Real Life "Ted Baxters?"

[Lkeller]

Isn't Jerry Dunphy the inspiration for Kent Brockman on "The Simpsons"?

That hadn't occurred to me, but it's probably true.  Harry Shearer does the voice of "Brockman." Prior to his time on SNL, movies, and voicework, he did satirical news on local LA radio with Michael McKean and David L. Lander ("Lenny & Squiggy"), among others.  They loved to lampoon the local LA TV media of the time (early 70s), including people like Putnam and Dunphy - both of whom were Ted Baxter models.

Also - Brockman looks like a cartoon version of Dunphy, who was an LA anchorman for many years, but had prematurely white hair from the time he was young.

[Corky Marlowe]

Harry Shearer was indeed part of the morning drive news team at KRLA in Los Angeles in the late 60's...A pretty whacked out situation, as he, along with McKean, Lander and others, were part of a comedy group called "The Credibility Gap", and their newscasts were supposedly kind of a radio version of "The Daily Show" 30 years before "TDS" even existed!  (I have heard airchecks of several KRLA jocks who became well known nationally, like Casey Kasem, Bob Eubanks, and Emperor Hudson, but never the Cred Gap...That would be priceless.)

[Lkeller]

"Harry Shearer was indeed part of the morning drive news team at KRLA in Los Angeles in the late 60's...A pretty whacked out situation, as he, along with McKean, Lander and others, were part of a comedy group called "The Credibility Gap", and their newscasts were supposedly kind of a radio version of "The Daily Show" 30 years before "TDS" even existed!  (I have heard airchecks of several KRLA jocks who became well known nationally, like Casey Kasem, Bob Eubanks, and Emperor Hudson, but never the Cred Gap...That would be priceless.)"

Corky - I was a big fan of KRLA in the late 60s when it was struggling with its identity, and doing a lot of innovative programming, including album-rock at night, and the Credibility Gap.  The Gap was many years ahead of its time - and it's truly amazing that they were allowed to do left-wing satire on a Top 40 station and have it qualify as meeting the station's FCC requirement for news and public affairs.  It wasn't on only in morning drive, but ran about 4 or 5 times daily - repeating earlier segments, but adding new segments as they day progressed.  It was started by Lew Irwin, KRLA's News Director with only the existing regular news staff, but grew to include Shearer, McKean, and Lander.  I remember that Shearer did a great Nixon impression, and Richard Beebe (veteran news guy at the station) would do Spiro Agnew.

[wixiekid]

Andrea Thompson, actress and short-lived Headline News anchor who was brought in for the 2001 relaunch. I don't know what CNN was thinking when they hired her.

I know what they were thinking!   

I guess you missed some of her semi-nude shots on NYPD Blue. 
And Ted Turner had a notorious eye for the ladies - which influenced female talent selection.  CNN Center has a hotel attached and Ted had a permanent suite for "conferences."

[bpatrick]

I suppose, then, that that's how Catherine
Crier, whose previous experience was as a
judge in Dallas, got to CNN .  Turner did
have one "rising star" in the '80s, Liz Wickersham,
who went practically everywhere with him as
well as being quite visible on CNN.  I don't know
what happened--maybe it's when he married Jane--
but it's been years since I've seen Liz.

[Stanislav]

I suppose, then, that that's how Catherine
Crier, whose previous experience was as a
judge in Dallas, got to CNN .  Turner did
have one "rising star" in the '80s, Liz Wickersham,
who went practically everywhere with him as
well as being quite visible on CNN.  I don't know
what happened--maybe it's when he married Jane--
but it's been years since I've seen Liz.

From Wikipedia:

"Liz grew up in Orange, Texas as the daughter of Charlie Wickersham, owner of a local Ford-Lincoln-Mercury automobile dealership. Her father had strong connections with Charles Wilson, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 2nd congressional district. After attending the University of Texas, she moved to Georgia where she became Miss Georgia USA in 1976 and competed in the Miss USA pageant, where she won the Miss Photogenic award and placed in the semi-finals. She later appeared as the cover model for the April 1981 issue of Playboy magazine. Shortly after, Ted Turner was formally introduced to her, possibly through the connection with Wilson. Working with CNN, she interviewed Cuban dictator Fidel Castro at his invitation in 1982, and again two years later. From 1984 until 2001, she would co-host the CNN program Showbiz Today which featured entertainment industry news (similar to Entertainment Tonight). Wickersham also served as the host for the WTBS program "Good News". Wickersham married attorney Paul Derounian and lives in Manhattan."

So it seems she's been out of the business for several years now, and living off the income of a Manhattan attorney (not too shabby).

[Ultimajock]

Harry Shearer was indeed part of the morning drive news team at KRLA in Los Angeles in the late 60's...A pretty whacked out situation, as he, along with McKean, Lander and others, were part of a comedy group called "The Credibility Gap", and their newscasts were supposedly kind of a radio version of "The Daily Show" 30 years before "TDS" even existed!  (I have heard airchecks of several KRLA jocks who became well known nationally, like Casey Kasem, Bob Eubanks, and Emperor Hudson, but never the Cred Gap...That would be priceless.)

...I believe one aircheck exists of (I think) Dave Diamond's last night at KRLA, which The Credibility Gap worked into their bits that night...I think both Diamond and The Gap wound up moving to KPPC within a few weeks of that night...

[Lkeller]

"...I believe one aircheck exists of (I think) Dave Diamond's last night at KRLA, which The Credibility Gap worked into their bits that night...I think both Diamond and The Gap wound up moving to KPPC within a few weeks of that night..."

I'd love to hear that KRLA aircheck. I remember that the Credibility Gap moved to KPPC, though I don't remember Dave Diamond ever working there. Unless I missed something, Diamond was purely a Top 40 guy, though he might have stretched the format a little in the mid 60s at the short-lived KBLA.  I guess he may have also worked at 106.7 after it became KROQ in the mid 70s. KPPC was an all-around great station in 70-71 (Les Carter years), but they didn't give the Gap as much air-time as KRLA had.

I recall that Shearer, Lander, and McKean fought KRLA for use of the "Credibility Gap" brand, and won.  After they left KRLA, I saw them do a live performance at the Ash Grove on Melrose - Bonnie Raitt was the opening act.  A great show...