"Go gargle with razor blades!"
Such was the typical rant from Joe Pyne, a TV and radio personality who has been credited as being the Father of the Conservative Talk Show. Pyne's TV career ran from 1954 to 1969, and he died in 1970 from cancer.
A fascinating account of his tactics, style and confrontational hijnks is detailed in this report from the retro website TV Party!.
Some samples of his methods and madness:
"Life magazine commented, "His manner is that of a barroom tough who invites his quarry to pull up a chair and sit down. Five minutes later, the poor lummox is apt to feel like he has been slapped into a corner with his tie ripped off."
After Joe got in his licks, he would turn to 'the dock' to give individuals from the now-outraged crowd their chance to grill the guests - and fling their own pious put-downs. Pyne was unapologetic about his approach, "I'm not a nice guy, and I don't want to be. I have no respect for anyone who would come on my show."
And a semi-legendary word battle between himself and Frank Zappa:
"So I guess your long hair makes you a woman," said Pyne.
Zappa responded with "So I guess your wooden leg makes you a table."
I had to look him up, and apparently, he smoked and insulted himself into an early grave. He died at 44.
ReplyDeleteyes he sure did. and sadly he set the tone for a lot of talking idiots!
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