Earl Pitts (radio character)

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Earl Pitts is a fictional character performed by Gary Burbank, a radio personality from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Pitts, who is almost always referred to as "Earl Pitts, Uhmerikun" (as in "American") is a stereotype of a redneck from the Southern United States. As such, Pitts presents a daily "editorial," which always begins with a bugle call of "Assembly", and the words, "Ya' know what makes me sick?" followed by another line like, "You know what makes me so angry, ah just want to soak mah butt in a bucket of toxic waste?" Pitts then goes off on a rant, either about some cultural topic of the day as seen from a redneck point of view, or an anecdote about his home life or his job at the local tavern. His family and friends — wife Pearl, son Earl Junior, and good friend Dub Meeker, among others — figure prominently in many routines. His signature ending lines are "Wake Up, Uhmerika!" and "Ah'm Earl Pitts, Uhmerikun. Pitts off!"

Burbank, whose radio career has taken him from his native Memphis to his 20-year-plus gig working afternoon drive time at WLW-AM in Cincinnati (and briefly in national syndication), began the Pitts character shortly after arriving at WLW. The daily routines became an instant hit, and a few years later Pitts' commentaries were syndicated nationally. Earl Pitts now is heard on about 200 stations.

[edit] Character background

Very little has been written seriously about Pitts's home and family life; most written references contain little but nonsense. However, Pitts does frequently mention such information in his monologues. He has been unhappily married (for a long time, it is presumed) to his wife, Pearl, with whom he has two children: his son, Earl Jr., who is in his early 20s and frequently comes to his father for advice, and his daughter Sandra Dee (named after, but no relation to the actress of the same name), who is noted for her presumed ugliness and is more of a nuisance. Earl is employed as a bartender at the Duck Inn, a local tavern. His experiences and interactions with the bar patrons serve as fodder for many of his monologues.

Earl's hometown is not explicitly stated; however, KERN in Bakersfield, California claims Pitts to be from nearby Oildale.