Regis Cordic
| Regis Cordic | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Regis John Cordic May 15, 1926 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Died | April 16, 1999 (aged 72) Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Actor and Radio Personality |
| Years active | 1948-1999 |
Regis John "Rege" Cordic (May 15, 1926 – April 16, 1999) was an American radio personality and actor.
His career in entertainment divides roughly in half: from 1948 to 1965, he was the dominant morning drive-time radio host in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, he was a successful voice, television, and film actor in Los Angeles, California.
Cordic was born in the Hazelwood neighborhood of Pittsburgh and attended Central Catholic High School. He started in radio as a staff announcer and substitute sportscaster at WWSW-AM. When morning host Davey Tyson left the station in 1948, Cordic was one of a number of staffers given the opportunity to replace him. At first a straightforward announcer, Cordic began introducing comedy to his program—first in subtle ways, such as reading a sports score for "East Overshoe University" along with the real scores, and later by adding a repertory company of supporting comic characters. The morning show, renamed "Cordic & Company," became the most popular in Pittsburgh.
In 1954, "Cordic & Company" moved to KDKA (AM) on Labor Day, one of the first times that an American radio station had hired a major personality directly from a local competitor. Popular Bette Smiley had decided to retire from her full-time KDKA wake-up show "Radio Gift Shoppe of the Air" and move to a Sunday-only condensed version on WCAE in August 1954 in order to raise her young son Robbie. Cordic's immediate predecessor in the morning slot was the "Ed and Rainbow" show, featuring Ed Schaughency with Elmer Waltman cast in the role of Rainbow, the janitor. Waltman was dropped, and Schaughency was moved to the afternoon with a show called "Schaughency's Record Cabinet." Schaughency lasted less than two years in that role before he was replaced by Art Pallan, who also came over from WWSW. Schaughency took on a new role as a news reader and moved back to mornings, delivering the newscasts during "Cordic & Company." The Cordic show's ratings continued to grow until, at some points, it had an 85 share—meaning that 85% of all radios in Pittsburgh were tuned to "Cordic & Company" while it was on. By the end of his tenure in Pittsburgh, Cordic was reportedly earning $100,000 a year, a huge sum for a radio host at the time.
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