Steve Somers
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Steve Somers is an American radio host on the New York City sports radio station WFAN (660 AM). Steve usually works the evening shift on weekdays (anywhere from 6:30PM to 2AM, depending on whether or not the station airs a sporting event that night) and until a few years ago worked with WWOR-TV sports anchor Russ Salzberg on "The Sweater and the Schmoozer" program in the station's 10AM-1PM midday slot. Somers has been with the station since its beginning in 1987, spending his first few years with the station as the overnight host.
Somers is known as The Schmoozer because of his early years on WFAN. He used to be on the all-night show in those years, and he used to refer to the fact that the callers and he were "schmoozing" under the covers (since it was so late at night). "Schmooze" is a Yiddish expression that means to talk casually. He has also been called Captain Midnight because of his overnight roots.
Somers has a smooth voice, quick wit, compassionate demeanor, and slick wordplay. A unique aspect of Steve's character is that he very rarely will use an abbreviation of a word or phrase (he will always say every digit in WFAN's phone number, and he always refers to the New York Mets as the Metropolitans, and the New York Knicks as the Knickerbockers for example). Somers is an avid fan of the New York Rangers and jokingly refers to the arch-rivals New York Islanders' home, the Nassau Coliseum, as the Nassau Mausoleum, while also calling the Islanders the "Icelanders." He sarcastically calls the controversial general manager of the New York Rangers, Glen Sather, "Glen the Savior" in reference to the once-heralded coach/GM's inability to produce a winning team. As an unapologetic Mets fan, Steve frustrates many New York Yankee fans with his subtle, and not so subtle, jabs at the Yankees; for example, Somers refers to admitted steroid user Jason Giambi as "The Sultan of Shot. and Alex Rodriguez as "The Lightning Rod" rather than his traditional nickname "A-Rod."
Referring to Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants, he calls him "Barroid" Bonds. For the Sacramento Kings, he refers to them as the "Kings of Sacratomato."
Another gimmick that Somers uses involves quietly engaging a caller (usually a Yankees or Islanders fan) in small talk until he builds up excitement ("something like this-!") and proceeds to play a radio highlight that leaves the caller steaming and the audience laughing. An often-used example is Stephane Matteau's winning goal in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals.
Somers has several other "common phrases," including leading into WFAN's 20/20 updates by saying very fast "you get a flash, a twenty-twenty update, the whole thing, with <NAME OF 20/20 HOST>." He crescendos to the name, then the update sound immediately starts.
Somers is not only famous for his sign-on on every show (see below)- "Good evening to you, and how you be? Steve Somers here, and you there." He then goes into a monologue about recent happenings in the world of sports. His monologue is usually several minutes long and is filled with puns and jokes on many different levels, from obvious to subtle. It may also include audio highlights that he and the producer have selected.
Somers has a fairly large fan base among WFAN listeners, and is one of the more popular hosts on the station.
Somers was formerly a sports director at WXIA, the NBC affiliate in Atlanta. He also worked at similar jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he hails from.
Somers (with one M) is not to be confused with another late-night talk radio host, truck-talk host Steve Sommers (with 2 Ms).
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[edit] Sign On
Steve Somers is famous for his sign on, "Well, good evening to you and how ya be? At six fifty six and fifteen seconds on the Fan New York City. Steve Somers here, you there. Eddie Robinson (or John Schmelk, or whoever else the producer and board operator may be) on the other side of the glass. One, seven one eight, nine three seven, six, six, six, six is the number to call for what will be a 3 hour schmooze until Tony Paige at 1 on your FAN...NEW YORK!"
When he was on the overnight shift, Somers' sign on also contained "....overnight...under the covers....schmoooooozing S-P-O-R-T-S until Imus in the morning at 5:30 (or, the Best of Imus at 6 o'clock)".
For a period of time, WFAN producer Eddie Scozzare worked on Somers' show. When Somers would announce the name "Eddie Scozzare" as one of the show's producers, a recorded voice would suddenly interject "THE Eddie Scozzare?" and Somers would respond by sarcastically answering in the negative, that he meant another famous person named Eddie and then immediately announce the station call-in phone number.
A classic example: "THE Eddie Scozzare?", "No, Eddie Kranepool, who do you think we're talking?"
Other "Eddies" were: Eddie Dellahousaye, Edwin Moses, Ed Giacomin, Eddie Hearn, Mister Ed, Eddie Van Halen, and Eddie Fisher
Somers will then typically end the sign-on or the programming hour in a situational manner. For instance, on one night he might continue with "...for what'll be a 3 hour Schmooze/another 2 hour Schmooze up until Adam Schein at 10 on the Fan, NEW YORK!"
[edit] Commercials
Particularly when Somers was working the overnight shift on WFAN, many commercials would air on a regular basis. Steve cultivated a very close relationship with a number of these spots (often prefacing them with "for the [x]th time tonight.... for your listening pleasure...", including:
Cowboy Marty's Boots
The Best of Victor Borge on Video
Men's Hair Now (featuring Chris "Mad Dog" Russo's opening of "Face the Facts! You are losing your hair and it is not going to grow back!" Somers would often segue into this spot by saying something like "...for the Strangers, and the Knick-Knacks, it is time to....FACE the FACTS...!"
[edit] Phone Number
Classic Somers: "One, seven one eight, nine three seven, six, six, six, six is the number to call". Steve added the "One" sometime in the early 2000s, for unknown reasons.
[edit] Movie career
Steve starred in the 1979 classic film "The Visitor".
[edit] Nicknames
"The Schmoozer" "Schmoozer" "Captain Midnight" "Stevie Wonder" "Steveareno"
[edit] Callers
Often when a famous caller calls in Steve will introduce him as "a first time caller" and then say when that caller talks "wait a minute, you're not a first time caller. Maybe just first time tonight."
Arguably the most popular and knowledgeable caller to WFAN is Bill from Brentwood, more popularly known as "Bill the Baker," who has an encyclopedic knowledge of baseball, along with an unmatched ability to recall not only specific baseball moments in the past 50+ years, but the exact dates that those games were played. Although Bill calls the FAN on an almost daily basis, Steve - along with his listeners - is so constantly in awe and impressed with Bill's baseball intellect that he often jokes that Bill "has to be looking at a book."
Another cherished caller is Jerome Mittelman, widely known as "Jerome from Manhattan." Jerome refers to Somers as "Steveareno." A die-hard Yankees, Jets, and Knicks fan, Jerome is famous for his on-air take-no-prisoners blistering rants and raves, as well as his unique take on the English language. One of his favorite exclamatory phrases is "frickin' frack!" He refers to the bullpen as the "ballpen," and, when his teams aren't doing so good, he shouts that the team is "...done! D-O-E-N [sic], DONE!" The 50-something Jerome lives in the same Manhattan building as his mother, and his relationship status is intriguing enough for Steve to once give Jerome $60 to take a lady out on a date, only for Jerome to keep the money and not go out on the date. Steve's former colleague Sid Rosenberg once asked Jerome if he was upset that he was not taking his eagerly anticipated trip "...to Colorado?", and Jerome replied, "No, to Denver." Unfortunately, Mr. Mittelman's health problems have kept him from the WFAN airwaves on his usual daily basis since late 2004, although he did call on 31 March 2005 and January 28, 2007 to appease his fans; he is under doctor's orders to refrain from calling because his abjectly unsubdued demeanor while on-air may further complicate his health. Calls on February 24, 2007 and March 25, 2007 featured a subdued Jerome, hinting at further personal difficulty. Steve, however, did not ask for details.
Steve once spoke with Jerome's "mudda", gaining invaluable information into the life of Mr. Mittleman. Mrs. Mittleman told Steve that Jerome was a premature baby, and that as a child he was forbidden from playing sports by his doctors because he was too small. However, "Jerry" always snuck out and wanted to play sports with the bigger kids.
Doris Bauer [c.1945-2003], more affectionately known as "Doris from Rego Park," was a die-hard fan of the New York Metropolitans, and was beloved by WFAN listeners. Her knowledge of the Mets and baseball as a whole approached that of Bill the Baker, and she called the station almost daily since its first night on-air. Doris suffered from neurofibromatosis, and at least three different cancers; nevertheless, she kept the Mets and WFAN close to her heart until her premature passing at age 58.
"Jay/Gustav/Chester" is a wacky character that likes to call Steve during the baseball season, usually with a bizarre accent and makes wacky comments that are often very topsy turvy such as his bizarre suggestions and sometimes even sound effects which leaves Steve to say rather funny comments such as the classic "Gustav is on too much coffee, arthritis rub and flax seed oil." Another classic phone call involved the "Jay" version to suggest that Yankee Stadium should have a different sound, and actually made the sound effect on air, causing Steve to comment on the sound effects and compared it to his own level of comedy. Jay later called another time as "Chester," and Steve admitted that he was getting "off the charts".
Jerry from Queens," aka Jerry Seinfeld, has called the station many times over the years. An avid Mets and Steve Somers fan, Seinfeld has even appeared in-studio along with The Schmoozer.
