14 illinoisentertainer . com december 2023
2023 : IN MEMORIUM
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very December , I write a column dedicated to the great pros we lost in the media this year . This year was a particularly cruel one . We lost writers like Bill Zehme and Joe Goddard ( Chicago Sun-Times ), television stars like Jerry Springer , Richard Belzer , Suzanne Somers , Matthew Perry , andRichard Moll , recording and movie stars like Harry Belafonte , Richard Roundtree , Dwight Twilley , Piper Laurie , and Burt Young , and director William Friedkin .
But there are three Chicago radio treasures I really want to highlight . All were significant losses .
In January of 2023 , we lost Lin Brehmer . Lin has been memorialized on the radio by his colleagues at WXRT , on stage by his friends Jon Langford and Tony Fitzpatrick , and with a special concert at the Metro . The Cubs even had Lin Brehmer Day . I don ’ t claim to have known him well , but I did get a chance to interview him a few years ago , and here is Lin in his own words . “ I ’ ve been very fortunate . Think about Lin ’ s Bin . It ’ s not exactly the way a program director would draw it up . There aren ’ t a lot of PDs out there saying , ‘ Hey , we should have the morning guy do a four-minute written essay !’ I ’ m appreciative to XRT for allowing me to do it all these years . This is a very cool job . I ’ ve met just about everyone I ’ ve ever wanted to meet . I met Robert Plant five or six times , spent long periods of time with Pete Townshend . Met Bob Dylan when he did a show at the Metro a few years ago . The only one I can think of that I ’ ve never met – and I wish I had – was Tom Petty . I was in the same room as him a few times , but I never got the opportunity to chat with him . That ’ s a regret . He was very important to me . The first record I ever played on the radio was a Tom Petty record .”
In November of 2023 , we lost Jim Channell . His time in Chicago lasted only a few years ( at WDHF / WMET in the 70s ), but the high-energy wild man Captain Whammo left his mark on the air . I talked to him about ten years ago . He had become a born-again Christian and was living and broadcasting in Florida under his real name . “ Captain Whammo ” had been left in the dustbin . One of our topics of discussion was the origin of his stage name . I must admit I didn ’ t see this answer coming …
I grew up in Chicago and went to a Christian school for eight years , " The Pillar of Fire ", then went to Lake View High School . Going from that strict Christian school to Lake View High was quite a transition , as you might imagine . I thought , " Man , there are girls everywhere !" I had lunch with eight different girls at one table . My heroes in those days were the coolest , most
By Rick Kaempfer
stylish , best-dressed big league baseball players , Bo Belinsky and Sandy Koufax . My buddy and I would find out what they were wearing , and we ' d get the same attire to pick up chicks . For instance , Bo had black slacks , a checkered jacket , and hush puppies . So , I got those too . So , anyway , we were dressed like Bo and Sandy one night trying to pick up girls , and we were coming out of a pizza place in Old Town , and this guy on the street had this box and did a gyration and said , " I ' m going to Hazel ' s house , and I ' m going to get me some Whammo !" So , me and my
Rick Kaempfer and Dick Biondi
buddy , after we moved on to other towns , would always mention this when we talked to each other . We ' d call it : comparing whammo notes . It was an inside joke between the two of us . Well , one night , I was on the air on WDHF in Chicago , and I said , " I ' m horny tonight , give me a call ." The PD hotlined me and asked : " Did you say what I thought you said ?" When I told him I did , he said : " You can ' t say that ." So , I substituted the word " Whammo " instead , and he liked that . He liked that a lot . In fact , he told me to drop my real name , Jim Channell . He said : " From this day forward , you are Captain Whammo !"
In July of 2023 , we lost one of the most influential figures in Chicago radio history when Dick Biondi passed away . I never interviewed Dick , but I tried for twenty years to convince him to write his memoirs . I even offered to help him write them . Dick couldn ’ t be convinced . It ’ s too bad because I worked at the same radio station as Dick ( WJMK ) for ten years and got to know him well . We even did a few shows together ( photo ). His stories were legendary . Dick hung out with Elvis at Graceland , introduced the Beatles on-stage at the Hollywood Bowl , did sock hops with people like Jerry Lee Lewis and Chubby Checker , and more . Bob Sirott once said that Dick should just be given the mic and permitted to tell stories all night .
But here ’ s what I ’ ll always remember about Biondi . He was a genuinely humble and gracious man , and he loved and appreciated his listeners more than any broadcaster I ’ ve ever known . He lit up when he met or talked to them . They loved him , and he loved them . There will never be another Dick Biondi .