Radio's stars take the pilot's chair, but these folks make them fly

By AL BRUMLEY / The Dallas Morning News
10/15/2000

"The Russ Martin Show" KYNG-FM 105.3 Russ is the undisputed star of this show. He's supported by longtime friends and colleagues, J.D. Ryan, who handles news, and producer Dan Lewis. The show is nearly all talk and is marked by Mr. Martin's quick wit, explosive diatribes, and verbal jousting with listeners. Topics can include anything from sex to goofy trivia to, well, more sex. If you're the kind of listener who might be offended by detailed discussions of plastic genitailia, this might not be the show for you.

 They used to be called sidekicks.

Nowadays, they're more likely to be referred to as "the morning team," "the gang" or the increasingly popular "news anchor."

Either way, the job's the same: Get up before most people have entered REM sleep, straggle into the radio studio around 5 or 6 a.m. and spend the next three or four hours helping the host sound funny.

You can't call it a thankless job - all these personalities have thousands of fans hanging on their every word.

But you know how it is: When the media come calling, it's the host who gets his name and face in the magazine, the newspaper or the TV news spot.

The others? Well, they're happy to get a brief nod as "the morning team," "the gang" or, of course, the increasingly popular "news anchor."

On the other hand, it beats digging ditches, and it's next to impossible to find a morning sidekick in Dallas willing to complain - too much, anyway.

"We all have egos," says Tom "Flakeboy" Gribble, producer of the No. 1 Kidd Kraddick Morning Show on "Kiss FM" KHKS-FM (106.1). "When we're lumped in like kindergartners in the idiot corner, sure it affects us. But it's his
show, it's his creation, it's his ideas. If he wanted to make it a solo show, he could do it in a heartbeat, but he's decided to bring us along because that's his twisted vision."

Al "Big Al" Mack, who joined the Kraddick show nearly four years ago after cracking everybody up with a series of live ads for his limousine service, says that "it's kind of cool not being the boss. There's less pressure. It's a team effort, and he's the Troy Aikman of the team."

Colleague Kellie Rasberry says she has no problem with her role on the show. "He gets all the credit - he gets all the blame," she says. "But you want to do something that makes him proud."

OK, sure, but would she ever want her own show?

"No, thank you," she says. "It's too much work."

Chris Arnold, sports anchor for the No. 2 Skip Murphy & Company on "K104" KKDA-FM (104.5), says that any accolades Mr. Murphy receives reflect on the show's staff and the station. "It makes me feel proud," says Mr. Arnold, who has been with KKDA for 20 years. "It's like Seinfeld: It's his show; everybody knows he's the host. But all the characters are so strong that everybody's got a favorite. Our listeners don't even call it 'The Skip Murphy Show.' They call it 'The Morning Team.' "

His colleague Nanette Lee agrees. "When people think of Skip Murphy, they think of all of us," she says. "It's all about being together."

The Wig, a member of the K104 morning team and an old friend of the host, says working with Mr. Murphy is easy because "he has no ego - none."

News anchor Sam Putney says the KKDA morning team is a family. "I never worked with a team like this," he says. "We vacation together!"

At KYNG-FM (105.3), morning host Russ Martin has surrounded himself with longtime friends Dan Lewis (producer) and J.D. Ryan (news anchor).

Mr. Lewis and Mr. Martin attended W.W. Samuell High School together in Dallas, although, according to Mr. Lewis, "we knew of each other, but we didn't run together."

Mr. Ryan and Mr. Martin have known each other for 19 years, going back to the days of the original KAAM-AM, when it was at the 1310 frequency, and sister station KAFM-FM.

Since the team took over at KYNG on April 3, the station has seen a dramatic rise in its morning-show ratings, moving from 27th to fourth place among men ages 18 to 34, a key demographic target for the station.

Mr. Lewis says he knows what his role is and he's happy with it. "My job is to put him Mr. Martin in the forefront," he says. "My job is to stay in the background."

Mr. Ryan says Mr. Martin built the show, "and I couldn't begin to do what he does. He's the short-term-attention-span A.D.D. guy, and I'm the balance. It's like the station was made for him."

Other shows present more of a host/co-host situation, as at KZPS-FM (92.5), where Bo Roberts and Jim White continue a partnership that began on KTXQ-FM (102.1) 18 years ago.

"Bo has always been the point man, and I've been right there, covering his back," says Mr. White.

"And if I can screw it up, Jim will take the blame," Mr. Roberts says. "It gets fun, because we try to do stuff to make each other laugh. But I'm not anybody's boss. My kids don't even listen to me."

It's a similar situation at KSCS-FM (96.3), where Terry Dorsey and Mark "Hawkeye" Louis have worked together since 1988.

The Terry Dorsey name has become so well-known that it makes it easier to sell the show under the name The Dorsey Gang, says Mr. Louis. "But Terry will let you be the funniest guy on the air, the smartest guy on the air,"
he says. "I've really grown in that role, and it's because of him. He really doesn't have a big ego - he really doesn't."

At "Mix 102.9" KDMX-FM (102.9), host Jeff Elliott is sharing the morning spotlight for the first time in his career. Mr. Elliott says the market looked ripe for a strong male/female morning team. His partner, Payton Vaughn, handles the news and banters with Mr. Elliott between songs.

"I don't have to be in the spotlight," he says. "I don't like it any better and I don't dislike it - it's just different. I don't feel as much responsibility as in the past. It hasn't changed my work ethic. I think for me it's just kind of an evolution more than anything else. No matter how good you are, you're only as good as the people you work with.

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