Mancow's Morning Madhouse
Mancow’s Morning Madhouse (also called The Mancow Radio Experience) is an American radio show hosted by Erich “Mancow” Muller. The show is broadcast to a number of markets of mainly FM radio stations throughout the United States.
The live broadcast of the show was briefly halted on July 11, 2006 when Q101 discontinued the airing of the show. From the mid 1990s until mid 2000s, it was one of the top morning shows in the Chicago media market, and earned airtime in various cities across America. Mancow's Morning Madhouse resumed live broadcasting on July 18, 2006 nationally via Talk Radio Network and can be heard on over 34 of its network affiliates.
History
Mancow first started his show in Chicago, Illinois in 1994, shortly after his departure from California. Originally, the show was a regular program on WRCX-FM (Rock 103.5) located in the John Hancock Center. In 1998, he left WRCX-FM for WKQX-FM (Q101) (101.1), an alternative rock radio station.
Mancow’s career with Q101 was cut short on July 11, 2006, when the station’s management decided to discontinue airing the show as of July 14. In order to fill the gap left behind by the show’s absence, Q101 filled the void with the station’s “On Shuffle” music programming and later a new show titled "The Morning Fix"[1].
On July 13, Mancow appeared on Fox News Chicago, and lashed out at Q101’s current management after receiving word that his show would be cancelled. Before the interview ended, Mancow promised he would not only return to the Chicago radio scene, but also bring forth a radical change, either within the next six or twelve months.
In December 2010, Mancow signed a five year joint deal with Talk Radio Network and Dial Global. The new deal calls for a revamped version of the show focusing less on political talk and more on entertainment and pop culture.
Roster
Current roster
Main cohorts:
- Trixie (Teresa Cesario), Co-host. Off the show she regularly acts, models and is a singer/songwriter.
- DJ Crazy Lips (born Kenneth Robert Webster on June 23, 1982, in Palatine, Illinois) is a music journalist and audio recording engineer from Chicago, Illinois. He worked as music commentator, board operator, live DJ and technical producer while on Mancow's Morning Madhouse. His writing has been published in Thrasher, Abstract Beats, Urb and several academic journals. He is the former editor of Abstract Beats Magazine. Also known as The Brow, Cheek Spreader and Bob Noxious (Not the original). Left the show in January 2009 to further his studies. Returned in March 2011.
- Dj Fancypants aka Gay Chris (Christopher Downing) Producer and live DJ from Sept. 2007 - Sept. 2009. He Left the show to return to comedy writing. He returned in early 2011.
Other cohorts:
- Shannon Rose is host of the segment "The Rose Report", featuring the latest news and gossip from Hollywood and the entertainment industry.
- French, (Daniel French) Producer.
- Samwise, (born Dave Stripling in Decatur, AL, 1978) Often called "Assistant" because Cow can never remember his name. Sometimes called "Chongo". Technical Producer.
- Bug, the "cameraman for the Fox News Channel", is an individual who constantly voices his opinions which annoy Mancow, his other cohorts and the general audience. He does not disclose his name and wishes to remain anonymous.
- Big Gooney (Jim McDermott)
- Miss Packey, The psychic with a hair lip that you can't understand, and does an even worse job of predicting the future.
- Dewey (Dewey Gosnell), "Lord of the Fat Chicks", Webmaster of Mancow.com.
- Pete the Movie Manatee, Florida-biased movie reviewer.
Former roster
Former main cohorts:
- Mercedes Millionaire, Co-host.
- Valeria, Fashion Model and co-host.
- Al Roker, Jr., (Ken Smith, born August 2, 1967), was the main cohort and sports commentator for many years.[1] Smith, a large African American, was reportedly nicknamed "Al Roker, Jr." by show host Erich "Mancow" Muller, after Muller saw in Smith a resemblance to and as a parody of Al Roker, the NBC weatherman and Food Network show host, primarily because both were overweight African-Americans. Al Roker had also published a book (Don't Make Me Stop this Car: Adventures in Fatherhood) describing his inability to conceive a child, which also contributed to Al Roker Jr's name. This has drawn criticism from many outraged African-Americans, considering this joke "racist and bigoted." (The name is also somewhat erroneous, as Al Roker himself is a "Junior."). Left the show in July 2010 and returned April 14, 2011 for a single show. He quit again due to supposed racial remarks made by Mancow.
- DJ Luv Cheese, (born Midge Ripoli), Technical producer for the show from the debut in 1992 until October 2008. He was let go due to irreconcilable differences. Also known as Mr. Cheez. He is now doing an online show for 1club.fm.
- Marissa Sanchez (born Dana DeLorenzo on January 1, 1983) (New Year's Day) in Youngstown, Ohio to parents Jerry and Phyllis DeLorenzo. DeLorenzo is an American of Italian and Puerto Rican descent, though she is portrayed as Mexican and called Latina Heat on the show. Off the show, DeLorenzo is active in the Chicago theater scene and is a former contributor to tamethebear.tv. It was also previously commented on the show that DeLorenzo had the oddity of being born with a tail. However this has never been independently confirmed nor denied. She left the show in late 2008 for a period before returning on April 7, 2009. She is not currently a part of the show. She has currently moved to Los Angeles, California and will have a bit part in the new Harold & Kumar movie.
- Mini Freak, (born Eric Buttacavolli), Mancow's "homeless" errand-boy, huge Iron Maiden fan and a constant annoyer of Mancow.
- Turd, the Bartender (Jeff Renzetti),[1] Discovered by Mancow while working at Pauly's Pub, a Chicago southside tavern and an alumnus from the Illinois Center for Broadcasting. Involved in many crazy stunts for the show.
- Irma Blanco, the Cuban Bombshell, Former news Reporter and the "voice of reason."
- Angie (Fitzsimmons, née Congine), the Phone Girl, Former Phone operator/intern and later co-producer of the show. Formerly romantically linked to Mancow.
- Ryan, the Gay Mexican (Ryan Manno), Music reporter.
- Jim Jim, the Yelling Guy/Jim Jesus (Jim Lynam), Traffic reporter and commentator.
- Abe Kanan, Producer, writer, character actor and creator of phone scams. While his involvement on the show ended in 2006, his phone scams are still played from time to time.
Other Former Cohorts from the TRN syndicated era:
- Amanda, Producer and editor.
- Robby John (Robby Liautaud), Writer and producer.
- Dj Fancypants aka Gay Chris (Christopher Downing) Producer and live DJ from Sept. 2007 - Sept. 2009. Left the show to return to comedy writing. He returned in early 2011.
- Princess (Dusty), Administrator and producer.
- Greasy, Producer and cameraman.
- Bob Noxious (Seth Felman)
- Britta, Intern.
- Buttermilk
- Details, Producer.
former cohorts from the Q101 era:
- Monty, some intern that would occasionally go out on the streets.
- Laughing guy, a guy that had a mental problem where he couldn't stop laughing in public places.. often escorted by Monty.
- Philthy Gumz, a Chicago area Rap Artist.
- Crazy Mary, from the "insane asylum".
- Lyrical Lizard, rapper from Burns Harbor, Indiana that often submitted songs for the show.
- Toyotaboy, complained constantly about the show on mancow.org.
- Prison Bitch (Jay Love)
- Carrie Ann DeYoung, daughter of former longtime Styx lead singer, Dennis DeYoung.
- Al Lewis (aka Grandpa Munster), actor from the TV show, The Munsters.
- Vic, the Prick
- Stacey, the weather girl.
- Heather (Erin Carman), now a DJ on WLUP-FM.
- Tara.
- Amy Bristle (Amy Bristle-Sessoms)
- Lindoo, the Hindu (Linda Ardehali)
- Brian, the Whipping Boy / Gay Mule (Brian Paruch)[1] is currently on 101.9 "The mix" WTMX-FM mornings and weekends
- Scotty Ferrall, a sportscaster who briefly co-hosted the show after Freak departed in early 2004. Currently hosts a show on Sirius Satellite Radio's Howard 101 channel.
- Cathy Vlahogiannis, Freak's Niece.
- Rice (first name Daniel).
- Wade, the Gimp.
- Ballz (Dan Levy).
- Q-Ball, Jingles, Stunts with Turd for a short time.
- Crazy Cory
- Kramer (John Desjardins), producer for a short time.
- Shrimp, former producer.
- Bad Breath Bobo Hobo
- Two-fingered Genie
- "Coochie Galore" (Sandy Ferrando), who later became Mancow's wife and mother to his twin daughters.
- Ann, the Phone Girl.
- Sgt. Leo and his left hand club.
- Rusty Humphries, producer and writer. Currently host of his own radio talk show syndicated to over 250 radio stations by Talk Radio Network and also on XM.
Former cohorts from the Rock 103.5 era:
- John Wayne Gacy, the Killer Clown on Sports (Bill Hainsworth): Former Sports Reporter, who is a local actor from Chicago area.
- Casanova Ace (Clemine Girard)
- Todd Bridges, former actor from the U.S.-based TV sitcom, Diff'rent Strokes.
- Psycho Steve (last name Grad), the Sports Slob.
- Industrial Joe
- Retard Bill
- Spazz
- Biohazard Boy
- Dead-Head Ed
- Virgin Boy
- Plummer
- Phil Ostermann.
- Mick
- Sergeant Hair Club (Dave Richards), who was Mancow's boss/program director during the Rock 103.5 era.
- Psycho Freaky Francis (Randy Rous), later went on to host morning shows for both KFMW in Waterloo, Iowa and morning KRNA in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
- Allan Fee, first producer in the Rock 103.5 era. He currently does mornings/PD at WQAL in Cleveland, Ohio.
- Big Butt Boy
- Pink Pube Boy(Eric Smith), was a studio guest and frequent caller who dyed his pubic hair pink.
Radio show segments
Mancow's Morning Madhouse has, over the years, developed a repertoire of daily acts, some of which change frequently, and others that have been discontinued. Among these radio acts are:
- ADD News: "It takes a minute and get's you up to the minute". A montage of audio clips from various television news sources with the latest headlines in under a minute.
- The Answer is C: Participants are given a "quiz" where the staff reads out a question with a multiple choice answer of 'A,' 'B,' or 'C.' The answer is always 'C,' and is usually highly sarcastic in content.
- Baby Song: A clip of a popular song is played on a glockenspiel. Callers try and guess the song.
- Bob Noxious: A candid audio recording is played of a man saying offensive things on a street setting and people's shocked responses.
- Chop Song-ee: A contest where segments of a popular song are played backwards and callers can try and guess the song. This act is accompanies by a satirical impression of a Chinese man, complete with fake karate sounds in the background.
- Christopher Walken Theater: A staff member performing an over-the-top, satirical impression of actor Christopher Walken reads lines from a movie, and then has callers try to guess the movie.
- Cowboy Ray's Time Capsule: A contest where Cowboy Ray lists a number of events from a certain year. Callers try and guess the year.
- Chuck Norris Facts: The staff reads from a list of hyperbolic praises of actor Chuck Norris.
- Death Psychic: A fake psychic would come on the air, and claim to predict how people die. Later on, this was turned into the car psychic.
- The Dirty: Mancow's entertainment and gossip report. Hosted by Marissa Sanchez and previously, Ryan, the Gay Mexican.
- Drunk Chick Friday: Muller invites a group of (supposedly) attractive women to visit the studio on Friday mornings, who then become highly intoxicated and obnoxious as the show progresses. This bit was inspired by Lex and Terry's "Drunk Bitch Friday," as well as Howard Stern.
- Fact or Schiznit: The staff reads unusual items and offers prizes to callers who can distinguish between the true and false items.
- 'Humm job: It could be a song, a commercial, perhaps a repetitive song in a video game. The idea was that if you heard something repetitive it would be stuck in your head all day long.
- Jimmy D., Sports Philosopher: Comedic sports commentary reportedly performed by current late night TV talk host, Jimmy Kimmel.
- Kiss the Mancow: A member of the Mancow militia speaks as Gene Simmons of KISS and reads the words to a song in an identical voice of Simmons. Listeners call in and guess the correct song.
- Letters to Turd: People would write in, asking turd a question, and he'd answer them in his own stupid way.
- Mancow Mystery Movie: A quote/phrase from a movie is played and callers must try and guess the name of the movie.
- Music News: A daily music news report delivered by DJ Crazy Lips.
- Mystery Ringtones: Mancow plays a ringtone from a cellphone on the air, and callers try to identify what song it is from, usually from popular culture or 80s/90s music.
- On the Streets: Mancow's on-the-streets report, usually delivered by DJ Crazy Lips or an intern. A parody of a topical news 'street' poll segment.
- One Minute Inside a Woman's Head: A segment devoted to the thoughts and ponderings of a typical woman about everyday life, from her boyfriend, Jimmy, to skin cancer, to cosmetics, to her mother and so on. It has also been done as One Minute Inside a Man's Head.
- Mancow minions: Fans calling other radio shows and messing with them
- Phone Scams: The term the show uses to describe prank calls. Typically, the show broadcasts the prank calls ten minutes after the hour.
- Reality Bites: An update of happenings on all currently-airing reality television shows, delivered by DJ Luv Cheese.
- The Rose Report: Featuring the latest in news and gossip from the entertainment business hosted by Shannon Rose.
- Skid Theater: The staff pays homeless Chicagoans to act out scenes from movies, and then holds a contest for listeners to name the movie.
- Sports With Al Roker, Jr.: The show's sports news segment, delivered by Al Roker, Jr. The segment always opens with the line, "Open wide for Chunky...," and always ends with the catchphrase, "Kiss my black ass if you don't like it."
- Street Life: Freak interviews homeless people on the street.
- Tales from the Crib: Al Roker, Jr. opens by saying, "Tell me why you hate white people", followed by a black person's response.
- They want our jobs, but they suck: Clips from other radio shows that are really bad in comparison
- Vintage Video Game: A track is played off a retro video game system (such as Arcade, Sega Genesis, or Nintendo) and callers must try and guess the name of the video game
Running jokes
- Muller's wife is considerably younger than he is, and both staff members and callers often try to get in a dig at his expense. Before his marriage, when Muller pondered where to hold the reception, Turd sarcastically suggested Chuck E. Cheese. After his marriage, when he complained his wife couldn't cook, a caller managed to say the following before being cut off: "Well, Mancow, in a few years, when your wife goes to high school, they have this class called home-ec."
- Turd is considered by other staff members to be an alcoholic, so the others try to find ways to stop him from drinking, such as looking for booze so disgusting that he couldn't consume it.
- Freak was constantly teased about being gay, often his soundbites spliced into the song "take you to a gay bar."
- Sometimes, Turd will start to tell a story, only to be stopped by Muller, who reveals that the "story" is actually ripped off of a popular movie, fairy tale, or television show (in this sense, it resembles numerous comedic acts, such as those on Late Night with Conan O'Brien). The show then invariably plays an audio loop which involves Muller slapping Turd. Sometimes this audio loop includes music from the movie Kill Bill.
- Callers and staff members alike call Turd's mother a whore, which invariably elicits the response "My mom is not a whore!"
- Philthy Gumz, DJ Luv Cheez, Al Roker, Jr. and DJ Crazy Lipz are all members of 40 Records, the fictitious rap label well known for hits like, "Bounce That Stack," "Sip Sip," and "The Luvcheez Anthem."
- Al Roker, Jr. an obese African American plays to the stereotype that all black men want sex with white women. The words "white women" have become somewhat of his catchphrase; he uses them even in his reporting outside of the morning show.
- Any time the name Menominee or the word phenomena is mentioned, or any other such word that sounds like those, the background crew members respond with a "Do-do do-do-do" tune. This is a reference to the famous song "Mah Nà Mah Nà" regularly played on The Muppet Show.
- Thomas West, the owner of a hair salon next door to Muller's studio, is a recurring victim of pranks from Muller, his staff, and his celebrity guests. Most of the prank calls typically involve questioning West's heterosexuality and making obscene business propositions. West's catchphrase "I'm going to put you through the frickin' window!" stems from his initial response to the phone calls.
- More recently, when Mancow says the phrase Morning Radio (usually after telling a self-admittedly bad joke or pun), the entire staff responds with "It sucks!"
- When a caller addresses Muller as "you crazy bastard", Muller responds by saying "you son of a bitch."
- Muller constantly insults the city of Joliet, Illinois (located south of Chicago), with snide remarks and insults calling it "Toilet", to the point of creating a mock folk song, "The Joliet Big Trash Mountain." When listeners from outside the Chicago or Illinois area call, he often tries to trick them by claiming that folk song is a "famous" song that's been around for decades (although the show created it less than a decade ago). It is sung to the tune of "Big Rock Candy Mountain", which is a famous song, that's been around for decades.
FCC problems
Mancow's Morning Madhouse ran afoul with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) indecency regulations in at least six separate incidents during 2000 and 2001. As a result, the FCC levied $42,000 in fines on Emmis Communications, the licensee of Mancow's then-home station WKQX-FM. In 2004, Emmis Communications signed a consent decree with the FCC sharply restricting indecent content and requiring the payment of $300,000 to the US government. [2][3]
External links
References
- ^ a b c d Reese, Joel (18 November 1999). "It's just an act ... right?". Arlington Heights, IL: Daily Herald. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-68837365.html. Retrieved 24 May 2011.