I would love to hear the impressions. And to maybe hire the people behind them so I could take a day off.
Apparently, there are people out there who do impressions of me, and who do them quite well. I can't say I'm surprised; after all, anyone with as many vocal tics and weird radio habits as I have is ripe for impersonations. So when someone at one of my TV jobs last night told me that they live with someone who does a pretty mean impression of me, I was curious about two things--
What does it sound like, and why on Earth would anyone want to impersonate ME?
Because I've been doing this for so long, I don't even give a second thought to how people absorb what I put out. I just do what I do. But there must be something about the way I do it, because I've had some people in the past launch into their impersonation of me, or mention stupid things I do, or remark on the way I do them. I dunno; I guess over all these years I've probably forgotten what a powerful medium radio can be, and how much people can up pick strange stuff just by listening. But it's true.
And it's not just the impersonations that prove it. Remember “Birthday at the Beach” a few years ago? That's another perfect example. So are all the comments I get from the students on “High School Bowl”, who've grown up with those weird habits and vocal tics I was previously mentioning. So I guess if you've around as long as I have—you know, since the age of dinosaurs—the fact that people imitate you, or remember weird things you've said, can be taken only one way. As a compliment. After all, it shows that people pay attention, and one way or another appreciate what you do.
Because I'd sure dislike doing this job for as long as I have and not have made ANY kind of impression on listeners.
So if you're one of those people who thinks you do a good impersonation of me, or who can reproduce some of those weird things I seem to say, let me know. I'd love to hear them. And I'd also like to thank you in person for hanging around long enough to develop the ability to do that impersonation.
That's one of the biggest compliments I could get.
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