I Love You Radio: 90s Edition

Now where was I? Cut to the summer of 1992. I graduated from Holy Trinity High and still planned to pursue a career in radio. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to do it. But I sure was going to have fun trying while soaking up the sun. 630 CHED's stature as a Top 40 powerhouse had seen a shift with the gradual emergence of Power 92 FM, And the above aircheck is certainly a time capsule of the period, with Rob and Audie pulling Sunday double duty on the Hot 30. (Yes it was pretaped, but it was still fun picturing them maybe sitting in the studio and drinking coffee  on a Sunday going, "Weren't we just here?"). Also featured is the late Pat Cardinal, then the Power 92 program director and an outstanding DJ as well, doing the noon shift.

But if I could, I'd like to draw your attention to the smiling guy in the crew cut among the pictures featured. He is Ron Clark, and it is Ron who gave me the chance to have my own radio feature on his midday show in 1993. I had gone to the movie premiere of CB4 (short for Cell Block 4), a rap parody somewhat aspiring to be Spinal Tap but missing that mark by a continent or two, despite the presence of both Chris Rock and Phil Hartman. I had a great time lightly chuckling, and called Ron the next morning at the station just to chat about what we had seen. All of a sudden he said:

"Hey, how about we do a new segment on my show?"

My exact words: "Huh? Are you serious?"

"Yes I am," said Ron. "Let's start it right now. You ready? 3,2,1....And on the phone with me right now is Mike At The Movies! We saw CB4 last night and..."

Holy cow, I now had a radio handle I wouldn't have thought of in a million years, although I am a movie buff! That was all him.

And so I would go to the premieres and generally call in on Fridays about ten oclock. We would have a conversation on the phone about whatever the movie happened to be that week, be it Judgement Night with Emilio Estevez or The Chase with his brother Charlie Sheen and Kristy Swanson. Or Disney's Three Musketeers reboot with Charlie, Kiefer Sutherland, and Peter Frampton...uh, I mean Chris O'Donnell (a quip I didn't use on air but preserved here). Yes, it was a hit-and-miss summer moviewise, but we did occasionally get to see underappreciated gems like So I Married an Axe Murderer, a dark but very funny comedy starring Mike Myers, in which he plays not only the main character but also his crusty Scottish father. Others included The Man Without A Face, Mel Gibson's directorial debut in which he also played the title role. And there was also the sweet Heart and Souls, which gave pre Iron Man Robert Downey Jr a chance to flex his Chaplinesque gifts for physical comedy and mimicry.

And it was always a blast for me. But in those pre-digital days I know Ron did a lot of this...





...to make me sound good, sometimes working miracles to get our spot ready for air at the end of the nine song set. Or in a couple of cases at the end of a commercial break...when we would start recording at the beginning of said commercial break. And because I hadn't quite mastered the concept of friendly disagreement being OK when talking about movies in a critical forum. Add to that the fact that I did not discover the radio person's staple of coffee for another 12 years or so, and I'm sure he was wondering about me some days. The best radio people can put anyone at ease, and Ron Clark certainly was that.

And then, in the spring of 1994 after a pretty fun year, it was over.

Ron told me the morning I called to do our Major League 2 review. And I had a feeling we were done the night before when I saw Bob Uecker's Harry Doyle character chide his on air partner about going back to broadcasting school. Because no matter how much fun radio may appear to be, at the end of the day it is a business. And I had a pretty good year for not actually being hired. I was and always will be grateful to Ron Clark for doing all he did to start me on a path. But Ron Clark rocks, ladies and gentlemen. He really does. And not just because of all the radio stuff and all the movies, but for being a great friend as well, which is a rare thing in this crazy world.

Thank you my friend.

MTMG