It was with great sadness that on my drive back from Rutgers on Wednesday night I heard David Brudnoy's WBZ colleagues eulogizing him. Alas, the radio legend was not dead; he had only announced his retirement that night and explained that he had resigned himself to imminent death. But hadn't he repeatedly cheated death? Twenty-four hours after his radio show officially died, so did David Brudnoy. He was sixty-four.
I had the pleasure of listening to Brudnoy's program on WBZ since its inception almost twenty years ago. In the mid-1990s, I actually appeared on The David Brudnoy Show a few times as a guest.
I confess: I did not always appreciate David Brudnoy. If my memory serves me right, Brudnoy took over Larry Glick's place on the WBZ dial in the mid-'80s, discharging "the Commander" and shutting down Glick University. For any longtime listener of WBZ--which includes many outside New England, since its 50,000-watt signal reaches 38 states and parts of Canada on a clear night--Larry Glick was AM radio in the PM. To have him replaced, and by a host that so greatly differed from him in tone and in the subject matters he tackled, was greatly upsetting to a twelve-year-old AM-radio addict.
But in time, I came to appreciate David Brudnoy. As my interest in politics grew, my interest in Brudnoy's more politically-driven show grew too. In a medium that often (unfairly) gets blasted for formulaic hosts, Brudnoy was an orignal in style and in substance. He offered listeners a high-brow, gentlemanly alternative to fast-paced hot-talk, and a politcal outlook that defied conventional conservative/liberal labels.
Other than the Village People, Brudnoy was the first homosexual I had any awareness of as a homosexual. Just as the Village People's chaps and handle-bar mustaches were fairly clear signals, Brudnoy's peculiar references to "lady friends" instead of "girl friends" struck me--even as a kid--as a bit, well, queer. Although he was still ostensibly in the closet, Brudnoy's homosexuality was an open-secret all around Boston--just as his medical condition was known before he announced it in 1994. And it is the courageous way in which he battled AIDS that makes him a memorable figure to most people. But his WBZ radio listeners, his Boston University students, and the many readers who relied on his film reviews to determine their weekend cinema choices likely remember Brudnoy in ways that transcend a simplistic association of the radio host with a disease.
Writing movie reviews of Ocean's Twelve and Finding Neverland, grading the final exams of his Boston University students, and appearing on WBZ Wednesday night, David Brudnoy lived life until life stopped. May he rest in peace.
Rest his soul indeed. Now he can meet one of his biggest fans--my mother.
I never saw the appeal of Mr Brudnoy and his show cured my insomnia. However, I too was a Larry Glick fan in the early and mid 80's. "Larry Glick's the one for you, he is on from ten to two....." Before I became addicted to his show, I too was a 12 yr old AM radio talk show fan - of The FOX, on WMEX if you can believe it! I had to sneak a radio stuffed into a smelly old stuffed dog under my covers just to listen to the show all night, I don't know how I made it to school in the morning. His nightly airing of the Watergate Song (anyone remember THAT?) kept me laughing until we moved to Florida in 1973, when even the WBZ and WMEX signals couldn't find me down there.
Sigh.... maybe I'm getting old, but now I just listen to Howie Carr and pine away for the old days when talk radio really WAS entertaining. And I miss Larry; I spent many a night working my way through college (I won't say what I was doing) listening to Larry (and his hilarious shtick with Tom Bergeron) and that make it a lot more bearable. And once again, I was sad to lose him when he checked out and was relocated on some weekend night or something on another station before finally leaving with his dignity intact. For the rest of the 80's I switched to Jerry Williams, another brilliant mind who's recent demise has left a void in my heart. There will never be the likes of a Jerry Williams or Larry Glick again.
I swear, I think I heard Larry doing an insurance commercial on the radio about 5 or 6 years ago (well he was selling something anyway) So, what are the odds of finding tapes of his show on Ebay (WBZ won't give it up), are there any other old fans out there who taped him would like to make a few bucks selling some of the tapes? (are we are getting old, or what?)
So happy I found you (from a link on the DrudgeRetort).
Hila in Northampton, MA
I never saw the appeal of Mr Brudnoy and his show cured my insomnia. However, I too was a Larry Glick fan in the early and mid 80's. "Larry Glick's the one for you, he is on from ten to two....." Before I became addicted to his show, I too was a 12 yr old AM radio talk show fan - of The FOX, on WMEX if you can believe it! I had to sneak a radio stuffed into a smelly old stuffed dog under my covers just to listen to the show all night, I don't know how I made it to school in the morning. His nightly airing of the Watergate Song (anyone remember THAT?) kept me laughing until we moved to Florida in 1973, when even the WBZ and WMEX signals couldn't find me down there.
Sigh.... maybe I'm getting old, but now I just listen to Howie Carr and pine away for the old days when talk radio really WAS entertaining. And I miss Larry; I spent many a night working my way through college (I won't say what I was doing) listening to Larry (and his hilarious shtick with Tom Bergeron) and that make it a lot more bearable. And once again, I was sad to lose him when he checked out and was relocated on some weekend night or something on another station before finally leaving with his dignity intact. For the rest of the 80's I switched to Jerry Williams, another brilliant mind who's recent demise has left a void in my heart. There will never be the likes of a Jerry Williams or Larry Glick again.
I swear, I think I heard Larry doing an insurance commercial on the radio about 5 or 6 years ago (well he was selling something anyway) So, what are the odds of finding tapes of his show on Ebay (WBZ won't give it up), are there any other old fans out there who taped him would like to make a few bucks selling some of the tapes? (are we are getting old, or what?)
So happy I found you (from a link on the DrudgeRetort).
Hila in Northampton, MA
David Brudnoy did indeed replace Larry Glick, 9pm to 1am at WBZ. Glick would move to 1 to 5pm at the station where he would remain for a couple of years untill WHDH-AM 850 brought the brinks truck and lured Larry over to the station where he worked mid days. Larry would stay at WHDH untill his retirement. Larry is currently living in Boca Raton,Florida.
I was also a BIG fan of Larry's. I started listening to him on the old WMEX in the early and middle 60's.
It left a void in my life until he returned to WBZ in 1969.
I remember they used to make him play records, and he hated it. He finally got it down to 3 records an hour, which was ok. A few years later, all the records stopped and it became all Larry.
I called his show HUNDREDS of times, and played the part of several characters. It was me who used to call in with a funny voice and do farmyard animals as Larry would sing "old MacDonalds Farm.
I also did a charactor called "Crybaby Lenny" and many many others. Anyway.......
He also Hypnotised me on stage several different times.
Several years ago, after learning that Larry had retired to Florida, I decided to look him up.
Actually, all I did was call Florida Info, and ask for his phone #. WOW. I couldn't believe it, not only was he listed, but Larry Himself answered the phone!!
We talked for at least 20 minutes. It was GREAT.
Thank you Larry, for making me laugh for so many years.
