It was 5:30 in the morning and still dark when I pulled into the parking lot at WWL TV & Radio in 1970. I sat in my car waiting for WWL morning host Bob Ruby to meet me and bring me into the studio for my first day in radio.
After about 10 minutes of waiting alone in the parking lot on the edge of the French Quarter, an NOPD car pulled into the lot, stopping in front of my car. Two police officers got out of the car and asked me to step out of my car. I’ll finish that story below, but first there was a lot that led up to me getting my first radio job at WWL.
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After graduating from East Jefferson High School, I was working part-time at Red Cross Shoes - a ladies shoe store at Lakeside Shopping Center - while attending UNO. I was not very good at selling ladies shoes; and when it came time to cut the staff - I was fired.
The only thing worse than working at a ladies shoe store at that point in my life was being fired from a ladies shoe store at that point in my life! To say that I was discouraged at that point would have been an understatement - I was lost.
In the late 60s, I found myself imitating disc jockeys on the radio; and more than once, I know I annoyed my friends riding in the car with me because I would imitate the pattern of the “radio talk” of the disc jockeys on the air.
On a long weekend trip to Pensacola with friends at the age of 17, I made the decision to delay our arrival at our hotel on the beach to get a tour of a local Pensacola radio station that we were listening to on our way to the beach. The station was playing all the hits, and I wanted to see what went on at the other end.
I called in on the request line and got the DJ to agree to let me come in and watch him spin a few records. I was fascinated. Something in me clicked and I knew I wanted to get into radio.
Even before my first exposure to a live radio studio I have a vivid memory of seeing a local disc jockey introducing a band at an event at Lakeside Shopping Center. The guy was so cool - he wore sunglasses and the way he stood there with confidence and brought on the band almost made it seem like he was responsible for the band being there.
I was infatuated. Over the years I started paying an unusual amount of attention to the DJs and what they said. I wanted to be in radio - but I had no connections and no thoughts on how to actually get into the business.
Now, back to the day I was fired from the ladies shoe store.
My dad was sales promotion manager for JAX Beer in New Orleans, but as a side hobby he was a skywriter. He had a small plane rigged with the equipment required to dispense a steady stream of white smoke with the ability to quickly turn it on and shut it off.
Bob Ruby, the morning host on WWL 870 AM, was known for doing quirky things on the air; and one morning he arranged for my Dad to skywrite “Mornings are Ruby” over the city during the rush hour commute. The day after I got fired from the shoe store, my Dad had gone down to WWL to give Ruby the invoice for skywriting “Mornings are Ruby.”
Ruby was not in a good mood because he just had to fire his producer and happened to say to my dad, “Do you know a responsible young person I could hire to work for me?” Of course he recommended me, and I was given the job as Bob Ruby’s producer.
In 1970, the title “producer” sounded impressive, but I essentially answered the phones for Ruby, scanned the newspaper for interesting articles, and got him coffee. On rare occasions, though, Ruby would ask me a question and turn on the microphone near me, and I was on the air!
I can vividly remember how my heart raced when I knew I was on the air and the power I felt realizing that a large audience was hearing my voice. There was no doubt in my mind that radio was my destiny. And when I thought about the timing of me being fired and my dad delivering an invoice to Bob Ruby on the day he had to fire his young producer, it seemed like the stars were aligned for me to pursue a career in radio.
Meeting NOPD on my first day
So, on my first morning showing up for my new radio job I was waiting in the WWL parking lot when a police car pulled up to my car - the two officers asked me to get out of the car and they began questioning me about why I was sitting in my car in the parking lot. I explained that I was starting a new job with Bob Ruby on WWL, and it was my first day and I was waiting for him to meet me.
The WWL Radio news director, Bob Raymond, saw me - a young guy just sitting alone in his car in the station parking lot. I later learned that Bob thought I was masturbating in my car so he called the police.
Fortunately, Ruby showed up about the time I was ending my story I was telling the police about my first day at WWL. The police apologized and left, and Ruby escorted me up to the WWL studio on the second floor of the building on Rampart Street, and I began my career in radio on WWL - celebrating 100 years on the air!
Tuesday: I will write about one of the funniest moments on the air with Bob Ruby which was simply reporting an actual news story. Plus - the origin of The Krewe of Underwear!