Tom Griswold

Thomas Bruce "Tom" Griswold (born April 22, 1953) co-hosts the radio show The Bob & Tom Show together with Bob Kevoian, Kristi Lee, and Chick McGee. This comedy-based early morning program is among the highest rated in American radio^[2] and has been nationally syndicated since 1995. The show is broadcast from WFBQ's studios in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Personal life

Griswold was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Herbert Bruce and Sally Griswold. He is a 1971 graduate of University School in Hunting Valley, Ohio and a graduate of Columbia University with a degree in Literature. He worked in radio in Florida and Michigan before coming to WFBQ Radio in Indianapolis in early 1983.^[1]

Griswold often hosts or participates in Bob and Tom Radio: The Comedy Tour shows.

In mid-July 2009, Griswold was hospitalized for nearly a week due to a broken right arm (humerus bone) and a shoulder injury he suffered after falling from a motorcycle. The injury required surgery that included numerous screws and a plate in his arm. He came back to the air on July 30, 2009.

On TV

The Bob and Tom Show debuted on WGN America in November 2008 and ran weeknights until its cancellation in September 2010.^[3] Tom often wore denim shirts during the show.

Quirks

Griswold has described several personal quirks on-air, part of his "living by a code". Among them:

• He won't buy canned goods in odd numbers because "it's unlucky."
• He only uses an even number of ice cubes for his shakes.
• He places grocery items on the checkout counter in the order he wishes them placed in the bag.
• He cannot buy cereal if he is facing west.
• He won't go into a convenience store because "people get shot in there."
• He won't go in any place with a Brink's truck outside.
• He will not go inside a bank for fear of it being robbed, and being held hostage.
• He prefers to walk up to an ATM rather than drive up.
• He won't go to a gas station if a tanker truck is there because "they always blow up in the movies."
• He won't put things in cabinets or drawers because if he can't see them, how does he know they're there?
• He has a hard time throwing things away (such as newspapers), and a harder time admitting that he has a problem with collecting things so he usually keeps them at his second house so he can deny that he has a problem.
• He is germ-phobic, and always carries hand sanitizer with him.
• He is often seen using tooth flossing "swords" during the show.
• He has a clock in every room of his house, including one that projects the time on the ceiling over his bed.
• He prefers email and web pages formatted in Helvetica typeface.
• He enjoys snow skiing and looks down on guests who don't share his enthusiasm for the sport.
• He thinks certain music should not be played "out of season"; such as "School's Out" in February or Christmas songs before Thanksgiving.
• He claims to have three drawers in his house filled with nothing but note cards in case he needs to jot something down.
• He will not stay at another person's home, as it feels uncomfortable. He will stay at a hotel instead.
• He collects his own urine to pour over his hostas to prevent deer from eating them.
• He hates flavored fountain ice tea.
• He will leave one movie and walk to another screen showing a different film. He claims he went to one theater just to buy their popcorn. Tom will give a movie a thumbs down if a 555 phone number is shown.
• He conducts a "Dog Party" every morning immediately upon awakening; in which, he talks to his dogs in a voice known as a "Dog Voice"
• He re-enacts old [spy fiction] movies when toweling off his dogs, mentioning a fictitious train ride, followed by a scheduled rendezvous with someone wearing a red shirt, holding a rose, or reading a book.
• He enjoys Broadway show tunes and mentions West Side Story on the show. Tom likes movies with talking animals and states that Toy Story 2 is the best film ever made.
• He believes no matter how popular or trendy they seem to be; not even Brad Pitt would look cool riding a Segway.
• He must use tin-foil to dispose of his underwear.
• He has "feces" as a google alert keyword. His love for scatological jokes and news stories is well known by the others in the studio.
• He relies on Kale for sustenance.
• He routinely works in a sodomy joke relating to a news story (accompanied by Chick ringing the "Sodomy Bell").
• He thought for years the lyrics in an AC/DC song were "Dirty Deeds and the Dunder Chief". Tom thinks the Dunder Chief is an Australian Aborigine figure.
• He hates cursive writing and believes it should not be taught in school.
• He said the NBA should only pay the winning team.. then you would see some hustle on defense.
• He owned a car for a couple years before realizing it had tilt steering.
• He's stated, "The only thing I like about Spanish is the upside down question mark".
• He's against sports apparel with non-traditional team colors: such as a green Michigan Wolverine shirt, a black Yankees hat, or a pink OSU jersey.
• He's brand loyal. For example: Tom rides only Otis elevators.. stating, "If its not Otis, I take the stairs".
• He understands the idea of branding. For example: Tom "respected" Muammar Gadhafi for not promoting himself to general from his rank of colonel.

Griswold's many eccentricities, his eclectic personality, and ability to blurt out random, obscure facts are often a source of harassment from his colleagues during the show, especially from Chick McGee. Bob has stated that when he met him he was not so obsessive, and his "code" consisted of only one rule (he will not eat blue food), yet becomes more and more unusual as the years go by.

Quotes

• "It's very unlucky to buy canned goods in odd numbers, especially green beans."
• "It should be illegal to change the name of a street because it wrecks lives, like mine, unless the name is Hitler Street."
• "Clothed or not? OH THANK GOD!"
• "You see your mother biting her toenails naked, you should get free psychiatry for life."

References

External links

• Bob and Tom Official Website
• Tom Griswold at the Internet Movie Database