(Photo by Robb Cohen Photography and Video, via KROQ's website)
Kevin Ryder and Gene "Bean" Baxter were inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame on Tuesday, accepting the honor with a mix of humor and emotion. It was a bit of a different side of both DJs: While the K&B team mercilessly mocks each other on the air, at the ceremony the duo had nothing but praise for each other. Kevin credited Bean for being one of the funniest guys he's ever known (Ralph Garman, he added, was the other one), while Bean returned the favor: "He's such a funny guy and makes us better."
Both Kevin and Bean gave great acceptance speeches; here's how Bean ended his:
"You know those two great tastes that taste great together like Reese's Peanut Butter cups? I know [Kevin] wants to be the chocolate and I'll be the Peanut Butter. But we could never have imagined when we met in Phoenix and started working together and cracking each other up, neither of us could have imagined more than 25 years later we'd still be doing this. But he does crack me up as much as anyone as well. And I do thank you for putting up with me for all these years. You've been a great partner.
"A lot of times people will ask for advice for morning shows. Very few morning shows last as long as ours has. And I don't have any. I don't know how to make what has worked for us work for other people. I think e just got lucky to be two people who fit well together on and off the radio. I can count the number of times we've had an argument or fight on one hand over 25 years. We just got lucky. I already feel like I've had such a charmed life. This induction is the cherry on top."
The K&B portion of the luncheon began with a tribute video, featuring Jimmy Kimmel, Adam Carolla, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Psycho Mike Catherwood, Chris Hardwick and others. As a longtime fan of K&B (since moving here in 1996) and an occasional visitor to the studio, I was excited to be there and witness the event. (I was at the NAB moderating a panel for "The Walking Dead," which I'll write about later). It was great to see Ralph Garman, producer Dave "The King of Mexico" Sanchez, associate producer Christine Fung, "Beermug" (aka Johnny Kantrowe), "Chip"(Danielle Lehman) and "Lightning" (Jay Tilles), all washed up and dressed in their best. Well, "great," but also a tad weird to see them so formal. (Beermug promised me that he actually already owned that suit.) I was also happy to meet Bean's wife, Donna, and Kevin's wife, Melissa, and even caught a glimpse of Bean's dad, the famed "Chief."
And yes, both Kevin and Bean choked up toward the end of their speeches. Hey, this was a big deal. Like Bean said in his speech, lasting 25 years in morning radio -- in Los Angeles, of all places -- is a virtual impossibility in radio. These guys are lucky sumbitches.
I took a few pics at the event:
At the cocktail reception beforehand
Dave "The King of Mexico," "Beermug," "Chip"
The NAB luncehon stage
"Lightning" with Dave and Beermug
The group gathers for a pic after
Taken off the big screen
One more off the big screen
The video included a clip from this 1996 ABC7 Eyewitness News live interview with the guys, mocking Rick Dees and Mark & Brian:
This screen grab of Kevin and Bean as Mark & Brian is pretty amazing, by the way:
No comments:
Post a Comment