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Len Tillem is Brilliant!

D

DavidKaye

Nothing fazes Len Tillem. Today, just before the beginning of his KGO show the phones wouldn't transfer over to his law office, so he came on the air and casually mentioned that the phones weren't working and that until they could clear it up, they'd put on a rerun, but that he'd stick around and might come back if things worked out okay. After a call or two, he came back on live.

Having worked with lots of DJs, talkshow hosts, and other prima donnas, I know that lesser people would have done one of these (1) freaked out, lost their train of thought, and stammered, (2) blamed everyone and gone on a diatribe about bad equipment, incompetent people, etc., or (3) walked off in a huff.

However, Len handled this as if it was just another day in the life. No muss, no fuss. I'm continually amazed at Len's professionalism.
 
I was listening too, but I had a different opinion about it. I thought it was unprofessional of him to go to an old taped show. He could have just talked. He should be prepared for such things with written ideas of what he should talk about if there are no callers or if they are unable to take calls. I do like Len's show. It's my first choice in his time slot. Nothing against him, I just see what happened differently from the way you do. Maybe your opinion is more valid since you are/were in the business and I never was, but that's how I saw it.
 
Pretty sure I've heard every host at KGO going through one tech glitch or another over the years, esp with the phones. None have been anything but seamlessly accomodating, without missing a beat.
 
DeadAudicy said:
Pretty sure I've heard every host at KGO going through one tech glitch or another over the years, esp with the phones. None have been anything but seamlessly accomodating, without missing a beat.
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You've never listened to Karel, have you? Also, in the past Ronn Owens hasn't handled glitches particularly well, either.
 
freaked out, lost their train of thought, and stammered, (2) blamed everyone and gone on a diatribe about bad equipment, incompetent people, etc., or (3) walked off in a huff.
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I have never heard any of the behaviour above, beyond typical personality display.

I've heard Karel be bitchy, yes...but that's par for the Karel course. That is his every day MO, so I didn't hear a difference in presentation, no. Same with Owens. The guy can get prissy with callers or producers, and can lose his place now and then, but again...part of the Owens content, really. So the phones go dark, they talk, and include the situation in their vamp...which would be expected from talk hosts.

I can't imagine either of the two throwing on an old show. Tillem has a lot of stories, and he has emails. He could have improvised and kept it live and entertaining.
 
I agree that Ronn Owens can be unreasonable with call screeners or producers. Also, with guests who make the mistake of coughing on the air. I guess there's some kind of mute button or they can turn away or something and he's very upset when they don't use it. He has to make it 100% clear to the audience that it wasn't him who did it. We already know, but he has to make sure. However, I have heard him work when phones are out and he can go all day that way. I think I've heard him announce that lines are down and they'll go to ads for a minute while it's fixed. They come back and it's not fixed. He just talks. Keeps it interesting. I don't like Karel's show very much. He loves to hear himself talk. He probably doesn't need callers. Ray Talaifero has such long monologues, that he could go all night too without callers. I do like Ray, especially his old "Chapel Night" show. I wish he'd bring it back. If a democrat becomes President, he'll probably bring it back because it won't be 99% politics anymore like it's been for the last 8 years. I don't care for Ray's poetry night or jazz night, but his regular show is good.
 
HCochet said:
I agree that Ronn Owens can be unreasonable with call screeners or producers. Also, with guests who make the mistake of coughing on the air. I guess there's some kind of mute button or they can turn away or something and he's very upset when they don't use it.
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I am not sure if I mentioned it or not, but a couple weeks ago when I was reviewing downloaded podcasts I caught a Ronn Owens show by accident. He actually corrected someone's pronunciation of a word. I don't remember the word, but it was maybe something like "incalculable", or similar. As I remember, the guest had some stature such as a politician or a professor. I'm not sure how often he does this, but this kind of snarky attitude is the main reason I don't listen.

Ray Talaifero has such long monologues, that he could go all night too without callers. I do like Ray,
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I was told by someone who has observed his show that the reason he does the monologues is because he's not getting calls. This especially hits after about 2:15am. On the other hand, John Rothmann doesn't seem to have these problems.
 
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