The Mark & Brian Show

The Mark & Brian Show was an American radio talk show hosted by Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps, known on the air as "Mark & Brian." The syndicated program aired weekday mornings from KLOS-FM in Los Angeles, California, and blended comedy sketches, listener phone calls, interviews with in-studio guests, and the occasional road trip.

History

In 1985, Thompson was working as a disc jockey when he was introduced to Phelps, whose background was in improvisational comedy. Their first joint on-air appearance was on WAPI-FM (I-95) in Birmingham, Alabama, where the initial incarnation of The Mark & Brian Show began. An offer to move West and take over the morning slot at KLOS led to the premiere of The Mark & Brian Show in Los Angeles on September 8, 1987.

The Mark & Brian Show included sketches and annual events (including a golf tournament and a Christmas all-star rock concert). Popular sketches included "The Red Carpet Minute with Edward Gordon," "Miniature Theater," and other celebrity-based sketches. They were #1 in Los Angeles until 1992, when Howard Stern's syndicated show came to Los Angeles and took over the #1 spot in the Arbitron ratings.

In 2006, they conducted a reality TV-based contest called "Two Strangers and a Wedding," in which single women auditioned to be the bride, then chose from five male finalists to marry—without ever meeting before the wedding. In 2007, the concept was modified to "Three Strangers and a Wedding," in which the bride chose two of the five male finalists to come to the wedding. Upon meeting the bride at the wedding, the grooms had the option of proposing to the bride, who could then accept either proposal or decline them both. Both resulting marriages were brief and ended in divorce.

Awards

Mark & Brian are two-time winners of the Billboard Magazine "Air Personalities of the Year" award, and received a 1991 National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Award as "Air Personalities of the Year." They have also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Charitable donations

Mark & Brian released three CD compilations of material from their morning show: All of Me (1995), You Had To Be There (1997), and Little Drummer Boys (2000). All proceeds were donated to their favorite charities.

Other shows

The popularity of their radio show gave Mark & Brian several opportunities to branch out into other entertainment media. In 1991-92, they hosted a short-lived NBC TV series, The Adventures of Mark & Brian. The duo also appeared in several motion pictures, notably Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (the 1993 ninth installment of the Friday the 13th series), the documentary Trekkies (1997), and The Princess Diaries (2001). They played concerned onlookers in the made-for-TV movie A Very Brady Christmas during one of the scenes at the collapsed building.^[1] They also appeared unbilled as caterers in the Married... with Children episode "Married...with Prom Queen".

Mark & Brian also had a "special appearance" in a 1993 episode of The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., (S1 E14, "Mail Order Brides"), playing two cowboys walking into a whiskey only bar.

Mark & Brian convinced Frank Jordan, mayor of San Francisco, California to shower with them, completely nude, during a live radio show just before election day.

Former producers include Nicole Sandler, Johnny Vega, Rosemary Jimenez and Frank Murphy (aka "Mr. Owl"). Their last producer was Ted Lekas.

Current and future plans

On June 13, 2012, Thompson announced that he was retiring from radio after 25 years and would be moving to Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife; he noted that his new home was equipped with a studio that allows him to do occasional media work. His last day at KLOS was revealed to be August 17, 2012. On October 21, 2012, he started a daily podcast with his wife Lynda, called the Mark and Lynda Podcast and now also has a weekly football podcast called the Pro Football Slam, with LA Times writer Sam Farmer and an occasional podcast called "Cool Stories in Music." In 2014, Mark and Lynda announced that they would soon be launching the website www.mandlstudios.com to host all of their current and future podcasts.

On August 17, 2012, during Thompson's farewell show, Phelps announced that he, too, would be leaving KLOS. He is currently working on a comedy podcast with Jill Whelan called The Brian and Jill Show.^[2]

Mark began hosting a solo radio show, "Mark in the Morning" which started on February 2, 2015 on rival classic rock station 100.3 KSWD The Sound in Los Angeles. Mark's on air talent includes Andy Chanley, Gina Grad, and his daughter, Katie Thompson, as "Chick on the Street". Daniel Mizrahi is the only staff member he brought over from his time at KLOS.

External links

• The Mark and Lynda Podcast Website
• The Brian and Jill Show
• The Unofficial Mark and Brian Archive
• Mark & Brian biography
• Mark & Brian Archive Fan Site
• Mark & Brian events and more
• Mark Thompson at the Internet Movie Database
• Brian Phelps at the Internet Movie Database

Notes