Poster for Mark & Brian painted on the building from the Laugh Factory on Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles
|
|
Country of origin | United States |
---|---|
Language(s) | English |
Home station | KLOS |
Starring | Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps |
The Mark & Brian Show was an American radio talk show hosted by Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps, known on the air as "Mark & Brian." The syndicated program aired weekday mornings from KLOS-FM in Los Angeles, California, and blended comedy sketches, listener phone calls, interviews with in-studio guests, and the occasional road trip.
In 1985, Thompson was working as a disc jockey when he was introduced to Phelps, whose background was in improvisational comedy. Their first joint on-air appearance was on WAPI-FM (I-95) in Birmingham, Alabama, where the initial incarnation of The Mark & Brian Show began. An offer to move West and take over the morning slot at KLOS led to the premiere of The Mark & Brian Show in Los Angeles on September 8, 1987.
The Mark & Brian Show included sketches and annual events (including a golf tournament and a Christmas all-star rock concert). Popular sketches included "The Red Carpet Minute with Edward Gordon," "Miniature Theater," and other celebrity-based sketches. They were #1 in Los Angeles until 1992, when Howard Stern's syndicated show came to Los Angeles and took over the #1 spot in the Arbitron ratings.
In 2006, they conducted a reality TV-based contest called "Two Strangers and a Wedding," in which single women auditioned to be the bride, then chose from five male finalists to marry—without ever meeting before the wedding. In 2007, the concept was modified to "Three Strangers and a Wedding," in which the bride chose two of the five male finalists to come to the wedding. Upon meeting the bride at the wedding, the grooms had the option of proposing to the bride, who could then accept either proposal or decline them both. Both resulting marriages were brief and ended in divorce.
Mark & Brian are two-time winners of the Billboard Magazine "Air Personalities of the Year" award, and received a 1991 National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Award as "Air Personalities of the Year." They have also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.