Passion for Pistachio
A Tribute to Lynn Samuels
By Walter Sabo
President
Sabo Media
Lynn Samuels died and you will never hear anyone like her. That’s why she was a star. Lynn hosted a show on SiriusXM radio where she covered such topics as:
• Her passion for real pistachio ice cream. “Why can’t you get it anymore?”
• Why she preferred cops that were male and over 6 feet. ”I don’t want to be at the corner of Sixth Avenue and 4th Street on Saturday night being protected by some five foot girl.”
• She was suspect of all HR rules. ”If a woman can’t shut up some jerk from telling a dirty joke on her own, she shouldn’t be Chairman of the Board.”
That was a typical minute. All of those lines could be heard during any given minute. You could pull ANY part of her show and make a promo. You know how long you have to hunt for a quote for a promo from most airchecks? No trouble with Lynn; pick a random minute and you’d have a promo.
Every sentence was compelling.
She copied from no one. She couldn’t. Her voice, point of view, life experience and breathtaking humility were so innocent and pure they could have only come from a single heart. Hers.
First commercial gig: WOR
About 1985, I was consulting WOR in New York, a dominant station. That’s important because they had a lot to lose. Bob Bruno was the program director, a great New Yorker and radio maven. I was in a cab on a Saturday and heard this coming out of the speaker…
“So I got this letter from Shirley McClaine and she is offering a seminar. It says that for $300 I can find my higher self from her seminar. But at the bottom of the letter it says, ‘no checks.’ I guess she’s afraid of our lower selves.”
That was it. I said to the cab driver to take me home so I could figure out which station it was. It was WBAI, the Pacifica non-commercial station. I called the station Monday and Lynn called me back pretty fast. She told me that being on the air was better than sex and that WBAI didn’t put her on more because she wasn’t a lesbian. I loved her.
With some trepidation I introduced her to Bob Bruno. Despite the formality of WOR, Bob could hear her talent and quickly gave her a chance on Saturdays from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. She did a great job and gave him a challenge. How could he schedule her within the context of the station? Ultimately he couldn’t. A few months later, John Mainelli, then program director at WABC, put her on late mornings. What few realize is that she often out-pulled Rush Limbaugh’s share of audience. John managed her extremely well and was always a loyal friend to her.
Some of Lynn’s career path problem was that men of a certain world view were scared of her. They weren’t scared of her politics; they were scared of her candor, honesty and stunning ability to deliver her message.
When on-air opportunities grew at my client Sirius, I was very proud to recommend her to VP of programming Jay Clark. Jay was and is a true broadcaster who appreciates a good show and respects talent. He loved Lynn. Jeremy Coleman and Dave Gorab protected Lynn and celebrated Lynn during the past decade at Sirius. She was in the best creative incubator for her skills.
Lynn heavily prepared her show but you’d never know it. Her experimentation was ENDLESS. No two show structures were the same. Sometimes she would decide not to take phone calls because everyone annoyed her. Sometimes she did a three-hour monologue. She’d have guests but it was pointless, she played both roles. I once asked her why she didn’t give out the phone number? She said, “If they want to talk to me they’ll find the number. Otherwise you just get cranks.”
Do you have any change?
But here’s what you need to know about Lynn. When she didn’t have enough radio work, she would work at a laundromat on 11th Street in Greenwich Village. She would invite her friends to visit her there. THAT’s where she was doing her show that day. So I visited her there and the conversation was no different from what she would do on the radio. No voice change, topic change, or more candor. She did show prep for the laundromat. There was her stack of newspapers on the counter, articles circled, eyes scanning: “Walter did you see this in the Post? I can’t believe this.” Showtime!
Walter Sabo has been a spoken word radio innovator and executive for decades. As President of Sabo Media he discovered numerous on-air personalities including Lynn Samuels. His company HITVIEWS places brand content into the entertainment portion of online videos. He can be reached at his New York office at 212-681-8181.
Category: Opinions
