Long John Nebel (born John Zimmerman) (June 11, 1911 -- April 10, 1978) was an influential New York City talk radio show host.
The name Long John Nebel came from several sources: Long John was a nickname for his tall, slender build; he stood 6'4" and never weighed more than about 160 pounds. Long John's Auctions was the name of his successful auction store. Nebel came from the surname of his stepmother Knebel.
For more than 20 years -- from the mid 1950s until his death in 1978 -- Nebel was a hugely popular all-night radio host, with millions of regular listeners and what Donald Bain described as "a fanatically loyal following" to his syndicated program, which dealt mainly with anomalous phenomena, UFOs, and other offbeat topics. In 1972 he married the former pin-up model Candy Jones, who became the co-host of his show. Her controversial claims of having been a victim of CIA mind-control influenced the direction of the program during its last six years on the air.
Biography
Youth and young adulthood
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Nebel dropped out of school after the eighth grade but was an avid reader throughout his life, and was conversant on many topics.
According to his own account in The Way Out World (1961), Nebel moved the New York City "around 1930", at the age of 19, and his first job there was as an usher in the New York Paramount Theater.
Nebel pursued a number of careers in his young adulthood (including a long period as a freelance photographer and a stint as a sidewalk salesman), before establishing the successful Long John's Auctions, an auction and consignment store in New Jersey.
Nebel did not seek a career in radio until he was 43 years old.
WOR
In the mid-1950s, radio throughout the United States was floundering and trying to redefine itself after the explosive popularity of television. Over several years, Nebel had become friends with many people at various New York radio stations when he bought commercial time to advertise his auction house. WOR, one of New York's leading stations, faced poor ratings in 1954 when Nebel proposed an interview show. The format, as Donald Bain writes, "would be devoted to discussing strange and unexplained topics."
WOR's management was not especially impressed by Nebel's idea. However, deciding they had little to lose, WOR gambled and offered him a midnight to 5.30am time slot, the poorest-rated hours. Building on the modest fame of his auction house (and also hoping to generate more business), he used the same name, Long John. when he went on radio.
To the surprise of WOR's managemnet, Nebel's show was a quick success among New York's night-owls and early risers. Unidentified flying objects were discussed almost daily, alongside topics such as voodoo, witchcraft, parapsychology, hypnotism conspiracy theories and ghosts. Perhaps fittingly for an overnight show, one of Nebel's sponsors was No-Doz caffeine pills.
Within a few months Nebel was getting not only high ratings, but press attention from throughout the United States for his distinctive and in many ways unprecedented program (WOR's powerful signal assured that Nebel's show was broadcast to over half of the United States' population). Bain notes that some listeners were put off by his "grating, often vicious manner", but many more adored him because of (or in spite of) his abrasive style. Keith writes, "Though Nebel could be brusque and even imperious in the phone, he was always a sympathetic listener and compasionate host."
Seven-second delay
WOR was worried about some of Nebel's guests or callers uttering a swear word on the air. Nebel used one of the first tape delay systems in radio, giving engineers a chance to edit unacceptable language before it was broadcast.
WNBC
In 1962, WNBC offered Nebel more than $100,000 per year (if not a record sum paid to a radio personality, then very near it) to begin broadcasting from their station, and he accepted the offer. He continued there until 1973, when WNBC, facing sliding ratings, decided to switch to an all rock music format. After a protracted battle, Nebel refused to change his show, and resigned in protest. According to Bain, one anonymous WNBC employee insisted that the station's management "deliberately fucked up [Nebel's] career" by spreading unfounded rumors about the format switch and Nebel's reaction to it.
WMCA
Nebel was quickly hired by WMCA, where, from 1973 to 1978, he continued his exploration of the paranormal. His show was still popular, though his ratings on the less-powerful WMCA were not as high as they had been at WNBC.
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Por :
PrankyCallz
Duración:
10:14 Min
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2731
Publicada:
11/24/2007