John Lanigan (born 1943 in
Ogallala, Nebraska
Ogallala is a city in and the county seat of Keith County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,737 at the 2010 census. In the days of the Nebraska Territory, the city was a stop on the Pony Express and later along the transcontinental ...
) is a radio and TV broadcaster primarily known for his work in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, including as the longtime morning host at
WMJI
WMJI (105.7 MHz) – branded ''Majic 105.7'' – is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. It is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts a classic hits r ...
in Cleveland from 1985 to 2014.
Biography
Early career
Lanigan was born in Ogallala, Nebraska, in 1943. While in high school, he was a
DJ at his high school's radio station. Throughout the 1960s, Lanigan bounced between jobs in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
's
KHOW
KHOW (630 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Denver, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KHOW is one of three iHeart-owned stations in Denver with a news/talk radio format. C ...
and
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
, at one point working in both cities simultaneously: Colorado Springs during the day, and Denver at night. While at KHOW, Lanigan also served as the station's program director. Additionally, Lanigan worked in
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
,
and at
KRLD in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, the latter in afternoon drive.
WGAR (1971–84)
![Lanigan at Hairy Buffalo - 1974 print ad](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Lanigan_at_Hairy_Buffalo_-_1974_print_ad.jpg)
Lanigan's Cleveland debut occurred at
WGAR (1220 AM) in December 1971, taking over as that station's morning-drive host after the departure of
Don Imus
John Donald Imus Jr. (July 23, 1940 – December 27, 2019), also known mononymously as Imus, was an American radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author. His radio show, ''Imus in the Morning'', was aired on various stat ...
for
WNBC (660 AM) in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He was hired by WGAR general manager
Jack G. Thayer after attracting his attention at a
industry convention, and bypassed 65 other applicants for the on-air position. Imus's quickly-earned notoriety in the Cleveland market caused some newspaper critics to viewed Lanigan as "desperately trying to emulate" Imus in addition to trepidation on Lanigan's part. ''Lanigan in the Morning'', however, was an immediate ratings success. By the end of 1972, Lanigan was battling
WIXY
WIXY (100.3 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting a country music radio format. Licensed to Champaign, Illinois, United States, the station serves the Champaign-Urbana area. The station is currently owned by the Illini Radio G ...
's Mike Reineri,
WJW's Ed Fisher and
WERE
''Were'' and ''wer'' are archaic terms for adult male humans and were often used for alliteration with wife as "were and wife" in Germanic-speaking cultures ( ang, wer, odt, wer, got, waír, ofs, wer, osx, wer, goh, wer, non, verr).
In ...
shock jock
A shock jock is a radio broadcaster or DJ who entertains listeners and attracts attention using humor and/or melodramatic exaggeration that may offend some portion of the listening audience. The term is used pejoratively to describe provocative o ...
Gary Dee
Gary David Gilbert, (January 13, 1935 – November 10, 1995) on-air name Gary Dee, was a pioneer in controversial talk radio. He worked for stations which included WERE, WHK, and WWWE (now WTAM) in Cleveland, Ohio. He spent a short time in New Yor ...
for the top-rated spot in morning drive a ranking Imus also attained in his first year at WGAR.
While Lanigan's persona was nearly as controversial as Imus, he specialized more in
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
and
ribaldry
Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy".
Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at ...
he referred to as "adult humor"
and the station described as "radio for consenting adults".
One long-running comedy bit, ''The Flex Club'', was a
double entendre
A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...
set to
David Rose's "
The Stripper
"The Stripper" is an instrumental composed by David Rose, recorded in 1958 and released four years later. It evinces a jazz influence with especially prominent trombone slides, and evokes the feel of music used to accompany striptease artis ...
" that initially was through listener mail, but eventually featured callers describing times that they "flexed". A daily crossover that would end Lanigan's show and start Joe Mayer's midday show soon took a life of its own and became an extended daily segment, as both hosts kept trading jokes and laughter. Lanigan took over as host of
WUAB
WUAB (channel 43) is a television station licensed to Lorain, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Low-power broadcasting#Television, low-power Telemundo affiliate WT ...
's ''Prize Movie'' in 1975, further adding to his exposure in the market and beyond, as WUAB was carried to other
cable systems
Cable television is a system of delivering television broadcast programming, programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This ...
throughout the region.
Unique for its time, Lanigan regularly featured politicians on his show, beginning with
Cleveland mayor Ralph Perk
Ralph Joseph Perk (January 19, 1914 – April 21, 1999) was an American politician of the Republican Party who served as the 52nd mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.
Early life
Born to an ethnic Czech American family in Cleveland, Perk dropped out of ...
and continuing throughout the rest of his career. When
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich (; born October 8, 1946) is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008. He ran for ...
invited Lanigan to be at his swearing-in ceremony as Perk's mayoral successor on November 14, 1977, he dressed up as a
court jester
A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and ...
, poking fun at Kucinich's relatively young age and saying to the audience, "people have laughed at us long enough, it's time we laughed back." Lanigan later viewed himself as a "
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
Howard Beale" in response to comedians having repeatedly put down the city.
left, 175px, 1975 ad promoting WUAB's ''Prize Movie'' featuring Lanigan as host.
Lanigan participated in numerous
publicity stunt
In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utilize ...
s while at WGAR. One stunt promoting the
Cleveland National Air Show
The Cleveland National Air Show is an annual air show held on Labor Day weekend at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 as an indirect successor to the National Air Races. The show includes stunt airplanes, m ...
had Lanigan
parasailing
Parasailing, also known as parascending, paraskiing or parakiting, is a recreational kiting activity where a person is towed behind a vehicle while attached to a specially designed canopy wing that resembles a parachute, known as a parasail ...
to open the event, but the person driving the boat lost control, resulting in him crashing into the water and nearly missing a
breakwall
A breakwater is a permanent structure constructed at a coastal area to protect against tides, currents, waves, and storm surges. Part of a coastal management system, breakwaters are installed to minimize erosion, and to protect anchorages, h ...
. Another stunt had Lanigan riding in a
hot-air balloon
A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries p ...
—with assistance from advertiser/automobile dealer Rick Case—that intended to fly across Lake Erie and into
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, but winds from the lake ultimately took him eastward to
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. A similar stunt attempt with Lanigan and Case riding in matching balloons from Akron to Cleveland was called off after high winds prevented the balloons from lifting up. Not all publicity was solicited: when Lanigan was
ticketed by police one morning in August 1978 for driving on
Interstate 77
Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the ...
, one of the two officers admitted to being a fan of his show. A
Jaycee
The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training, service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI ...
branch in
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...
invited Lanigan as a guest host for an annual dinner, but his jokes offended their Distinguished Service Award winner, a
Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
who abruptly left; Lanigan later remarked, "they knew exactly what they were getting". Lanigan additionally opened up a
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
in
Mayfield Heights
Mayfield Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and is an east-side suburb of Cleveland. The population was 18,827 at the 2010 census.
History
Mayfield Heights was initially built up as a streetcar suburb of Cleveland. It wa ...
named ''Lanigan's'' in the fall of 1982, it closed the following May. By September 1983, Lanigan was promoted to program director for WGAR due to multiple staffing changes.
John Lanigan left WGAR on February 9, 1984, to join
WMGG
WMGG (1470 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial AM radio, AM radio station city of license, licensed to Egypt Lake, Florida, whose main AM signal is exclusively digital via HD Radio. WMGG serves the Tampa Bay area and is owned by ...
in
Clearwater Clearwater or Clear Water may refer to:
Places Canada
* Clear Water Academy, a private Catholic school located in Calgary, Alberta
* Clearwater (provincial electoral district), a former provincial electoral district in Alberta
* Clearwater, Briti ...
-
Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
, following at 12-year run in mornings.
Incumbent afternoon host and
impressionist
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
Paul Tapie was Lanigan's on-air successor, co-hosting with Lanigan in the days leading up to his departure.
WMJI (1985–2014)
Lanigan returned to Cleveland in 1985, becoming host of ''The Lanigan and Webster Show'' on
WMJI
WMJI (105.7 MHz) – branded ''Majic 105.7'' – is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. It is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts a classic hits r ...
FM 105.7 with veteran Cleveland radio voice John Webster. Lanigan's popularity in Cleveland helped raise the profile of WMJI, leading to the station winning five
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...
Marconi Award :''"Marconi Award" links here. Note that in the Netherlands, the radio academy awards are also called Marconi Awards.''
The Marconi Radio Awards are presented annually by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to the top radio stations and ...
s during his tenure (Large Market Station of the Year in 1998 and 2003, and Oldies Station of the Year in 2002, 2004, and 2006).
Lanigan also is well known in Cleveland for his television work, as in conjunction with his radio shows, he was host of the daily afternoon ''Prize Movie'' on
WUAB
WUAB (channel 43) is a television station licensed to Lorain, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Low-power broadcasting#Television, low-power Telemundo affiliate WT ...
channel 43 during the '70s through the early '90s (with a hiatus when he was in Tampa, during which time the movie program was hosted by WWWE Radio morning man Fig Newton).
During his show on July 20, 2012, as the news was breaking about the
Aurora theater shooting, Lanigan reported that it was his son Jad, a Lieutenant in the
Aurora, Colorado
Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, ...
police department, who arrested the shooter
James Holmes.
In November 2013, Lanigan was inducted into the
National Radio Hall of Fame
The Radio Hall of Fame, formerly the National Radio Hall of Fame, is an American organization created by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988.
Three years later, Bruce DuMont, founder, president, and CEO of the Museum of Broadcast Communicatio ...
at a ceremony in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
.
Lanigan was honored on March 29, 2014, during the 2014
"Majic" Moondog Coronation Ball concert at
Quicken Loans Arena
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is a multi-purpose arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The building is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL). It also serv ...
. During the event, Lanigan was awarded with an official proclamation from the city of Cleveland, honoring his radio career and efforts in promoting the city. Lanigan's last show was on March 31, 2014, when he officially retired.
In retirement, Lanigan stated that he plans to split his time between his homes in
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
and
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
Post-retirement
In late 2014, Lanigan made somewhat of a comeback to Cleveland radio, becoming a co-host alongside
Mike Trivisonno
Mike Trivisonno (September 20, 1947 – October 28, 2021) was an American radio broadcaster, known for hosting his own self-titled afternoon talk show on Cleveland radio station WTAM AM 1100. He was widely referred to simply as "Triv" by callers ...
on ''The Spew'', a daily hour-long debate program on WMJI sister station
WTAM
WTAM (1100 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, and carries a news/ talk/sports format commonly known as "Newsradio WTAM 1100". Owned by iHeartMedia, WTAM serves Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Oh ...
AM 1100. On August 8, 2018, Lanigan abruptly announced on air during a ''Spew'' broadcast that he was retiring from the show and radio entirely effective immediately, citing a lack of interest in the show's usual topics (politics, current events, Cleveland sports), not feeling qualified to give his opinions on such topics, and an overall lack of enjoyment doing the show.
Awards and honors
*1994 inductee – Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame
*1998 inductee – Cleveland Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame
*2005 recipient –
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...
Marconi Award :''"Marconi Award" links here. Note that in the Netherlands, the radio academy awards are also called Marconi Awards.''
The Marconi Radio Awards are presented annually by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to the top radio stations and ...
for Large Market Radio Personality of the Year (shared with co-host Jimmy Malone)
*2012 recipient – Starlight Guardian Humanitarian Award
*2013 inductee –
National Radio Hall of Fame
The Radio Hall of Fame, formerly the National Radio Hall of Fame, is an American organization created by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988.
Three years later, Bruce DuMont, founder, president, and CEO of the Museum of Broadcast Communicatio ...
*2014 recipient – City of Cleveland Official Proclamation
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
National Radio Hall of Fame profileWMJI.com: Lanigan tribute page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanigan, John
1943 births
American game show hosts
American radio personalities
Living people
People from Ogallala, Nebraska
Television in Cleveland