Bob Kevoian
Bob Kevoian | |
---|---|
Kevoian holding a signed photograph of Paul McCartney in 2013 | |
Birth name | Robert James Kevoian |
Born |
Los Angeles, California | December 2, 1950
Show | The Bob & Tom Show |
Station(s) | WFBQ Indianapolis, Indiana |
Station(s) |
Nationally Syndicated (150 stations) |
Style | Comedy |
Country | USA |
Website | http://www.bobandtom.com |
Robert James "Bob" Kevoian[1] (born December 2, 1950) is a retired American radio host of the nationally syndicated radio show The Bob & Tom Show together with his partner, Tom Griswold. The show is broadcast from WFBQ's studios in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Education
Kevoian is a 1973 graduate of California State University, Long Beach. Kevoian started a masters program in 1974, but gave it up when he started working as an intern for a local radio station in Los Angeles. Kevoian was awarded an honorary doctorate in Communications from Central Michigan University where he gave the commencement speech in 2003.[2]
Entertainment career
Toured the U.S. for three years as sound engineer of The Young Americans[3] Kevoian began his radio career at WMBN in Petoskey, Michigan, in 1979. That lasted until 1982, when Kevoian joined cross-town WJML. That’s where Bob & Tom teamed up as a regular morning show.“We were there for 12-18 months,” Kevoian recalls.The pairing of one of syndicated radio’s most successful morning shows came when radio personality-by-day Kevoian moonlighted as a bartender at Harbor Springs, MI’s Bar Harbor. “In small town radio, you needed to supplement your income by doing anything,” the Long Beach State University alum states. “Tom came in after a J. Geils concert at Castle Farms in [nearby] Charlevoix and ordered a drink. At the end of the bar was another guy who worked in Country radio.” The two radio talents were talking about the inferior nature of their respective stations’ cart machines. “Tom overheard us and asked if we worked in radio and I told him I was doing middays,” Kevoian remembers. “Tom said he did a year of radio in Florida, but was out of work and wanted to visit the station and look at the trades. Two days later, he was hired as my PD; it was pretty wild."[4] They achieved a 44 share in the ratings and in order to get rid of them the competition made a compilation tape of their best bits and mailed it to the Superstars Convention, a gathering of program directors from 300 stations, where it was played. They started getting offers from all over the country.[5] He came to WFBQ Radio in Indianapolis in early 1978. He is the producer, director, writer and composed credits for The Bob and Tom Show Home Movie, 2004. Bob participated in the Bob and Tom Radio: The Comedy Tour shows recorded in Anderson, Indiana. Bob has personally produced over 15,000 "bits" used in his show, some of which are actually his original ideas. On November 5, 2015, after being inducted along with Tom Griswold into the National Radio Hall of Fame, Bob announced his retirement effective at the end of 2015.[6] His last live show as co-host aired on December 17, 2015.
On TV
The Bob and Tom Show aired nightly on WGN America and occasionally weekend best of airings until its cancellation in September 2010.[7]
Personal life
Kevoian was born in Los Angeles, California to John Hike "Toby" Kevoian and Jean Baker.[8] On April 2, 2005, he married his current wife, Becky Martin. He has a son named Toby.[9] Kevoian has stepsons named Wade and Joey. Kevoian is almost always seen wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers hat as a tribute to his father, who was a longtime employee of the Dodgers. Bob is an avid guitar player and writes some of the lyrics and music for the show's comedic parodies. Kevoian's brother-in-law (Becky's brother) is world-famous tuba player Rex Martin. Bob's younger brother is actor Peter Kevoian.[10] His mother was on Let's Make a Deal and won a Brunswick pool table, which she traded for cases of oyster stew. She retired from the Los Angeles County Office of Education in Downey, California. Bob has had his mustache since June 18, 1969 and celebrates its birthday every year. Bob also likes to collect "large" ordinary things, like coffee cups or safety pins that are extremely large compared to their normal sizes. Bob has a collection of these "large" items in his studio.
References
- ↑ "Bob Kevoian Biography". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ↑ Archived July 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Young Americans Success Stories" (PDF). Socccd.org. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ↑ Mike Kinosian (March 21, 2005). "Inside Radio : Loyal Armenian article" (PDF). Ftp.media.radcity.net. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ↑ "Bob Kevoian of The Bob \u0026 Tom Show by The Paul Mecurio Show | Free Listening on SoundCloud". Soundcloud.com. 2015-09-22. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ↑ Lindquist, David. "Radio icon Bob Kevoian will retire at year's end". Indystar.com. Gannett. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ↑ "Radio's Bob & Tom are off their nightly TV show". Radio-Info.com. September 21, 2010.
- ↑ "Join Ancestry". Trees.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ↑ "Kevoian Family". Bobandtom.com. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ↑ "Peter Kevoian". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
External links
- Bob Kevoian official website
- The Official Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold Radio Show Website
- Bob Kevoian at the Internet Movie Database
- Bob Kevoian SoundCloud profile
- The Paul Mecurio Show interview with Bob Kevoian
- Inside Radio interview with Bob Kevoian