Wally Phillips
Encyclopedia
Walter Phillips was an American
radio personality
best known for hosting WGN
's morning radio show
from Chicago
for 21 years from January 1965 until July 1986, and was number one in the morning slot from 1968 until he left for an afternoon radio slot in 1986.
Phillips was a pioneer of the radio call-in talk show
format, including a variety no longer allowed by the FCC
: putting people on the air without their knowledge.
. Six years later, after his father's death from tuberculosis
, his family (including three siblings) moved to Cincinnati
. Phillips later dropped out of high school to join the United States Army Air Forces
during World War II
, but he ended up in Georgia
in a tow target squadron
assigned to fly practice targets for fighter pilots and anti-aircraft artillery
.
After the end of World War II, he attended drama school
for a while and then became a disc jockey
in Grand Rapids, Michigan
. A year after beginning his DJ career he returned to Cincinnati.
in Cincinnati where he established his call-in format and his trademark style of remixing prerecorded interviews as a comedy piece. He was eventually fired after he inserted a phony item into a newscast. Discussing this piece in a 1976 interview with the Chicago Tribune
, Phillips said,
along with staff announcer, and future Bozo the Clown
star, Bob Bell
. The two started at WGN (AM)
in 1956 after being introduced as "comedians from Cincinnati".
His WGN morning show was consistently top-rated in Chicago, and led to his being labeled "the king of morning radio." At the height of his popularity, Phillips attracted nearly 1.5 million listeners, a now unheard of half of the market
's listening audience
.
. Sometimes, he called random payphone
s to see who would answer. For example, he called a pet cemetery
to arrange a funeral for his mouse, and on another occasion he tracked down Benjamin Gingiss, founder of Gingiss Formal Wear, while the man was on vacation in the Bahamas to ask him where the fire extinguishers were kept in the store.
Another time, Phillips called Ipanema
, a neighborhood located on the southern region of the city of Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil
, and inquired whether there were any women there who were "tall and tan and young and lovely
." He tried to order pizza from Rome
and even tried to return a natural Christmas tree
weeks into the new year because it had browned and lost all its needles. On one occasion, he managed to obtain Luciano Pavarotti
's hotel room number, and called to ask if the singer would give Phillips opera lessons and "teach [Phillips] to sing flat, like you do."
Phillips was the first to offer a $1 million prize to listeners—as a part one of his most famous and longest-running promotions in which he would debunk self-proclaimed psychic
s on the air. Listeners were invited to guess what celebrity name was written inside "Wally's Black Box." No one ever successfully guessed the name. He eventually revealed the note bearing the name of Jean Rogers
, a movie heroine Phillips admired for her role as Dale Arden
in several Flash Gordon
film serials
.
Another unique aspect of Phillips' show was a large library of sound bites, each just a few seconds in length, which could be played on short notice in response to something that was said. A mundane example would an announcement by Phillips followed by Groucho Marx
's voice (from a line in Duck Soup) saying, "Make a note of that!" Instead of using carts or reels, Phillips' engineers found it more convenient to cut a disk with a transcription lathe to keep everything at the ready. WGN was still using the devices strictly for the Phillips show as late as 1985, costing the station more than $20,000 yearly.
in Crystal Lake, Illinois
for some years afterward.
Phillips was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame, in the Museum of Broadcast Communications
in 1993 and into the National Association of Broadcasters
Hall of Fame in 1997, marking his 50th year in radio.
Longtime Chicago radio personality and one time rival, Steve Dahl
, enjoyed making fun of Phillips' show. Dahl went as far as to create a parody song called, "Oh, Wally," set to the tune of Barry Manilow's
song "Mandy
" in which a lovesick listener from Tinley Park, Illinois
calls Phillips for travel information, companionship and maybe even a dinner or some other freebie. However, when Phillips did a 1998 farewell broadcast at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, Dahl showed up to pay his respects. As Dahl recalled, "Sure, I made fun of him when I got here. I had to. Nobody knew who I was, and everybody knew who he was."
On October 21, 2004, the street corner of Rush Street
and Delaware Street in Chicago was designated as Honorary Wally Phillips Way.
Phillips was married three times – all to the same woman, Barbara. He had two daughters Holly and Jennifer, and a son, Todd.
He died in Naples, Florida
on March 26, 2008 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease
for the previous five years.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio personality
Radio personality
A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
best known for hosting WGN
WGN (AM)
WGN is a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is the only radio station owned by the Tribune Company, which also owns the flagship television station WGN-TV, the Chicago Tribune newspaper and Chicago magazine locally. WGN's transmitter is located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois...
's morning radio show
Radio programming
Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....
from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
for 21 years from January 1965 until July 1986, and was number one in the morning slot from 1968 until he left for an afternoon radio slot in 1986.
Phillips was a pioneer of the radio call-in 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....
format, including a variety no longer allowed by the FCC
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...
: putting people on the air without their knowledge.
Early life
Phillips was born in Portsmouth, OhioPortsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Scioto County. The municipality is located on the northern banks of the Ohio River and east of the Scioto River in Southern Ohio. The population was 20,226 at the 2010 census.-Foundation:...
. Six years later, after his father's death from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, his family (including three siblings) moved to Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. Phillips later dropped out of high school to join the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but he ended up in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
in a tow target squadron
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
assigned to fly practice targets for fighter pilots and anti-aircraft artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
.
After the end of World War II, he attended drama school
Drama school
A drama school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution ; which specialises in the pre-professional training in drama and theatre arts, such as acting, design and technical theatre, arts administration, and...
for a while and then became a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
. A year after beginning his DJ career he returned to Cincinnati.
Cincinnati
Phillips expanded his career as a radio personality at WLWWLW
WLW is a clear channel talk radio station located in Cincinnati, Ohio, run by Clear Channel Communications. The station broadcasts locally on 700 kHz AM...
in Cincinnati where he established his call-in format and his trademark style of remixing prerecorded interviews as a comedy piece. He was eventually fired after he inserted a phony item into a newscast. Discussing this piece in a 1976 interview with the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, Phillips said,
"I wrote, 'All members of infantry company so-and-so report immediately to your draft board,' and I described an insurrection in some phony country. He read it on the air. Hell, they even had the FBI all over the station."
Chicago
Later, Phillips moved to Chicago, IllinoisChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
along with staff announcer, and future Bozo the Clown
Bozo the Clown
Bozo the Clown is a clown character very popular in the United States, peaking in the 1960s as a result of widespread franchising in early television.Originally created by Alan W...
star, Bob Bell
Bob Bell (actor)
Robert Lewis Bell , better known as Bob Bell, was famous for his alter-ego, Bozo the Clown. He was the original portrayer of the character for Chicago superstation WGN-TV.- Early life :...
. The two started at WGN (AM)
WGN (AM)
WGN is a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is the only radio station owned by the Tribune Company, which also owns the flagship television station WGN-TV, the Chicago Tribune newspaper and Chicago magazine locally. WGN's transmitter is located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois...
in 1956 after being introduced as "comedians from Cincinnati".
His WGN morning show was consistently top-rated in Chicago, and led to his being labeled "the king of morning radio." At the height of his popularity, Phillips attracted nearly 1.5 million listeners, a now unheard of half of the market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
's listening audience
Audience measurement
Audience measurement measures how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic on websites...
.
Innovations
Phillips was one of the first broadcasters to routinely use humorous and offbeat phone calls in his show, including prank phone callsPrank call
A prank call is a form of practical joke committed over the telephone. Prank phone calls began to gain an America-wide following over a period of many years, as they gradually became a staple of the obscure and amusing cassette tapes traded amongst musicians, sound engineers, and media traders...
. Sometimes, he called random payphone
Payphone
A payphone or pay phone is a public telephone, often located in a phone booth or a privacy hood, with pre-payment by inserting money , a credit or debit card, or a telephone card....
s to see who would answer. For example, he called a pet cemetery
Pet cemetery
A pet cemetery is a cemetery for animals.-History:Many human cultures buried animal remains. The Ancient Egyptians mummified and buried cats, which they considered deities....
to arrange a funeral for his mouse, and on another occasion he tracked down Benjamin Gingiss, founder of Gingiss Formal Wear, while the man was on vacation in the Bahamas to ask him where the fire extinguishers were kept in the store.
Another time, Phillips called Ipanema
Ipanema
For other uses, see Ipanema . For the British rock band, see Ipanema .Ipanema is a neighborhood located in the southern region of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon and Arpoador...
, a neighborhood located on the southern region of the city of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and inquired whether there were any women there who were "tall and tan and young and lovely
The Girl from Ipanema
"Garota de Ipanema" is a well-known bossa nova song, a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s that won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. It was written in 1962, with music by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. English lyrics were written later by Norman Gimbel.The...
." He tried to order pizza from Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and even tried to return a natural Christmas tree
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
weeks into the new year because it had browned and lost all its needles. On one occasion, he managed to obtain Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
's hotel room number, and called to ask if the singer would give Phillips opera lessons and "teach [Phillips] to sing flat, like you do."
Phillips was the first to offer a $1 million prize to listeners—as a part one of his most famous and longest-running promotions in which he would debunk self-proclaimed psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
s on the air. Listeners were invited to guess what celebrity name was written inside "Wally's Black Box." No one ever successfully guessed the name. He eventually revealed the note bearing the name of Jean Rogers
Jean Rogers
Jean Rogers was an American actress. She portrayed Dale Arden in two of the three Flash Gordon serials.-Early life:...
, a movie heroine Phillips admired for her role as Dale Arden
Dale Arden
Dale Arden is a fictional character, the fellow-adventurer and love interest of Flash Gordon and a prototypic heroine for later female characters, including Princess Leia Organa and Padme Amidala in Star Wars. Flash, Dale and Dr...
in several Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
film serials
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
.
Another unique aspect of Phillips' show was a large library of sound bites, each just a few seconds in length, which could be played on short notice in response to something that was said. A mundane example would an announcement by Phillips followed by Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
's voice (from a line in Duck Soup) saying, "Make a note of that!" Instead of using carts or reels, Phillips' engineers found it more convenient to cut a disk with a transcription lathe to keep everything at the ready. WGN was still using the devices strictly for the Phillips show as late as 1985, costing the station more than $20,000 yearly.
Retirement
In 1998, he retired from WGN radio after 42 years, twelve years after giving up the morning show where he was succeeded by Bob Collins, who continued the format and the high ratings. Phillips then hosted a two-hour Saturday morning radio show on WAITWAIT (AM)
WAIT is a radio station located near Crystal Lake, Illinois. It was purchased by Newsweb Corporation in 2004. Original call letters were WIVS....
in Crystal Lake, Illinois
Crystal Lake, Illinois
Crystal Lake is a city located in southeastern McHenry County in northeastern Illinois, in the Chicago suburbs. It is named after Crystal Lake, a lake located west-southwest of downtown. Crystal Lake is also a suburb of the city of Chicago. The population was 38,000 at the 2000 census, but as of...
for some years afterward.
Phillips was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame, in the Museum of Broadcast Communications
Museum of Broadcast Communications
The Museum of Broadcast Communications is an American museum that currently exists exclusively on the Internet and not in any physical capacity. Its stated mission is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain...
in 1993 and into the National Association of Broadcasters
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association, workers union, and lobby group representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States...
Hall of Fame in 1997, marking his 50th year in radio.
Longtime Chicago radio personality and one time rival, Steve Dahl
Steve Dahl
Steven Robert Dahl has been an American radio personality and humorist for more than thirty years. He is currently podcasting, and releases the podcasts for download daily from his own website as well as the iTunes store...
, enjoyed making fun of Phillips' show. Dahl went as far as to create a parody song called, "Oh, Wally," set to the tune of Barry Manilow's
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
song "Mandy
Mandy (song)
"Mandy", originally titled "Brandy", is a song jointly written and composed by Scott English and Richard Kerr."Brandy" had been a hit in 1971 for Scott English in the UK and in 1972 for Bunny Walters in New Zealand...
" in which a lovesick listener from Tinley Park, Illinois
Tinley Park, Illinois
Tinley Park is a village located primarily in Cook County, Illinois, United States with a small portion in Will County. The population was 48,401 at the 2000 census, and 58,322 in the 2007 census. It is one of the fastest growing suburbs south of Chicago...
calls Phillips for travel information, companionship and maybe even a dinner or some other freebie. However, when Phillips did a 1998 farewell broadcast at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, Dahl showed up to pay his respects. As Dahl recalled, "Sure, I made fun of him when I got here. I had to. Nobody knew who I was, and everybody knew who he was."
On October 21, 2004, the street corner of Rush Street
Rush Street (Chicago)
Rush Street is predominantly a northbound one-way street in the Near North Side community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
and Delaware Street in Chicago was designated as Honorary Wally Phillips Way.
Personal life
In 1969, Wally Phillips founded the Neediest Kids Fund, which has since raised $35 million for charity.Phillips was married three times – all to the same woman, Barbara. He had two daughters Holly and Jennifer, and a son, Todd.
He died in Naples, Florida
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...
on March 26, 2008 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
for the previous five years.
Further reading
- The Wally Phillips people book: 1,762,913 heads are better than one, Wally Phillips, forewords by Bob NewhartBob NewhartGeorge Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
& Mike Douglas, ISBN 0898030129, 1979