I'm working on a special project this year about a certain radio station, so I've been going back into my files and pulling out some old interviews with former Loop colleagues and pals. I'll feature one a week here on the blog. This week, it's Garry Meier. Garry spanned both of the legendary Loop eras (late 70s, late 80s/early 90s), first as Matthew Meier, the overnight jock. Later under his real name Garry (with two Rs) as the co-host of the Steve & Garry show. Steve & Garry were a team for nearly 15 years before breaking up in the fall of 1993, shortly after Garry's wedding. As a team they were inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2013. Garry is still active in the business. Garry's podcast is called The Garry Meier Show. For years Garry didn't want to talk about those Steve & Garry days publicly, but I recently coaxed a few tidbits out of him when I wrote about him in Illinois Entertainer last year...
His thoughts on his Steve & Garry years: “I see these wedding announcements and the officiator has a Universal Life Church certificate, and I remember that we were doing that 40+ years ago at our (Steve & Garry) Breakfast Clubs. Broadcasting from the Princess cruises is commonplace now, but we were the first to do it. We were live from the red carpet at the Academy Awards. The Rose Bowl parade. Those great trips to Hawaii. Those are some of the things that stand out to me.”
And now Garry is a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame.
“I’m still trying to digest it,” he admits. “When I was on the stage being inducted into the Hall of Fame, it was almost an out of body experience. I never thought it would come to this. I just liked doing it. I thought it was a fun way to make a living. It’s weird that I ended up with this access to people I never would have dreamed of meeting.”
I was Steve & Garry's producer during their second stint there in the late 80s and early 90s. After I left the show in 1992, I was still working at the radio station as a disc jockey on the Loop FM, and as a co-host of the show Ebony & Ivory (with Stan Lawrence) on AM 1000, and as a writer for LoopScoop magazine. The magazine asked me to interview Garry. Garry didn't want to do the interview. Instead, he told me that Cliff (a character he portrayed on the show, a parody of WGN-TV announcer Cliff Mercer) would do it.
I know how odd this sounds, but Steve and Garry & I hadn't spoken to each other for a year (we were estranged because I left the show), but Cliff and I had done "crosstalk" on the air many times when I was hosting the overnight show and Steve & Garry were hosting mornings. Cliff began the show every day while waiting for Steve to arrrive, which was usually about 15 minutes late. Garry didn't speak as himself until Steve was in the studio in person. This interview was conducted during one of those "crosstalk" sessions live on the air around 5:30 in the morning. Cliff told me I could ask him five questions.
LOOP SCOOP MAGAZINE
Summer 1993 issue
"The Cliff Interview"
Rick: How long have you been with Steve & Garry?
Cliff: 6 foot 2, but I've been longer some mornings.
Rick: Cliff, you have a unique perspective of the guys. Tell us something we don't know about them. What are they really like?
Cliff: They paste Princess Di's and Fergie's heads on naked animal bodies during commercial breaks.
Rick: Steve & Garry's cast of characters has constantly changed over the years. With all the different newscasters, sportscasters, producers, and contributors that have come and gone, how is it that you are still aboard? What's the secret to your longevity?
Cliff: I eat healthy, and let's face it, I'm pretty darn good in the broadcasting saddle.
Rick: Mark Twain once said, "The most priceless gift of all is waking up one more day." Now that you are entrusted with being the first thing people hear when they wake up, do you feel an extra responsibility?
Cliff: Oh sure. I think it's better to hear about school lunches from me than on the street, and who else gives the temperature at Peotone International?
Rick: Garry Meier finally decided to get hitched recently. Any chance of a double wedding with Garry?
Cliff: I was married back in the 50s, when gas was twenty cents a gallon and they pumped it for you. I lost my toupee in that divorce. My best to Garry and Cindy.
(Note: Steve & Garry broke up after Garry returned from his honeymoon)
Cliff was also part of the Steve & Garry live shows. Here he is at the 1989 Decade of Service show with the Cliff Dancers...
Cliff also showed up as part of the impromptu Steve & Garry reunion on the beach about 15 years ago. If you want to see him in action, you can see it here: VIDEO: The Steve & Garry Reunion Show
