Larry Glick
| Larry Glick | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 16, 1922 Massachusetts, USA |
| Died | March 26, 2009 (aged 86) Boca Raton Community Hospital, Boca Raton, Florida |
| Cause of death | Complications from open-heart surgery |
| Other names | "Commander" Glick; "Streeter" Glick |
| Education | Roxbury Memorial High School, Roxbury, MA |
| Alma mater | Emerson College, Boston |
| Occupation | Radio announcer |
| Years active | 40+ |
| Known for | Boston-based radio talk show; "The Story Behind the Story" |
| Notable work | Comedy Album "Larry Glick? Let Me Check." |
| Awards | Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame, 2008 |
Larry Glick (May 16, 1922 – March 26, 2009) was an American talk radio host, based in Boston, Massachusetts, whose long-running show on WBZ and later WHDH became a New England institution in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Prior to ending its run on WHDH in 1992, Glick's show went out first over WMEX in 1965. By 1967, he had been hired by WBZ, where he would spend the next 20 years. WBZ Radio is a powerful 50,000-watt Boston station that blanketed the six New England states and reached well beyond, from the Maritime provinces of Canada down through the Carolinas in the South and as far west as the rockies.
A typical show might feature a sometimes serious guest, an exchange of repartee with his hapless (and usually less witty) engineer (Kenny "Muck" Meyer) at the station, and free-ranging free associations on current events and life. Some callers became institutions like Larry: Arnold Tarbox, the dry and droll Maine fisherman; Charlie DiGiovanni, a wisecracking Boston cabdriver; the Champagne Lady; Boston newspaper legend, Kenny "The Night Owl" Mayer; and a number of others. A call from some of these regulars could seem like a visit from an old friend.
Certainly Larry was an old friend to most of his fiercely loyal audience. He did not disappoint. A critical or mock-critical caller would hear “Take that!” followed by Larry's cue of a series of rifle-shots on tape. A sentimental moment might prompt playing of one of Larry's favorite irreverent love ballads, such as "Cry of the Wild Goose" by Frankie Laine, or “When The Ice Worm Nests Again” on YouTube (probably performed by Canada's Alan Mills). Boston pride got trumpeted via Bennie Drohan's “Southie Is My Home Town” [1], and infamous Boston bibulousness was regularly lampooned with a traditional beery ballad to Lydia Pinkham (purveyor of a legal forty-proof patent medicine during Prohibition), acclaiming her “the savior of the human race”. His novelty "Glick University" T-shirts, like the "WMEX Good Guys" shirts before them, became collectors' items for his fans. The shirts were awarded as contest prizes or to guests Larry deemed a particularly "Good Guy".
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