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The Driving Force In Detroit Radio
By Mike Kinosian Copyright 2003 - Inside Radio - Reprinted with Permission
 

Then

Now

Dick Purtan & Detroit are as perfect a double play combination as Alan Trammel & Lou Whitaker.

Considering they've had the privilege of being entertained by Purtan for more than 38 years, Motown radio listeners are among the luckiest in the country.

Get ready to smile as we motor down memory lane with a bona fide radio legend.

 

Nobody Shot Down JR

When Purtan arrived at WKNR-AM ("Keener 13") in 1965, an already established Detroit radio tradition - WJR's Joseph Priestly McCarthy - was firmly entrenched and enjoying a nine-year head start. "WJR was starting to take off and J.P. was the perfect fit," Purtan notes. "Whatever kind of show they needed is what he gave them. He was a very talented guy and tough competition."

Across virtually every demo, McCarthy dominated the market, but as time went on, Purtan was able to chip away at the lead. "At the time of [McCarthy's] passing in 1995, I was No. 1 18-49 and 25-54; it had been that way for at least 10 years," Purtan points out. "I was happy with what we were able to accomplish against WJR and every other station in town."

In Good Company

Recently rummaging through some old clippings, Purtan's wife, Gail, found a 1976 article of the ten highest-rated, Top Ten market morning shows in the country.

WGN/Chicago's Wally Phillips was No. 1, McCarthy placed second and Purtan ranked fifth. "J.P. was on a 50,000 watt, clear-channel station and I was on a dinky, 5,000 watt station at 1270," Purtan says with a grin. "About seven of the 10 guys on the list - including WLS/Chicago's Larry Lujack - were on big 50,000, watt clear-channel stations. I look back and think to myself that I didn't do too badly."

Slight Interruption

The only blemish on Purtan's record of 38 years of continuous Detroit service was a five-week stint at WBAL/Baltimore, where he was dismissed for being "too wild" for the town. "[WBAL GM Al Burke] was once asked about the worst mistake he ever made," Purtan remarks. "He said it was firing me."

To say Purtan's short-lived Baltimore experience was bizarre is putting it mildly.

One day he conducted an on-air interview with Baltimore Colts eight-time NFL Pro Bowl defensive end Gino Marchetti. "He had to have a foot operation, because [the late, six foot six inch, 295 pound Gene `Big Daddy' Lipscomb] stepped on it during a game," Purtan recalls. "Somewhere in our conversation, I used the word `guts.' Al called me in his office and told me that I'd used a non-WBAL word. As I sat across from him, I wondered what I could possibly have said. He told me that they didn't use the word `guts' on WBAL."

A few days later, a still baffled Purtan was again summoned to the GM's office.

One of his morning show sponsors was Western Electric of Cockeysville - a town north of Baltimore. "Al said he didn't ever want to hear me do any lines about Cockeysville," Purtan said, trying to suppress laughter in recalling the story. "I mentioned that's not what I do. I'll never forget when he said that - occasionally -- I could do a line about Cockeysville. But he didn't want me to do any lines about the town 10 miles from Cockeysville - Dickeysville. I went home and told Gail that I'd made a tragic mistake by going to Baltimore."

That was after WBAL had wined and dined the Purtans. "They flew me in twice and had a big station party for us. They said whatever I wanted to do on the air was fine - no restrictions. Five weeks later, I was out on my butt."

Around The Dial

That ugliness aside, Purtan's been a 38-year Detroit radio mainstay at five different stations - six when a letter change is taken into consideration.

As noted, his legacy started at WKNR and also included stops at WXYZ-AM, CKLW-AM and WCZY-FM [which became WKQI]. For the past nearly eight years, he's been at Infinity's WOMC-FM.

To this point, the longest stint (13 years) has been with WCZY/WKQI.

Hot Pursuit

"Keener 13" was 18 months old and fairly successful when it welcomed Purtan to the on-air staff.

Now renowned station broker Gary Stevens had been WKNR's afternoon drive personality and, as Purtan remarks, was "fabulous on the air."

But Stevens was departing Keener 13 for WMCA/New York.

The first two hours of Purtan's three-hour job interview summarized how great Stevens sounded. "They offered me the afternoon show in the last hour of the interview, but I turned it down."

Instead, Purtan decided to remain at WSAI/Cincinnati. "It was quite a station in its heyday. We had a 42-share -- it was remarkable."

But Keener was relentless in pursuing Purtan. "They called back and offered me 7-10pm. I turned that down, because I'd never done a `Top 40' show. I'd always done mornings and didn't really know how to do afternoons or evenings. After I [declined], they called me back a week later and offered me 10pm-1am. I figured that just kids were listening, so I took it. I did that for about two months and they put me in mornings [on August 9, 1965] and I've [basically] been doing mornings ever since."

The only exception to that timeline brings us back to the infamous Baltimore incident.

After leaving WBAL, Purtan returned to Detroit to do afternoons at WXYZ.

Ironically, Purtan had spurned WXYZ for that same PM drive slot several weeks earlier, opting for WBAL's morning drive position. "After being fired in Baltimore, I needed a job," Purtan states.

WXYZ had previously offered him $40,000 a year to do afternoons. "When I came back after getting fired in Baltimore, they said the afternoon job was still open."

That's the good news. The bad - if not downright jarring news - is that the salary had shrunk 37.5% to $25,000 a year.

A slightly dejected Purtan accepted the offer and did afternoons for several months.

Doing Double Duty

Concurrently, WXYZ's morning team -- Martin & Howard -- couldn't quite get a foothold and were released. Purtan, meanwhile, was a big hit in afternoon drive and inherited the AM drive opening.

As you've probably already anticipated, there was a twist to this story, as well.

For about six months, Purtan actually did morning and afternoon drive. "It was a very tough seven-hour day," he admits. "But we went from a four to a 10-share in morning drive and a one to a 10-share in afternoons."

Knows His Numbers

Results from the first phase of the 2003 fall book indicate ABC Radio's WJR (6.3) is again the market's top station (12+). Infinity all-News outlet WWJ (5.7) is runner-up, giving Detroit a rare distinction of having AMs in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions.

WOMC and Clear Channel Urban Contemporary WJLB-FM are tied for third, with WOMC posting its best 12+ numbers (5.5) since last summer (6.5).

An on-air talent who closely follows ratings, Purtan bluntly says, "We live and die by them and they directly relate to my income. If the numbers aren't there, I don't make the money I [do]. But I don't mean to make it sound mercenary. We work for money, but in this business, we also work for the love of it. There are many of us who'd probably work for free."

Downplaying The Music

The particular music genre that he's associated with, however, isn't critical to him. He's worked in Top 40, Hot AC, AC, and Oldies. "I've been very lucky because the audience has followed me, regardless of music format. We talk a lot in the morning and, hopefully, we're entertaining. If you can't be funny, you should, at least, be interesting."

It would be perfectly fine with Purtan, if he didn't play any music in his considerably long (5-10am) wakeup shift. "When [Viacom President/COO] Mel Karmazin flew in to hire me, he said he didn't care if I didn't play one song all morning. He just said to get him some ratings. WOMC did well the rest of the day, but was lacking in the mornings. The idea was to plug the hole."

A typical WOMC morning drive hour features two or three songs and, as Purtan notes, "They're short anyway. I really use music to pace the show. I told Mel that I wasn't particularly fond of Oldies and mentioned that I don't like [The Shangri-Las'] `Leader Of The Pack.' He looked at me and said that was his favorite oldie -- what a salesman."

Role Models

WNEW-AM/New York's Gene Klavin & Dee Finch ("Klavin & Finch") had a profound influence on Purtan in his formative years. "Those guys were probably the best I ever heard," Purtan states.

To underscore the duo's impact on Purtan, the then Syracuse University student hitchhiked to New York City, just to see them at work. "I didn't even know if I could get in," Purtan admits. "At about 7:30am, a salesman arrived and I talked my way into visiting the studio. I stood in there for an hour and watched them perform. They did voices and characters and were so funny - not only in character but as themselves. That's what I try to do on my show. We do many characters from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Bill Clinton to George W. Bush to invented characters."

As he stood and watched his idols, Purtan pondered, "This is really the kind of radio that I want to do. They were my mentors, even though I only heard them a handful of times."

The One That Got Away

Having had to reject some exceptionally tempting offers, Purtan points out, "I had chances to do afternoons at KFI/Los Angeles and WLS/Chicago and mornings at WMAQ/Chicago. But that all happened in the middle of contracts and I couldn't leave."

A plum opportunity to do wakeup duties on WNBC/New York surfaced, but he wasn't able to accept it. "I had a long meeting with their GM and PD and they offered me the morning show," Purtan recalls. "We agreed on money [$80,000 a year] and shook hands. But WXYZ said I couldn't leave, because I had a contract. I thought the contract meant that I couldn't go to another Detroit station. ABC owned WXYZ and threatened to sue NBC over that deal."

Unfortunately, Purtan didn't have legal representation. "If I had a lawyer, I might have been able to get out of my contract," he contends. "Don Imus got the job and I always wondered what might have been. I really wanted that job badly, but it wasn't meant to be."

You Want Me To Replace Who?

That, however, wasn't Purtan's only prospect at cracking the Big Apple. He had dinner one night in Detroit with WOR-AM/New York GM Herb Saltzman. "He kept talking about his afternoon `act' he wanted me to replace," Purtan recounts. "I finally had to ask him who he was talking about."

Absolutely dumbfounded upon discovering he was being courted to succeed the legendary comedy team of Bob & Ray, Purtan says, "Saltzman had given them six months, but didn't think they were making it ratings wise. Since I wanted to have more than six months to [succeed], I decided to stay in Detroit. We had gigantic numbers at WXYZ and they re-signed me to a healthy contract."

He's No Al Bundy

During his Keener days, Purtan had an infamous run-in with noted programmer/consultant ("Hot Hits") Mike Joseph. "He'd really made the station what it was," Purtan acknowledges.

But by the mid- to late-1960s, Keener had fallen on hard times. Celebrated consultant Bill Drake brought his winning "Drake format" to CKLW. "It had a big 50,000 watt signal, while Keener had an awful 5,000 watt signal," Purtan explains. "It was so bad that Keener couldn't be heard in one-third of Detroit at night."

An emergency meeting was called at Keener one Sunday at 10pm. "[Then Keener consultant] Mike Joseph came in and he laid down the law," Purtan explains. "He said [the only talking] would be for song intros and outros, but I thought that wasn't the way to do a morning show."

Still maintaining fairly strong morning drive numbers, Purtan went on the air the next day and did his customary show. "[Mike] told me that, if I didn't do things his way, he'd fire me," Purtan notes. "But I told him that was a chance I was willing to take."

It was business as usual for Purtan on Tuesday and Wednesday. "He called again Wednesday, warning me that my days would be numbered, if I didn't tow the mark. I again told him I was willing to chance it. I did it again Thursday and Friday."

That led to a Friday showdown with GM Walter Patterson and, as Purtan recounts, "He sat me down and said that, if I didn't do things Mike's way, it could make or break my career. I said I was willing to take that chance. I stood up and was ready to walk out."

Before Purtan reached the door, however, Patterson told him the station was his between 6-9am and Joseph's between 9am-6am. "Had I not stood up and said that I knew how to do a morning show better than Mike Joseph, I'd probably be selling shoes today. Mike was quoted in a Detroit newspaper 10-15 years ago that he was the guy who told Dick Purtan to shut up. The problem was he didn't finish the story -- Dick didn't shut up."

Clean Funny

But don't listen to Purtan and expect him to be shocking. "I'm not a big fan of that and never have been," he explains. "I always thought it was kind of a cheap way to get ratings. [Those personalities] play in a whole different ballpark. It's harder to be clean funny than dirty funny. I always strive for `clean' funny, while at the same time, having an edge. Our show isn't namby-pamby and has the occasional double entendre."

The many comics who play local comedy clubs frequently visit Purtan on the air. "They tell me they appreciate doing our show, because we don't try to top them. They complain about the two-person morning shows around the country that try to be funnier than they are. It drives them nuts."

Community Force

The call letters have changed over the years, but results stay the same: Dick Purtan's name translates into ratings success.

But, as far as he's concerned, the reason's a mystery. "God only knows. Whatever I did apparently worked here. I still think that, if you work harder than the next guy, you'll be more successful."

One crystal clear part of the puzzle is the remarkable way he's ingratiated himself into the community.

As validation, Purtan this past February staged his 16th annual Salvation Army Radiothon. The event benefits the Salvation Army Bed & Bread Club, which feeds and beds 4,000 people a night -- mainly in Detroit's inner city. "For the first time, we raised over one million dollars in just 16 hours," he emphasizes. "For 16 years, we've totaled $11 million."

By way of perspective, the first year's radiothon brought in $10,000.

The McCarty Cancer Foundation this March presented Dick & Gail Purtan the Humanitarian of the Year Award. The award is named after Detroit Red Wings player Darren McCarty, whose father died of cancer.

Three months later, the Detroit Rotary Club gave Purtan the Philanthropist of the Year Award. "That was incredible," he notes with humility. "I didn't realize until that day how significant and important the Rotary Club is; they really do fantastic work."

Proud Papa Michigan State University's College of Communication Arts & Sciences dedicated the "Dick Purtan Studio in October."

A fitting honor, considering five of his six daughters attended the East Lansing school. "Through the years, I've supported [MSU] the best I could," Purtan comments.

The lone MSU holdout is daughter Jackie, who went to archrival Michigan. "Jackie works with me and is a very funny lady and writes many character scripts and is just brilliant on the air."

Two other daughters have followed in their famous dad's footsteps. JoAnne is WXYZ-TV/Detroit's "Healthy Living" reporter and eldest daughter, Jennifer, is ABC Radio Networks' Executive VP/Sales. "My other daughters are in different lines of work and have all done well for themselves; they take after their mother."

National Spotlight

Although Purtan almost embarrassingly downplays it today, a mid-to late-1970s Farrah Fawcett look-alike contest garnered him tremendous national publicity. "She was as hot as a pistol back then," he acknowledges. "I ended up with three pages in People Magazine and got more attention for that contest than anything else I've ever done - which is kind of pathetic."

Setting An Important Standard In the 1970s, several Detroit-area children had been killed on their way to school in early-morning winter darkness.

All were struck by motor vehicles. "I said on the air that Michigan should go back to standard time, so we could have more light in the early morning," Purtan says solemnly. "I mentioned that I could show a drive-in movie in the morning before it got light outside."

As proof, Purtan showed "Take The Money And Run" at a drive-in one Saturday at 7am. "It was a terrible, snowy day," he recounts. "We had 400 cars in the drive-in and had to turn away more than 1,000 others."

People were advised at 6am not to come out, because the line was already too long. "The entire [WXYZ] staff and I spent the whole movie pushing cars into and out of snow banks. The promotion made national press."

A Laugh A Day

Still enjoying the luxury to be himself on the air, Purtan says, "Most smart operators realize that you have to have a strong morning show and -- within reason -- let people perform how they want to."

When he emceed the Marconi Awards dinner in San Francisco three years ago, Purtan said, "If you tick off the wrong three or four guys in this business, you'll never work again. That's really unfortunate and has put a crimp on employment opportunities for people in this business - not only on the air, but off-air, as well."

Thankfully, his plans call for him to stay in radio as long as he feels good and has that same "burning desire."

Every day, he says, "is a new adventure and is nothing but a laugh. They pay you a lot of money and the more fun you have, the more money they pay you. It's a great business."

WHO: Dick Purtan
WHAT: "Dick Purtan & Purtan's People"
WHERE: Infinity Oldies WOMC-FM/Detroit
WHEN: Monday - Friday 5-10am
HOW LONG: A Detroit radio fixture for over 38 years

Editors Note: Thanks to Mike Kinosian and Inside Radio for permission to reprint this profile.

Dick Purtan on Keener - First Night - 1965 MP3  1.6MB
LINK: Inside Radio