[BC] WGN...

[Alan Kline <akline@netins.net>]

Ah, yes...2501 W. Bradley Place... an address that, for me, has the same
magic as 30 Rock or 7800 Beverly Blvd...  My first impression was the
official freeway guide signs reading "Addison Street...WGN Studios"...

I never got up to the radio studios, but was on the TV studio floor
several times between 1979 and 1982, when Phil Donahue taped there. Pretty
impressive for this 18-year-old from Iowa.  Even the cafeteria--I was
sitting there, about 1982, filling out a job application at lunchtime,
when Bob Collins came in with someone for lunch.  Mine was the only table
with any open seats, and my backpack was on the table.  Uncle Bobby saw my
name on my pack, and said, "Mr. Kline, move your s***, would you please?"
in the same, friendly way that he had on the air.  Naturally, I was
delighted to move my backpack and enjoy a couple of minutes in his
company.  I'm sure my application ended up in the dumpster out back, but
it was worth it...  I think Wally or Floyd Brown or someone from the TV
side was in there, too, but I thought it would be too unprofessional to
disturb their lunch in their workplace by asking for autographs...

And I think Rob's dead-on about Wally's engineer leading him with those ET
drops.  Still, absolutely seamless...

ak



On Thu, 14 Jul 2005, Rob Atkinson wrote:

 > when I was around 12, and one of those oddball kids who went to radio
 > stations to ask obnoxious questions, this other kid and I got on the train
 > and somehow (don't remember what we did) made it to west bradley place and
 > got into WGN.
 > this would never happen today.  Today, our mom's would be called, and we'd
 > be turned over to DCFS.