November 12, 1995 – Seattle (P-I)
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Lou Robbins — Admin/Editor | Airchecks
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The whole comparison of The T-Man Show to Howard Stern is lazy. He was more like The Greaseman meets Don Imus. Not everyone is going to go as far as Stern as there is ONLY one Howard Stern. But T-Man still held it down for 14 years and is remembered and still discussed years later. He also made enough money from age 25-40 to live well for the rest of his life.
Sure, once PPM ratings came around, T-Man was out….but so was every shock jock and Howard Stern would’ve been as well if he never went to sirius. But T-Man was still #1 18-34 for 10 years during the Diary era.
And with his poker career, he still has made some really good money. It is obvious that you do not like Rob Tepper and that’s fine, but he still made MILLIONS of dollars in radio and HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS in Poker. And he is remembered more than shows that have been off for 4 years since being laid off during covid.
You can measure air talent by the money they made or by their popularity, but it comes down to each individual having an opinion. It’s an opinion, not an argument.
When I heard him at KBFW we had the NBC network. And whenever they were not sending newscasts or special programs they patched us in to WNBC. So we heard tons of the live shows for hours at a time. Imus mornings, Soupy Sales midday, Stern afternoons, and evening with Wolfman Jack. Never heard the overnight guy. Stern and Imus were both really funny and shocking. As far as politicians, they were both pretty nasty and insulting regarding any politico they talked about. Equal opportunity insults. But they had great bits. Stern had a guy who sounded like Nixon who said really bizarre stuff. His later satellite broadcasts I have pretty much ignored. What I have seen is often demeaning of the guests.
Ryan…I am actually quite relaxed. I think radio was not really his thing. I see he now resides in NY with his wife who seems to have a successful business. He was a pro poker player for a while, but his recorded winnings did not seem sustainable over the years. You are correct, I was not in his demo….although I did think Howard Stern, the guy Tepper was trying to imitate, was often shocking but also pretty funny in his afternoon drive show at WNBC. I think Tepper at KUBE had the shocking part figured out.
Howard Stern was smart and talented, shocking and down-right nasty at times. And it worked for him. Not a fan of Stern’s, but I understand what he did to make the most of it. Stern has gone hard left. Stern is a big Lib now, he has lost his mojo. There is no way I could listen.
Well, Steven! If you ever change your mind, here is a link to a whole lotta T-Man https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCokJb3HozQYMlNLa_KuEzDA
I guess someone thought it was worth keeping.
His radio career was a one-hit wonder. I think KUBE was his only major win.
This caught my eye. When my daughter was a teen in the ’90s Tepper was big on KUBE and that was her favorite station. I would listen to him when I drove her to school. I thought the guy was awful. Really crude too, and I am hardly a prude after 30 years in radio. Last I heard the guy was out of radio and some sort of TV gambler. On KUBE he had a schtick where nobody could see him. No photos…other than maybe the one here as a kid. I know he also ran for school board in Seattle area. If his competition made public some of his radio shows I am sure he was buried in an avalanche. He sucked.
You sound fun! It wasn’t your demographic, relax.