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| Ray Taliaferro (left) with KGO-TV Sports anchor Martin Wyatt |
WHAT WOULD RAY TALIAFERRO HAVE SAID
I DON'T know but I'm a hundred percent certain the late Ray Taliaferro would have been a superb listen during this Coronavirus pandemic. I say that because times like this made Ray's wee-hour show all the more entertaining and must-listen. It is why KGO Radio had HUGE ratings in the overnight because everyone wanted to hear Ray T. In tragic times (like this) Taliaferro would be comforting and reassuring.
Ray, in his inimitable way would have been business as usual. He would award callers and listeners alike that things would eventually calm down and that it was only a matter of time. He'd, yes, go nuts on Trump (of course) and marvel how awful a sitting president could act. He would lecture during the monologue and go bat crazy during some exchange with "Bob from Union City"--it would be an electrifying call, like many, you would both laugh and cry. So damn Ray and you'd love it.
The few people that don't know Ray from Rob Ray don't get it. Taliaferro was prime entertainment radio before any crazy stuff like this but even better when it looked like civilization was coming to an end. I would venture to say when the world was coming to an end, Taliaferro was even more invigorating. A broadcast treasure in our backyard --the Bay Area's Johnny Carson on radio. Remember, Carson was at his finest when he bombed; I'm not suggesting that Taliaferro would have bombed, just the opposite. The news defined Ray, Ray didn't define the news. It's like situations like this were his zeitgeist. All you had to do to learn first hand was tune in to KGO in the early morning hours.
Dammit, I miss Ray. Don't we all.
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Beautifully said Rich. We should all honor Ray and we won't ever forget what he meant to the Bay Area.
ReplyDeleteI never got the fascination with Ray, no offense. To be honest, the only thing that interested me about Ray was whether or not he was gay or straight. He sounded just like George Takei. When he was found dead in the Kentucky woods I heard he had a son so that answered that. Horrible way to die, god bless him.
ReplyDeleteIMO Ray was basically an ass who was playing a part. Both intelligent with a sharp, insulting tongue that he wagged at every opportunity. He only got a few minutes of my time on late night because he was so vile.
DeleteBTW, Rich. It's Easter Sunday. A nice wish from you for your Christian readers would have been nice. Especially seeing as you mention all your Jewish holidays and reap the well wishes.
Agreed on Christianity.
DeleteDear 3:03. So you were fascinated with Ray's sex life, were you? Ray was a very sexy guy. You say you learned that he had a son so he has to have been straight All kinds of men have sons, gay, straight, bi, whatever. As for the idea that having a heart attack and collapsing and quickly dying outdoors next to a tree would have been a "horrible way to die" for Ray, you're just wrong. He loved nature He was very comfortable in his own company. Dying in a nursing home or a hospital after days or months of agony is a horrible way to go.
DeleteI'm fascinated with a certain ex anchors sex life myself.
DeleteNever cared for him and I thought he was over-rated by some.
DeleteI liked Ray and miss him. It would have been interesting to hear his take on how the coronavirus is all whitey's fault.
ReplyDeleteRay would say it's Trump's (orangey's) fault for more deaths because of him calling it a hoax and not taking it seriously for almost 2 months.
DeleteRay would have commended Nancy Pelosi for walking through Chinatown in a media blitz on camera in February telling everyone they had nothing to worry about and that they should shop and hang out in Chinatown.
DeletePerhaps Ray would have praised de Blasio, the mayor of NYC, for telling New Yorkers they had nothing to fear and that they should still be out in force in NYC a week before San Francisco shut down.
DeleteMiss Pelosi was sans mask mind you.
DeleteTrump would have about 3 or 4 new ass holes if Ray were still alive and on KGO. No one compares to Ray,but let's face it,you either loved him or couldn't stand him or down right hated him.
ReplyDeleteAnd, what the fuck does being gay or straight have to do with it? He was just a good radio talk show host,gay or otherwise. Guess what? You can be gay and have kids too....oh my!!!
If Ray was so good why was he never given a daytime slot?
ReplyDeleteYeah! And Johnny Carson and David Letterman. If they were so good why didn't they get day jobs?
DeleteThink about it.
He loved the late night gig and had some of the highest ratings in the country for years . Why change? Now they got alien and Bigfoot talk in his place.
DeleteYou can be good but not necessarily right for the mass audience of a prime weekday slot. Late night is a different beast and if you have something unique to offer it can work. Very much the same for (I'm really dating myself here) Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins who was phenomenal for late night but would have been a very bad fit during the weekdays.
DeleteBecause he wasn't.
DeleteClose your eyes and tell me that wasn't George Takei on the radio.
ReplyDeleteNO sir, No sir, NO sir
ReplyDeleteRay would have blamed Halliburton!
ReplyDeleteGod has a special place in heaven for Ray for telling Kay Zwerling of KSCO to her face what a disaster Trump would be. I believe Michael Zwerling is still scarred by that day....
ReplyDeleteDidn't he have dementia? He may not have known what he was saying.
DeleteRich, you bar Stan The Observer from your blog but the intellectually arrogant Christine Craft. Her latest about the union helping her with her lawsuit, fails to mention she LOST on appeal. HELLO.
ReplyDeleteChristine has something to offer to those of us who use to listen to her on KGO. I don't know why Stan is bared, but I don't think it has anything to due with arrogance. I always like to read what Christine has to say. Rich publish comments from many different points of view, if he didn't the blog would be boring.
ReplyDelete