Ralph Barbieri

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ralph Barbieri is a sports radio personality in San Francisco, California. Along with Tom Tolbert, Barbieri hosts the afternoon sports radio show The Razor and Mr. T on station KNBR. The show is the highest rated show on KNBR 680 in the demo of Men 25-54.

Baribieri was a former writer for Sport Magazine before he joined KNBR in 1984 to host his own sports talk show. In 1996, he was teamed with Tolbert, a former NBA player. Both Barbieri and Tolbert have contracts with the station that run through at least 2007.[1]

Barbieri's nickname is "The Razor" because of his high-pitched nasal delivery, which resembles that of actor Joe Pesci, and his "no-nonsense" approach to interviews. However, some claim that it derives from his surname's resemblance to "barber."

Barbieri is reportedly a vegetarian and a believer in animal rights.[2]

In 2000 Barbieri, then in his mid-fifties, had his first child, a son who is the product of in vitro fertilization and a surrogate mother. Barbieri's decision to become a single father came about after a woman whom he had impregnated chose to have an abortion. Barbieri has admitted to "25 years of sex drugs and rock and roll" prior to his decision to become a father.[3] In 1995 he pleaded no contest to his third charge of driving while under the influence of alcohol. He was sentenced to 120 days in a residential treatment center.[4]

Barbieri received his bachelors degree from the University of San Francisco and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania.