Jay Severin is discussing the appropriateness of using Obama's middle name. At one point he started down the road about people changing their names. He went so far as to say that people in his family have changed their names. He couldn't bring himself to say that he himself changed his name (presumably because Severino sounded too ethnic). Be real, man!
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Severin just can't admit that he changed his name
- Thread starter kjlassoc
- Start date
So what if he did - this is a non-issue...
D
diamondj
Guest
He almost slipped up and admitted he has kids. "One day I hope my..." then he caught himself "if I have kids..." on the subject of Michelle Obama's going to Princeton.
I didn't say that I was personally bothered that he changed his name, just that he can't acknowledge it, going so far as to saying that some members of his family have changed their name. I'm sure he figured he could always claim himself as part of his family.
Also, he was going on and on about how Obama's middle name (which he was born with) was a professional liability. But yet Jay's a guy who changed his own name, I guess because he thought it was a professional liability. So, the lesson here would be...?
kjlassoc said:
talk radio is entertainment, not a fact finding mission.
MassMusicMan
Banned
Why shouldn't it work? I've never believed that television and radio personalities should fundamentally change something about themselves for the sake of their broadcast. I don't believe that Severin should drop the "o" for the same reason that I didn't like how WBZ had Sara Underwood hold her copy in front of her pregnant stomach.
A regular Italian-American guy hosts a radio show, and a regular pregnant chick reads the news. They're not kings and queens, they have jobs like the rest of us. They're just more visible.
A regular Italian-American guy hosts a radio show, and a regular pregnant chick reads the news. They're not kings and queens, they have jobs like the rest of us. They're just more visible.
Blackroc said:
Well, why didn't the Severino name work? For a while, there was a talk-show host in Boston named Steve Martorano. He had been successful in Philadelphia and, after a couple of years in Boston--where he set no records, but didn't bomb either--he returned to Philly and, I believe, became quite successful at WIP. The interesting thing about the surname Martorano is not its Italian origin but that it was also the surname of a notorious Mafia hit man. Didn't seem to stop Steve--either in Boston or in Philadelphia. After all, if ethnic loyalties have anything do do with listening preferences (and I question whether they do), aren't people of Italian descent second in numbers in greater Boston only to people of Irish descent? I don't know whether, as a percentage of the population, people of Italian descent are as numerous in Philadelphia as they are here. The Philadelphia metro has a large number of people of German descent and they might outnumber people of Italian descent.
One less syllable to say and a different stress emphasis--SEV--er-in vs. SEV--er--EE--no...Some performers
have changed their names to sound less ethnic: Larry Ziger (King); Gerald Jacoby (Jerry Williams). Harvey
Leonard Moscowitz (IIRC) dropped his last name. So did a certain actor from Long Island named Thomas
Mapother. You've heard of Tom Mapother, haven't you...Tom Cruise Mapother?
Drop that last name,
and it's "Show Me The Money!" time!
Dan brings up a good point about Steve Martorano, whom I do recall. Getting back to dropping ethnic names,
would Jerry Jacoby keep his last name these days rather than convert to the more "American" (?) Williams?
Maybe there's a better ring to it, too; Ja-CO-by...WILL--iams...stress on the first syllable. I would hope
that Jewish performers wouldn't have had to change their names to be successful but it has been done;
"Anglicizing" it. Remember that stand up comic who went on to be an actor and director, Allen Stewart
Konigsberg? You know; "Annie Hall", "Sleeper", "Hannah and Her Sisters"...Then there's comic Jacob
Cohen, who got no respect...no respect at all. Or Melvin Kaminsky ("Blazing Saddles", "Young
Frankenstein"). Mel's wife, Anne (Marie) Italiano, was told to change her last name and she wound
up with "Bancroft".
Performers have their reasons for getting stage names. Would 80s pop music fans have preferred
to go "dancing with myself" with William Broad or with Billy Idol? Stuart Goddard or Adam Ant?
And so many others.
And how about the blues? McKinley Morganfield liked to play in "Muddy Waters" when he was a kid.
"Howlin' Wolf" sounded a bit more interesting than "Chester Burnett". And so on.
have changed their names to sound less ethnic: Larry Ziger (King); Gerald Jacoby (Jerry Williams). Harvey
Leonard Moscowitz (IIRC) dropped his last name. So did a certain actor from Long Island named Thomas
Mapother. You've heard of Tom Mapother, haven't you...Tom Cruise Mapother?
Drop that last name,and it's "Show Me The Money!" time!
Dan brings up a good point about Steve Martorano, whom I do recall. Getting back to dropping ethnic names,
would Jerry Jacoby keep his last name these days rather than convert to the more "American" (?) Williams?
Maybe there's a better ring to it, too; Ja-CO-by...WILL--iams...stress on the first syllable. I would hope
that Jewish performers wouldn't have had to change their names to be successful but it has been done;
"Anglicizing" it. Remember that stand up comic who went on to be an actor and director, Allen Stewart
Konigsberg? You know; "Annie Hall", "Sleeper", "Hannah and Her Sisters"...Then there's comic Jacob
Cohen, who got no respect...no respect at all. Or Melvin Kaminsky ("Blazing Saddles", "Young
Frankenstein"). Mel's wife, Anne (Marie) Italiano, was told to change her last name and she wound
up with "Bancroft".
Performers have their reasons for getting stage names. Would 80s pop music fans have preferred
to go "dancing with myself" with William Broad or with Billy Idol? Stuart Goddard or Adam Ant?
And so many others.
And how about the blues? McKinley Morganfield liked to play in "Muddy Waters" when he was a kid.
"Howlin' Wolf" sounded a bit more interesting than "Chester Burnett". And so on.
Why the obsession with Jay's last name?
Who cares!!!
Do you think Larry King, George Burns, John Wayne, or the late Jerry Williams would care if Jay dropped the O?
Maybe he fell on hard times and was forced to sell the "O" to Wheel of Fortune!
Maybe he is under the witness protection program?
Maybe he gave the "O" to the Connor's, Reilly's or Brien families?
Truly yours,
Chuck O Morgan
Dan O Donovan
Melvin O Melvin
and the rest of us Irish D.J.'s
Who cares!!!
Do you think Larry King, George Burns, John Wayne, or the late Jerry Williams would care if Jay dropped the O?
Maybe he fell on hard times and was forced to sell the "O" to Wheel of Fortune!
Maybe he is under the witness protection program?
Maybe he gave the "O" to the Connor's, Reilly's or Brien families?
Truly yours,
Chuck O Morgan
Dan O Donovan
Melvin O Melvin
and the rest of us Irish D.J.'s
I'm sure at the annual St. Patrick's Day dinner this year, Gov. Deval "St." Patrick
will talk about his good Irish friend, Barack O'Bama
will talk about his good Irish friend, Barack O'Bama
NOW I know what Harvey Leonard's last name is. It was so obvious it was first and middle. I'll bet Dick Albert is the same deal... there was the Celtics' announcer Howard David. There's Bradley Jay (Huckins). On WFNX was Laurie Gail (Katz), Carter Alan (Boandl) etc etc... Is Pete's real last name Sheppard? Aren't they always making reference to his Italian ethnicity? What's John Dennis's real last name? Sounds like a first/middle deal there and so does Dale Arnold. One name I'll bet isn't fake is John Meterpareil, or however you spell it.
Maybe John Meterpareil's real name is Dick Albert-Howard-David-Carter-Alan-Peter-Sheppard-John-Dennis-Bradley-Jay-Severino.
WLYNgm said:
It's just another example of what a phony bastard he is.
A
ArtSpooner
Guest
At one time I was a fan of Severin's. He lost me when he brought Jane Swift on his show and fawned all over her. He even said that he thought she might have been a potential presidential candidate. After I stopped gagging, I decided that he was a 14 carat phony.
I didn't listen to him again until he went on evenings. Then he kept going on and on about Asian women and Katie Couric's bosom. I thought to myself: I'm missing re-runs of King of Queens to listen to this jamoke?"
I didn't listen to him again until he went on evenings. Then he kept going on and on about Asian women and Katie Couric's bosom. I thought to myself: I'm missing re-runs of King of Queens to listen to this jamoke?"
B
BearFur
Guest
Rex Briefs said:
I agree....on the surface, the subject of a radio peson changing their name is not any kind of issue.
However, when that person is a complete phony such as Severino, it just adds to the pot.
Kinda like Manny R. any one of his silly antics that he pulls mostly can be ignored, but when you gather them all up and all the crap he pulls time after time after time, it just goes to show the person's true character.
Mish Michaels - her real name, you probably couldn't even pronounce!
Manny's making 20 million a year hitting home runs.
Mish is a popular as ever and Jay Severin, (where the O is silent) continues getting high ratings and a nice paycheck. Whats your beef?
This reminds of Jerry Williams when a listener would call to say, "I don't like you or your guests and I'm NEVER going to listen again."
A week later, they're calling back!!
Jerry would say, "You promised me you would stop listening, now GO AWAY!
Mish is a popular as ever and Jay Severin, (where the O is silent) continues getting high ratings and a nice paycheck. Whats your beef?
This reminds of Jerry Williams when a listener would call to say, "I don't like you or your guests and I'm NEVER going to listen again."
A week later, they're calling back!!
Jerry would say, "You promised me you would stop listening, now GO AWAY!
and rumor has it, Dale Arnold will be using his real name when broadcasting any Red Sox Games. Dale Arnoldo
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