Al Lohman facts for kids
Al Lohman (born January 15, 1933, in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, and passed away October 14, 2002, in Rancho Mirage, California) was a popular radio personality and comedian. He had a long career in American radio, starting in the 1950s and continuing into the 1990s. Early in his career, he worked as a morning host at WABC (AM) in New York City when it first started playing pop music in 1960. However, he is best known for his time in Los Angeles with Roger Barkley. Their show, The Lohman and Barkley Show, was the most popular morning radio show on KFI Los Angeles throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.
Their fame grew beyond Los Angeles. Al and Roger often appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. They also hosted two short-lived game shows. The first was Lohman & Barkley's Name Droppers on NBC in 1969. The second was Bedtime Stories in 1979.
Contents
Al Lohman's Funny Characters
Thousands of listeners tuned in to hear Al Lohman's quick wit and many different character voices. Roger Barkley played the "straight man," which means he was the serious one who set up Al's jokes.
Some of Al Lohman's most famous characters included:
- Maynard Farmer: A con-man who pretended to be a farm expert. He would say things like "That there's the finest (whatever) that I've ever seen there, sir" to get rewards he didn't deserve.
- Otis Elevator: A kind and friendly handyman.
- Judge Roy Bean: A judge who was also a former big band leader and claimed to be an ex-member of the Bee Gees.
- Ted J. Balogna: A human interest reporter.
- W. Eva Schneider-Balogna: Ted's wife, who was supposed to be a poetry lady but never seemed to have any poems. They supposedly drove to the radio studio from their tree house in Brawley, California, which is almost 200 miles away!
These characters often appeared in a segment called "Light Of My Life," which made fun of daytime soap operas.
The Famous Car Commercials
One character became especially famous: "Dominic Longo." This was the real name of a person who owned a new Toyota dealership in El Monte, California. The commercials for his dealership were done live and often made up on the spot by Al and Roger. Roger Barkley would "interview" Al Lohman, who played Dominic Longo with a funny, accent.
Dominic Longo didn't just "wheel and deal" cars; he "whelt and dealt like no one ever whelt and dealt before." He also didn't "habla español" (speak Spanish); he "hobbled spaniels." These funny commercials were a huge success. They helped Longo Toyota become the biggest Toyota dealer in the country!
The End of a Partnership
In 1986, after 22 years, Roger Barkley suddenly left the show, which surprised Al Lohman. Roger went to another radio station, KJOI-FM 99. Later, in 1990, he joined Ken Minyard on KABC for a new morning show called The Ken and Barkley Company. Al Lohman and Roger Barkley never spoke to each other again after Roger left.
Al Lohman stayed at KFI and worked with Gary Owens, another famous Los Angeles radio personality. Gary Owens was well-known as the funny announcer on the TV show Laugh-In.
Even though Al and Roger's show was mostly talk and comedy skits, they sometimes played a song. Roger Barkley later said that he was tired of hearing the same Eagles songs, like Hotel California, played over and over. He also mentioned that Al Lohman was sometimes late for the show. These differences led to Roger's decision to leave. Years later, Roger Barkley said that Al Lohman felt he had "destroyed his career."
Life After the Show
In 1989, KFI brought Al Lohman back, and he teamed up with Gary Owens again. They created "L.A.'s morning show," which featured comedy and interviews with celebrities. This show lasted for about 18 months.
In the early 1990s, Al Lohman partly retired and moved to Palm Springs, California. There, he hosted a morning show on easy listening station KPLM-FM. When that station changed to country music, Al moved his show to KCMJ AM (now KNWQ), the oldest radio station in Palm Springs.
Al Lohman also appeared in movies. He was credited as "Lohman" in the 1987 comedy Amazon Women on the Moon, where Roger Barkley also appeared. He was also the narrator for the 1988 comedy Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs.
On October 28, 1999, Al Lohman was part of a special event with other Los Angeles radio legends at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills. During the event, old clips from each person's past shows were played. When a clip from the Lohman and Barkley show was played, Al Lohman said how talented everyone was, and he realized what an "outstanding straight man Roger Barkley was." Roger Barkley had passed away two years before this event. The audience cheered loudly.
Al Lohman passed away on October 14, 2002, at the age of 69.
His partnership with Roger Barkley was so successful that Al Lohman received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is the only radio personality from Palm Springs to be honored this way.
Discography
- Light Of My Life Volume One - The Breath of Dr. Duncan & Doc In The Box (LP and Cassette)
- Light Of My Life Volume Two - The Arrest Of Dr. Duncan & Mouse In The Hole (LP and Cassette)
- Lohman & Barkley's Greatest Hits, Vol. 7 (LP, MGM Records #M3F-4956)
