Grumpy, Mean, Crusty, Angry 'Dr Bill' And Darn Good Radio; Remembering Bill Wattenburg on KGO Radio and 'The Open Line To The West Coast'; Saturday Remembrance

 

 "DR. BILL" --"The Open Line to The West Coast"; who could forget those lines? If you listened to vintage KGO Radio Saturday and Sunday Night from 10-1AM, you surely did not.

Bill Wattenburg passed away on Thursday night; he'd battled cancer and seemed to have beaten it but a recurrence took place a few months ago and he finally succumbed.

Bummer. 

Yes, Wattenburg was mean occasionally; crusty; cranky; perpetually pissed off; a certified "get off my lawn" grumpy old guy but guess what? He was genuine. It made for great radio. That may sound odd but those of you that listened (and a whole lot of you did) get my drift.

Wattenburg wasn't shtick. It was all real and authentic even if at times he was mean and cruel which he often was and that's no knock. He knew a hell of a lot about certain things and seemed to be way out front on identifying problems that, he said, would bite us in the ass, (so to speak) and he was right in the end. He embraced reality even if it was depressing. There was no sugar-coating. Never.

I had issues with his chronic on-air rantings referring to the Sierra Club as "eco-frauds" but he was right, most of the time. He was way out front, as a reader suggested, on the forest fire problems plaguing the state. He argued time and time again the need to de-forest trees in the high country because they would eventually become the extra fuel for forest fires. We now know he was right.

He was adamant that BART didn't build enough trains for its growing ridership and that it needed to upgrade its infrastructure or it would become useless at a time when the Bay Area was growing and needed a reliable, able mass transit system. He was right on this subject too.

There were other things but his radio broadcast was unique. It reeked of authenticity even if the host was a pain in the ass. For all his irritations and grunting, he was endearing too; go figure. He'd take great pleasure and joy talking to an eight-grade student on the air about a homework assignment--usually it involved a science question and Dr. Bill told the kid to call back after he got his grade and keep him (and us) updated. You could hear the joy in his voice because he loved kids calling him on the radio.

He was not so warm and fuzzy with callers he deemed irrational and irritating; typical Dr Bill to "Jeff in Berkeley, UC grad" --"Hey, get off your ass and quit smoking that green stuff and holding yourself!" -- then in an instant, "Bob in Union City, you're on 'KGO."

Hysterical laughter. Radio magic in the late night on the old KGO. Sure, yes, again, he was mean and nasty but it made for a highly entertaining back and forth. Many screamed at their radio and called him an ass on the air and he took umbrage and usually, quickly, hit the cut button. The bastard. Oh, but damn did it work. At least for me. And you all too, admit it, you were hooked even if you thought the guy was a jerk. It worked. It was real. Not an ounce of phoniness or make-believe --true, sincere, and honest to the core.

And who else could score Clint Eastwood live from Carmel on a Sunday night? Only Wattenburg. They were buddies and he (Bill) made a few cameos in Dirty Harry movies --my favorite, "Dead Pool."

So I'll miss Dr. Bill. I wasn't always enthralled with his boobism and dour outlook on life but wholly, molly, could the guy do some funny, terrific, intelligent radio and in the end that's the only thing that counted.