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Don and Mike Show
Don and Mike Show logo
GenreTalk
Running time4 hours
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
Home stationWJFK-FM
Syndicates26 affiliates
StarringDon Geronimo and Mike O'Meara
AnnouncerBuzz Burbank
Produced byJohn Nolan, Frank Murphy, Diana Silman, Charles Broyhill, Lisa Herndon, John Normand, BethAnn McBride, Robb Spewak
Original release12-11-1985 –
4-11-2008
Websitewww.mikeomearashow.com

The Don and Mike Show was an American nationally syndicated radio talk show hosted by the shock jocks Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara, which aired from December 1985 through April 11, 2008. The show debuted on WAVA-FM in 1985 as The Morning Zoo with Don and Mike. The official name of the show became The Don and Mike Show when the duo moved to WJFK-FM in 1991. In the later years, the show was carried on 20-30 stations across the United States by the CBS-owned Westwood One Radio Network. The show's flagship station was 106.7 WJFK in Washington DC. In 2007 the show ranked #66 in the Talkers Magazine Heavy 100.[1] Geronimo retired in 2008.[2] The show's last live regular episode with Geronimo was broadcast March 13, 2008 and Geronimo hosted a farewell show April 11, 2008.[3] After Geronimo's retirement, the remaining cast members formed the Mike O'Meara Show.

Personalities

The show was co-hosted by Don Geronimo (real name: Mike Sorce) and Mike O'Meara. News briefs and occasional commentary were provided by Buzz Burbank. The show was most recently produced by former show intern Robb Spewak. Phone calls were screened by Joe Ardinger (sometimes referred to as the "World's Oldest Phone Screener"), who also contributed to the show and broadcasts his own show on Saturday nights on WJFK-FM.

The show included four news reporters over the course of its run. David Haines (1985–1989), the program's original newsman, died on July 10, 2005 (the same day that Don's wife Freda was killed in an auto accident.)[4] Laurie Neff, the second newsperson, is known for getting into a traffic accident with Washington DC mayor Marion Barry.[5] Dave Schreiber served as the show's third newsman until 1991 when Buzz Burbank (real name: Michael Elston) arrived and continued in the position through the end of the Don and Mike show and on to the successor show hosted by O'Meara.

WAVA and WJFK-FM subscribe to the traffic services of fellow CBS Radio subsidiary Metro Traffic. Former Washington traffic reporters include Kim "Boomer" Anderson, Rob Carpenter, Janet DeLaney, Kris Gamble, Stevie Bridgewater, and Shari Elliker (1992–1996) Elliker co-hosted the Broadminded radio program on XM Radio and currently hosts her own show on WBAL in Baltimore, Maryland. The show also took advantage of the service's offer to allow the show to provide pseudonyms for its traffic reporter. Over the years, "Michael Hunt", "Vera Bruptly", "Lane Closure", "Jason Feces", and "Michelle Hughes" (a take-off on "Michael Hughes", WJFK's general manager) were heard on the WJFK-FM feed of the show (not on affiliate feeds).

History

WJFK era, and national syndication

The show debuted in the afternoons on WJFK on October 1, 1991. After a two-month hiatus, the show had changed time slots, stations and producers, with Diana Silman replacing Frank Murphy. Mike Elston, known on the show as Buzz Burbank, joined the show in December 1991. The program evolved after the move, adding Burbank and traffic reporter Shari Liquour (real name Shari Elliker) to the cast. Robb Spewak joined the show as an intern in 1992. He would perform various stunts.

The program was added to the lineup of WNEW in New York, and moved to mid-days in 2001. The move was billed as an opportunity to maximize the show's potential, and promote fellow Infinity Broadcasting network program Opie and Anthony. It didn't work. The program garnered low ratings in New York. The show was #1 in Washington, DC during its last ratings book for mid-days but was removed from the WNEW lineup.

The last day in mid-days was August 21, 2002. The program returned to afternoons on September 3, 2002, in most of the markets where it had been broadcast before the move. In late 2006, the show went on an extended hiatus without explanation.

When the show started broadcasting again live on January 2, 2007, it was revealed that Don had been angry since the death of Freda, and he felt that he had not had time to properly grieve. Don was also feeling guilty about feeling happy without Freda. For all intents and purposes Don and Mike thought that the show was done, but after a few weeks Don accepted his bosses' offer to take the rest of 2006 off, get his head together with the help of a counselor, and then return in 2007. [1]

Don's retirement

Don Geronimo announced on February 4, 2008, that he would leave the show on May 30. That date was moved up to April 11, 2008,[6] in a surprise announcement from the WJFK program director which also included the return of Beth Ann McBride as producer.[3] The show was then known as The Mike O'Meara Show. It continued along with a similar format, minus Don, up until July 2009 when the show was cancelled following the decision to turn WJFK into a sports talk station.[7][8][9] Westwood One also continued to syndicate the show in its new lineup up until its cancellation. The Mike O'Meara Show took a 5 month hiatus and returned as a daily podcast in December 2009. Don Geronimo broadcast out of Washington D.C. WJFK 106.7 The Fan from 7-11 PM EST until Oct 3rd 2013. In April 2014, Geronimo joined former D&M partner Buzz Burbank's RELM Network to host his own podcast, "The Don Geronimo Show", only to leave four months later, citing RELM did not pay him. Burbank denied the claim, saying Don "was paid every penny he was owed to that point”.[10]

Geronimo now hosts and owns his own show.

Controversies

On August 17, 1999, the show called an El Cenizo, Tex. city councilwoman and lampooned the community's decision to conduct official business in Spanish. The FCC fined Infinity Broadcasting $4,000, the minimum amount, for "willful violation of Section 73.1206 of the Commission’s rules, the unauthorized broadcast of a telephone conversation."[11] TD&MS 8-17-1999

On February 3, 2004, a pair of expletives ("bullshit"--twice, and the word "masturbation"[12]) spoken by Geronimo were not censored by the usual delay, resulting in a shakeup of the show. The show was subsequently suspended for two weeks. When they returned on February 20, 2004, their first show included four consecutive hours of music.


The show developed both good and bad relationships with several Hollywood celebrities over the years. Leah Remini was a great friend of the show. Don and Mike have visited with Leah in her home and appeared on the King of Queens. Leah's appearances were so frequent on the show that she had an ISDN line installed in her home; however, she was unable to contribute to the show at the same level for longer periods of time. Max Baer, Jr., star of The Beverly Hillbillies, feuded with Don and Mike after they made fun of his idea to open a Beverly Hillbillies casino in Reno, Nevada. He claimed on local radio he would "spend the rest of [his] life badmouthing Don and Mike."[13]

References

  1. ^ "2007 Heavy 100". Talkers Magazine. Retrieved 2007-08-04. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ "Don Geronimo's Sayonara Song". WashingtonPost.com. 2008-02-23. Retrieved 2008-06-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ a b Stern, Mike. "Geronimo Pulls The Rip Cord". Radio and Records. Retrieved 2008-04-03. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ "Obituaries". Washington Post. 2005-07-13. pp. B05. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ "Barry". Washington Post. 1988-06-22. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ "WJFK's Don Geronimo to Retire This Month". Express. Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2008-04-06. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ Rowland, Kara (2008-02-05). "Don Geronimo to leave talk-radio show". Washington Times. Retrieved 2008-02-05. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ "Legendary Don Geronimo to Exit WJFK-FM on May 30". Radio Online. 2008-02-05. Archived from the original on 2008-05-04. Retrieved 2008-02-05. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ "O'Meara out in WJFK format change". InsideNova.com. 2009-07-14. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  10. ^ http://thedailyrecord.com/2014/08/15/radio-god-leaves-the-relm/
  11. ^ "NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE". Orders of the Federal Communications Commission. FCC. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ The Don & Mike Show Tues, Feb 3, 2004 (Via Paintyourbaldspot.com) At about 01hr 45m into the show Don rants about how they have a delay for the show and yet they won't let them say the word for "getting your jerk on"--masturbation--but yet all other euphemisms for that word are permitted. Don then begins to describe the hypocrisy that [[Don Imus]] and drop the BS-bomb ("bullshit") and nothing happens except a small apology from the station. Don proceeds to call this "bullshit": Don: "That's bullshit! That's bullshit! I'm gonna see if they're gonna hit the [delay] button when I say it." Buzz: "Repeating it won't help." [at 1hr 48 20sec]: Don: "They probably just hit it again because I just said 'masturbation'."
  13. ^ The Don and Mike Show: January 18. 2007
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