Free Kicks--The Home Stretch

 The latest episode is out now. You can listen to it here.

The Champions League and the Premier League head into the home stretch, and Rick and Adam analyze the chances of the front runners. [Ep153]

Eckhartz Everyday

 

*On this day in 2013, the Daily Herald wrote an article about the Eckhartz Press book Records Truly Is My Middle Name. You can check it out here.

*On this day in 2016, Eckhartz Press author Dobie Maxwell (Monkey in the Middle) appeared on Mancow's show to promote his book. More about that appearance here.

Chili Dog MVP interview

Great show on tap tonight as we welcome @DJFletchMD and John Owens authors of #chilidogmvp @DickAllen_15 , The 1972 @whitesox and A Transforming Chicago 7 pm on https://t.co/k0rXKMLiW7 or on the 365sportscast iphone, android or alexa apps. pic.twitter.com/TuKnMWDXoJ

— Mark Rosenman (SportsTalkNY) (@sportstalkny) April 27, 2022

From the Writing Archives--Ann Margret

Ann Margret is an Academy Award and Emmy nominated actress. I wrote this piece about her more than ten years ago. I'm reposting it today because it's her birthday.

I always knew that Ann Margret was one of John Landecker’s dream guests.

He had a crush on her when he was in his teens, and despite John’s long high-profile radio career, he had never met her, and never interviewed her.

Shortly after I was named John’s producer I began to investigate angles to convince Ann Margret to come on the show, but nothing worked. She really doesn’t like to be interviewed, and no matter what I said or did, her people wouldn’t budge.

The breakthrough came when she was cast in the lead role of “Annie Get Your Gun.”* The show was playing in Chicago for several weeks, and I knew that I would never get a better chance to book her.

Even though we had a host who clearly loved her, an audience which was demographically perfect for her (we were an Oldies station), and I had a great relationship with the publicity department of the show (Broadway in Chicago), the best we could get was a short recorded phone interview.

If it had been anyone else, I would have refused the offer. We almost never did recorded phone interviews during our ten year run on WJMK. Our first choice was always live and in the studio (we accepted less than that only for the biggest celebrities). Our second choice was taped in person, face to face. And our third choice was live on the phone. There was no fourth choice.

Nevertheless, John agreed to return to the radio station in the middle of the afternoon to record this phone conversation with her.

This required technical assistance. Unlike most major market radio stations, we only had one production studio that could record phone calls. Recording a phone call required kicking the commercial production director out of his studio to do it. Luckily for us, Al Urbanski—our commercial production director at the time—was one of the only radio production directors in the country that wasn’t grumpy and bitter. He was always positive, always happy, always had a smile on his face.

In this case, Al was especially excited. He happily turned over his studio for an interview with the great Ann Margret.

The interview itself, unfortunately, wasn’t memorable at all. Ann barely spoke above a whisper, which made it very difficult to record. The content was nothing special either. She wouldn’t speak about Elvis, which was John’s first question. She also didn’t have a great sense of humor, so John’s prepared material didn’t go over so well, and she wasn’t even really that flattered by John’s lavish praise and love.

After we finished editing it together, the interview was no more than five minutes long. We considered not airing it all.

The reason I remember the interview so well, however, really has nothing to do with Ann Margret or John Landecker.

A few hours after the interview was taped, our production director Al Urbanski collapsed at the radio station and had to be taken to the hospital. He died later that night. One of his last acts on this planet was recording that Ann Margret interview for us.

The next morning when we played the interview on the air, the room was somber. To be fair to Ann Margret, the interview might have been much better than we remember, but it will forever be tainted in our minds.

To think of that interview, is to think of Al.

We still miss him.



*The same morning the interview aired, the Chicago Sun-Times reviewed “Annie Get Your Gun.” If I remember correctly, they gave it the worst review in the history of the Broadway in Chicago series. Ann Margret, in particular, was singled out for her weak voice and lack of stage presence.

Eckhartz Everyday

*Today would have been Tony Accardo's birthday. The former Chicago Outfit crime boss is metioned a number of times in the Eckhartz Press book Mob Adjacent by the Gentile brothers.

*On this day in 2020, Eckhartz Press author Bill Paige (Everything I know I learned from rock stars) came to Chicago and announced an event. It was called America's Lost Soul, Unpacking Bob Dylan's Murder Most Foul. It was about the 17 minute song Dylan released during the pandemic about the Kennedy assassination.

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview

 Really proud of this interview. I got a chance to speak to one of my musical heroes, the leader of the Rascals, Felix Cavaliere. We talked about their great songs like Good Lovin, People Gotta Be Free, Groovin, It's a Beautiful Morning, and the golden era of rock and roll music.

Listen to it here.

Cubs Tweet of the Week

Born OTD in 1900, Hack Wilson. A famous story (legend?) involved Cubs manager Joe McCarthy. Joe took a worm and dropped it in a glass of whiskey. It died. “Now what does that prove, Hack?” Hack replied: “It proves that if you drink whiskey, you won’t get worms!” #EveryCubEver pic.twitter.com/mAEqskyqPa

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) April 26, 2022

Studio Walls

   Every week I send my Minutia Men Co-Host Dave Stern a list from our audio archives for this week's Studio Walls feature. These are the possibilities for this week. Which one will he choose?

April 26 is Melania Trump's birthday. We had the author of Inside Melania, Lauren Logiudice, a real live Melania impersonator on the show. (Listen to that here)

April 27 would have been Casey Kasem's birthday. We have the famous "Dog dying" audio outtake of Casey losing it in the studio. (AUDIO)

April 28, 2007, the upcoming book $everance, by me, is announced with this YouTube ad. 

April 28 is Jay Leno's birthday. We have a clip of Jay coming on to John Landecker's show to deny stealing the Dancing Ito's from John (AUDIO)

April 29 is the famous Lee Elia rave out day. This is the first anniversary of that famous tape since the man who recorded it (Les Grobstein) passed away. (AUDIO)

April 29, 1997, Mike Royko passed away. He considered Rick a genius. He was also a die-hard Cubs fan, and we have audio of him explaining what makes a Cubs fan tick (AUDIO)

April 29 is Richard Epcar's birthday. We had the voice over star on our show discussing his incredible career (You can listen to the entire interview here)

April 29 is also Jerry Seinfeld's birthday. Journalist Jay Shatz was on our show and told us the story about the day he interviewed his double-ganger Jerry Seinfeld. (Entire interview is here)

Eckhartz Everyday

 

*On this day in 2019, I went down to Orland Park to promote my book EveryCubEver. They wrote a very nice article about me that day. (Among the people who came out to get the book, Cubs pitcher Steve Trout and his grandson)

*On this day in 2018, Beth Jacobellis went on the Patti Vasquez show on WGN to promote her Eckhartz Press book Cameo. You can hear that interview here.

*On this day in 2017, Eckhartz Press author Dobie Maxwell (Monkey in the Middle) got to throw out the first pitch at a Milwaukee Brewers game. Photos from that event are here.

Landecker & King

 From Robert Feder's column today, two Eckhartz Press authors taking center stage...

Radio legend John Records Landecker, who’s currently hosting evenings at Nexstar Media news/talk WGN 720-AM, and WXRT 93.1-FM, the Audacy adult album alternative station, are among 2022 inductees to the Hall of Fame of the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66. This year’s other honorees are Styx, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, Dan Fogelberg, The New Colony Six, Jim Peterik, Dennis DeYoung and Mercury Records. The second annual Hall of Fame ceremony will be June 5 at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet. (Here is the link for tickets.)

 John asked me to introduce him for his induction speech, but unfortunately I'll be out of the country. I'm bummed out about that. I was honored to be asked.

And this little nugget below is about our latest book. It just went live on the website this morning...

Highly recommended: Ike and Me: What a Time It Was, the insightful memoir of former Chicago sportscaster Rich King, is about to be published by Rick Kaempfer and David Stern’s Chicago-based Eckhartz Press. (Here is the link to pre-order.) It’s more than just an engaging collection of war stories and character vignettes spanning a golden era in sports and TV news. It’s also a remarkably candid reflection on how King overcame the culture of racism that permeated his childhood on Chicago’s South Side and a tribute to the epic friendship he forged with his intrepid cameraman and partner in crime, Richard “Ike” Isaac. After 48 years in the business, King retired from WGN-Channel 9 in 2016 and moved to Phoenix.

Eckhartz Everyday

*Today is Melania Trump's birthday. No-one has ever gotten inside her mind better than Eckhartz Press author Lauren Logiudice, who penned the classic Inside Melania: What I Learned About Melania Trump By Impersonating Her. 

*On this day in 2015, Eckhartz Press author Bruce Bohrer (Best Seat in the House: Diary of a Wrigley Field Usher) bravely appeared on the south side at the Beverly Arts Center promoting his book.

Grew up around this one

Here is a photo of The Carson Pirie and Scott and Co. Department Store at Randhurst Mall in Mount Prospect, IL. pic.twitter.com/MQXdse61hU

— Vanished Chicagoland (@vanishedchicago) April 25, 2022

Eckhartz Everyday

*On this day in 2018, Eckhartz Press author Kipper McGee (Brandwidth) appeared on the Brandstorm podcast. Listen to that interview here.

*On this day in 2016, the Milwaukee Journal reviewed the Eckhartz Press book Monkey in the Middle by Dobie Maxwell. Read that review here.

Minutia Men--Hitler's Bathtub

 The latest episode of Minutia Men is out. Listen to it here.

A man pays over a half-million dollars for a worthless football, the most controversial photograph of the twentieth century, Jenkins in Taiwan, a celebrity prank, a how-not-to guide, and a brush with Hollywood icon Gene Kelly are discussed by Rick and Dave. [Ep268]

Free Kicks--The Salt in Your Tears is Delicious

 The latest episode of Free Kicks is out. Listen to it here.

The battle for the Premier League title is going down to the wire between Manchester City and Liverpool. Rick and Adam discuss the rivalry. [Ep152]

Paul and John

I love this clip of Paul and John discussing their partnership...

Paul McCartney and John Lennon explaining their partnership dynamic pic.twitter.com/uHIzqeO15M

— Mariana Stanley Smith ☮🏳 ((°⍸°)) 🍏 (@marianabrickman) April 21, 2022

Eckhartz Everyday

 

*Today is Peter Frampton's birthday. He is featured in Bobby Skafish's Eckhartz Press book We Have Company: Four Decades of Rock and Roll Encounters  (Photo: Frampton and Bobby in the Loop studios)

*On this day in 1954, Joseph Nye Welch made his famous retort to Senator Joseph McCarthy, "At long last sir, have you no decency!" John Records Landecker talks about that day in his book Records Truly Is My Middle Name, because his first wife Judy was Joseph Nye Welch's granddaughter. You can read the excerpt here.

*On this day in 2018, Beth Jacobellis' book Cameo became available for purchase in the French Quarter of New Orleans (photo of the book in the storefront window)

*Also on this day in 2018, Cubsessions authors Randy Richardson and Becky Sarwate Maxwell went down to Orland Park to sell their book.

Cubs Tweet of the Week

April 21, 1918. The Cubs win 9-1 in Cincinnati. Cubs winning pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander has already been told he'll be sent to the war in a few weeks. Top story in the news that day: The Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen, is killed in action in World War 1. #EveryCubEver pic.twitter.com/ecp0WBe45A

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) April 21, 2022

Bill O'Reilly loses it

Again. Once a jag, always a jag. I might get mad that a flight is delayed, but I wouldn't call the guy at the desk a scumbag and tell him he will lose his job...

From the Writing Archives--Tom Sawyer

 I wrote my column Father Knows Nothing for nearly a decade--something like 400 columns. Naturally I wasn't able to include all of them in my book Father Knows Nothing when it was released in 2014. This one goes back to 2011. I repost it today in honor of Mark Twain, who passed away on this day in 1910. It's about my family's attempt to consume his story Tom Sawyer.

This spring break I had a mission in mind for my youngest son Sean (age 9). I was appalled by his lack of historical knowledge and lack of interest in learning about it, so my plan was to show him a bunch of movies about history over the break. I figured it was a low-stress, sneaky way to secretly teach him history.

I started with a softball, a classic of American literature, “Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain. My idea was to give him a slice of life from the 19th century, while opening the discussion of what was going on in history in the years immediately preceding and following that. At the very least, I figured, he would see a classic American tale written by one of America’s greatest writers.

The version of the movie I chose was the Disney-fied version from the 1970s. I vaguely remembered seeing it when I was a kid, and in my memory it was a wholesome family film.

Unfortunately, there were a few problems with my plan. In the first place, the version I chose was a musical. I didn’t remember that. (And the music was terrible). I found myself fast-forwarding through the musical numbers so that Sean didn’t walk out of the room.

Secondly, and most importantly, I didn’t remember that this was a terrifying story.

Tom Sawyer and Huck actually witness a murder; a knifing of the town doctor. In one scene that Sean will never forget, Tom (played by Jody from “Family Affair”) stands up for the falsely accused town drunk (played by Sgt. Hulka from “Stripes”), and testifies in court that the drunk didn’t do it. Tom says “I saw Injun Joe kill Doc with a knife!”

Instead of screaming out Perry Mason style “That’s a lie”, Injun Joe stands up and throws a knife at Tom. The knife sticks into the wooden chair behind him–only inches from Tom’s face.

Sean screamed and ran out of the room, vowing never to return. I finally coaxed him back, but when he started watching again, Tom and Becky were being chased through a cave by the knife wielding Injun Joe who was screaming “I’m going to kill you Tom Sawyer!”

Sean screamed and ran out of the room again, never to return.

That night he was too terrified to sleep in his room. For the first time in his life, he asked if he could sleep in our bed with us. The next night he asked me to release our pit bull Ivy (we usually crate her at night), just in case a robber came into the house. The third night he wasn’t satisfied with that, and insisted I sleep on the couch just a few feet away from his room.

Needless to say, we didn’t have the in-depth discussion about American history that I had planned. Instead we had an in-depth discussion of how difficult it would be to break into our house and kill us while we were sleeping. I showed him the locks on the windows, and the double-paned glass. I showed him that all the doors were locked and made of heavy duty wood. I reminded him that our dog was super protective and wouldn’t let anyone hurt us. And I vowed that I would take the bullet if anyone tried to shoot him.

Happy spring break, eh?