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'''Joe Pyne''' (December 22, 1924 – March 23, 1970) was an American [[Talk radio|radio]] and [[Talk show|television talk show]] [[Television host|host]], who pioneered the confrontational style in which the host advocates a viewpoint and argues with guests and audience members. He was an influence on other major talk show hosts such as [[Rush Limbaugh]], [[Morton Downey Jr.]], [[Bob Grant (radio host)|Bob Grant]], and [[Michael Savage (commentator)|Michael Savage]].
==Personal life==
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===Talk show host===
After leaving WLIP, Pyne moved to [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]], where he took a job at [[WPGG|WPFG]] as a [[disc jockey]], and offered brief commentary to fill the silence while switching records. One evening, he made a comment about "corrupt politics in the town," which led to the station manager suggesting he change his broadcasting style — as he recalls, "the manager ran in and said 'Quit playing records and just talk'"<ref name=murdaugh/> Pyne gradually developed his on-air persona as an opinionated host who knew something about everything.<ref name=halper/>
Around 1950,{{efn|Sources give conflicting reports on when this happened. [[#{{sfnref|Wilkinson|2012}}|Wilkinson (2012)]] says 1949, [[#{{sfnref|Press|2010}}|Press (2010)]] says 1950, and [[#{{sfnref|Halper|2008}}|Halper (2008)]] says 1951.}} he returned to WILM, where he officially debuted as a talk show host, although he would later tell reporters that he first experimented with two-way talk radio during his time in Kenosha.<ref name=cook/><ref name=page>{{cite news |first=Don |last=Page |title=Pyne Answers Final Call on Two-Way Radio |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=February 21, 1969 |page=J1 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/383049367/ |url-access=subscription}}</ref> He called his new show ''It's Your Nickel'', a popular [[idiom|idiomatic phrase]] referring to the fact that calls from a [[pay phone]] cost five cents. The format was Pyne expressing his opinions on various topics. Listeners would call to ask questions, offer their own opinions, or raise new topics. At first, Pyne didn't put callers on the air; he paraphrased for the audience what they had said. Soon the callers and his interaction with them became the heart of the show. Pyne became famous for arguing with or insulting those with whom he disagreed. One of his trademark insults was "go gargle with razor blades."{{r|halper|pages=184-185}}<ref name=press/><ref name=wilkinson>{{cite web |url=https://www.broadcastpioneers.com/joepynebio.html |title=Joe Pyne |first=Gerry |last=Wilkinson |year=2012 |work=Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia |access-date=June 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420025011/https://www.broadcastpioneers.com/joepynebio.html |archive-date=April 20, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=time>{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/archive/6834283/broadcasting-killer-joe/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240626030455/https://time.com/archive/6834283/broadcasting-killer-joe/ |archive-date=June 26, 2024 |url-status=live |title=Broadcasting: Killer Joe |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=July 29, 1966 |page=30 |access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref>
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In early 1959, Pyne worked briefly for [[Montreal]] radio station CKGM as a talk show host.<ref name=marsters>{{cite news |title=Dial Turns |first=Jack |last=Marsters |newspaper=[[The Gazette (Montreal)|The Gazette]] |location=Montreal, Quebec |date=March 7, 1962 |page=25 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref> Later that year, he returned to Los Angeles, and by 1960 he was hosting a radio show on [[KABC (AM)]], later transferring to [[KLAC]]{{r|halper|pages=186-187}} and eventually [[KTTV]].<ref name=filmDetective>{{cite press release |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-film-detective-rediscovers-regional-classic-the-joe-pyne-show-300861768.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313161716/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-film-detective-rediscovers-regional-classic-the-joe-pyne-show-300861768.html |archive-date=March 13, 2023 |url-status=live |title=The Film Detective Rediscovers Regional Classic, ''The Joe Pyne Show'' |work=PR Newswire |author=The Film Detective |access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref>
In 1966, Pyne hosted the short-lived daytime game show ''Showdown'' on [[NBC]]. Similar to other game and quiz shows of the era, teams competed to answer trivia questions, its distinguishing feature was that when a contestant incorrectly answered a question, the chair they were sitting on would break and they'd fall to the floor. ''Showdown'' was cancelled after three months.<ref name=newcomb>{{cite book |last1=Timberg |first1=Bernard M. |first2=Robert J. |last2=Erler |others=Introduction by Horace Newcomb |title=Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show |year=2004 |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin, TX |isbn=0292781768 |page=272 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=
===Syndication===
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==Controversies==
Throughout his career as a talk show host, Pyne was consistently polarizing and controversial.
Pyne never shied away from having provocative guests on his program. He said that guests on his show should be "visceral" because "we want emotion, not mental involvement."<ref name=time/> He regularly had [[Nazi]]s and [[Ku Klux Klan]] members on his show — drawing the ire of both the American Jewish Commitee, who stated he was giving [[bigotry|bigot]]s a nationwide voice and helping spread their propaganda,<ref name=jta>{{cite web |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/american-jewish-committee-warns-broadcasting-industry-on-bigots |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240626045642/https://www.jta.org/archive/american-jewish-committee-warns-broadcasting-industry-on-bigots |archive-date=June 26, 2024 |url-status=live |title=American Jewish Committee Warns Broadcasting Industry on Bigots |date=December 23, 1966 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |number=245 |access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref> and the FCC, who strongly recommended station managers more carefully [[vetting|vet]] Pyne's program<ref name=rose/> — as well as other infamous individuals such as [[Anton LaVey]], [[Sam Sloan]], and followers of [[Charles Manson]].{{r|halper|page=187}} Although he was frequently criticized for his choice of guests and "accused of fostering a hate program," he maintained that his show should be considered educational, since it exposed these groups and ideas to the public eye.<ref name=rose>{{cite news |date=August 20, 1967 |title=Pyne Sneers All the Way to Bank |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/corpus-christi-caller-times-pyne-sneers/142268644/ |access-date=February 28, 2024 |work=Corpus Christi Caller-Times |page=80 |via=Newspapers.com |first=Bob |last=Rose}} {{free access}}</ref> He told a reporter, "I don't like tha{{sic}} apathy in America today [...] people should actually take an interest in what's going on [...] If [my shows] have made people think [...] then I think it was all worthwhile."<ref name=murdaughTwo>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/delaware-county-daily-times/34894995/ |title=Radio Geared to 13-Year-Old |first=Don |last=Murdaugh |date=April 23, 1959 |newspaper=Delaware County Daily Times |access-date=June 26, 2024 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref>
Pyne frequently invited [[hippies]], [[homosexuality|homosexuals]], and [[feminism|feminists]] onto his show,<ref name=press>{{cite book |last=Press |first=Bill |title=Toxic Talk: How the Radical Right Has Poisoned America's Airwaves |date=2010 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=9781429927826 |pages=9–10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bjZyYK4030IC&pg=PA9 |accessdate=June 25, 2024 |language=en}}</ref> and would ridicule their looks and their lifestyles. Donna Halper posits that these guests were brought on the show just so that Pyne could argue with them and rile up his audience.{{r|halper|page=187}}
Pyne was vocal about his support of [[labor unions]]. According to Lou Rugani, Pyne's coworker at WLIP in Kenosha, Pyne would talk to listeners who called to request a particular song. One such caller wanted to argue with Pyne about unions. While talking to the caller, Pyne had the idea to place his phone receiver right next to the microphone so listeners could hear both sides of the argument, rather than only Pyne's half.<ref name=cook>{{cite web |last=Cook |first=Kevin |title=Joe Pyne Was America's First Shock Jock |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/joe-pyne-first-shock-jock-180963237/ |work=[[Smithsonian Magazine]] |language=en |access-date=June 26, 2024 |date=June 2017}}</ref>
Pyne often campaigned against [[racial discrimination]]. During his tenure at WVUE, the local black press generally praised him for inviting black newsmakers on his show to discuss issues of concern to their community.{{r|halper|page=186}} One of his regular guests was a member of the editorial staff of the area's black newspaper, the ''[[Philadelphia Tribune]]'', usually a columnist or the newspaper's publisher.<ref name=tribune>{{cite news |title=Tribune Comptroller Scores on TV Show |newspaper=Philadelphia Tribune |date=July 8, 1958 |page=2}}</ref> Years later, he also had [[Maulana Karenga]], a black author, political activist, and creator of [[Kwanzaa]], as a guest on his syndicated show.<ref name=cook/>
===Notable conflicts===
Pyne was often verbally confrontational with his guests. If a discussion got too heated, the guest would often walk off or sometimes Pyne would himself throw the guest off the show with a parting comment like "take a hike" or "get lost."<ref name=cook/> On occasion, conflicts would escalate and became physical.<ref name=mcmahon/> One guest threw a telephone at Pyne, and another punched his producer in the mouth.<ref name=time/> One especially noteworthy brawl, allegedly started by a guest, resulted in the audience charging the stage and knocking down the entire set.<ref name=cook/><ref name=mcmahon/>
In 1965, during the [[Watts Riots]] in Los Angeles, Pyne was interviewing a black militant on his TV show. At one point, Pyne opened his coat to reveal that he was carrying a handgun. His guest did likewise. The station suspended Pyne for one week as a result.<ref name=time/><ref name=newcomb/><ref name=mcmahon>{{cite book |last1=McMahon |first1=Ed |last2=Fisher |first2=David C. |title=When Television Was Young: The Inside Story with Memories by Legends of the Small Screen |date=September 9, 2007 |publisher=Thomas Nelson |location=Nashville, TN |isbn=978-1401603274 |pages=153–154|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2uN_AkdwAioC
Few things were off limits on ''The Joe Pyne Show'', and the unpredictably of never knowing what might happen next was a major perk for both viewers and guests alike.{{r|halper|pages=185-187}}<ref name=mcmahon/> One of the only things considered taboo was talking about Pyne's wooden leg. For the most part, guests obeyed this unspoken rule, but there are unconfirmed rumors of two people who violated it. [[Paul Krassner]], editor of ''[[The Realist]]'', appeared on the show on July 16, 1967. According to Krassner, Pyne made insulting remarks about his acne scars. Krassner then asked Pyne if his wooden leg caused any difficulty in having sex with his wife. The audience supposedly gasped and the show's producers "averted their eyes" as "the atmosphere became surrealistic."<ref name=cook/
==Death and legacy==
Pyne was a life-long smoker and was rarely seen without a cigarette in his hand, even when on the air. In 1969, he noticed it was becoming increasingly hard to breath, leading to him being diagnosed with [[lung cancer]]. He stopped his television show after it became too difficult to drive to the studio, but he set up a makeshift studio at home to continue the radio show for a few more months. Eventually even that became impossible and he retired altogether in November 1969. He died in Los Angeles on March 23, 1970.{{r|halper|page=188}}<ref name=
In the years following Pyne's death, many talk show hosts drew inspiration from him and sought to emulate his on-air persona of an angry host who belittles and jeers at guests.{{r|halper|pages=182,188}} [[Harlan Ellison]] said "I’ve appeared on that sort of show all over the country. They call it controversy, but they’re all about vilification and hostility, and their model is Pyne."<ref name=cook/> [[Bob Grant (radio host)|Bob Grant]] worked with Pyne in Los Angeles in the early 1960s and considered him a mentor. He would fill-in for Pyne on occasion and took over the time slot in 1964 when Pyne departed for KLAC.<ref name=vitello>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/03/nyregion/bob-grant-a-pioneer-of-right-wing-talk-radio-dies-at-84.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511130123/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/03/nyregion/bob-grant-a-pioneer-of-right-wing-talk-radio-dies-at-84.html |archive-date=May 11, 2023 |url-status=live |url-access=limited |first=Paul |last=Vitello |title=Bob Grant, a Combative Personality on New York Talk Radio, Dies at 84 |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 January 2014 |access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref> [[Sean Hannity]], in turn, took inspiration from, and gave praise to, Grant.<ref name=cook/> [[Rick Kogan]], a reporter for the [[Chicago Tribune]], believes that [[Morton Downey, Jr.]] formatted his own talk show after ''The Joe Pyne Show''.<ref name=kogan>{{cite news |title=Morton Downey Jr. Paved the Way for the Angry Talk Show Host of Today |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/08/17/morton-downey-jr-paved-the-way-for-the-angry-talk-show-host-of-today/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524204707/https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/08/17/morton-downey-jr-paved-the-way-for-the-angry-talk-show-host-of-today/ |archive-date=May 24, 2024 |url-status=live |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |access-date=June 26, 2024 |first=Rick |last=Kogan}}</ref> Bill Press, author of the book ''Toxic Talk'', characterized Pyne as "a precursor to [Rush] [[Rush Limbaugh|Limbaugh]]."<ref name=press/>
A lot of the footage from ''The Joe Pyne Show'' has since been lost, either because the [[videotape]] was destroyed or because another program was recorded over it, and much of what does exist is of poor quality. The organization Films Around the World owns a collection of over 100 episodes of ''The Joe Pyne Show'' and is working with videotape archival specialists to restore the reels of tape.<ref name=cook/> In 2019, The Film Detective, an organization self-described as "a leading distributor of restored classic programming," published a press release stating they had obtained and restored six hours of footage from ''The Joe Pyne Show'' which would be available on their website starting in June of that year.<ref name=filmDetective/> However, their website is now defunct and the footage is no longer available.
Pyne was [[posthumous award|posthumously]] inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame on November 16, 2012.<ref name=wilkinson/>
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==References==
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==External links==
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