Charles Laquidara
Charles Laquidara | |
---|---|
Born | |
Occupation(s) | Disc jockey, actor, blogger |
Years active | 1961–present |
Spouse | Divorced |
Charles Laquidara (born November 24, 1938) is an American
Throughout his career in broadcasting, Laquidara has been known for playing a wide variety of musical styles alongside
Biography
Early career
Born in Milford, Massachusetts, Laquidara attended Milford High School, where he was voted "most artistic" in his class. Upon graduation, he attended the Rhode Island School of Design for two years, and then in 1961 moved to Pasadena, California, where he received a bachelor's degree in theater arts at the Pasadena Playhouse. He spent the next eight years in the Los Angeles area, trying to get work as an actor in television and films. His successes in the acting field were limited to several stage roles and one appearance as a contestant on The Dating Game. He lost, but was awarded a tape recorder as a consolation prize. He was also considered for the lead in the film, The Boston Strangler, along with Alan Bates and Tony Curtis, but Curtis was ultimately awarded the lead role as Albert DeSalvo.[3][6]
Broadcasting career
While seeking acting work, Laquidara worked part time in the 1960s as a
California freeform
In October 1967, KPPC was purchased by the owner of
Return to Massachusetts
In 1969, he was offered an airshift at
The Big Mattress
The Big Mattress, Laquidara's morning program, was a pioneer effort in FM broadcasting. It was one of the first FM broadcasts to feature a shifting cast of on-air personnel, including producers, writers and production staff. The program included music, news, talk and humor such as making prank phone calls to unsuspecting listeners, elements that are now a widely used characteristic of "drive time" radio. One feature of the program was a segment called "Mishigas" (Yiddish for "craziness") where the group led by Laquidara would quiz listeners, including celebrities, offering prizes for correct responses. If the listener was unable to answer the quiz, a penalty of having to "dance the Funky Chicken" was issued.[5][13]
In 1976, Laquidara surprised listeners by abruptly announcing he was "quitting radio to do television and pursue other paths". Laquidara later admitted that he had quit radio in 1976 because "it was getting in the way of my cocaine habit." Laquidara retired to live in Stow Massachusetts for almost two years and was persuaded to return to WBCN by then program director Tommy Hadges, whom he gives credit to for saving him from his drug habit. "When I came back in '78, I didn't really want to come back, because I still wanted to continue being able to do cocaine, but the money they offered me was too hard to say no to. Luckily, I agreed to do it and I'm still alive."[14]
The Big Mattress was a top-rated Boston area radio show lasting for over twenty years.[13]
Duane Ingalls Glasscock
As a recurring part of WBCN's The Big Mattress, Laquidara introduced his alter ego, Duane Ingalls Glasscock, who Laquidara later described as "vile, sexist".[3] Glasscock spoke with a thick Boston accent and was used by Laquidara to point out the hypocrisy of political correctness. Duane Glasscock initially used a vulgar catchphrase suggesting anal sexual assault. When he was told not to utter the phrase on the air any more, he "cleaned it up" into the similar-sounding "Have you even been phoned in Upton, Mass. for being a lucky wise guy?" Duane opened most of his broadcasts and segments with the phrase "Hello, Rangooooooon!", following a signature sound effect. Laquidara revealed in an interview that the Glasscock character, who hosted his "own" show on Saturday mornings at WBCN, actually received higher ratings than Laquidara's regular weekday broadcast.[3]
The program's name was retired in 1996 when Laquidara, who at that time was one of the most highly paid disc jockeys in the country, was persuaded to move to WZLX by Oedipus, WBCN's program director. Oedipus had risen to prominence during the punk and new wave era of the late 1970s as one of Laquidara's unpaid writers.[3] Now Laquidara's boss, Oedipus convinced him to move his show to sister station WZLX to make way for the more popular syndicated morning program of shock jock Howard Stern. The new program, called The Charles Laquidara Radio Hour, was broadcast from the Prudential Tower in Boston's Back Bay.[3][13]
Social activism
From the earliest period of KPPC freeform radio and continuing throughout his career, Laquidara has participated in social activism and promoted a strongly-held liberal political stance. In his memoir of their years at KPPC entitled Riding on the Ether Express, Dave Pierce recalls a close friendship with Laquidara, who was an early vocal opponent of the
Laquidara continued his sometimes controversial political activism while on-air at WBCN in Boston. Following a commercial for a camera store, he denounced
Retirement to Maui
Laquidara finally achieved movie acting credit in 1998, playing a small part as one of the "phone dates" in the film
Present day
Charles was featured in a 2015 documentary about radio DJs called I Am What I Play, directed by Roger King.[27]
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic he relocated to Larkspur, California and then to Petaluma to be closer to his family, including his (now four) grandchildren.
References
- ^ Starr, Mark (July 5, 1993). "Rock and Roll Forever". Newsweek.
Charles Laquidara, a disc jockey at Boston's WBCN-FM since 1969, played an eclectic mix of Hendrix and the Doors-and new-REM
- ^ Kelly, Hope (August 23, 1988). "Charles Laquidara boycotts Shell Oil". WGBH.
- ^ Boston Globe Magazine.
- ^ a b "Charles Laquidara Radio". Radionomy. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- ^ a b Schutz, Aaron (December 1998). "Charles Laquidara: WBCN Morning Show Legend, then WZLX Morning Host". Virtually Alternative. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
- OCLC 144548083.
- ^ a b "Charles Laquidara Profile Page". Mana'o Radio. Retrieved May 18, 2008.
- ^ Duncan, Ray (June 20, 1965). "Behind the Scene with Ray Duncan". Pasadena, CA: Independent Star-News.
- OCLC 144548083.
- ^ OCLC 144548083.
- ^ a b Kennedy, Dan (August 26, 2006). "We live in a political world". Media Nation.
- ^ As part of WBCN's 40th Birthday Celebration, Charles Laquidara dropped by for lunch with Adam 12, WBCN Archived February 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d "Charles Laquidara". Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 5, 2010. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
- ^ Gilsdorf, Ethan. "WBCN: An Oral History". Boston. No. August 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- OCLC 144548083.
- ^ ISBN 9781888363807.
- ^ "Business Notes: Apartheid Protests". Time. December 26, 1988. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008.
- ^ Gold, Allan R. (December 12, 1988). "The Media Business; A Disk Jockey Challenges an Oil Company". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
- ^ Charles Laquidara boycotts Shell Oil, WGBH, The Ten O'Clock News,1988-08-23 Archived August 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Charles Laquidara". IMDb.com. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
- ^ Carol Beggy; Mark Shanahan (March 29, 2005). "A sunny deal for Oprah; a Brookline exhibit rocks". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Gayle Fee; Laura Raposa; Erin Hayes (May 28, 2006). "Hostile makeover: Oprah trashes Mattress man's Maui mansion". The Boston Herald.
- ^ Carol Beggy; Mark Shanahan (June 22, 2007). "Realtor to the rich and famous". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
- ^ Eagar, Harry (December 27, 2005). "Off Deadline". Maui News.
- ^ Fremer, Michael (March 25, 2005). "WBCN's Charles Laquidara Back on the Radio! Tune Him In". Music angle.
- ^ Pleshaw, Hartley. "Brigadoon in Boston: A Rock Radio Resurrection". Danny Schechter. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
- ^ Seventh Art Releasing, I Am What I Play. Retrieved April 14, 2017
External links
- "Charles Laquidara Radio".
- "Daze in the Life (WBCN historical multimedia project)".
- "Schnauzer Logic Podcast - Episode 20 - July 19, 2006". Universal Hub.[permanent dead link]
- "Charles Laquidara". Universal Hub.
- "Some classic clips from Charles Laquidara's alter ego: Duane Glasscock". WBCN - The Rock of Boston. Archived from the original on April 27, 2008.
- "Radio Broadcasting History, Radio People by Name (L)". Archived from the original on February 23, 2009.