Bob Barry's Unearthed Interviews

If I told you today’s podcast features a British lad who had a hit with a song called “Escape,” you’d probably say, “What song is that?” If I said the “Pina Colada Song” you might remember. Rupert Holmes was a pop singer and song writer. He stopped by the WOKY studios one morning to introduce his new record, which also made the Billboard Top 10. He wrote the song about a personal experience, which he’ll talk about and you’ll hear a bit of that hit. He’ll also mention the connection he had with Barbra Streisand.

The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association is proud to present a very special "Bob Barry's Unearthed Interviews - podcast #200".                        #200!!!                                                     The WBA wondered how this came about. Bob says "It was suggested we do something special for the 200th podcast, so we are flashing “way back” to 1972, to me and my morning show on WOKY. As far as we know, this is the first time anyone has heard my morning radio show in 51 years. Can you believe it?  That goes for my newsman David Haines and his colorful high-energy delivery too."                         Bob's morning show on WOKY was usually #1 in the ratings.  This meant Bob could spend company money on long distance phone calls. And he did. In 1972, long distance calls cost dollars per minute. The Milwaukee Journal reported monthly phone bills at WOKY were over $1000. Adjusted for inflation, that's $7300 a month!  Bob spent WOKY's money wisely, making his show so popular he was voted #1 DJ in the USA in 1975 by Billboard magazine, beating out DJ's from New York and LA.                                            Bob says "That was quite an honor and thank you to everyone who listened to me back in the day."                                 Several people helped put this "200th special" together.  Thank you's to WOKY alum Jack Lee who brought back Milwaukee's very own “Lady of Charm”, to radio vet and voice talent Bill Shannon for playing the role of "Mr. Announcer", and to marketing guru Kipper McGee for handling promotion. Continuing thanks to Kyle Geissler, Vice President of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association for coordinating and getting these podcasts to you on Youtube, Spotify, Apple, etc. And special thanks to Mark David (MD) Heleniak of MixMasterMD.com for restoring the 1972 WOKY aircheck, and for producing, writing, and engineering the 200th special podcast.                                          If you enjoy this special, let us know.  email:  bbarryunearthed@gmail.com   We’ll do more in the future.                                           And thanks for listening!

In the early morning hours of Aug. 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber named Enola Gay dropped the world’s first atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. The explosion immediately killed 80,000 people and many more would die later from radiation exposure. This was the beginning of the end of World War II. On today’s podcast, the pilot of the bomber, Col. Paul Tibbets.

The Downbeats, ponytail, and “Where the Action Is” can all be tied into our podcast recording artist today. Mark Lindsay was the lead singer for Paul Revere and the Raiders. They named their first group “The Downbeats,” after a magazine with the same name. But soon they decided to use the Paul Revere’s name and call themselves Paul Revere and the Raiders. They went all out with the revolutionary theme and mark grew his hair out and tied it back into a ponytail. Dick Clark signed them to the “Where the Action Is” TV show. This brought them instant fame and the good-looking Mark Lindsay became a teen idol. Mark was singer, producer, composer, and saxophone player for the group. He had some hits of his own: “Arizona,” “Silver Bird,” “Miss America” and the “Grass Won’t Pay No Mind.” Recently he appeared with the Turtles on their “Happy Together” tour.

Donny Osmond sings, dances, acts and first gained fame with his brothers. The Osmonds, who had three top ten hits and numerous top 40 songs on the Billboard charts. Donny starred in the long running musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” co-hosted a musical variety TV show with his sister Marie, and the duo appeared many times together on stage in Las Vegas and Donny recorded six top ten hits. In this podcast episode Donny shares info on their act, songs, religion, and where all of their energy comes from. And Marie added some comments during the interview.

David Brenner was a stand-up comedian, actor, and author. He was on the Johnny Carson “Tonight Show” more than any other guest, 158 times. And he guest hosted 75 times. David produced many documentaries, winning 30 awards including an Emmy, before moving to comedy. He was on the list of the greatest stand-ups of all time. He also wrote five books and starred in four HBO specials. One of his books was titled “I Think There’s a Terrorist in My Soup: How to Survive Personal and World Problems with Laughter….Seriously.” 

Remember the red-haired saloon keeper, Miss Kitty, on the long running TV series “Gunsmoke?” Amanda Blake, born Beverly Louise Neill appeared in Hollywood films including “A Star is Born.” She also did comedy routines on the Red Skelton Show and on the “Dean Martin Celebrity Roast.” And she was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers. You’ll never guess what Amanda did after showbiz. She’ll explain. Blake was a heavy cigarette smoker and had surgery for oral cancer. She became a supporter of the American Cancer Society.

George C Scott (the C is for Campbell) was an actor, director, and producer, best known for his Academy Award winning performance in the film “Patton.” He reluctantly talks about turning down that Oscar. He received four nominations for “The Hustler,” “The List of Adrian Messenger,” “Dr. Strangelove” and “The Bible: In the Beginning.” He also won several Tony nominations for roles that included “Inherit the Wind.” He often worked with his wives Colleen Dewhurst and Trish Van Devere. George will tell his secret about how cracking his knuckles when he was a kid paid off in the movies.

If you were a fan of the long running CBS TV series “Hawaii Five-O,” you aren’t alone. The popular catchphrase “Book ‘em Danno” came from that show. Actor Jack Lord starred as detective Steve McGarrett, head of the State Police Criminal Investigation Department in Honolulu. After he appeared as Felix Leiter in the James Bond film “Dr. No,” he demanded a bigger role and more money, which resulted in his dismissal. He was offered the role of Captain Kirk on Star Trek, but when he asked for 50 percent ownership of the show, the part went to William Shatner. He also lost the part of Eilot Ness to Robert Stack in “The Untouchables.” He did have parts in many TV shows including “Bonanza,” “The Fugitive,” “The F.B.I.” and “Have Gun, Will Travel.”

Marie Osmond began performing in concert with her brothers when she was 14 years old. She co-hosted a variety television show with her brother Donny and later a daytime talk show named “Donny and Marie.” She also hosted her own variety show and co-hosted the TV series “Ripley’s Believe It or Not.” She became a top country singing artist in the 80s and with Dan Seals won the CMA vocal duo award in 1986. Marie was nominated for two Grammy awards and became the youngest female country artist with a number one debut song. She’ll introduce that song at the end of this podcast. Marie stopped at the studio one morning to talk about the Children’s Hospital Miracle Network Telethon.