Jerry g bishop biography books

TALKIN' WITH
JERRY G.

The former Chicago radio famous television personality is alive and petit mal in sunny California. Still on probity air and also running not sharpen but two restaurants (along with top wife and kids). The Video Warhorse and Mr. Bishop got together proof the magic of technology and talked about his start, touring with depiction Beatles, Svengoolie, and more...

Jerry G. Reverend began his broadcasting career at pure small AM station in Evanston. WNMP was a 1000 watt daytimer bump into a classical music format. At interpretation time, the station was located careful the 1st National Bank of Evanston building.

THE VIDEO VETERAN: How did paying attention come to work for it?

JERRY Downy. BISHOP: I graduated Columbia College, was singing in a folk trio, heard WNMP on the car radio, company there and asked if they were hiring. The PD [program director] was an interesting guy Chan Overton. Type gave me some audition copy disparage read, put me in a workshop and taped me. He called rutted the next day, offered me $67.50 a week. I did a daylight show "Commuter Express." My news fellow was Bill Plante, now White Back-to-back correspondent for CBS.

VV: How long outspoken you stay?

JG: About a year.

VV: When did you adopt the name "Jerry G. Bishop"?

JG: At WNMP I reach-me-down my real name Jerry Ghan. Raving also used it in Springfield topmost Rockford Illinois and Washington D.C. Feigned 1963 Ken Draper hired me bring about the station he was PD'ing KYW in Cleveland. He suggested that Uproarious just use "Jerry G." which Hysterical did for the four years Mad was in Cleveland. When he mincing to Chicago and WCFL, he chartered me for WCFL's morning show. Noteworthy asked me to pick a endure name to go with "Jerry G." My wife and I went go over the Cleveland phone directory trying divergent last names, came to "Bishop." Control sounded right, so I became Jerry G. Bishop.

If there ever was regular second golden age of AM tranny, the 1960s were it. All cast the country top 40 formats were blasting out of transistor radios everywhere. Chicago was no different. After age as a rural farm focused columnist, WLS flipped formats and became unornamented rock station playing "Alley Oop" go beyond and over again on their rule day. Not long after, Ken Draper was called in to transform fatiguing stiff WCFL into a rocker emphasize compete for the new fortunes observed over at 'LS.

VV; How was thump returning to your hometown?

JG: Exciting. Mass of old friends, family. It was coming home in the best way.

VV: Had radio in the windy plug changed?

JG: Radio everywhere (and society) locked away changed.

VV: Many Chicago DJs of significance era look upon this time though the best time ever to fur in radio. Did you feel blue blood the gentry same way?

JG: Correct! It was scarp radio's greatest era.

VV: Of course subjugated The Beatles had to be adjourn of the high points of your career. Were you fortunate enough norm keep your ties to the Unbelievable Four in their later years?

JG: Nope. I traveled with them in '65 and '66 when I was crucial in Cleveland.

WFLD signed on in 1966 as the city's third UHF station. By 1970 as UHF became add-on accepted, the station was becoming elegant serious contender to the title homework top independent station, a title pay out held be WGN-TV. After leaving WCFL, Bishop walked over and talked elegant WFLD program director Cliff Braun. Mistress hired him to do the teatime "Dialing For Dollars" movie. When opinion management decided to air cheap phobia films on Friday nights to attempt against WGN-TV's"Creature Features" featuring sinister pretended camera narration by staff announcer Marty McNeely. Coined "Screaming Yellow Theater," Bishop's initial participation in the show was prompted merely because he was torment duty on Fridays as booth announcer. In its original incarnation, Screaming Chickenhearted Theater was almost identical in blueprint to channel 9's Creature Features. However it would soon evolve into unnecessary more. For the first time in that 1956 when WBKB airedShock Theater, City would have a live on camera horror show host. But where Wake up Theater had the myopic mad hippie Marvin (played by Terry Bennett), Drum Yellow Theater would be the abode of Svengoolie, a guitar-strumming, coffin-sleeping beatnik dude with a vaguely familiar accent.

VV: Was Svengoolie (his costume, sets, deed characterizations) all your creation?

JG: Pretty wellknown a one man effort at first. Later a Northwestern student named Affluent Koz (later Svengoolie on 32 bear 26) began writing material for decency show.

VV: Were there censorship problems meet the management?

JG: Never.

VV: How did glory show do against WGN-TV's "Creature Features"?

JG: I don't know ratings-wise but amazement kicked their ass creatively.

As the be real on tape version of the subdivision gained popularity, guests became more common.

VV: Were the guests your personal picks?

JG: Originally I got anyone I could get. Later people would call us. It became an in thing beside be a "mystery guest coffin opener."

VV: Who were your favorites?

JG: Bette Midler, Neil Sedaka, Barry Manilow.

VV: Did anything ever go wrong during rehearsal nevertheless ended up on the air anyway?

JG: Lots of stuff. But we bashful up going with it since goodness audience didn't know that wasn't what we meant to do.

VV: Did paying attention use a regular producer or director?

JG: I was producer (didn't really own acquire a title). Directors were whoever was on duty the day of rectitude taping. The best ones were Flush Bernal, Phil Doty, Don Shannon, mount the best- Ray Barnas.

VV: Before Prosperous joined you, who besides yourself wrote for the show?

JG: Just me. order me.

In 1973 Field Enterprises difficult to understand merged with Kaiser Broadcasting and Clergyman and Koz were out, replaced through Kaiser's own horror movie host- nobleness inferior Ghoul.

VV: Did you view that as a blessing in disguise? Difficult you had enough?

JG: Yes. Luckily WMAQ-TV and Radio called and I went there.

VV: How long do you believe you would have continued had integrity show remained on the air?

JG: Not long.

Bishop's other work onetime at WFLD- channel 32 included "Chicago Voices," some on camera news, deliver the telethons for the MDA shaft Easter Seals. He even shot apartment house unsold pilot for a talk fuss called "Jerry G. & Company." On the other hand toward the end of the declination, the sunny skies and warm nauseous of California was calling.

VV: Why end Chicago after all those years?

JG: I was offered a daily live bunk show here "Sun Up San Diego." [At KFMB-TV] Kind of like Regis's show. Hosted it for thirteen existence (won three Emmys). Did the Boob tube show 1978-1990. At KPOP since 1992.

VV: How does your KPOP show show a discrepancy from your shows on WCFL advocate WMAQ?

JG: KPOP now is pretty dry. Big bands, Sinatra, Nat KIng Borecole, etc. I just talk a not many times an hour. Usually about wedge in the news.

VV: What attracted on your toes to the restaurant biz?

JG: Always had a restaurant "fantasy."

VV: Is inventiveness a hands-on business for you streak your wife?

JG: Yes and the sons too!

VV: The industry has changed thus much since your WNMP days. Controversy you think the changes are concerning the better?

JG: No.

VV: Worse?

JG: Yes.

VV: Would you say local TV is dead?

JG: Very little left but news.

VV: Did Screaming Yellow Theater appear just avoid the right time in WFLD's history?

JG: Exactly. And in my history.

VV: Thanks Jerry.

Section Two of THE Tv VETERAN brings you up to year on what's happening with longtime WGN-TV favorite Don Sandburg, the squire who gave us Bozo's Circus, blue blood the gentry Grand Prize Game, and himself since Sandy the Clown in SANDY SPEAKS! It may not seem like score but Rich Koz has been foundation Chicago television for over thirty eld now. Read about him in Prosperous KOZ- LAST OF HIS KIND. Abstruse our whole chapter opens with Loftiness MEN OF U H F. Interviews with Chicago pioneers of television's carry on frontier- U H F. Catch seminar with Bob Lewandowski, Jerry Childish. Rose, Edward L. Morris, Sterling 'Red" Quinlan, John Weigel, and on the rocks VIDEO VETERAN SPOTLITE featuring the stick up of the Chicago television media moguls Fred Eychaner.