You know, WKRP was a great show. There was something about those 70's t.v. comedies that were just so damn endearing. What a good actor Howard Hesseman was. In this scene especially he portrays comedic brilliance and pathos at the same time. It just flashes across his face. I heard that the actors on WKRP really loved each other and it shows. This was considered mad-cap comedy in its time, but I see a calmness, a kind of measured dignity in these people. Maybe that's the difference between now and then- universal crassness.
I loved the episode where Jonny Fever and Venus Flytrap drink to show just how alcohol impairs your reflexes. But as Johnny drank more his reflexes improved. So finally the State Trooper who was testing him gave up and downed a big brink of whiskey himself. You just can’t beat that kind of comedy.
My fav episode was when Fever thought the phone cops were after him. He said something along the lines of: Everybody is out to get you--so paranoia is just good thinking.
Yes! This is my favorite episode too, and I'm surprised at how few recognize it when I describe the on-air reflex test. This, and the Hoyt Axton episode, where Johnny exclaims to Jennifer that "THE CHIPS ARE FALLING! CHIPS ARE FALLING!!" Most say the Thanksgiving episode is their favorite, because it seems to be the only one they really remember... a classic for sure, but not the only episode on their pinnacle
I know everyone remembers the crazy Thanksgiving episode, but this show was full of great comedy and, like MASH, a number of thoughtful moments, too. One of the best shows ever.
She is, she is. I remember how Jennifer described her when she was defending everyone at the station: And Bailey; the beautiful, beautiful shy sister with the brains.
Less Nessmen was on scene reporting on it, (o the humanity) but I think Arthur Carlton actually said "as God as my witness I thought turkeys could fly"
My high school was the one of the few with an on campus radio station. This was 1978. I was a lunch time DJ which was fifty minutes with no commercials. Every girl in the school had a favorite song so I was pretty popular then! I was cool with every gang because if you wanted your jam played you had be cool with the DJs! Our radio teacher mr Yates would let us watch WKRP in class and then we would talk about what took place on the show. All the stuff we learned like cueing up records is all obsolete now. It was an awesome class. Great experience and lots of kids from that class went on to work at local stations. Mr Yates was a legend.
I was a high school DJ, too. My big break was when I segued a pair of songs in front of my program director. I got two nights, while other kids didn't even rate one. That world no longer exists.
After this first show, I was hooked. Never befor or since, did I ever religiously watch a show. Just brilliant. From actors to writters to producers. Magic.
Not that I have reason to doubt you in particular but man, if everybody who says they religiously watched WKRP did, it would have lasted 10 seasons. ;)
@@katherineberger6329 I’m more so a fan of it from syndication (I was born in 1982). I first watched it when I was 8 years old when I didn’t know what it was. I got to appreciate it more as an adult seeing how great of a show it was. It’s easy to see why did well in syndication.
Watching this show as a boy led me to a career as a radio DJ, and just like Dr. Johnny Fever, the day I got the hell out of a "lite FM" station and began hosting my own classic rock show on a rival station, IT WAS GLORIOUS!
To think, when they offered him a role to audition for, it was for Herb. But Hesseman saw the character of Johnny in the script they provided, and he liked it.
I went to college for a "communications media" degree because I wanted to be Dr. Johnny Fever. As soon as I found out that all the music was pre programmed crap, I dropped out. Reagan cutting off the JTPA funding that was helping me pay for it was also a big factor.
Been there too. Worked at an AM daytime beautiful music station, back in the day. I put the first track of a LP one morning, put my head down, then looking up, I saw the last track was fading out. Played straight through network news, weather and sports. Tried to save face by coming on and saying the last half hour was brought to you by me... beautiful music for beautiful people. The boss didn't buy it.
It looks like Johnny is gonna spin some Cat Stevens as his second song in this clip. I'm guessing he would have played either 'Can't Keep it In' or 'Ready' or maybe 'Another Saturday Night' - all three of which were on the album he grabbed. Interested to know which of Cat's songs you radio guys think he would have picked.
@@Mozart1220 Yet another gem Reagan left behind. He also killed the music programs across the US with the 81-82 tax cuts. Ronnie is burning in hell, hopefully right now.
You know the story behind that? Shooting the first episode, the actor got a real boo-boo somehow and they just put a Bandaid on it, no big deal. They decided to make it an Easter egg in every episode after that.
Surely you don't remember the episode where Les gets set up with a lovely escort by Herb? And SHE calls Les not long after the date. And also, before Jennifer and Les sit down and J explains things. He was so cute.
Howard Hesseman as Dr Johnny Fever, Jan Smithers as Bailey Quarters, Tim Reid as Venus Flytrap, Loni Anderson as Jennifer Marlowe, Richard Sanders as Les Nessman, Frank Bonner as Herb Tarlek, Gordon Jump as Arthur Carlson & Gary Sandy as Andy Travis were all just perfect on "WKRP In Cincinnati" 👍
They were all great, including the brilliant Tim Reid as Gordon Sims/Venus Flytrap and the criminally underrated Richard Sanders as Les Nessman. Some of the best scenes are those featuring Johnny, Venus, and Les.
@@Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co Tim Reid as Gordon Simms / Venus Flytrap had mixed feelings at first, but he actually came to like his character on "WKRP In Cincinnati" because of his friendship with series creator Hugh Wilson.
My Dad didn't like the series much, but loved that show. He was a part-time police officer and a pair of local judges, Pike and Bierce, had a similar exhibition for area law enforcement. They chose Dad to be the heaviest drinker, since he had been on the wagon for about a decade. Unlike Johnny, he didn't get faster, but after drinking all the booze alotted to him, he didn't get loose. The breathalyzer showed that he should have been sloppy drunk. Judge Pike said it was because Dad had been a Marine and their natural state is intoxicated.
RIP Howard Hesseman. Although I saw the show for the first time years ago on MeTV, Howard was the perfect actor to play Dr. Johnny Fever. Rest in peace.
Yup, noticed it too, and also noticed that Johnny Fever noticed when he looked right at it... kudos to him for staying in character! You'll also notice the tone arm sort of slides around on the record when he first put it down, so I think there might have been a problem with the needle or cartridge.
At the time this TV show came out I was living & listening to what was credited as being the second-ever free-form, underground FM radio station. As one of their "disc jerkies" said next day on the air day after the first show, "whoever wrote this obviously had some knowledge about the inner workings of a radio station". WKRP was wild & crazy then, still wild & crazy all these years later.😎
The late, great Hugh Wilson was a sales exec at WQXI in Atlanta. He based a lot of WKRP on his experiences there. Johnny was based on "Skinny" Bobby Harper, a long time DJ in Atlanta.
@@syvyn11 when I got involved in college radio in the mid 2000s playing death and black metal, it was a problem even then. I was all about the radio being a free speech and expression zone for anything, metal, live reggae, acapela, talk, whatever. So long as it came from the heart. But the "student Government" kept wanting to cut funding and make us play top 40, you know the crap you can hear anywhere, and that I didn't know anyone who actually liked it.
Joe Stephan This is just my opinion. The same building that they filmed WKRP in was the same building that The greatest rock and roll radio station Ever The Mighty Met KMET 94.7 was broadcasting out of. I always thought that one of them was copying the other. There are several videos here on you tube about KMET you should check them out. And as they used to say on KMET WWWWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What's interesting about the casting of Howard Hesseman as Dr. Johnny Fever for this show was that he really was a DJ on the old hippie KSAN-FM in San Francisco in 1967 before he went to Hollywood and broke into TV and movies. You may remember him in a few episodes of the late 60s "Dragnet." His stage name in those days was Don Sturdy.
Singer-songwriter Tom Russell, who has had a bunch of hits, was a "disc jerky" on that waco Santa Cruz station KPIG when his career hit a "dip". Passing thru the area years later he dropped in and did a couple of his songs live on the air. He was going at "Who's gonna build your wall?" with so much gusto a clock fell off the wall and hit him on the head! With KPIG-FM being one of the very last free form stations on the air, it fit so perfectly!!!
i remember him in 'dragnet' playing a hippie intellectual type in an episode that was supposed to be a talk show debate with the police. one of my favourite episodes.
This has been edited, the original song was "Queen of the Forest" by Ted Nugent. WKRP played real songs by real bands but all the record labels don't allow that anymore unless they get outrageous money. This is why WKRP is rarely seen in reruns and when it is the music is edited.
And that totally sucked......the original music was extremely important to the show, and in several cases the song was handpicked to go along with a specific scene (ie Les Nessman's date preparation)......instead they used the "generic rock" sounds and more or less ruined it. The show itself (cast and writing) is still great....but losing the original music was a shame.
The DVD set has almost all of the original songs on them. "Queen of the Forest" does play on the DVD, in the US anyway... I've watched all of them and except for a few changes (The Eagles "The Long Run" for one) they are there.
If you look at the turntable at the end right after he says Booger, the needle is literally on the paper center of the record. It's not playing anything but noise. They reshot that scene or something.
I "found" the complete season somewhere on video tape. Not the best quality, but ORIGINAL music. That's what upset me with the reruns...the music was CRAP.
I've seen this first part in real life. I used to write commercials, so I'd go to various radio stations, just to get the tones of their DJs, listen to their shows, and so forth. I met one jock who was a Top 40 DJ working in a country and western station. I went on one day of their format change. The jock's whole personality and personal morale changed because the new management decided to change the format after the Noon news. (I'd never heard of it. Most format changes I'd experienced happened at midnight or something.) It's as if the jock came back to life when he flipped the switch after the news guy outro'ed. I'd never seen a guy so happy.
I remember my grandmother driving me to school one morning in the late 1970s, and "her" easy listening station changed to a disco format at 8AM. She wasn't pleased...
@@hankkingsley2976 maybe it's just me, but I never liked "exciting" Country DJs. It just doesn't fit well with Loretta Lynn singing "Coal Miner's Daughter" or Charlie Rich singing "The Most Beautiful Girl".
RIP DJF. You were one of those few human beings that should never grow old. Now if we could only get the original music back for scenes like this classic.
RIP Dr Johnny Fever. I will always remember watching syndicated reruns of WKRP as an infant and a child in the 80s (born in Dec 1982). I know he says "hello fellow babies" upon arrival in Heaven. Now together with Mr Carlson and Herb Tarlek. Say hello to Jimi Hendrix for us.
Rest in peace Doctor! He will always be a great memory and a part of my young life. Every thanksgiving we watch the Great Turkey drop, such a gift. .......Thank you Howard..... Peace from California
All us fellow babies miss you Doctor Fever!! You’ve given us rock n roll that soothes a soul!! Btw the original music is edited out in this! The actual song playing was Queen of the Forest by Ted Nugent!! THE NUGGEEE!!!
I drive a semi, and I do most of my shopping at night (well, I did back when the Wal-Marts were 24 hours). And at 2-3am the Walmarts are sometimes "interesting". That's when the crazies are scheduled to clean the floors and stock the shelves, lol.
God Bless you Dr.Johnny Fever ....you kept me laughing during those late 70s and early 80s. I enjoyed WKRP so much and you kept us Rocking ....smile . May God keep you in his Love ,Grace ,and Compassion....Keep on Rocking ...You are Missed ...
I absolutely 💖LOVED💖 this show. I believe I seen every episode at least 3 times. The cast played every character perfect to create excellent, clean comedy. It's a shame how Father Time takes his toll on us all. I still like to watch the full episodes on You~Tube and find on many occasions watching a few episodes of a morning can turn those drag~ass, hum~drum days into more brighter and productive days. May Arthur Carlson, Herb Tarlek, and Doctor Johnny Fever always rest in peace and thank them all for all the years of laughter and brighter days!!!
Up here in Canada, 11 year old me would come home from school and pour a big bowl of corn flakes and turn on the CBC to learn about life with Dr Johnny Fever. Thanks for the memories! RIP
Often, we see things on tv, and have no concept of how that moment will impact our lives forever. I grew up in KY, 60 miles from Cincinnati. Everyone looked up to Cincinnati as the BIG CITY that was closest to us. As a kid, when WKRP in Cincinnati came on, even though it was filmed in LA, it was SET in Cincinnati, and that seemed like the coolest thing in the world to me. It showed me, that we could have Show business..HERE ..where we lived. So I got into Radio, thinking I would spend my whole career in KY. I got fired from my first radio job for playing a burp sound effect on the air. Much like Johnny Fever got fired in LA, for saying “Booger” on the air. So, just as Johnny says “Booger” at his new job, I in turn , would play a burp sound effect on the air, First thing, at every new job I got. Including on air in LA and New York City. I eventually worked at a station in Cincinnati, 102.7 WEBN. And everytime I would drive across the Ohio River bridge to work there, I would sing , loudly the WKRP theme song. This moment of the show is where Andy Travis just told Johnny Carevello, to change the format from Elevator Music, to Rock n Roll. Johnny hesitates, AFRAID. Then he says “Do it!” And let’s it rip! MANY times in my life, I jumped ahead of the game, by JUST DOING IT ANYWAY! I got my first radio job by YELLING at a radio float in a Parade. I got jobs at WKQQ, and WQMF by showing up at appearances the Program Directors were doing and asking them for a job. I got a job at KGB San Diego by driving all the way across the country and showing up to say HI. I got a job as a Board-op at KLSX ..Los Angeles ...and worked my way on air, to have my own show. I did that, when a Host didn’t come to work, so instead of playing a tape like I was SUPPOSED to do, I just said “Do it!” And went on the air MYSELF with a partner and we hosted our own show...in LA...without permission. Luckily, we were really funny, so management liked it, and put us on regularly. Later, Skibba my partner and I, traveled to New York to be on Sirius Satelite Radio, and then crash the Howard Stern Show as guests. We had NO PERMISSION. We just did it. We crashed Howards’ Show. Sirius. And then later that day we marched into CBS Radio’s Corporate headquarters and asked to speak to the Boss. And WE DID!! That stunt put us on their radar, and over a year later, they brought us to New York, and we were on the air there. What a jump!!! From board op in LA, to On-Air Host in New York City!!! So, in this VERY INFLUENTIAL clip, you see the moment Johnny creates his new persona...DOCTOR JOHNNY FEVER. But more than just HIS character was born....MY character was being born....Dangerous Dick. I just didn’t know it at the time.
This is an amazing story. I started out at my local radio station when I was 14. And loved every minute of it. I DJ'd all the way through high school and college, and then got back into it many years later. I was there when my local station automated. I was a computer nerd, so I was stoked to be able to help them install the ESP 1 automation system. It was an old mechanical system with carousels for the cart machines, and four 11 inch reel to reel decks for music. After that all I got to do was program the damn thing and watch. Until one Saturday when I'd had enough. I'd been playing with it, and figured out how to run the remote control in the booth, and how the songs were laid out on the tapes. The owner/GM turned it on to find, instead of the voice guy who tracked it on air, his 17 year old DJ, going to town. I was going from reel to reel to a spot set on the carts, to my voice and back to a reel for music, all manually. Needless to say he was NOT happy. He did however understand. and he gave me Saturday evenings to air live. That would never, ever happen today.
@@JimDean002 Both of your stories are so cool. This show inspired me as well, (but, to be behind the scenes, like Andy or Bailey). My ambitions ultimately took me in a different direction. Yet I have always wondered... and, happily it sounds, like it really _would have_ been great to have been there in those days.
I got an unpaid gig at a radio station (I won't mention which) and got canned because I ordered a pizza on the air. I was pretty much alone late at night, a friend worked at Godfathers and I asked him to bring me a pizza in return for a couple records they were giving away because they were going from vinyl to CD. Apparently I violated some FCC rule...they never really explained in detail.
Love WEBN and WQMF still listen when I can pick them up in Southern Indiana. In 1995 a station in Louisville had just changed formats to Rock. Right in the middle of "Hotel California" when the song pauses, the DJ inserted the longest belch I'd ever heard! I was laughing so hard, I had to pull over my pickup truck.
You, sir, have lived my dream life. When I was a teenager, I knew that whatever I did with my life, I just wanted to make people smile and I didn't want to use anything I'd ever learned in HS. Unfortunately I graduated in the mid-90s, the start of slow corporate seepage into local radio markets. I realized that the days, or nights rather, of one man with a pot of coffee, a stack of wax, and a lone microphone were on the way out. But I do have a radio voice I put to good use whenever someone calls me at work: "K-105 request line! Whaddya wanna hear?"
So sad that he passed away. I watched the show all the time, mainly for Loni Anderson but all the characters on the show made it great. RIP Dr. Johnny Fever, we will miss you.
My son and I have some great memories from watching this show. I was working in Cincinnati when this show was popular. There were so many great shows that I can't pick a favorite. RI Power Howard and keep on spinning those records.
