WKRP in Cincinnati

American television sitcom (1978–1982)

"WKRP" redirects here. For other uses, see WKRP (disambiguation).

WKRP in Cincinnati

Genre| Sitcom
Created by| Hugh Wilson
Starring| Gary Sandy
Gordon Jump
Loni Anderson
Richard Sanders
Tim Reid
Frank Bonner
Jan Smithers
Howard Hesseman
Theme music composer| Tom Wells
Hugh Wilson
Composer| Tom Wells
Country of origin| United States
Original language| English
No. of seasons| 4
No. of episodes| 90 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer| Hugh Wilson
Producers| Rod Daniel
Bill Dial
Blake Hunter
Steven Kampmann
Peter Torokvei
Hugh Wilson
Camera setup| Multi-camera
Running time| 24–25 minutes
Production company| MTM Enterprises
Original release
Network| CBS
Release| September 18, 1978 (1978-09-18) –
April 21, 1982 (1982-04-21)
Related

* The New WKRP in Cincinnati

Bailey Quarters (Jan Smithers) and Andy Travis (Gary Sandy) Les Nessman (Richard Sanders) and Dr. Johnny Fever (Howard Hesseman) in the studio Fever flirts with Jennifer Marlowe (Loni Anderson)

WKRP in Cincinnati is an American sitcom television series about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional AM[1] radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson. It was based upon his experiences observing at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta. Many of the characters were based on people at that station.[2] Wilson once told The Cincinnati Enquirer that he selected WKRP as the call sign to stand for C-R-A-P.[3]

The ensemble cast consists of Gary Sandy (as Andy Travis), Howard Hesseman (Dr. Johnny Fever), Gordon Jump (Arthur Carlson), Loni Anderson (Jennifer Marlowe), Tim Reid (Venus Flytrap), Jan Smithers (Bailey Quarters), Richard Sanders (Les Nessman) and Frank Bonner (Herb Tarlek).[4]

The series won a Humanitas Prize[5] and received 10 Emmy Award nominations, including three for Outstanding Comedy Series. Andy Ackerman won an Emmy Award for Videotape Editing in Season 3.[6]

WKRP premiered on September 18, 1978, on the CBS television network and aired for four seasons and 90 episodes, ending on April 21, 1982. Starting in the middle of the second season, CBS repeatedly moved the show around its schedule, contributing to lower ratings and its eventual cancellation. When WKRP went into syndication, it became an unexpected success. For the next decade, it was one of the most popular sitcoms in syndication, outperforming many programs that had been more successful in prime time, including all the other MTM Enterprises sitcoms.[7]

Jump, Sanders, and Bonner reprised their roles as regular characters in a sequel series, The New WKRP in Cincinnati, which ran from 1991 to 1993 in syndication. Hesseman, Reid, and Anderson also reprised their roles as guest stars.

## Premise

[edit]

The station's new program director, Andy Travis, tries to turn around struggling radio station WKRP by switching its format from dated easy-listening music to rock and roll, despite the mostly incompetent efforts of the well-meaning staff: bumbling station manager Arthur Carlson, greasy sales manager Herb Tarlek and clueless news director Les Nessman. To help bolster ratings, Travis hires a new disc jockey, New Orleans native Gordon Sims (with the on-air persona of Venus Flytrap) and allows spaced-out former major-market DJ John Caravella (with the on-air persona of Dr. Johnny Fever), already doing mornings in the easy-listening format, to be himself on-air. Rounding out the cast are "bombshell" receptionist Jennifer Marlowe and junior employee Bailey Quarters. Ruthless business tycoon Lillian Carlson appears periodically as the station's owner and the mother of Arthur Carlson.

## Characters

[edit]

### Main ensemble

[edit]

* Andy Travis (Gary Sandy). For the most part, vice president[8] and program director Andy Travis serves as the straight man for the eccentric staff of the station he has been hired to run. Before coming to WKRP, he had an unblemished record of turning around failing radio stations, but meets his match in his wacky staff members, of whom he becomes reluctantly fond. The show's opening theme song is about Andy and his decision to settle down in Cincinnati. In the Season 4 episode "The Creation of Venus," Andy echoes the opening-theme lyrics in talking about his past ("Got kinda tired of packing and unpacking, town to town, up and down the dial").
* Arthur Carlson (Gordon Jump), occasionally called "Big Guy", is the middle-aged general manager, whose main qualification for the job is that his mother, a business tycoon, is the station's owner. Mama Carlson adopted strict methods in raising him in the mistaken belief that it would make him strong. Instead, it made him weak, and his bumbling, indecisive management style is one of the main reasons the station is unprofitable. Despite this, he is a principled, kind, decent and sometimes surprisingly wise man. He has far more interest in his hobbies (fishing, playing with various toys) than he does in the radio station, often hiding in his office from people who want to see him on business.
* Dr. Johnny Fever (Howard Hesseman) (real name John R. Caravella) is a veteran disc jockey who comes to WKRP after being fired from a major Los Angeles station when he said "booger" on the air. In the Season 4 episode "Three Days of the Condo", always-broke Johnny surprisingly receives a $24,000 out-of-court settlement from that station for wrongful dismissal. Cynical and neurotic, and an occasional insomniac who consumes large amounts of coffee, Johnny is usually in trouble. He adopts the "Fever" on-air name as a quick improvisation in the pilot episode upon being told by Travis to abruptly change the format of his morning show, but he has used other monikers on the air at other stations, mostly to conform to whatever station format he found himself working with.
* Les Nessman (Richard Sanders), the fastidious, bow-tied news reporter, who is a "mama's boy" of a man, approaches his job with absurdly earnest seriousness, despite being almost totally incompetent (a fact to which he is oblivious). He and salesman Herb Tarlek refer to themselves and Mr. Carlson as "the suits", compared to "the dungarees" (Andy, Johnny, Bailey and Venus). As a running gag, Les wears a bandage in a different spot each episode, presumably due to attacks from his unseen monstrous dog Phil; the gag was inspired by Sanders bumping his head on a studio light and needing a bandage while making the pilot. Other gags are his fixation on agricultural news ("the hog report"), and putting masking tape on the floor around his desk, which he insists his co-workers treat as the walls of his "office". He is staunchly patriotic and politically conservative, with the discovery that his biological father was a card-carrying Communist making him deeply conflicted. Venus Flytrap ribs him with wordplay by describing WKRP on the air as having "more music and Les Nessman."
* Jennifer Marlowe (Loni Anderson) is the station's receptionist and highest-paid employee. Contrary to a common assumption that she is merely "eye candy" for the station, Jennifer is informed, wise, connected, and able to handle practically any situation, no matter how absurd, with aplomb. She herself sees her main job responsibility as deflecting any business calls (in person or over the telephone) for Mr. Carlson. Although very aware of her sex appeal, with various wealthy, powerful older men at her beck and call, she is friendly and good-hearted with the station staff. She is very strict about the limits of her job duties: she does not type letters (though she is in fact an expert typist), and neither makes coffee nor brings any to the office staff.
* Herb Tarlek (Frank Bonner) is the boorish, tasteless, and vain sales manager at WKRP, who is sometimes referred to as "Little Guy" to Mr. Carlson's "Big Guy". He often wears loud plaid suits, with his belt matching his white shoes. He is unable to land the big accounts, but is effective in selling air time for products such as "Red Wigglers – the Cadillac of worms!" Although a married man with children, he persistently pursues Jennifer, who has absolutely no interest in him. While Herb is portrayed as buffoonish most of the time, he occasionally shows a sympathetic side. One of Herb's catch phrases is "no problemo"; another is "okay fine". Herb is based on radio executive Clarke Brown.[9][10] Bert Parks appears in one episode as Tarlek's father, Herb Sr. The elder Tarlek is very much like his son.
* Venus Flytrap (Tim Reid), the soulful, funky evening DJ, runs his show with a smooth-talking persona and mood lighting in the studio. His real name, Gordon Sims, is almost never used, and he maintains an aura of mystery. In an early episode, it is revealed that he is a Vietnam War deserter wanted by the US Army. In later episodes, his backstory is elaborated upon and it is revealed that after deserting, he spent several years as a high school teacher in New Orleans while working part-time as a radio personality. In spite of the fact that he is a nighttime DJ and Johnny Fever works the early morning shift, the two are often seen together and become good friends as the series progresses, with Venus taking the job in the first place in part due to his admiration for Johnny as a DJ.
* Bailey Quarters (Jan Smithers), the young ingénue of the radio station, is originally in charge of billing and station traffic. However, having graduated from journalism school with some training in editing, and intent on becoming a broadcast executive, she is later given additional duties as an on-air news reporter, in which she proves more capable than Les Nessman. As the series progresses, she overcomes her shyness and develops self-confidence. Beginning with the second season two-part episode "For Love or Money", she occasionally becomes linked romantically with Johnny Fever. The dynamic between Jennifer and Bailey has been likened to that between Ginger and Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island. Jan Smithers was one of two WKRP cast members who was the first choice for the role she played, Gordon Jump being the other.[4] Creator Hugh Wilson said that despite Smithers' lack of experience (she had never acted in a situation comedy before), she was perfect for the character of Bailey as he had conceived her: "Other actresses read better for the part," Wilson recalled, "but they were playing shy. Jan was shy."[4]

### Other characters

[edit]

* Lillian Carlson (Sylvia Sidney in the series pilot, Carol Bruce afterward) is Arthur Carlson's ruthless, domineering mother – often referred to as Mother Carlson (with Arthur calling her Mama) – and the owner of WKRP. An extremely successful and rich businesswoman, her only regret is that her approach to parenting (the "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" school of child-rearing) backfired as her son ended up indecisive, weak-willed, and afraid of her. As a display of her cutthroat attitude, she has a painting hanging above her fireplace in her living room of two pairs of dangling legs of people just hanged. In the series' final episode, it is revealed she had always intended WKRP to lose money (for the tax write-off), which explains why she allows the incompetent employees to continue working at the station. The only one who is regularly able to get the better of her is her sarcastic butler, Hirsch.
* Carmen Carlson (Allyn Ann McLerie) is Mr. Carlson's sweet-natured wife. The two met in college, he being her chosen date to a "bring a loser" dance at the sorority she was pledging, something he was unaware of until their twenty-five-year college reunion as they never did go to the dance and she never did pledge that sorority. Though happily married, they are so anxious to avoid hurting each other's feelings that they rarely tell each other what they really think. They have a son, Arthur Carlson Jr. (Sparky Marcus appearing in one episode), whom they've sent off to military school. During the second season Carmen has a surprise pregnancy and during the third season gives birth to a daughter, Melanie.
* Hirsch (Ian Wolfe) is Mother Carlson's "houseboy." He is well into his eighties, but is energetic and seems unfazed by any new circumstances. Hirsch regularly expresses his dislike for his employer in otherwise charming and polite exchanges. His coffee is terrible, unless there is a guest, in which case he prepares it with care.
* Lucille Tarlek (Edie McClurg) is Herb's devoted nasal-voiced wife, who, deep down, knows that he chases after Jennifer. Lucille is perhaps the one woman who does see Herb's charms. Herb and Lucille have an adolescent son and daughter, Herb III and Bunny (N.P. Schoch and Stacy Heather Tolkin, one and two appearances respectively).
* Three other DJs at the station are mentioned, but (with one exception) never seen. Moss Steiger has the graveyard shift after Venus and is mentioned as having attempted suicide at least twice; he eventually dies in The New WKRP in Cincinnati. Rex Erhardt (who was seen in the fourth-season episode "Rumors", and played by Sam Anderson) hosts a program after Dr. Johnny Fever's morning show; and Dean the Dream has the afternoon drive slot. Another DJ, Doug Winter (Philip Charles MacKenzie), is hired and fired in the same episode ("Johnny Comes Back").
* Frank Bartman (Max Wright) is a cynical but practical attorney retained by the station in the fourth season.
* Series writer Bill Dial infrequently appears as Buckey Dornster, WKRP's station engineer.
* Longtime actor William Woodson (though not credited) served as the announcer of the series (imploring the audience to stay tuned for the tag scene, in the episodes that had one) and did various voice-over roles during the run, including the pre-recorded announcer of the intro/outro to Les's newscasts, and the narrator of the trial results in the first-season episode "Hold Up".

Throughout its run WKRP featured appearances by several high-profile guest stars, including Colleen Camp, Sparky Anderson, Hoyt Axton and Michael Des Barres. Hamilton Camp, Craig T. Nelson, and Robert Ridgely also appeared in supporting roles.

## Episodes

[edit]

Main article: List of WKRP in Cincinnati episodes

Season| Episodes| Originally released

|
|

First released| Last released
1| 22| September 18, 1978| June 4, 1979
2| 24| September 17, 1979| March 31, 1980
3| 22| November 1, 1980| April 12, 1981
4| 22| October 7, 1981| April 21, 1982
Special| 1980

## Timeslots and success

[edit]

WKRP in Cincinnati debuted in 1978 in CBS's Monday 8 p.m. timeslot, competing against ABC's Welcome Back, Kotter and NBC's top-20 show Little House on the Prairie. The show initially earned poor ratings, and WKRP was put on hiatus after only eight episodes, even though they included some of the most famous of the series, including "Turkeys Away." But owing to good reviews and positive fan reaction, especially from disc jockeys, who immediately hailed it as the first show that realistically portrayed the radio business, CBS brought WKRP back without any cast changes.

WKRP was given a new timeslot, one of the best on the network, following M*A*S*H. This allowed creator Hugh Wilson to move away from the farcical radio-based stories that CBS wanted and to start telling stories that, while not necessarily dramatic, were more low-key and character-based. To allow the ensemble cast to mingle more, the set was expanded. A previously unseen communal office area ("the bullpen") was added to accommodate scenes with the entire cast.

Partway through the second season, the show was moved back to its original earlier time. CBS executives wanted to free up the prized post-M*A*S*H slot for House Calls (with former M*A*S*H star Wayne Rogers). They also felt that the rock and roll music and the sex appeal of Loni Anderson were better suited to the earlier slot, which was mostly aimed at young people. The mid-season timeslot change did not affect the show's success; WKRP finished at No. 22 in the ratings for its second year. For the next two seasons, the writers and producers often fought with CBS over the show's content in the so-called family hour.

Starting with the second season, CBS moved WKRP around repeatedly, and the show lost nearly 2.5 million viewers on average for each of four timeslot changes in the 1979–80 season.[11]

At the end of the fourth season, the network canceled WKRP. The final first-run episode of WKRP aired on April 21, 1982, and ranked No. 7 in the weekly Nielsen ratings, though the series had already been canceled.

## Production

[edit]

WKRP was videotaped in Hollywood before a live studio audience at KTLA's Goldenwest Videotape Division, later moving to the CBS Studio Center lot in Studio City.[12]

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Year  | Award  | Category  | Work  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

1979 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Loni Anderson | Nominated  | [13]
1980 | Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy | Nominated
1981 | Nominated
1981 | Humanitas Prize | 30 Minute Network or Syndicated Television | Hugh Wilson (for "God Talks to Johnny") | Nominated  | [14]
1982 | Hugh Wilson (for "Venus and the Man") | Won
1980 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Comedy Series | Hugh Wilson and Rod Daniel | Nominated  | [15]
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series | Howard Hesseman | Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series | Loni Anderson  | Nominated
1981 | Outstanding Comedy Series  | Hugh Wilson, Rod Daniel, Blake Hunter, Steven Kampmann, and PJ Torokvei | Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series  | Howard Hesseman  | Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series  | Loni Anderson  | Nominated
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Rod Daniel (for "Venus and the Man") | Nominated
Outstanding Video Tape Editing for a Series | Andy Ackerman (for "Bah, Humbug") | Won
1982 | Outstanding Comedy Series  | Hugh Wilson, Blake Hunter, PJ Torokvei, Dan Guntzelman, and Steve Marshall  | Nominated
Outstanding Video Tape Editing for a Series  | Andy Ackerman (for "Fire") | Nominated
2005  | TV Land Awards | Classic TV Broadcaster of the Year  | Tim Reid | Nominated  |
2006  | Broadcaster of the Year  | Howard Hesseman  | Nominated
2008  | Broadcaster(s) of the Year  | Richard Sanders | Nominated

## Fact vs. fiction

[edit]

### "Real" WKRP people

[edit]

While Andy Travis received his name and some personality elements from a cousin of creator Hugh Wilson,[16] he was based primarily on innovative program director Mikel Herrington,[17] who also was the inspiration for the character Jeff Dugan in the 1978 film FM, written by Ezra Sacks, who had worked at KMET.[18][19] Dr. Johnny Fever was based on a DJ named "Skinny" Bobby Harper at WQXI/790 in Atlanta, Georgia in 1968. WKRP writer Bill Dial worked with Harper at WQXI, which is considered Dial's inspiration for the show.[20] Coincidentally, Harper had previously worked at Cincinnati AM Top 40 powerhouse WSAI in 1964, before moving to 11 other stations, including seven in Atlanta.[20] In 1997, Bobby Harper told WSB's Condace Pressley, "He went on record as pointing out which ones, including myself, that he based the characters on. [That recognition] was a nice little thing. You know? That was nice. I appreciated that."[20] The Carlsons were a pastiche of Jerry Blum, WQXI's longtime general manager. Mrs. Carlson inherited Blum's brashness while Arthur borrowed his nickname "Big Guy," sense of style, and some of his unorthodox promotions (including the turkey drop).[21]

### Transmission tower

[edit]

Although the show aired on CBS, the self-supporting transmission tower seen at the beginning of WKRP in Cincinnati actually belongs to Cincinnati's NBC affiliate, WLWT.[22]

### Studios and offices

[edit]

In the show, WKRP's offices and studios are in the Osgood R. Flimm Building, an art deco office building. The building shown during the show's opening credits is actually the Cincinnati Enquirer Building at 617 Vine Street in downtown Cincinnati.[23]

### Real stations with similar branding

[edit]

Cincinnati has two radio stations with call letters similar to WKRP. WKRC, an AM station that had a "middle of the road" music format when the series debuted, did not object to the use of WKRP, saying that it was the best publicity that they had ever had, and it was free;[24] it currently brands itself (as it did during the show's run) as "55KRC".[25] WKRQ is an FM station with a similar "contemporary hit radio" format; its primary branding is "Q102."[26]

Other stations have adopted similar branding in reference to the series. In 1986, a Salt Lake City FM station (now KUMT) changed its calls letters to KRPN, and branded itself as WKRP, using the similarity of the spoken letter "N" to the word "in" for a sound-alike station identification: "W KRPN Salt Lake City".[27][28][29] In 2008, Cincinnati television station WBQC-LD promoted its conversion to digital broadcasting by rebranding itself "WKRP-TV".[30] In 2015, a low-power FM station in Raleigh, North Carolina began broadcasting as WKRP-LP.[31]

## Music

[edit]

### Musical themes

[edit]

WKRP had two musical themes, one opening and the other closing the show.

The opening theme, a soft rock/pop number called "WKRP in Cincinnati Main Theme," was composed by Tom Wells, with lyrics by series creator Hugh Wilson, and was performed by Steve Carlisle.[32][33][34] An urban legend circulated at the time that Richard Sanders (who had comparable vocal characteristics to those of Carlisle) had recorded the song. Wilson stated in the commentary for the first season's DVD set that this was not true. Sanders would later "sing" the lyrics in a promo spot on VH1 for The New WKRP in Cincinnati that parodied the U2 song "Numb."

The closing theme was a different song with more of a hard rock sound performed by Atlanta musician Jim Ellis, played over scenes from the episodes followed by a still photo of the Cincinnati skyline.[35][36] Ellis recorded the song as a demonstration for Wilson, and as he had not yet written lyrics for it, Ellis mumbled nonsense words. Wilson chose to use the demo version because he found the gibberish lyrics funny and a satire on the unintelligible lyrics of many rock songs.[37]

A longer version of the original theme song was released in 1979 on a 45-rpm vinyl single on the MCA Records label. It peaked at 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1981[38] and at 29 on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1982.[39]

### Music licensing

[edit]

The show's use of Blondie's "Heart of Glass" was widely credited with helping the song become a major U.S. hit, and the band's record label Chrysalis Records presented the producers with a gold record award for the song's album Parallel Lines. The gold record can be seen hanging on the wall in the "bullpen" set in many episodes.

The songs were often tied into episode plots, and some pieces of music were even used as running gags. For example, the doorbell chimes at Jennifer's penthouse apartment played "Fly Me to the Moon" (which was later replaced by "Beautiful Dreamer" for copyright reasons).

Wilson has commented that WKRP was videotaped rather than filmed because at the time, music-licensing fees were lower for videotaped programs, a loophole that was intended to accommodate variety shows.[40][41] Music licensing deals that were cut at the time of production covered only a limited number of years,[42] but when the show entered syndication shortly after its 1982 cancellation, most of the original music remained intact because the licensing deals were still active.[43] After the licenses had expired, later syndicated versions of the show did not feature the music as first broadcast, with stock production music inserted in place of the original songs to avoid paying additional royalties. In some cases (such as during scenes with dialogue over background music), some of the characters' lines were dubbed by soundalike actors, a practice evident in all prints of the show issued since the early 1990s, including those used for its late-1990s run on Nick at Nite.[42][43]

The expense of procuring licenses for the original music delayed release of a DVD set for years.[44] When a Season 1 set was finally released, much of the music was again replaced and the soundalike vocal dubs were present. Some scenes were shortened or cut entirely,[45] but some deleted scenes that had not been included in the original broadcast were added.[citation needed]

## Home media

[edit]

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the first season of WKRP on DVD in region 1 in 2007, with a number of music replacements. Sales of the set were poor, and Fox released no further seasons.

In 2014, Shout! Factory acquired rights to the series for DVD release.[46] Shout! had planned to include all of the copyrighted music that originally aired on the show,[47] and obtained the rights to include what they called "the vast majority of the music", but explained, "In a few cases, it was simply impossible to get the rights."[48] Most of the dialogue dubs done for the 1990s syndication airings were removed, and the original dialogue restored.[49][50][51] This release presented the second-season episode "Filthy Pictures" and the third-season episode "Dr. Fever and Mr. Tide" in their original hour-long formats instead of the syndicated two-part versions, bringing the episode count from 90 episodes to 88 episodes.[52]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ NPR; December 6, 2014; “WKRP in Perpetuity” by Michaelangelo Matos; retrieved June 3, 2023.
2. ^ Bowie, Stephen (November 21, 2012). "Turkeys Away: An Oral History". The Classic TV History Blog. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
3. ^ Kiesewetter, John (May 29, 2014). "'WKRP' reunion will be live streamed June 4". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
4. ^ a b c Kassel, Michael B. (1993). America's Favorite Radio Station: WKRP in Cincinnati. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. ISBN 978-0-8797-2584-6. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
5. ^ "Humanitas Prize (1981)". IMDb. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
6. ^ "WKRP in Cincinnati". Television Academy. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
7. ^ King, Susan (September 1, 1991). "Retro: 'WKRP' in Los Angeles". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
8. ^ Season 1, episode 17, "A Commercial Break".
9. ^ "Brown To Receive BCFM's Lifetime Achievement Award". Radio Ink. January 19, 2009. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
10. ^ Teitelman, Bram (January 7, 2009). "Radio's Call To Arms". Radio Monitor. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009 – via AllBusiness.com.
11. ^ Kassel 1993, pp. 75–76.
12. ^ Evanier, Mark (January 13, 2006). "WKRP in Cincinnati". Old TV Tickets. Archived from the original on April 15, 2007. Retrieved March 2, 2007.
13. ^ "WKRP in Cincinnati – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
14. ^ "Past Winners & Nominees". Humanitas Prize. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
15. ^ "WKRP in Cincinnati". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
16. ^ Kassel, Michael B. (June 15, 1993). America's Favorite Radio Station: WKRP in Cincinnati. Popular Press. pp. 6–7\. ISBN 978-0-8797-2584-6.
17. ^ "Lifelines: Deaths". Billboard. December 6, 1997. p. 64.
18. ^ Learmonth, Michael (June 4, 1998). "Kingdom KOME". Metroactive. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
19. ^ Barrett, Don (ed.). "~Los Angeles Radio People, Where Are They Now?". Laradio.com. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
20. ^ a b c "Radio Broadcasting History: Radio People by Name: H". 440 International, Inc. 2008. pp. entry for Skinny Bobby Harper. Retrieved October 3, 2008.
21. ^ Ho, Rodney (February 16, 2019). "Former WQXI GM Jerry Blum, inspiration for Art Carlson on 'WKRP in Cincinnati,' has passed". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
22. ^ Fybush, Scott (January 30, 2003). "Looking for "WKRP": Cincinnati, Part II". NorthEast Radio Watch.
23. ^ "WKRP's back on the air". The Cincinnati Enquirer. July 4, 1999. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
24. ^ Hugh Wilson interview on WINA, Charlottesville, Virginia.
25. ^ "Contact Us". 55KRC. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
26. ^ "Contact". Q102 101.9 WKRQ-FM. August 10, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
27. ^ "Broadcast History – Salt Lake City Radio". oldradio.com. March 14, 2006. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
28. ^ Arave, Lynn (February 10, 1989). "AM Radio. When Was The Last Time You". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
29. ^ "Utah Radio and TV Station Photos from the John in Arizona Collection". John in Arizona. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
30. ^ Kiesewetter, John (November 28, 2008). "Really on air in Cincinnati". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. "Block began plotting the change two years ago, tied to TV stations' transition nationwide from analog to digital broadcasting scheduled for Feb. 17. Although low-power stations aren't required by law to switch to digital next year, Block made the investment so viewers here with digital TV converter boxes could continue to see his stations next year."
31. ^ "Raleigh's WKRP". Oak City Media. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
32. ^ "WKRP in Cincinnati Trivia". IMDb. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
33. ^ "WKRP in Cincinnati theme by Steve Carlisle". Retrieved February 15, 2011.
34. ^ "WKRP in Cincinnati". Archer2000.tripod.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
35. ^ Ellis, Jim. "Television". Jim Ellis Music. Archived from the original on May 19, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2020. "Of course there were no lyrics and I was just sort of scatting gibberish. Well Hugh [Wilson] and Tom [Wells] thought that was funny and that it made a joke about the general unintelligibility of rock lyrics."
36. ^ Heitz, David (November 12, 2008). "'WKRP in Cincinnati' lyrics just 'gibberish'". Quad-City Times. Davenport, Iowa. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
37. ^ Heitz, David. "'WKRP in Cincinnati' lyrics just 'gibberish'". The Quad-City Times. Davenport, Iowa. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
38. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN 0-89820-089-X
39. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 41.
40. ^ Salas, Randy A. (April 23, 2007). "WKRP in Cincinnati – Exclusive: More on the music replacement and comments by Fox/Wilson". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
41. ^ Salas, Randy A. (April 22, 2007). "A different tune for 'WKRP'". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. p. 4F. Archived from the original on April 22, 2007. Also published by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on May 5, 2007, as "WKRP in Cincinnati on DVD: The song doesn't remain the same."[dead link]
42. ^ a b Levine, Justin (April 13, 2007). "WKRP in Cincinnati – Requiem for a Masterpiece". Against Monopoly. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
43. ^ a b Weinman, Jaime J. ""WKRP in Cincinnati": Frequently Asked Questions". Archived from the original on August 4, 2003.
44. ^ "The weird legal reason many of your favorite shows aren't on DVD". Vox. March 26, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
45. ^ Lacey, Gord (March 31, 2007). "WKRP in Cincinnati DVD news: List of 'WKRP' music changes". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013.
46. ^ "WKRP in Cincinnati DVD news: DVD Plans for WKRP in Cincinnati – The Complete Series". TVShowsOnDVD.com. August 5, 2014. Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
47. ^ "Next 'WKRP' DVDs will include original rock music". The Cincinnati Enquirer. June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
48. ^ "WKRP in Cincinnati Music Update". Shout! Factory. September 15, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
49. ^ Terry, Josh (September 16, 2014). "WKRP in Cincinnati to be reissued with most of its original soundtrack". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
50. ^ "WKRP in Cincinnati Community". TV.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
51. ^ "WKRP in Cincinnati: The Complete Series Review (See Posts No. 218 & 356 for Info) | Blu-ray Movie Discussion, Expert Reviews & News". Hometheaterforum.com. November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
52. ^ "WKRP in Cincinnati – The Complete Series DVD Review". sitcomsonline.com. Retrieved April 6, 2019.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to WKRP in Cincinnati.

* WKRP in Cincinnati @ pearsontv.com
* WKRP in Cincinnati at IMDb

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WKRP in Cincinnati

Characters|

* Arthur Carlson
* Dr. Johnny Fever
* Venus Flytrap
* Jennifer Marlowe
* Les Nessman
* Bailey Quarters
* Herb Tarlek
* Andy Travis

TV series|

* WKRP in Cincinnati
* episodes
* "In Concert"
* "Turkeys Away"
* The New WKRP in Cincinnati

* v
* t
* e

Works by Hugh Wilson

Films directed|

* Police Academy (1984)
* Rustlers' Rhapsody (1985)
* Burglar (1987)
* Guarding Tess (1994)
* The First Wives Club (1996)
* Blast from the Past (1999)
* Dudley Do-Right (1999)
* Mickey (2004)

TV series created|

* WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–82)
* Easy Street (1986–87)
* Frank's Place (1987–88)
* The Famous Teddy Z (1989–90)
* The New WKRP in Cincinnati (1991–93)

* v
* t
* e

MTM Enterprises

* Mary Tyler Moore
* Grant Tinker

TV shows|

* The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–77)
* The Bob Newhart Show (1972–78)
* Friends and Lovers (1974–1975)
* The Texas Wheelers (1974–75)
* Rhoda (1974–78)
* The Bob Crane Show (1975)
* Doc (1975–76)
* Three for the Road (1975)
* Phyllis (1975–77)
* The Tony Randall Show (1976–78)
* Lou Grant (1977–82)
* The Betty White Show (1977–78)
* We've Got Each Other (1977–78)
* The White Shadow (1978–81)
* WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–82)
* Mary (1978)
* The Mary Tyler Moore Hour (1979)
* The Last Resort (1979–80)
* Paris (1979–80)
* Hill Street Blues (1981–87)
* Remington Steele (1982–87)
* St. Elsewhere (1982–88)
* Newhart (1982–90)
* Bay City Blues (1983–84)
* The Duck Factory (1984)
* Mary (1985–86)
* Fresno (1986)
* The Popcorn Kid (1987)
* Beverly Hills Buntz (1987–88)
* Eisenhower and Lutz (1988)
* Annie McGuire (1988)
* Tattingers (1988–89)
* City (1990)
* Capital News (1990)
* Evening Shade (1990–94)
* The Trials of Rosie O'Neill (1990–92)
* You Take the Kids (1990–91)
* The New WKRP in Cincinnati (1991–93)
* Xuxa (1993)
* Boogies Diner (1994–95)
* Wild Animal Games (1995–96)
* Family Challenge (1995–97)
* Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. (1996)
* Shopping Spree (1996–97)
* Sparks (1996–98)
* The Pretender (1996–2000, season 1 only)
* It Takes Two (1997)
* Good News (1997–98)

Films|

* Just an Old Sweet Song (1976)
* Something for Joey (1977)
* Nowhere to Run (1978)
* First, You Cry (1978)
* Vampire (1979)
* The Boy Who Drank Too Much (1980)
* Fighting Back: The Rocky Bleier Story (1980)
* A Little Sex (1982)
* Just Between Friends (1986)
* Clara's Heart (1988)
* Third Degree Burn (1989)
* For the Love of Aaron (1994)
* The Face on the Milk Carton (1995)
* Stolen Memories: Secrets from the Rose Garden (1996)
* Night of the Twisters (1996)
* Panic in the Skies! (1996)
* Apollo 11 (1996)
* Christmas Every Day (1996)
* Married to a Stranger (1997)

* v
* t
* e

Radio stations in the Cincinnati, Ohio, metropolitan area

By AM frequency|

* 550
* 7001
* 740
* 1050
* 1160
* 1230
* 1320
* 1360
* 1450
* 1480
* 15301

By FM frequency|

* 88.3
* 88.5
* 88.7
* 88.9
* 89.3
* 89.5
* 89.7
* 89.9
* 90.9
* 91.1
* 91.7
* 92.5
* 93.3
* 94.1
* 94.9
* 95.9
* 96.5
* 97.3
* 97.7
* 98.5
* 99.3
* 99.5
* 100.3
* 101.1
* 101.9
* 102.7
* 103.5
* 104.3
* 105.1
* 105.9
* 106.7
* 107.1
* 107.5

| LPFM|

* 92.1
* 95.5
* 95.7
* 98.1
* 105.5

|

Translators|

* 90.5
* 94.5
* 95.5
* 96.9
* 99.5
* 100.7
* 101.5
* 102.3
* 103.1
* 106.3
* 107.9

NOAA Weather Radio
frequency|

* 162.55

Digital radio
by frequency & subchannel|

* 88.7-1
* 90.9-1
* 90.9-2
* 90.9-3
* 91.7-1
* 91.7-2
* 94.9-1
* 94.9-2
* 97.3-1
* 101.1-1
* 101.1-2
* 101.9-1
* 101.9-2
* 102.7-1
* 102.7-2
* 102.7-3
* 105.1-1
* 105.1-2
* 105.1-3
* 105.9-1
* 105.9-2
* 107.1-1
* 107.1-2
* 107.1-3

By call sign|

* KIH42
* W213CB
* W233BG
* W238BJ
* W245AJ
* W258CI
* W264BW
* W268CM
* W272BY
* W276DD
* W292CO
* W300CI
* WAIF
* WAKW
* WAOL
* WCKY1
* WCVG
* WCVX
* WCXE-LP
* WCXX-LP
* WDBZ
* WDJO
* WDTZ-LP
* WEBN
* HD2
* HD3
* WFTK
* WGRI
* WGRR
* WGUC
* WHSS
* WIOK
* WIZF
* HD2
* WKFS
* HD2
* HD3
* WKID
* WKRC
* WKRQ
* HD2
* WLHS
* WLW1
* WMKV
* WMOH
* WMUB
* WMWX
* WNKN
* HD2
* WNKR
* WNKU-LP
* WNLT
* WNNF
* WNOP
* WOBO
* WOFX-FM
* WOSL
* WOXY
* WREW
* HD2
* WRRM
* WSAI
* WSCH
* WUBE-FM
* HD2
* HD3
* WVQC-LP
* WVXU
* WYGY
* HD2
* WYHH

Defunct|

* WAQZ (97.3 FM)
* WCNW (1560 AM)
* WJVS (88.3 FM)
* WLMH (89.1 FM)
* WNSD (90.1 FM)
* WMH

Fictional|

* WKRP

Nearby regions
Bloomington
Columbus
Dayton
Huntington-Ashland-Ironton
Indianapolis
Lexington
Louisville
Southern Ohio

See also
List of radio stations in Ohio
List of radio stations in Kentucky
List of radio stations in Indiana

* * *

Notes
1\. Clear-channel stations with extended nighttime coverage.
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