Sheplives


Last Record Update: None
Staff in Control Room Staff Member History

Marc Spector

Position: Producer

November 8, 1974 to October 7, 1975

Observations from Marc: "My job was to coordinate all activities of life between Jean and WOR and his other radio project at the time--his national 'strip' show at the NBC Radio Network, which he recorded once a week (5 shows at a time for playback nationally). The other part of my job was to sit in on the recording sessions, take notes, name the shows and make sure the tapes were where they were supposed to be for broadcast when Jean was out of town and reruns were broadcast (which at times was somewhat frequent, although Jean would tape shows in advance for many of the dates he was away). I can remember these sessions like they were yesterday. Of course, we knew we were doing great radio but we never knew that people would be listening and appreciating these shows 30 years later." "Did Jean spend hours preparing the show or did he write a couple of words on a scrap of paper on his way into the studio? The answer is really: both of the above. Jean lived his show - it was really him. Therefore, his prep was just living and remembering and recalling things from decades or minutes before the 10-inch machine started rolling. But, in truth, the latter was what really happened. I remember Jean asking me what I thought of something right before we walked to the studio. He would write my answers down on a scrap of paper and that would be the basis of the show. He would do the same with the studio engineers who he used regularly for such material. He wanted to make sure the show was about what real people wanted to hear - not ivory tower stuff. It was his blue collar background, I suppose. Most of those guys really never 'got' Jean but they played along. Only a couple, like Herb Squire, really knew that they were a part of something very special." "Jean only came in a couple of times a week (maybe 3) even as early as 1974. I cannot remember ever seeing him 5 days a week. He was pretty active in those days with outside speaking gigs and would tape in advance or,on occasion, we would play a rerun which I would choose for broadcast. Leigh did keep copies of all the shows but I have no idea what she did with them as they were all recorded on 10" reels and were quite heavy and bulky. There was a master log kept. Of course, with no computers, it was kept in written form by Leigh and myself. I bet it is somewhere in Leigh's personal treasure trove that she left to someone, I hope. It would be a great find." "One interesting tidbit that most people might not know is the office layout on the 24th floor of 1440 for the WOR talent pool Gambling and Bob and Ray had their own separate offices. We had a TINY TINY office in the corner of the general talent suite and we were right next to the Barry Farber Show; we hardly ever saw Barry because his show was a late-night broadcast. We did see his producer on occasion--a woman whose name I forget but a woman who Barry later married (or lived with for many years). Arlene Francis was to our left as was the McCanns Show."

[*LS] Comments by Laurie Squire

13 Shows Found where this person was referred to by Shep

Date	Show Title	Note / Shep Comment
November 8, 1974 Original Airing	Phone Number in Wallet
November 13, 1974 Original Airing	People in TV Commercials, You Never Know
November 21, 1974 Original Airing	Radio Pioneers
December 3, 1974 Original Airing	Caveman Exhibit
December 23, 1974 Original Airing	Pipe for Christmas
December 23, 1974 WETA Synd Replay	Phone Number in Wallet
January 8, 1975 Original Airing	Mysterious Things; Gravity Hill
January 17, 1975 WETA Synd Replay	Ad people, strange chain letter, dish rag letters
February 20, 1975 WBJC Synd Replay	Mysterious Things; Gravity Hill
February 21, 1975 Original Airing	Africa
February 24, 1975 Original Airing	How to Get a Job
March 14, 1975 WBJC Synd Replay	Mysterious Things; Gravity Hill
October 7, 1975 WOR Rerun	Gravity Defied

"Can you imagine 4,000 years passing, and you're not even a memory?
Think about it, friends. It's not just a possibility. It is a certainty." - Jean Shepherd - 1975