Tedd Webb
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tedd Webb (born Henry Ruiz, January 29, 1949 in Tampa, Florida) is a radio personality, photographer and author in the Tampa Bay area.
He began his broadcasting career at age 14 while a freshman at Jesuit High School, spinning records at Tampa's number one rocker WALT located at the north edge of downtown. There was no tying him down to a mundane street life as a teen in West Tampa. He would catch the bus, walk, run, bicycle, hitch a ride or do whatever it took to get to the radio stations to gain experience and work with his broadcasting heroes.
Contents |
[edit] Finding his niche at a young age
From the very beginning, Tedd knew he was destined to a life being "on the air." Station managers recognized his natural talent and enthusiasm and gave him the chance he needed. While in the 11th grade at Tampa's Jefferson High School he began taking shifts at WYOU. That gig was followed by work at other local stations including WPKM, WPAS, WCWR, WFSO, WLCY and many others. In those days of radio in the Tampa Bay area, operations were informal and new talent was welcomed without the need for contracts and out-of-town experience.
[edit] Returning from military with new name
Upon returning from a stint in the U.S. Air Force in February, 1969, while broadcasting as Henry Ruiz at an oldies AM station in Clearwater (WCWR-AM) he was asked to change his name to one more catchy and easily remembered. (Webb had previously used the air names "Johnny Angel" and "Hank Henry" before reverting to his real name.) Working with the WCWR program director, "Tedd Webb" was created and that name has been an air wave mainstay ever since.
[edit] Sports talk radio is born
He broke himself in to the talk radio format in 1978 when he began "Sports Talk" on Seminole's WPLP. There he talked sports and took questions and comments via telephone from listeners. With so many sports teams in the area, including the New York Yankees (Spring Training), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , and the Cincinnati Reds there was no problem getting top notch guests to come to the studio or join him by phone. It was the first sports talk show broadcast on a regular basis in the Tampa/St. Petersburg market.
His ship came in when he joined the "Q Morning Zoo" on WRBQ-FM in 1981. The popular Zoo format had been developed by radio icons Scott Shannon and Cleveland Wheeler. His live sports reports on the show catapulted him to new heights of fame and locked in his place in Bay Area radio history. The Arbitron rating service has documented the program as the highest rated radio show ever in the Tampa/St. Petersburg demographic area which includes ten surrounding counties. He remained at the "Zoo" until 1983 when he left for WFLA-AM Radio.
[edit] Webb takes on the wrestlers
From 1977 until the early 90s, concurrent with his work in radio, he managed professional wrestlers in the area as Professor Tedd. His clients were mostly in the North American Wrestling Association. Webb steered the careers of Hollywood Tom Laxton, Black Sampson, The Von Stroheims, Dirt Lawson, The Ex Cons, The Scorpions among others.
In 1990-91 he did play-by-play alongside George Scott in the Carolinas. Later, he sat in for the legendary Gordon Solie who did Championship Wrestling for stations in Florida and Georgia.
[edit] As photographer and author
Webb debuted into the world of professional photography in 1978 after doing radio commercials for a photography store. He was given a camera and fell in love with the hobby...so much that he "developed" his talent into a side business. He eventually opened "East 7th Avenue Studios" in the historic Ybor City section of Tampa so he could concentrate on his photography interests. Today, having become highly skilled in digital photography techniques, he shoots portraits, modeling portfolios and art nudes as well as some commercial assignments.
He published a book, Tedd Webb's Trivia, in 2005. The book is based on his "Rack Your Brain" segment on the radio. Another of his books, a coffee-table photo essay entitled "Butt, of course," - A Black and White Tribute to Woman, was published in 2006.
From 1984 until 1992 he took his Sports Talk to television on Tampa's WFTS with a popular weekly half-hour program. He was also a sports columnist for a local newspaper.
[edit] Illness diagnosed by listener
In 1999, on the air with a noticeably raspy voice, Tedd got a call from a listener...Dr. Lance Cohen of Clearwater...who told him he had vocal fold nodules that needed to be operated on as soon as possible. He called Cohen when he got off the air and was immediately given an appointment. Just days later during a pre-operation physical he found out he had a heart attack in his history he knew nothing about and that four major arteries were 90 percent blocked. Cohen, an ear, nose and throat specialist, became the accidental doctor who helped lead Tedd back to health under the most uncanny of circumstances.
[edit] Songs in the key of Tedd Webb
His favorite hobby is karaoke, often inviting friends to join in at his make-shift but nearly professional studio in his living room karaoke bar. His friends and associates are mystified by the CD's he gifts them on which he sings to the oldies and, in their opinions, sounds as good or better than the originals. He is also founder of a "Webb" site which chronicles the history of Tampa Bay broadcasting and the lives of past and present local personalities.
Webb is currently a co-host on the highly-rated WFLA-AM morning show AM Tampa Bay alongside Jack Harris and Sharon Taylor. He lives in Brandon, Florida and has three children, Mandi, Lee and Nick and three grandchildren.
