Gary Burbank
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Gary Burbank (born Billy Purser, July 1941, in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American radio personality. He currently appears on WLW-AM in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he has hosted the station's afternoon drive time programming for more than two decades.
Burbank began his radio career in his hometown at WMPS in the mid 1960s, where he was known on the air as Johnny Apollo. In 1968 he moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he became an instant hit on WAKY-AM. It was at WAKY that Billy Purser officially became Gary Burbank, a name taken from radio and television legend Gary Owens, who as a regular on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In would announce that he was broadcasting from "beautiful downtown Burbank." (Burbank's natural voice is remarkably similar to Owens' on-air voice.)
Burbank stayed at WAKY until 1973, when he moved to New Orleans for a brief stint as program director of WNOE. From New Orleans, Burbank went on to CKLW in Detroit/Windsor, and then back to Louisville for a successful, lengthy afternoon gig on WHAS-AM.
Burbank left Louisville again for a brief spell in Tampa, Florida, but returned to the Ohio Valley in 1981 when he signed with WLW, originally doing morning drive time but later moving to afternoons. It is there that he has enjoyed his greatest success, developing his best-known characters: Earl Pitts Uhmerikun, Gilbert Gnarley, Howlin' Blind Muddy Slim (Blues Break 201), Eunice and Bernice, and the Right Rev. Deuteronomy Skaggs (the latter two carried over from his WHAS days). Burbank regularly satirizes former Cincinnati mayor Jerry Springer, local newscasters, and the Cincinnati Bengals, among many others.
Burbank often does his show from a home in north central Florida, while the rest of his show's cast and crew is in the WLW studios in Cincinnati.
Burbank's Earl Pitts daily "commentaries" are syndicated throughout the country on about 200 stations. Burbank's show is also heard, along with the rest of WLW's programming, on XM Satellite Radio Channel 173.
Burbank has won several major awards, including back-to-back Marconi Awards as Large Market Personality of the Year in 1990 and 1991.
On March 7, 2007, Burbank announced that he would retire on December 31, at the expiration of his contract. [1]
- ^ Kiesewtter, John. "WLW's Burbank will retire", The Cincinnati Enquirer, 2007-03-07. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
- Gary Burbank's page at www.700wlw.com
- Earl Pitts Uhmerikun official site
- Gary Burbank at WAKY retrospective site