Tom Leykis
Encyclopedia
Thomas Joseph Leykis is an American radio personality. He currently hosts The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis, a weekly lifestyle program dealing with fine food and drink, airing weekends mainly in West Coast markets. However, he is best known for his nationally syndicated talk show
, The Tom Leykis Show, which aired Monday through Saturday and was syndicated throughout the United States by CBS Radio
. The show ended on Los Angeles
' KLSX
on Friday, February 20, 2009. The show is scheduled to return to the air on April 2, 2012.
The latter show followed the Hot Talk format, which brought Leykis much success. Due to the nature of the show, Leykis has been described as a shock jock
by many. The show's best-known feature was "Leykis 101," in which he purported to teach men "how to get laid
" while expending the least amount of time, money, and effort. This part of his persona led some critics to charge Leykis with misogyny
.
, New York City
, New York
and he has two sisters, Terry and Anne, and a brother, Jim. His father was a union leader at The New York Post. At a point in Leykis' childhood, he moved with his family to Selden, Long Island
, where he completed high school and graduated at 16 from Newfield High School
. He then moved away from the family home to study broadcasting at Fordham University
and, big surprise, dropped out due to a lack of finances.
. At the age of 14, he was once a fill-in host for WBAB
later working in 1979 for Mark Simone
's WPIX talk show comedy titled The Simone Phone where he was featured as the host's sidekick
. In the mid-1970s Leykis hosted one of the first public access tv shows on Long Island's Cablevision system, "The Graffiti Hour," a call-in program. Leykis eventually left WPIX, later went to WBAI
leaving in the fall of 1981 to go to Albany
to work at WQBK-AM. Leykis also contributed to a show called The Phonebooth in WABC
that ended in 1981. After his departure from WABC, Leykis was offered a full-time radio hosting job in Staunton, Virginia
.
On Monday, February 27, 1984, the Tom Leykis Show aired on WNWS
in Miami to replace the WNWS night show hosted by talk radio personality Neil Rogers
. Rogers, who had previously signed conflicting employment contracts with both WNWS (790 AM) and WINZ (940 AM)
, had just won permission from a Miami court to take his act to WINZ and hoped leaving WNWS would be devastating to Leykis' program. Rogers and Leykis became rivals and, in June 1984, just after Denver
radio talk show host Alan Berg
was assassinated, Leykis told listeners Neil Rogers
' real name and urged callers to harass his on-air rival. By January 1985, Leykis had the top-ranking evening talk show in the market. In September 1985, Leykis abruptly left his WNWS job over concern about the pending WNWS-WGBS merger and began work at Phoenix
's KFYI-AM
.
As program director
at KFYI
, Leykis constructed a politically well-rounded host lineup inserting himself as a "left leaning libertarian
" in the afternoons. Leykis was known for his method of gathering new callers for the station by provoking rival station KTAR
. In 1987, Leykis abruptly left KFYI because of differences with station management that still have a shroud of secrecy surrounding the details. To this day, KFYI hosts are prohibited from discussing the details of Leykis' departure from the station. While still in Phoenix, Leykis also had a local Public-access television
show called Backstage Pass.
After leaving Phoenix, Leykis moved on to Los Angeles
to work for KFI
, where he hosted a talk-radio program from 1988 to 1992, as a liberal counterpart to Rush Limbaugh
. During this time, KFI was hit with a $6,000 Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) indecency fine over Leykis' on-air comments; however, the fine was paid in full from contributions by listeners. During Leykis' tenure at KFI, KFI host Geoff Edwards
was suspended and then resigned over an incident related to steamrolling a massive collection of Cat Stevens
' work sent in by listeners, which was motivated by Leykis' denouncement of Cat Stevens' comments about Salman Rushdie
. A local Nazi historian likened the stunt as being reminiscent of a Nazi book burning.
On September 29, 1992, KFI management dismissed Leykis with only an hour's notice, based on what Leykis claims they called "a business decision"; KFI assumed the obligation of pay him his contracted salary, estimated at $400,000 per year, for the remaining six months of his contract.
Leykis next moved on to Boston and WRKO
. He later left the Boston for a new job in Los Angeles after a publicized domestic disturbance with then-wife Susan at the end of 1993. In March 1994, pretrial probation was granted and the charges stemming from that assault were dropped in exchange for his attendance in a program for batterers.
In 1994, Leykis began the nationally syndicated program, The Tom Leykis Show on Westwood One
from Culver City, California. The final years of the show were produced from Paramount Pictures studios in Hollywood.
Leykis' started the Internet radio station New Normal Music
in July 2010.
. Originally the show was often political in nature, a fact Leykis highlighted at the start of every episode by proclaiming his show the only radio talk show that is "not hosted by a right-wing wacko or a convicted felon", (in reference to Rush Limbaugh
and G. Gordon Liddy
, respectively). In addition to politics, the host commonly discussed relationships, religion (Leykis is an atheist), and other issues. On Fridays, listeners were allowed to call in and talk about anything they wanted, in contrast to other days when Leykis established a single topic for each hour of the show.
Friday was also the usual day for live appearances in cities around the U.S., when Leykis would broadcast from a bar or other public place with an audience present. The free-for-all subject matter and large crowds led to a rowdy atmosphere on Friday shows, and it was in this context that "Flash Fridays" began.
In 1997, Leykis's show was picked up by KLSX
, an FM talk station in Los Angeles that also carried The Howard Stern Show. The station became the flagship for the show and Leykis began to tone down the political aspect of the show around this time, and started the "Leykis 101" segment soon after.
In addition to his weekday show, Leykis began hosting a new syndicated weekend show called The Tasting Room in February 2005, covering lifestyle topics such as wine and spirits
, luxury cars, and high-end technology.
With the departure of Howard Stern to satellite radio in January 2006 KLSX became known on-air as "97.1 Free FM
"--so-called to highlight that its stations broadcast free-to-air, funded by commercials, whereas satellite radio requires a subscription fee. The station was produced by CBS Radio
as part of its Free FM
format
and the Tom Leykis Show was broadcast in a number of affiliate markets nationwide including but not limited to Portland
, Dallas, Seattle, Phoenix
, Las Vegas
as well as multiple California markets in addition to its Los Angeles flagship such as San Diego and San Francisco.
On February 20, 2009, KLSX changed its format to Top 40 (CHR)
under economic pressures, and the Tom Leykis Show aired its final broadcast. The show was broadcast Monday through Friday, 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM PT
from Paramount Studios and 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM Saturdays in Hollywood, California and was heard in a number of major metropolitan markets on the West Coast of the United States
.
It was produced by Gary Zabransky along with associate producer Dean "Dino" DeMilio, and engineered by Art Webb.
The show also used sound clips which callers generally requested after long conversations. Callers made requests to be "taken out" in some style, such as, "could you take me out with a bong
hit?" or "take me out Kobe
style," meaning for a specific desired sound effect or audio to be played to end the call. The practice of "taking people out" with use of a sound clip dates back to the early days of the show, when Leykis was working at a small radio station in Albany
, New York
. Leykis would dispose of undesirable or tiresome callers by playing a cart
[i.e., a Fidelipac audio tape cartridge] with the sound of a toilet flushing while hanging up on them (i.e. "flushing the caller"). The station manager found this offensive, and when Leykis refused to stop, removed the cart from the studio. Leykis retaliated by re-recording the sound on another cart that he purposely mis-labeled as "dog barking", and continued to play it. The station manager became frustrated and began harassing the host about it, so Leykis began "blowing callers up" instead (i.e. playing an explosion
sound effect).
After some time the practice became such a commonplace one that as callers ended their on-air conversation with Leykis they began asking for the sound clip to be played as they hung up by saying "Blow me up, Tom." This phrase in turn became so popular it was soon synonymous with The Tom Leykis Show and its host. It has ever since been used on all sorts of Leykis merchandise, is the name of his official website and was used as the title of a 2001 documentary film
about the host and his show.
Over the years, as more and more sound clips were brought into use, the explosion sound saw less air time and eventually became referred to simply by the phrase "old school"--and the original toilet flush clip in turn became "old- old school," terms both used whenever callers wished to be "taken out" with those sound effects.
. She claimed to have suffered post-traumatic stress from disparaging and sexual comments Leykis made about her on the air. Leykis has stated on air he was in court due to the suit for a decent length of the winter of 2002.
On June 25, 2003, Marty Ingels
, a voice actor, called into Leykis' show and tried to challenge him on moral
grounds. Ingels, who was much older than the typical caller to Leykis's show, was subjected to some rude remarks by the call screener who said that he was too old and shouldn't be on the air. But the call did get put through, at which point, Leykis too began to insult Ingels, adding that "you're not just older than my demographic, you're the grandfather of my demographic". Leykis explained that he didn't want older callers because he was selling advertising to the younger demographic, stuff that usually didn't sell to people Ingels' age. Ingels sued the show for age discrimination.
Ingels's first lawsuit got dismissed, by an anti-SLAPP statute (CCP S 425.16) that protected against lawsuits that protects first amendment rights and another judge claimed that the show had the right to control its content. Further, it was noted that Ingels couldn't really complain he was discriminated against because his call was in fact put on the air.
As for Ingels, the actor was ordered to pay $25,000 in attorney's fees.
called the show and confessed to shooting the father of her child when he refused to pay child support. Leykis denied allegations that the call was part of a hoax set up by the show, and producers turned over any information they had to local police. The caller, a nurse, who went by her middle name, Sue, said that she shot the man in the heart with a 9 mm because she "knew how to aim for it", and made the shooting look like a suicide. About a month later, former talk show
host Geraldo Rivera
asked Leykis about the incident on his Geraldo at Large
syndicated television program. Geraldo: "So what was your first reaction when you got this call?" Leykis: "I was shocked. You know, people call talk shows and say all kinds of things, but they never confess to murder." On August 7, 2008, an officer involved in the investigation was interviewed by Tom on the air. The evidence was presented to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and charges are being sought against Megan Suzanne Vice of El Mirage, who police name as their suspect in the case. In 2009, it was revealed that the woman would not be prosecuted due to a lack of evidence, because in the state of Arizona, evidence in suicides is destroyed after five years.
Talkers Magazine
analyzing Arbitron
data show that Leykis has an estimated listening minimum weekly cume
of over 1.75 million for Spring 2007 based on a national sample
.
lot in Hollywood. As of July 23, 2007, Leykis has been prohibited from including the name of the film studio as a part of his pre-taped intro sequence. According to Leykis, Paramount Pictures contacted CBS Radio and objected to having the studio linked to the show.
Originally, when beginning the day's broadcast or returning from a commercial break at the start of a new hour, the announcer would introduce the show's studio and location ("From Paramount Studios in Hollywood, it's the Tom Leykis Show.") Since the "cease and desist" order from Paramount, the new introduction announces the broadcast location in many different ways, satirizing the situation. Some versions replace the words "Paramount Studios" with "the back of the backlot at a movie studio" or "soidutS tnuomaraP" (Paramount Studios, spoken in reverse), and even more simply "a secret location" or the common audio "bleep" normally used for removing expletives.
. Other media outlets elected to reveal details of the alleged victim such as race and masked photographs while excluding her name, as was the standard practice at that time, raising privacy
questions.
Major media outlets generally and voluntarily withhold names like these due to their adherence to journalism ethics and standards
. The policy in practice only applies to alleged victims however, allowing for the release of names of alleged offenders, a policy Leykis disagrees with, and does not follow as he regularly states he is "not a journalist". Leykis contends that either all names in a case (the alleged offender(s) and the alleged accuser) should be protected or all should be public.
The radio show host has caused considerable controversy over the years for his practice of identifying such notorious individuals by name on-air. Other such individuals he has named include:
the show was #9 overall, #6 in English
stations, and #1 for time spent listening
. Among men ages 18+, adults ages 18–34, and "the money demo" ages 25–54, the show was #1 in time spent listening with an average of over 4 hours per week, in addition to being #1 in share for men aged 18+.
, which originated the broadcast of the show) would switch format
. Saying he "tossed and turned", he thought about it and asked himself: "What could I say that would wrap this all up? And then I one day heard this song...and I realized--the lyrics of this song...are about me."
With that Leykis rolled into Joe Jackson
's "I'm the Man" (the title track of Jackson's 1979 album
). By the time the song was over, the studio was filled with people—as could be seen by the live online video broadcast on the station website. The host thanked his producers, the program director
, the crowd in the studio, and everyone in southern California who made it "12 great years" and finished with "Let's do this thing one more time..." The crowd yelled "Blow me up, Tom" one last time to end the show and mark the end of KLSX
as "The FM Talk Station" in what coincidentally became a strikingly appropriate catch phrase to be had: The phrase "blow up the station" is a radio term for ending a particular format or station run. After a much longer than usual explosion sound effect, the crowd cheered and KLSX changed format
from hot talk to CHR/Top 40
.
Leykis's weekend show, The Tasting Room, continues, mostly on such West Coast stations as KGIL in Los Angeles, California and KFBK
in Sacramento, California.
His second marriage was to television reporter Christina Gonzalez
, who was caught cheating
after Leykis investigated some hotel receipts he found. Another marriage, which lasted one year, was with a Seattle woman in 1989, who was a listener of his show.
His fourth wife, Susan Drew Leykis, who first met Leykis at a Los Angeles Kings
game, filed a police report against him while they were married and living in Boston in 1993. On December 22 of that year, she alleged that Leykis assaulted and threatened to kill her during a fight after they returned home from a radio station Christmas party. He was subsequently charged with "felony assault and battery and threatening to commit a crime"; a police officer found bruises and scratches on the woman. In March 1994, Leykis was sentenced to a year of probation and ordered to attend a domestic violence class. He completed both, and the charges were dropped, although Leykis did not admit guilt as part of the agreement. The couple have since divorced.
In August 2004, Leykis was attacked outside a Seattle bar and all-night diner, The 5 Point Cafe
. In the assault, he was kicked in the face and knocked down to the ground, causing him to require 17 stitches over one eye, and leaving him with scratches and bruises on his knees. The assailant reportedly had an accomplice who accused Leykis of calling him a name and hanging up on him when he called the show. The suspects left by taxi prior to police arriving on scene and have yet to be apprehended.
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
, The Tom Leykis Show, which aired Monday through Saturday and was syndicated throughout the United States by CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
. The show ended on Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
' KLSX
KLSX
KAMP-FM 97.1 FM, known on-air as 97.1 AMP Radio, is a Rhythmic Contemporary radio station in Los Angeles, California. The station is owned by CBS Radio.The station had long been known as KLSX before the call sign changed on June 30, 2009....
on Friday, February 20, 2009. The show is scheduled to return to the air on April 2, 2012.
The latter show followed the Hot Talk format, which brought Leykis much success. Due to the nature of the show, Leykis has been described as a shock jock
Shock jock
Shock jock is a slang term used to describe a type of any radio broadcaster who attracts attention using humor that a significant portion of the listening audience may find offensive. The term is usually used pejoratively to describe provocative or irreverent broadcasters whose mannerisms,...
by many. The show's best-known feature was "Leykis 101," in which he purported to teach men "how to get laid
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
" while expending the least amount of time, money, and effort. This part of his persona led some critics to charge Leykis with misogyny
Misogyny
Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny...
.
Early life
Tom Leykis was born August 1, 1956, at a time when his parents, Harry and Laura (née O'Mara), lived in the Bronx. Leykis spent his early childhood in The BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and he has two sisters, Terry and Anne, and a brother, Jim. His father was a union leader at The New York Post. At a point in Leykis' childhood, he moved with his family to Selden, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, where he completed high school and graduated at 16 from Newfield High School
Newfield High School
Newfield High School is a public high school in Selden, New York, which is located in Suffolk County, Long Island in the United States. It is located 1 mile north of Middle Country Road on Marshall Drive.-History and Overview:...
. He then moved away from the family home to study broadcasting at Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
and, big surprise, dropped out due to a lack of finances.
Career
Leykis began his radio career in the state of New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. At the age of 14, he was once a fill-in host for WBAB
WBAB
WBAB is a rock radio station on Long Island. Located at 102.3 FM, the station is licensed to Babylon, New York and is owned by Cox Radio. The station is also simulcast on WHFM 95.3 FM in eastern Suffolk County. Both WBAB's 102.3 and WHFM's 95.3 signals are broadcast in HD. The station also streams...
later working in 1979 for Mark Simone
Mark Simone
Mark Simone is an American radio personality. Currently heard on WABC in New York, he also fills-in for ABC Radio hosts such as Don Imus, Mark Levin, and Sean Hannity.Simone occasionally appears on CNN, MSNBC and PBS....
's WPIX talk show comedy titled The Simone Phone where he was featured as the host's sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
. In the mid-1970s Leykis hosted one of the first public access tv shows on Long Island's Cablevision system, "The Graffiti Hour," a call-in program. Leykis eventually left WPIX, later went to WBAI
WBAI
WBAI, a part of the Pacifica Radio Network, is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station, broadcasting at 99.5 FM in New York City.Its programming is leftist/progressive, and a mixture of political news and opinion from a leftist perspective, tinged with aspects of its complex and varied...
leaving in the fall of 1981 to go to Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
to work at WQBK-AM. Leykis also contributed to a show called The Phonebooth in WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
that ended in 1981. After his departure from WABC, Leykis was offered a full-time radio hosting job in Staunton, Virginia
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
.
On Monday, February 27, 1984, the Tom Leykis Show aired on WNWS
WAXY
WAXY is a radio station licensed in South Miami, Florida broadcasting on 790 kHz with a sports talk format. The station is owned by Lincoln Financial Media, which was previously known as Jefferson-Pilot Communications...
in Miami to replace the WNWS night show hosted by talk radio personality Neil Rogers
Neil Rogers
Neil Rogers was an American talk radio personality. Until his retirement on June 22, 2009, "The Neil Rogers Show" aired weekdays from 10am-2pm on 560 WQAM. It was consistently the top rated show in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale media market and had been since his Miami debut in 1976...
. Rogers, who had previously signed conflicting employment contracts with both WNWS (790 AM) and WINZ (940 AM)
WINZ (AM)
WINZ, AM 940 The Sports Animal is a sports talk radio station that serves Miami-Fort Lauderdale. The stations airs primarily syndicated programming. It daytime signal reaches as far north as Ft. Pierce and as far west as Ft. Myers and Naples and as far south as The Bahamas. The station has managed...
, had just won permission from a Miami court to take his act to WINZ and hoped leaving WNWS would be devastating to Leykis' program. Rogers and Leykis became rivals and, in June 1984, just after Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
radio talk show host Alan Berg
Alan Berg
Alan Berg was a Jewish American attorney and Denver, Colorado talk radio show host. Berg was notable for his largely liberal, outspoken viewpoints and confrontational interview style....
was assassinated, Leykis told listeners Neil Rogers
Neil Rogers
Neil Rogers was an American talk radio personality. Until his retirement on June 22, 2009, "The Neil Rogers Show" aired weekdays from 10am-2pm on 560 WQAM. It was consistently the top rated show in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale media market and had been since his Miami debut in 1976...
' real name and urged callers to harass his on-air rival. By January 1985, Leykis had the top-ranking evening talk show in the market. In September 1985, Leykis abruptly left his WNWS job over concern about the pending WNWS-WGBS merger and began work at Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
's KFYI-AM
KFYI
KFYI is an American news/talk radio station broadcasting in Phoenix, Arizona. KFYI is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KFYI transmits in both analog AM and digital HD Radio.The digital signal is also rebroadcast on KNIX-FM's HD2 channel....
.
As program director
Program director
In service industries, such as education, a program director or programme director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services...
at KFYI
KFYI
KFYI is an American news/talk radio station broadcasting in Phoenix, Arizona. KFYI is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KFYI transmits in both analog AM and digital HD Radio.The digital signal is also rebroadcast on KNIX-FM's HD2 channel....
, Leykis constructed a politically well-rounded host lineup inserting himself as a "left leaning libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
" in the afternoons. Leykis was known for his method of gathering new callers for the station by provoking rival station KTAR
KTAR (AM)
KTAR is the callsign for a radio station in Phoenix, Arizona. It airs programming from ESPN Radio, in addition to KTAR-acquired broadcast rights for local teams...
. In 1987, Leykis abruptly left KFYI because of differences with station management that still have a shroud of secrecy surrounding the details. To this day, KFYI hosts are prohibited from discussing the details of Leykis' departure from the station. While still in Phoenix, Leykis also had a local Public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
show called Backstage Pass.
After leaving Phoenix, Leykis moved on to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to work for KFI
KFI
KFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
, where he hosted a talk-radio program from 1988 to 1992, as a liberal counterpart to Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
. During this time, KFI was hit with a $6,000 Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) indecency fine over Leykis' on-air comments; however, the fine was paid in full from contributions by listeners. During Leykis' tenure at KFI, KFI host Geoff Edwards
Geoff Edwards
Geoffrey Bruce Owen "Geoff" Edwards is an American television actor, game show host and radio personality. Over the past decade and a half, he has been a writer and broadcaster on travel. He was born in Westfield, New Jersey....
was suspended and then resigned over an incident related to steamrolling a massive collection of Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
' work sent in by listeners, which was motivated by Leykis' denouncement of Cat Stevens' comments about Salman Rushdie
Cat Stevens' comments about Salman Rushdie
Following Ayatollah Khomeini's February 14, 1989 death threat fatwa against author Salman Rushdie, convert to Islam and recording artist Yusuf Islam, previously known as Cat Stevens, made statements that were interpreted as endorsing the killing of Rushdie...
. A local Nazi historian likened the stunt as being reminiscent of a Nazi book burning.
On September 29, 1992, KFI management dismissed Leykis with only an hour's notice, based on what Leykis claims they called "a business decision"; KFI assumed the obligation of pay him his contracted salary, estimated at $400,000 per year, for the remaining six months of his contract.
Leykis next moved on to Boston and WRKO
WRKO
WRKO is a radio station based in Boston, Massachusetts, currently owned by Entercom. Its transmitter is located in Burlington, Massachusetts, next to the Burlington Mall.-1920-1940:...
. He later left the Boston for a new job in Los Angeles after a publicized domestic disturbance with then-wife Susan at the end of 1993. In March 1994, pretrial probation was granted and the charges stemming from that assault were dropped in exchange for his attendance in a program for batterers.
In 1994, Leykis began the nationally syndicated program, The Tom Leykis Show on Westwood One
Westwood One
Westwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
from Culver City, California. The final years of the show were produced from Paramount Pictures studios in Hollywood.
Leykis' started the Internet radio station New Normal Music
New Normal Music
New Normal Music is an Internet radio station created by Tom Leykis and Art Webb that began streaming July 1, 2010. Leykis created New Normal Music in protest of radio stations who claim to play "new music" but only play safe market tested music often 10+ years old. "When Red Hot Chili Peppers...
in July 2010.
History
The Tom Leykis Show began in 1994 broadcasting from Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Originally the show was often political in nature, a fact Leykis highlighted at the start of every episode by proclaiming his show the only radio talk show that is "not hosted by a right-wing wacko or a convicted felon", (in reference to Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
and G. Gordon Liddy
G. Gordon Liddy
George Gordon Liddy was the chief operative for the White House Plumbers unit that existed from July–September 1971, during Richard Nixon's presidency. Separately, along with E. Howard Hunt, Liddy organized and directed the Watergate burglaries of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in...
, respectively). In addition to politics, the host commonly discussed relationships, religion (Leykis is an atheist), and other issues. On Fridays, listeners were allowed to call in and talk about anything they wanted, in contrast to other days when Leykis established a single topic for each hour of the show.
Friday was also the usual day for live appearances in cities around the U.S., when Leykis would broadcast from a bar or other public place with an audience present. The free-for-all subject matter and large crowds led to a rowdy atmosphere on Friday shows, and it was in this context that "Flash Fridays" began.
In 1997, Leykis's show was picked up by KLSX
KLSX
KAMP-FM 97.1 FM, known on-air as 97.1 AMP Radio, is a Rhythmic Contemporary radio station in Los Angeles, California. The station is owned by CBS Radio.The station had long been known as KLSX before the call sign changed on June 30, 2009....
, an FM talk station in Los Angeles that also carried The Howard Stern Show. The station became the flagship for the show and Leykis began to tone down the political aspect of the show around this time, and started the "Leykis 101" segment soon after.
In addition to his weekday show, Leykis began hosting a new syndicated weekend show called The Tasting Room in February 2005, covering lifestyle topics such as wine and spirits
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
, luxury cars, and high-end technology.
With the departure of Howard Stern to satellite radio in January 2006 KLSX became known on-air as "97.1 Free FM
Free FM
Free FM was a short-lived, mostly-talk-radio format and brand name for eleven FM CBS Radio stations in the United States, and was created because of Howard Stern's departure to Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2006. Free FM was given its name to highlight that its stations broadcast free-to-air,...
"--so-called to highlight that its stations broadcast free-to-air, funded by commercials, whereas satellite radio requires a subscription fee. The station was produced by CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
as part of its Free FM
Free FM
Free FM was a short-lived, mostly-talk-radio format and brand name for eleven FM CBS Radio stations in the United States, and was created because of Howard Stern's departure to Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2006. Free FM was given its name to highlight that its stations broadcast free-to-air,...
format
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
and the Tom Leykis Show was broadcast in a number of affiliate markets nationwide including but not limited to Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Dallas, Seattle, Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
as well as multiple California markets in addition to its Los Angeles flagship such as San Diego and San Francisco.
On February 20, 2009, KLSX changed its format to Top 40 (CHR)
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
under economic pressures, and the Tom Leykis Show aired its final broadcast. The show was broadcast Monday through Friday, 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM PT
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
from Paramount Studios and 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM Saturdays in Hollywood, California and was heard in a number of major metropolitan markets on the West Coast of the United States
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
.
It was produced by Gary Zabransky along with associate producer Dean "Dino" DeMilio, and engineered by Art Webb.
Format
The cornerstone of the program was the Thursday broadcast of "Leykis 101", in which the program is set up as an ad hoc lecture and question and answer session, over which Leykis presided as a self-styled "professor". The subject of the "101" segments were how men can spend less money on women, while achieving greater sexual success. Along with general information on life for young men, advice mostly consisted of his principles of looking out for yourself and that the institution of marriage is flawed and biased against men. He constantly recommended that young men attend some form of higher education and not be distracted by relationships or marry at a young age as he did. The intent of his advice was to replace the father figure which many men lack, inspiring many callers to address Leykis as "Dad". He also denounced what in his words is a corrupt and broken child support system that does not require DNA tests and has forced men to pay money to women who lied before a judge for children these men did not father.Features
A popular and long-running feature of the show was "Flash Friday" in which men were encouraged to drive with their headlights on and women were encouraged to expose their breasts to such vehicles. The feature began as a one-time bit; while on the air, Leykis recalled a radio host he listened to as a child, who asked his listeners in New York apartments to flash their lights on and off and then to look outside to see how many neighbors were doing the same, as a way to gauge the audience size. Leykis asked his listeners to do the same with their car headlights, and a few minutes later, jokingly suggested that women flash their breasts. A listener called in to report that he saw a woman flashing fellow drivers, and it became a regular feature of the show. Both women and men commonly called during the Friday broadcast to alert other listeners as to their location, and to recount stories of flashing or being flashed, respectively. When Flash Friday began, cars with daytime running lights were relatively rare, and Leykis was able to comment that a few cars have daytime running lights, but they're mostly driven by old people, so before you flash someone whose lights are on, you should make sure it's not an old person's car driven by an old person.The show also used sound clips which callers generally requested after long conversations. Callers made requests to be "taken out" in some style, such as, "could you take me out with a bong
Bong
A bong is a filtration device/apparatus generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco,or other herbal substances.In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and more portable...
hit?" or "take me out Kobe
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school...
style," meaning for a specific desired sound effect or audio to be played to end the call. The practice of "taking people out" with use of a sound clip dates back to the early days of the show, when Leykis was working at a small radio station in Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Leykis would dispose of undesirable or tiresome callers by playing a cart
Fidelipac
The Fidelipac, commonly known as an NAB cartridge or simply cart, is a magnetic tape sound recording format, used for radio broadcasting for playback of material over the air such as radio commercials, jingles, station identifications, and music. Fidelipac is the official name of this industry...
[i.e., a Fidelipac audio tape cartridge] with the sound of a toilet flushing while hanging up on them (i.e. "flushing the caller"). The station manager found this offensive, and when Leykis refused to stop, removed the cart from the studio. Leykis retaliated by re-recording the sound on another cart that he purposely mis-labeled as "dog barking", and continued to play it. The station manager became frustrated and began harassing the host about it, so Leykis began "blowing callers up" instead (i.e. playing an explosion
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
sound effect).
After some time the practice became such a commonplace one that as callers ended their on-air conversation with Leykis they began asking for the sound clip to be played as they hung up by saying "Blow me up, Tom." This phrase in turn became so popular it was soon synonymous with The Tom Leykis Show and its host. It has ever since been used on all sorts of Leykis merchandise, is the name of his official website and was used as the title of a 2001 documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about the host and his show.
Over the years, as more and more sound clips were brought into use, the explosion sound saw less air time and eventually became referred to simply by the phrase "old school"--and the original toilet flush clip in turn became "old- old school," terms both used whenever callers wished to be "taken out" with those sound effects.
Law suits
In July 1998, Tom Leykis and the production company Westwood One were sued by Karen Carpenter of Juneau, AlaskaJuneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...
. She claimed to have suffered post-traumatic stress from disparaging and sexual comments Leykis made about her on the air. Leykis has stated on air he was in court due to the suit for a decent length of the winter of 2002.
On June 25, 2003, Marty Ingels
Marty Ingels
Marty Ingels is an actor, comedian, theatrical agent, and, by many, best known as the voice of many cartoon characters and commercials. Born Martin Ingerman in Brooklyn, New York, he is the son of Jacob and Minnie Ingerman.His voice-overs and commercials include those for Paul Masson wines, with...
, a voice actor, called into Leykis' show and tried to challenge him on moral
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
grounds. Ingels, who was much older than the typical caller to Leykis's show, was subjected to some rude remarks by the call screener who said that he was too old and shouldn't be on the air. But the call did get put through, at which point, Leykis too began to insult Ingels, adding that "you're not just older than my demographic, you're the grandfather of my demographic". Leykis explained that he didn't want older callers because he was selling advertising to the younger demographic, stuff that usually didn't sell to people Ingels' age. Ingels sued the show for age discrimination.
Ingels's first lawsuit got dismissed, by an anti-SLAPP statute (CCP S 425.16) that protected against lawsuits that protects first amendment rights and another judge claimed that the show had the right to control its content. Further, it was noted that Ingels couldn't really complain he was discriminated against because his call was in fact put on the air.
As for Ingels, the actor was ordered to pay $25,000 in attorney's fees.
On-air murder confession
Another widely publicized event took place in November 2006 when a listener from Phoenix, ArizonaPhoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
called the show and confessed to shooting the father of her child when he refused to pay child support. Leykis denied allegations that the call was part of a hoax set up by the show, and producers turned over any information they had to local police. The caller, a nurse, who went by her middle name, Sue, said that she shot the man in the heart with a 9 mm because she "knew how to aim for it", and made the shooting look like a suicide. About a month later, former talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
host Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera is an American attorney, journalist, author, reporter, and former talk show host...
asked Leykis about the incident on his Geraldo at Large
Geraldo at Large
Geraldo at Large is a United States television newsmagazine, hosted by Fox News correspondent-at-large and former talk show host Geraldo Rivera.-History:...
syndicated television program. Geraldo: "So what was your first reaction when you got this call?" Leykis: "I was shocked. You know, people call talk shows and say all kinds of things, but they never confess to murder." On August 7, 2008, an officer involved in the investigation was interviewed by Tom on the air. The evidence was presented to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and charges are being sought against Megan Suzanne Vice of El Mirage, who police name as their suspect in the case. In 2009, it was revealed that the woman would not be prosecuted due to a lack of evidence, because in the state of Arizona, evidence in suicides is destroyed after five years.
Talkers Magazine
Talkers magazine
Talkers Magazine is a trade industry publication related to talk radio in the United States. Its slogan is "The Bible of Talk Radio and the New Talk Media"...
analyzing Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
data show that Leykis has an estimated listening minimum weekly cume
Cume
In the practice of measuring the size of US commercial broadcasting and newspaper audiences, cume, short for "cumulative audience," is a measure of the total number of unique consumers over a specified period....
of over 1.75 million for Spring 2007 based on a national sample
Sample (statistics)
In statistics, a sample is a subset of a population. Typically, the population is very large, making a census or a complete enumeration of all the values in the population impractical or impossible. The sample represents a subset of manageable size...
.
Cease and desist order
In the fall of 2006, the show relocated to a new broadcast studio on the Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
lot in Hollywood. As of July 23, 2007, Leykis has been prohibited from including the name of the film studio as a part of his pre-taped intro sequence. According to Leykis, Paramount Pictures contacted CBS Radio and objected to having the studio linked to the show.
Originally, when beginning the day's broadcast or returning from a commercial break at the start of a new hour, the announcer would introduce the show's studio and location ("From Paramount Studios in Hollywood, it's the Tom Leykis Show.") Since the "cease and desist" order from Paramount, the new introduction announces the broadcast location in many different ways, satirizing the situation. Some versions replace the words "Paramount Studios" with "the back of the backlot at a movie studio" or "soidutS tnuomaraP" (Paramount Studios, spoken in reverse), and even more simply "a secret location" or the common audio "bleep" normally used for removing expletives.
Naming names
In 2003, Leykis raised controversy by revealing the name of Katelyn Faber, the accuser in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault caseKobe Bryant sexual assault case
The Kobe Bryant sexual assault case began in the summer of 2003 when the news media reported that the sheriff's office in Eagle, Colorado had arrested NBA superstar Kobe Bryant in connection with an investigation of a sexual assault complaint filed by a 19-year-old hotel employee...
. Other media outlets elected to reveal details of the alleged victim such as race and masked photographs while excluding her name, as was the standard practice at that time, raising privacy
Privacy
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
questions.
Major media outlets generally and voluntarily withhold names like these due to their adherence to journalism ethics and standards
Journalism ethics and standards
Journalism ethics and standards comprise principles of ethics and of good practice as applicable to the specific challenges faced by journalists. Historically and currently, this subset of media ethics is widely known to journalists as their professional "code of ethics" or the "canons of journalism"...
. The policy in practice only applies to alleged victims however, allowing for the release of names of alleged offenders, a policy Leykis disagrees with, and does not follow as he regularly states he is "not a journalist". Leykis contends that either all names in a case (the alleged offender(s) and the alleged accuser) should be protected or all should be public.
The radio show host has caused considerable controversy over the years for his practice of identifying such notorious individuals by name on-air. Other such individuals he has named include:
- Vanessa Perhach, who accused Marv AlbertMarv AlbertMarv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
of forcible sodomy (biting) in 1997. - Angela Song, a woman associated with the Christian Coalition of America who tried to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge in Seattle, Washington.
- An accused child molester in SeaTacSeaTac, WashingtonSeaTac is an American city in southern King County, Washington, and an outlying suburb of Seattle, Washington. Incorporated in February 1990, the City of SeaTac is ten square miles in area and has a population of 26,909 according to the 2010 census...
. - Vili Fualaau, the 13-year-old victim of statutory rape by teacher Mary Kay LetourneauMary Kay LetourneauMary Kay Fualaau , formerly known as Mary Kay Letourneau, is an American schoolteacher who was imprisoned from 1997 to 2004 for having sexual intercourse with her 13-year-old student, Vili Fualaau. She gave birth to two of Fualaau's children while incarcerated...
. - Kenneth PinyanKenneth PinyanThe Enumclaw horse sex case was a 2005 incident in which Kenneth Pinyan , an American Boeing engineer residing in Gig Harbor, died from receiving anal sex with a stallion at a farm in an unincorporated area in King County, Washington, near the city of Enumclaw...
, the Boeing Co. employee dropped off at a Seattle hospital dead from a perforated colon, later found to have engaged in bestial sexual intercourse with a horse. - Crystal Gail Mangum, a stripperStripperA stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer,...
, escortCall girlA call girl or female escort is a sex worker who is not visible to the general public; nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency...
and student at North Carolina Central UniversityNorth Carolina Central UniversityNorth Carolina Central University is a public historically black university in the University of North Carolina system, located in Durham, North Carolina, offering programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional and doctoral levels....
, who falsely accused three Duke UniversityDuke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
students - members of the lacrosse teamDuke Blue Devils men's lacrosseThe Duke Blue Devils men's lacrosse team represents Duke University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse...
of rape, battery, and sodomy in what became known as the 2006 Duke University lacrosse case.
Ratings
For early 2008, Leykis had announced radio ratings at various angles. Among the 81 radio stations in Southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
the show was #9 overall, #6 in English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
stations, and #1 for time spent listening
Time spent listening
Time spent listening is one of the measurements surveyed by Arbitron in determining ratings for radio stations in the U.S.. The TSL is the amount of time the average listener surveyed spent listening to each radio station at one time, before changing the station or turning it off.The TSL is an...
. Among men ages 18+, adults ages 18–34, and "the money demo" ages 25–54, the show was #1 in time spent listening with an average of over 4 hours per week, in addition to being #1 in share for men aged 18+.
Show end
The Tom Leykis Show had its last regular broadcast on Friday, February 20, 2009, and ended at 5 p.m., the middle of its usual time slot. Leykis took calls until the last five minutes. At that point, the host mentioned that people had asked him how he was going to end the show. Saying, "Let's tell the truth", Leykis commented that he knew since the previous summer that it was possible the flagship station (KLSXKLSX
KAMP-FM 97.1 FM, known on-air as 97.1 AMP Radio, is a Rhythmic Contemporary radio station in Los Angeles, California. The station is owned by CBS Radio.The station had long been known as KLSX before the call sign changed on June 30, 2009....
, which originated the broadcast of the show) would switch format
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
. Saying he "tossed and turned", he thought about it and asked himself: "What could I say that would wrap this all up? And then I one day heard this song...and I realized--the lyrics of this song...are about me."
With that Leykis rolled into Joe Jackson
Joe Jackson (musician)
Joe Jackson is an English musician and singer-songwriter now living in Berlin, whose five Grammy Award nominations span from 1979 to 2001...
's "I'm the Man" (the title track of Jackson's 1979 album
I'm the Man (Joe Jackson album)
I'm the Man is Joe Jackson's second album, released in October 1979. Critically, the album was considered a continuation of Look Sharp!, an opinion shared by Jackson himself...
). By the time the song was over, the studio was filled with people—as could be seen by the live online video broadcast on the station website. The host thanked his producers, the program director
Program director
In service industries, such as education, a program director or programme director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services...
, the crowd in the studio, and everyone in southern California who made it "12 great years" and finished with "Let's do this thing one more time..." The crowd yelled "Blow me up, Tom" one last time to end the show and mark the end of KLSX
KLSX
KAMP-FM 97.1 FM, known on-air as 97.1 AMP Radio, is a Rhythmic Contemporary radio station in Los Angeles, California. The station is owned by CBS Radio.The station had long been known as KLSX before the call sign changed on June 30, 2009....
as "The FM Talk Station" in what coincidentally became a strikingly appropriate catch phrase to be had: The phrase "blow up the station" is a radio term for ending a particular format or station run. After a much longer than usual explosion sound effect, the crowd cheered and KLSX changed format
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
from hot talk to CHR/Top 40
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
.
Leykis's weekend show, The Tasting Room, continues, mostly on such West Coast stations as KGIL in Los Angeles, California and KFBK
KFBK
KFBK is a radio station in Sacramento, California broadcasting on a frequency of 1530 kHz. KFBK is a class A clear channel station, formerly designated as a class "I-B" station, sharing 1530 with WCKY in Cincinnati, Ohio...
in Sacramento, California.
Return
Leykis' podcast network The New Normal Network mentions that the show will return on April 2, 2012 - one day after his current CBS contract ends.Personal life
Leykis is currently single and has no children. He is an atheist, although reared as a Catholic. He has been married and divorced four times, which he unabashedly proclaims on-air regularly. Leykis has also boasted that he has paid for at least three abortions.His second marriage was to television reporter Christina Gonzalez
Christina Gonzalez
Christina Gonzalez is a news reporter currently a reporter for FOX 11 . She has been with FOX 11 since 1990.- Biography:Gonzalez was born in New York City grew up in Caracas, Venezuela and Miami, Florida, and graduated cum laude from the University of MiamiGonzalez began her career in radio...
, who was caught cheating
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
after Leykis investigated some hotel receipts he found. Another marriage, which lasted one year, was with a Seattle woman in 1989, who was a listener of his show.
His fourth wife, Susan Drew Leykis, who first met Leykis at a Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
game, filed a police report against him while they were married and living in Boston in 1993. On December 22 of that year, she alleged that Leykis assaulted and threatened to kill her during a fight after they returned home from a radio station Christmas party. He was subsequently charged with "felony assault and battery and threatening to commit a crime"; a police officer found bruises and scratches on the woman. In March 1994, Leykis was sentenced to a year of probation and ordered to attend a domestic violence class. He completed both, and the charges were dropped, although Leykis did not admit guilt as part of the agreement. The couple have since divorced.
In August 2004, Leykis was attacked outside a Seattle bar and all-night diner, The 5 Point Cafe
The 5 Point Cafe
The 5 Point Cafe is a bar and 24-hour cafe and bar in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It is located by Tillicum Place Park near a five-way intersection. Open since 1929, it is a drinking establishment that is considered the oldest in the neighborhood...
. In the assault, he was kicked in the face and knocked down to the ground, causing him to require 17 stitches over one eye, and leaving him with scratches and bruises on his knees. The assailant reportedly had an accomplice who accused Leykis of calling him a name and hanging up on him when he called the show. The suspects left by taxi prior to police arriving on scene and have yet to be apprehended.
External links
- BlowMeUpTom.com - official website
- WestwoodOne.com - affiliate information page for The Tom Leykis Show
- WestwoodOne.com- affiliate information page for The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis
- Blow Me Up Tom - Documentary About Tom Leykis
- Tom Leykis Hustler article