Sunday, October 17, 1999
Radio wit Jean Shepherd dies
Spent early 1950s in Cincinnati
The Associated Press and The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEW YORK — Jean Shepherd, an Indiana-born radio raconteur whose easy storytelling style earned comparisons to fellow Midwesterner Mark Twain, died early Saturday. He was 78.
A top figure in Cincinnati radio in the 1950s, Mr. Shepherd died in a hospital near his home in Sanibel Island, Fla., said his longtime friend and business adviser, Irwin Zwilling.
Mr. Shepherd, whose non-radio work included books, films and the sardonic holiday movie, Christmas Story, held down the late night spot on WLW from 1950 to 1954, and also worked at WSAI, WCKY and WKRC.
On WLW for four years
His Cincinnati time included a comedy show on WLWT called Rear Bumper. He took his loose-cannon style to a Philadelphia television station in 1955, then soon found a home on 50,000-watt WOR-AM in New York City, attracting a large, loyal following along the Eastern Seaboard over 21 years.
He worked without a script, conjuring tales based on his Indiana upbringing, creating characters like his alter-ego, Ralph Parker, and his neighbors, the Bumpuses.
“If there was ever a voice to hypnotize ... it was Old Shep's; familiar but not condescending; sharing (it seemed) confidences with masculine camaraderie; constantly interrupting itself in a stream-of-consciousness more properly described as a torrent,” read a 1971 profile of Mr. Shepherd in the New York Times.
An homage in "Network'
In a move that likely inspired the climactic scene in the movie Network, Mr. Shepherd would tell his listeners to crank up the volume on their radios and scream along with him. “Drop the tools, we've got you covered!” was one of Mr. Shepherd's favorite shout-along phrases.
Mr. Shepherd, while best known for his radio work, excelled as a multimedia performer. His films included the 1983 classic A Christmas Story, a darkly comedic look at the holiday that he wrote and narrated.
He was born July 21, 1921, in Hammond, Ind. — a town that later became “Hohman” in his tales. He began his radio career at age 16, doing weekly sportscasts for a local station.
Mr. Shepherd served in World War II in the Army Signal Corps, developing a distaste for authority that later cropped up in his stories.
His Philadelphia TV program, Rear Bumper, attracted the eye of original Tonight show host Steve Allen, who recommended Mr. Shepherd as his replacement on the NBC fixture.
In recent years, Mr. Shepherd stayed out of the public eye, making infrequent radio appearances. His last radio date came on WFAN-AM in New York in September 1996.
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