Amanda Bynes is going to be at least considered with her recent antics. She's turning out to be a real whack job.
Not a celeb, but an American hero, Willie Louis died. He was the man who testified against the murderers of Emmet Till in 1956. It was the first time a black man had accused a white man of a capitol crime in open court in Mississippi. It was a watershed moment in American history.
Kidd Kraddick died yesterday of a brain aneurysm. If you are one of us who lives in the DFW then you know him. He was the morning radio guy for KISS FM since 92. Tie in? He died in New Orleans hosting one of his golf tournaments to raise money for his charity Kidd's Kids.
I listened to him every morning driving to work since I moved to Dallas in '97. In a way, he made me "get to know" the city of Dallas when I was a newbie up here. I immediately loved his show; most mornings, he made me laugh, but there were plenty of times he made me cry--when he would talk about his Kidd's Kids charity for terminally/chronically ill children (taking them and their families to Disney World) or every year when he granted his Christmas wishes to needy families. I returned home to Dallas from Baton Rouge today and watched the local media coverage of his death. It took a few tissues to get through it. The show wasn't quite the same after it became syndicated, but that's how people around the nation got to know him. Still, there was nothing as funny as the bits they used to do that were so Dallas-centered, like "Troy Aikman Theatre" and "The Highland Park Police Report." When the went nationwide, they didn't get to do those types of bits anymore.
I caught his show from time to time when we were up there. I never heard the Highland Park Police Report, but I can only imagine how funny that would be. "...in other news, Penelope had car trouble and missed her tennis lesson. Stacey's yard was rolled last night and the Parcell's gardener didn't show up for work. "
Yeah Stacey, the Kidd Kraddick Show was always my second go to when the Musers went to commercial break. However, I often found myself sticking to the show when I caught Hizzywood Hizzle or Questions for Kelly. My late wife won a convertible Mustang on his show back in 2004. We drove it around for a few months before selling it. She also won a spa day with Colbie Cailat. Great times.....
Ah, so you're a Ticket guy, then? I never could really get into those guys. I'm friends with Skin Wade of Ben and Skin on The Fan, formerly on ESPN Dallas, though.
Ah yes, and most formerly on The Ticket as weekend and fill in guys way back. Ben and Skin created the greatness of Norm's intro music and much more things that aren't heard anymore. Sports radio is tough. No one wants to hear a bunch of boring sports talk. You got to have that something extra. I have been with The Ticket since day one and even though they don't know who the hell I am, I listened while their kids grew up and all those stories shared. Ben and Skin beats the former Rage hands down. I'll tune in to them on afternoon drive commercial breaks!
I met Skin because his daughter was in my younger daughter's dance class when they were 3 and 4 (both are 8 now.) One day, a dad had taken his daughter to dance and went up to Skin, asking, "You're Jeff Wade, aren't you?" I had to go home and ask who that was. He's a nice guy, and it was really fun to hear his stories of traveling with the Mavs when they won the title in Miami. On the related note about feeling like you know people on the radio, I got up to listen to Kidd Kraddick's team do the tribute show this morning. I've never, ever laughed and cried so much during a broadcast. I was very happy I was at home and not driving to work, like I would have been during the school year at 7 a.m. The raw emotion of Kellie, Big Al, and the others was palpable.
