Heyl: Pittsburgh's Menagerie Of Great Morning Radio Show Hosts

PITTSBURGH, PA - As the end of an era possibly approaches, it’s appropriate to reflect on a species that soon might be as extinct as Tyrannosaurus rex: the local radio morning drive show host.

The Federal Communications Commission recently and quietly eliminated a requirement for radio and TV stations to maintain a main studio in the communities they serve. FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who opposed the maneuver, predicted that it means “broadcast station groups … will terminate studio staff and abandon the communities they are obligated to serve.”

The FCC action dramatically increases the likelihood of homogenized programming simultaneously broadcast on multiple stations from a centralized source. In the foreseeable future, the WDVE morning show might originate from Los Angeles instead of Green Tree and be hosted by some Malibu surfer dude who doesn’t even know that you get fries and coleslaw on a Primanti Bros. sandwich.

That development would be particularly sad in Pittsburgh, which has had an incredible array of morning show hosts dating back more than half a century. These people have amused, entertained and kept people stuck in rush hour traffic during snowstorm whiteouts from going insane. These people were and are integral threads in the region’s social fabric.

What follows is my list of Pittsburgh’s kings of morning drive, the best shows and hosts (in no particular order) since Marconi invented radio communication. It should serve as both a nostalgic trip down memory lane and a stark reminder of the type of quality local programming that could be lost as a result of the FCC regulation change.

• Rege Cordic, KDKA: The host of “Cordic & Company” a popular team in the 1950s and ‘60s that produced comical characters such as Carmen Monoxide and a beer called Olde Frothingslosh. The fictional stale pale ale became so popular that Pittsburgh Brewing Co. started selling beer in cans under that name. Cordic later moved to Hollywood and appeared in movies such as Woody Allen’s “Sleeper.”

• Jack Bogut, KDKA, WTAE, WJAS: As the host of KDKA’s morning show for more than 15 years, Bogut was featured on ABC's “Good Morning America” and in USA Today as one of the 5 highest-rated radio personalities in the nation. After a brief and ill-fated stop at WTAE, he moved to WJAS and helped it become the country’s highest-rated nostalgia-format station. He also created thelocally famous Farkleberry cookie.

• Larry O’Brien and John Garry, WTAE, WHTX: The pair were working separate shifts at WTAE in 1975 when the station paired them together for the morning show. It was an immediate success, spawning characters such as Lt. Macho and Mr. Science. The pair moved to WTAE sister station WHTX in 1983, then to WMXP and finally back to WTAE in the 1990s.

• Jimmy Roach and Steve Hansen, WDVE, WMYG: For 11 years from 1980 to 1991 (save for a six-month stint in Miami), Pittsburgh heard the pair’s many alter egos - DJ Biff Bob, showbiz agent Murray “Crash” Brokewizt and wine aficionado O.T. Ripple. They also were strong proponents of local musical acts and helped advance the careers of, among others, Donnie Iris and the Iron City Houserockers. Forever burned into the brains of many yinzers was the jingle that proved they didn’t take themselves too seriously: “Jimmy and Steve in the morning, sometimes they’re funny, sometimes they’re boring.”

• Scott Paulsen and Jim Krenn, WDVE: Paulsen was hired to replace Roach and Hansen, and soon had local comedian Krenn making regular guest appearances on the show. Krenn became an official co-host in 1988 and for the next 11 years the duo kept Pittsburghers entertained with characters such as Stanley P. Kachowski, Bobby Subgum, Ralph the Cat and Buddy (down at Buddy’s). A golden era of Pittsburgh radio for sure.

• Randy Baumann, WDVE: The third generation of successful WDVE morning show hosts was hired away from an Erie station in 2000 to be Paulsen’s successor. He worked with Krenn until 2011 when Krenn left the station and the program was renamed Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show. Because he only has been on the air at the station for nearly a generation and this is Pittsburgh, many around town still refer to him as “that new 'DVE guy.”

• Jim Merkel, 3WS: You’re not the face of a radio station for more than two decades without doing something right. For 22 years beginning in 1988, Merkel hosted the 3WS morning show with co-hosts (Gary Dickson, the aforementioned Steve Hansen and Chris Winter) and then solo. Although he’s been out of radio since 2010, you’ve undoubtedly heard him numerous times since as he does steady voiceover and commercial work. (Full disclosure: Merk and I worked together at 3WS for several years back in the Paleozoic Era and he’s still a friend. But he’s on this list on merit. See the first sentence of the profile.)

• Bubba, B-94, WZPT, WBZZ: Greenfield native Marc “Bubba” Snyder parlayed a 1989 internship at the former B-94 into a full-time job on the station's highly rated morning show. When B-94 changed format in 2004, Snyder changed stations, moving to 100.7 (then WZPT, now WBZZ). Snyder also has been involved in several area restaurants over the years and currently co-owns Bubba’s Gourmet Burghers and Beer in South Fayette.

• Mikey and Big Bob, WKST: Michael Dougherty and Bob Mason have been hosting the 96.1-FM “Morning Freak Show” since 2004. Their show is always fast-paced, frequently hilarious and often tasteless - much to the delight of their audience. Mikey and Bob communicate with listeners when they are off the air as well, and that’s grown their following substantially; Mikey has 118,000 Twitter followers, Bob 88,000. These guys get what it takes to make radio work in the millennial age and represent the future of local morning drive shows.

If indeed there is one after the FCC regulation change.

Eric Heyl is Patch's Pittsburgh field editor. Reach him at 412-334-4033 or Eric.Heyl@Patch.com.

Paulsen and Krenn feature photo via Scott Paulsen; Jimmy and Steve photo via Jimmy Roach. Both photos used with permission.