Andy Travis

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Andy Travis is a fictional character on the television situation comedy WKRP in Cincinnati (1978-82). He was played by Gary Sandy.

In the pilot episode of WKRP, Andy arrives in Cincinnati to take over as program director of WKRP. He explains that he was previously working as program director of a radio station in his native city of Santa Fe, New Mexico; we also learn in a later episode that he ran a station in Albuquerque. He is young, handsome and friendly, and though he is viewed with suspicion by the old guard at the low-rated station -- like station manager Arthur Carlson, sales director Herb Tarlek, and news director Les Nessman -- he soon manages to win them over to his side. Mr. Carlson even defends Andy to his mother, the station's owner, when she wants to fire Andy.

Andy was originally intended to be the lead character of WKRP, the more-or-less normal person who would anchor the series and provide the focus for most of the stories. This was following the formula of other shows from WKRP's production company, MTM Enterprises, like Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show or Dr. Bob Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show. One critic even described Andy as "Gary Tyler Moore." However, as the first season went on, it soon became apparent that Andy didn't have what it took to carry the show, and that other characters were eclipsing him in popularity. Because of that, WKRP shifted to being more of a straightforward ensemble comedy, where there was no clear lead character and any one of the eight regulars could carry an episode. But Andy remained an important character on the series, and Gary Sandy retained top billing for all four seasons of the show.

Described by Mr. Carlson as a "cowboy," Andy frequently wears boots and a cowboy hat. He also wears very tight jeans to work, which makes Mr. Carlson uncomfortable. "With denim," Andy explains, "I feel comfortable and relaxed. I feel as though I can work better." He wears his hair in the late '70s "feathered" style, and many of the characters make fun of his ample hair: Bailey Quarters, asking him to take part in a promotion, asks him to imagine "Your hair flowing in the wind -- now, that stuff will flow!" Though he is usually quiet and low-key, describing himself as "an easy-going guy with a natural ability to lead," he can sometimes lose his temper when his employees won't listen to him, which is more often than not. In response to Johnny Fever's refusal to play his playlist of top 40 hits, Andy jokingly threatened to shoot himself.

Andy's first act as program director of WKRP is to change the format from "beautiful music" to top 40 rock n' roll. He has, in his own words, "lived and breathed radio ever since I was a little boy," and his ambition is to turn WKRP around and make it a top-rated station. But after changing the format, he finds himself unable to do what it really takes to change the station: fire the incompetent employees like Herb and Les. He has come to feel affection for them, and he also knows that if he ever started cleaning house, he would have to ask Mama Carlson to fire the most incompetent employee of all: Mr. Carlson. He also can't convince Johnny to play the disco songs that were popular in the late '70s.

When after his first year on the job, WKRP goes only to # 14 in the 18 station market (up from # 16 when he took over), Andy realizes that he has failed the station by being too lenient a boss. After a conversation with his friend, nighttime disc jockey Gordon "Venus Flytrap" Sims, Andy realizes that he can't leave WKRP: he likes the people too much, and the quirky station has a family atmosphere that he never had at any other station he worked for. Andy decides to give up his dream of being a hugely successful program director in exchange for the fun of working for WKRP; or as Venus puts it, "you gave up a chance to be boy wonder of American radio to be the head guard of a nut farm."

As the series goes on, Andy turns his attention to fighting against the increasingly bland, corporatized world of modern radio, trying to preserve the quirkiness and uniqueness that drew him to WKRP in the first place. In one episode, he meets Norris Breeze, a former employee from New Mexico who is now a successful programming consultant. Breeze is appalled by Andy's decision to let the DJs pick the music they like instead of just playing the same songs over and over like most radio stations were doing by that time. "Nobody is programming their own music," Breeze says. "We are, and that's the way it's going to stay," Andy replies.

Although never seen pursuing either of WKRP's female staffers (Jennifer Marlowe and Bailey Quarters), Andy was not immune to their charms. He occasionally engaged in harmless banter with Jennifer from time to time. His romantic interplay with Bailey was limited to a moment in the episode "Dear Liar", which gave a hint of a mutual attraction between the two; while reprimanding Bailey for writing a false news story (that Les Nessman subsequently plagarized and read on-air), Andy informs Bailey that if she ever did anything like that again, she would be "the best-looking woman on the unemployment line". Bailey's repsonse to the flattery is non-verbal but obviously quite pleased.

A story arc from the final season of WKRP has Andy working behind the scenes to get Mama Carlson to put more money into the station, so that he can improve the place and give the employees raises. When the employees consider unionizing, he strikes a deal with Mama Carlson: he will keep the union out of the station if she will pay higher salaries and allow him to renovate the station's lobby. The employees never find out what Andy did, and it is part of the strong characterization of WKRP that it would allow a likable character to do something so ethically dubious.

Also in the final season, Andy takes Mama Carlson out to dinner and the opera, hoping to get her to invest still more money in the station (this time to buy a new transmitter). He begins to regret this when he suspects that she might be expecting him to sleep with her in exchange for the money. In the end it turns out that she only wanted to go out with a personable young man on her arm, though she happily torments him by allowing him to believe that she has other expectations of him. She points out to her son that she and Andy are mutually using each other: he's dating her to get money, she's using his companionship to build up her social profile.

Andy did not appear, either as a regular or a guest, on the '90s sequel series, The New WKRP in Cincinnati.

Hugh Wilson, the creator and showrunner of WKRP, originally wanted to offer the part of Andy to David Letterman. However, MTM decided to cast Letterman in another show, Mary Tyler Moore's comedy-variety show Mary (which was canceled after only three weeks). Several other actors were considered for the part, but CBS executives decided that Sandy was the best choice.