishes on to your father Jesse Dennis Cain for a speedy recovery.
One Hell of a good guy ! ( PS. Who MUST be in the national radio hall of fame.)
 
All of Jess Cain's program were priceless especially when you look at today's morning radio.

martin1945 said:
HOSPITAL! HOSPITAL!, Jess's take off on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman was priceless!
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I rarely post anything here but if Jess's family reads this board I've gotta chime in. I worked with your Dad for years and he's one amazing guy. So glad to hear he's out of the hosptial. I could tell you a thousand Jesse stories and all of them good, he is a cool guy and a very VERY good actor. Jesse is a very literary guy so the jokes could run the gammet from funny highbrow to funny joey-lunchpail. To his family: Please ask him about the time he found workmen painting a certain word on his chimney. :) I think he only got mad at me once and thinking about it makes me laugh: After hearing him tell the same story about he and actor Jason Robards for the 100th time I kidded him that it's "that Robards story again" and he probably never met Robards. Three days later at WHDH a guy taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and Jason Robards himself says "I've never heard of Jesse." Then he and Jesse go off to lunch for the hundreth time. I laughed out loud. Jess looked back over his shoulder with that "How's that for a gotcha?" smile. :)

With the media world dieing for good content these days, I can't imagine why someone doesn't pay him a bucket of money to do a 3 min commentary every morning. He has forgotten more experiences than any of us will ever expect to have. All the best. :)

Jim Cutler (WHDH 1987 till they pulled the plug)
 
Another story you must remember is the car swap - an MG I think - between Jess and singer Enzo Stuarti. Jess was acting in New York in the early 50's and Enzo Stuarti was trying to make it as an actor and singer. They became friends and when on needed money and the other had it they would sell the car back and forth as I remember the story.
 
Jess Cain was a class act. I saw him at many local colleges reading old radio programs/scripts in re-enactments . I remember my parents having him on in the kitchen in the AM. In retrospect, its a shame there aren't more like him and Larry Glick. It makes me sad to think that my mom would leave the radio on and not have to worry about its content, and today, I have to screen what my kids listen to as they get ready for school. My prayers are with him.
 
BigBish1966 said:
Jess Cain was a class act. I saw him at many local colleges reading old radio programs/scripts in re-enactments . I remember my parents having him on in the kitchen in the AM. In retrospect, its a shame there aren't more like him and Larry Glick. It makes me sad to think that my mom would leave the radio on and not have to worry about its content, and today, I have to screen what my kids listen to as they get ready for school. My prayers are with him.
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i keep exactly that which you've noted in mind every single day that i'm on the air (mornings, outside of boston). i, too, grew up listening to Jess, the time chime and waited for "no school in Cambridge!" then having had the opportunity to be employed at the same station as Jess gave me a feeling of personal, professional satisfaction. i remind the occasional guest on our station that we are "the safe station - no blue humor, please," as it is every parents worst morning nightmare to hear something from the speakers with younger ears in the car, and it is a Murphy's Law axiom that the bluer the offending remark, the further away you will find your hand from the on/off button.

don't get me wrong - i'm far from a prude and have been known to use my share of off-color language & humor - but usually at a time and place far more fitting than on-the-air.

with Jess home and hopefully on the mend, i'll add my wishes that he and Jean may enjoy their 53rd anniversary on Tuesday. i know this as he heard me mention one day the noting of my own anniversary and remarked that he, too, was wed on july 24.
 
Worked in the building but a short time and, doing nights, rarely ran into Jess. But every time I did, he was a total class act. Happy Anniversary, hope you're well.

The Incredible Bob Campbell
 
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