WOT - The Phil Hendrie Show

[Thebean]

Some of you may recall this show, which was, without question imho, the most innovative and hilarious 3 hours on the radio.

Phil Hendrie retired from the radio business last June, but if you have a chance to download clips, may I recommend to you the following characters.

Hal and Viola Levolier

This semi-wealthy retired couple are always in their private plane—listening to Phil whom they absolutely adore — while flying to the only place they ever seem to go — Laughlin, Nevada. Continually fighting each other for control of the plane's telephone, the couple invariably stalls the aircraft and they "die" in a crash after each appearance. Hal frequently shouts out, "You WHORE!," as the plane crashes because Viola forgot to fill the jet with gas.

Art Griego

Commercial/private pilot with a fear of flying. Art first appeared while Phil was employed in Miami as Steve Nichol, who was program director at WIOD at the time. On KFI, he phoned Phil from high above Los Angeles in a single engine Cessna 177 completely drunk to explain why pilots should be allowed to drink while flying. He then stalled (and recovered) the aircraft several times and got several panicked real pilots to call in and explain the dire situation to Phil and the listeners. On another occasion, Art claimed that if the plane "didn't feel right", he'd go to the belly and throw bags out in mid air, especially those bags of passengers he didn't like.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention:

Herb Sewell

Criminally insane individual rehabilitated after an eight year stay in the California state mental hospital in Atascadero. Herb comes on Phil's show to comment on high-profile criminal cases. He frequently punctuates his commentary with fits of nervous laughter, which in turn unnerves the callers. Although Herb is an admitted child molester, he will remind people: "I did not commit the act of murder like some of the people I know, some of the people I'm very close to." One of those people is Walter Bellhaven, still at Atascadero, whom Sewell mentions very frequently. Walter has murdered 150 men, women, and children according to the police, was convicted of 20 of those murders in a court of law, and is a great conversationalist, botanist and card player in Herb's estimation.

Herb, like many of Hendrie's characters, has developed over time, and his being a criminally convicted child molester is a fairly recent twist. He has also developed a nervous laugh, of which he'll uncontrollably go into when talking about his perverted past. This "laugh" of his, has proven to be very effective as it ultimately freaks out the caller. Herb, a convicted sex offender, often calls from high risk situations such as carnivals or city parks and can often be heard talking to children in the background.

Previously, he was merely rich and deluded with a penchant for teenage girls. He later developed into someone who pushed his wife out of a car going ninety miles an hour on the California Grapevine, while his children watched. The newer, more extreme incarnation of Sewell has become one of the show's most popular characters.

There are many other characters, and one really needs to listen to the entire 35 minute segments which get progressively more deluded.

The first reaction by most is always the same. It takes a while to dial into what's really going on.

http://www.philhendrieshow.com/Radio/Show....r=1999&month=10

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I use to listen to him on a Seattle FM station. He came on just after Tom Lykes who is also great to listen to. Mahalo my friend.

[Thebean]

I use to listen to him on a Seattle FM station. He came on just after Tom Lykes who is also great to listen to. Mahalo my friend.

Yes, 100.7 the Buzz.

Those were the days..... though Leykis, (known as "combover boy"), was a bit of a blow hard.....albeit entertaining, especially on Flash Fridays.......

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My son was invited to his show in Seattle about 3 years ago now. What a party. It was always held on Friday nights of course. That would be "Flash Friday".

Never got tired listening to Phil Hendri either.

[Thebean]

My son was invited to his show in Seattle about 3 years ago now. What a party. It was always held on Friday nights of course. That would be "Flash Friday".

Never got tired listening to Phil Hendri either.

My favorite "guests" were Ted Bell, Steve Bosell and Lloyd Bonefide.

I was reading USA Today the other day and one of the letters to the editor regarding nominees to the R & R Hall of Fame was signed by Lloyd Bonefide of Elmhurst, Illinois. I cracked up.

Ted Bell

Egomaniacal owner of the upscale steakhouse Ted's of Beverly Hills, one of Phil's "sponsors," with the motto, "We want to put our meat in your mouth" (the word "mouth" is now censored in light of recent FCC crackdowns, leading the song to sound even more vulgar). Frequently interjects with "I'm Ted Bell" when speaking to the callers. Has a chronic phobia of the disabled, and is president of the Beverly Hills Automobile Association. Inventor of the cocktail called a "Ted," simply the very common Rum and Coke. His meals are outrageously overpriced, but Bell often brags that he was the first to put tinfoil on a baked potato, and that he invented the baked potato tree—a wooden device, in the shape of a tree, on which baked potatoes are skewered so that patrons may select one and once in possesion can "Unzip it, and pull it out hot" for their dinner. Ted drives a McLaren SLR and often reminds callers that it cost him $400,000. Ted stated that when he was 17 years old his father put a cashier's check in his account for $20 million. Now, at the age of 40, he is proud to say that he is worth $25 million.

In 2005, Phil Hendrie pulled a Google bomb-type prank by creating tedsofbeverlyhills.com, which lists a fake address and phone number, causing the restaurant to become listed in numerous online restaurant guides for the Los Angeles area, including the Zagat's website.

Lloyd Bonafide

73 year old Korean war veteran of the United States Navy, "fairly loyal" Glock gun owner, and RV enthusiast from Alhambra, California, Lloyd is a retired executive from a heating and plumbing business. He has one daughter and one grandson. Lloyd has a history of battle fatigue, and he lives his life "as if all hell is going to break loose at any moment." No "turkey" shoud ever cut him off, and no "monkey" should ever lay a hand on him, which includes his 5 year old grandson. Lloyd also endangers his grandson by purposely keeping loaded handguns in his house when his grandson visits. As he explains, "Any gun owner will tell you there's something about having a small child in the house and having a loaded weapon in the house that is a little bit of an adrenaline rush." Even though this idea is absurd and criminal, Lloyd actually believes that doing so keeps him sharp and his senses focused, which as a result allows him to better raise his grandson. Lloyd brings his Korean War experience into every facet of his life. On several occasions when he was put on hold by Phil, Lloyd has managed—apparently through sheer force of will—to break off hold and get back on air without anyone taking him off hold. Recently, when on the air with Chris Norton, Mr. Bonafide revealed that he did stag films in the 1950s and was the original "Hugh G. Rection."

Lloyd tells Phil "Well, that tears it!" when he gets frustrated. When faced with a challenging caller, Lloyd has a tendency to refuse to listen to the caller unless the caller outranks him.

Lloyd operates his recreational vehicle between Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon once a year to visit his daughter. He claims to have halogen lights on the roof of his Winnebago that are so powerful "you can see a man's skull."

Steve Bosell

Emotionally fragile owner of B&B Construction of Corona, California and frequent (almost to the point of seeming vexatious) litigant, originally from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The "B&B" in his business name stands for "Bosell & Bosell." Steve is not in business with his father, son, brother, uncle, or anyone else. The "B&B" is supposed to represent the intensity he brings to his business: "Bosell and Bosell yet again, just non-stop Bosell comin' at ya like a stampede of steer." One of the show's most popular guests, Steve admits "weeping" at the slightest humiliation and frequently threatens to sue his wife for emotional trauma. Other common targets for Steve's lawsuits are his neighbor, Roy Hutchins (with whom he has some form of bizarre sexual tension) and a coworker, Cliff Pettigrew. In all his litigation, Steve is assisted by longtime attorney Dolores Blasingame of Riverside, California. Bosell reluctantly admits to having spent about $500,000 last year on litigation, most of it going to Ms. Blasingame.

Before Steve got into the construction business, he was a part-time stand-up comedian under the moniker Super Steve McFunny. Not being very humorous, his stand-up acts were often heckled, to which Steve would reply "Oh yeah? Well you smell like tuna."

Steve is married with two children, all of which, at one point or another, have been sued by Steve himself. His wife is April Bosell, while his two children are Steve Junior and April Junior.

For those who intrigued by the "guests", download an episode or two...