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Larry Lujack (born June 6, 1940), a Top 40 Music radio disc jockey, was known for his world-weary sarcastic style, "Klunk Letter of the Day" and darkly humorous "Animal Stories" and "Cheap Trashy Show Biz." He was also referred to as Superjock, Lawrence of Chicago, Uncle Lar, and King of the Corn Belt.
Born in Quasqueton, Iowa, as Larry Blankenburg, he later changed his last name to that of his football idol, Johnny Lujack. He attended the College of Idaho (in Caldwell) and Washington State University and was a radio disc jockey, starting in 1958, at KCID in Caldwell. He subsequently worked at several other radio stations, including KJR (AM) in Seattle, but is best known for his antics on Chicago AM radio stations WLS and WCFL.
He initially retired in 1987, shortly after his son John from his first marriage died in an accident. In 1997, he had moved from Palatine to the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he plays golf and landscapes. However, Lujack began working again in May 2000, for then-WUBT in Chicago, via a remote ISDN link from a New Mexico recording studio. He was teamed up with Matt McCann, who was based in the Chicago studio. The ratings for the show out-paced the rest of the radio station. Lujack was inducted into the Illinois Broadcasters Association's Hall of Fame in June 2002.[1]
In 2003, he re-teamed with his Animal Stories partner, Tommy Edwards (Little Tommy), on WRLL (1690 AM) in Chicago, to broadcast his signature features on weekday mornings. On August 16, 2006, Lujack was fired along with the entire WRLL on-air staff, as it was announced the "Real Oldies" format would cease on September 17, 2006. On November 6, 2004, he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.[2] On April 15, 2008, Larry Lujack was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, during their annual convention in Las Vegas.
Lujack is married to Judith (Jude), his second wife, and has two surviving children: Anthony Lujack and Linda Lujack-Shirley.
Contents |
Radio stations
| Station | City | State | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KCID 1490 | Caldwell | ID | 1958 | |
| KGEM 1140 | Boise | ID | ? | |
| KNEW* 790 | Spokane | WA | ? | |
| KRPL 1400 | Moscow | ID | ? | |
| KFXM 590 | San Bernadino | CA | ? | |
| KJRB* 790 | Spokane | WA | 1962 – 1964 | evenings |
| KJR (AM) 950 | Seattle | WA | April 1964 – September 1966 | |
| WMEX 1510 | Boston | MA | September 1966 – December 1966 | as Johnny Lujack |
| WCFL 1000 | Chicago | IL | 1967 | four months; all-nights |
| WLS (AM) 890 | Chicago | IL | August 1967 – July 1972 | afternoons, then mornings |
| WCFL 1000 | Chicago | IL | July 3, 1972 – March 16, 1976 | afternoons |
| WLS (AM) 890 WLS-FM 94.7 |
Chicago | IL | September 16, 1976 – August 28, 1987 | mornings; then in 1985, afternoons** |
| WUBT 103.5 | Chicago | IL | May 25, 2000 – January 10, 2001 | |
| WRLL 1690 | Chicago | IL | September 8, 2003 – August 15, 2006 |
* KNEW and KJRB refer to the same radio station.
** WLS continued to pay Lujack for five years after his 1987 departure to keep him from competing with them in markets where ABC had local radio outlets; in effect, a forced retirement.
Works
- Lujack, Larry; Jedlicka, Daniel A. (1975). Superjock: the loud, frantic, nonstop world of a rock radio DJ. Chicago: H. Regnery Co.. ISBN 978-0-8092-8302-6. OCLC 1500182.
- Lujack, Larry; Edwards, Tommy (2007). Uncle Lar' & Li'l Tommy's best of animal stories. Lake Forest, IL: Animal Stories. OCLC 232150780. http://www.animalstoriescd.com/index.html.
References
- ^ "Hall of Fame Award". Illinois Broadcasters Association. 2009. http://www.ilba.org/hall_of_fame.php. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
- ^ "Larry Lujack, Disc Jockey". Radio Hall of Fame. 2009. http://www.radiohof.org/discjockey/larrylujack.html. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
External links
- Larry Lujack at the Radio Hall of Fame
- Scott Childers' The History of WLS Radio The Rock of Chicago, the 1980s. Read about Lujack in the context of WLS history.
- Real Oldies 1690 AM WRLL. Through Sept. 17, 2006, hear an automated version of the station where Lujack and Tommy Edwards (Little Tommy of Animal Stories) hosted mornings from October 2003 through August 15, 2006.
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