Howling all the way to the bank

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34087, 26 February 1976, Page 4

Howling all the way to the bank

Bi

JOHN McNEIL)

“Heah comes da Wolfman'*—a guttural Hack accent. high pitched giggles and wolf howls fill the air when Wolfman Jack takes over.

With the oh-so-smooth management of Don Kelly behind him. Wolfman is coming again. The promotion has been well planned and the former DJ. who filled the airwaves of America from the seclusion of his tiny studio and huge transmitter in Mexico, is soon to be transformed into (as Peter Sellers so succintly put it) “an all-round entertainer."

For the unititlated. Wolfman Jack was a famous DJ of the 60s. the only one besides Casey Kasem who managed to syndicate programmes for profit. Star of the film "American Graffiti.” the Wolfvoice provided the continuity to the rather disjointed look at teen-age America, the soda-pop fountains, loves, shiny autos and fickle friends of the “typical teen."

Wolfman’s microphone speciality is a zany grunt, growl and sing-along session, the finding of unsuspecting listeners by telephone. low intimate suggestion. and the hint that life comes only through sharing it with the Wolfman

Off mike, the real Robert Smith is an affable rather overweight American, born in the Bronx and living out his childhood fantasies. He has always loved radio. worshipped the earlier DJs — Alan Freed and The Hound — the bells were clanging, dogs baying, right through his childhood. His breaks in radio came in 1959 as Bob Smith on AKA, but the Wolfman was really bom on XERF and XERB. two enormously powerful radio stations in Mexico, that were able to fill the airwaves with five times the

power that stations in the United States were allowed. Bob was really station manager in the early days, making money from selling mail order anything. Because he had such a huge audience listening to him at night, if just 3 per cent were buyers of the station’s fine goods and services, for they handled their own commodities, the profits were huge.

There was talk of a shoot-out for control of the station, but Bob was finally forced to leave when El Presidente was replaced, and the succeeding Govern-

ment made it plain what the alternatives to staying were. Robert was mined. In 1971, the syndication of programmes began again from KDAY in Los Angeles, and this led to hosting N.B.C. TV midnight specials, rock concerts and personal appearances, and the change of image. Last year Wolfman was learning piano, and picking up the basics of moving to music for his road show. He also cut a record for C. 8.5., a lightweight; Fun and Romance. This year he has begun taping 21 shows in Canada using the old but success-

ful radio format to introduce his guests and resident stars, one of whom is a dead ringer of Elvis, a lookalike sound-alike performer

with all the hip waggling that used to be thought so sexy.

Tlie Canadian Broadcasting Corporation funded the series with a slm interest free loan, with the show being made in Toronto, and syndicated around the world.

The visit here was just to soften us up. Is Wolfman always the eyes-a-popping thumping, bumping, bewiskered, pot-quivering, vampiretoothed monster? “Success is like a treadmill.” he said. “Once you’re on it. it’s very difficult to get off. Thirty-eight persons depend upon me for their livelihood — but there are times when I would like to just slink quietly away.”