16 years ago, I was a young girl producing a morning radio show in New York City for WNEW-AM. The show featured the talents of Bob Fitzsimmons and Al Rosenberg.
Bob was a fixture in NY broadcasting. As seasoned radio and TV host, Fitz also did commercial voice overs, emceed special events and was a regular on the Jerry Lewis Telethon. He was a distinguished member of the New York Friar's Club. Fitz was larger than life. A team was made of him and Al Rosenberg. Al was a former accountant who would call in to Imus and Howard Stern as a listener, and then later went on to write for each of these broadcast legends. He was paired with Fitz for four and half hours on weekday mornings.
Fitz was the kind of guy who could talk to anybody. From the CEO of the company, to the guy who swept the floors, Bob had a way with everyone. We started to develop a friendship. During the year 1990, my impeding nuptials were a source of amusement for Bob, and he began inviting me into the studio so we could poke fun at the whole affair. I was in on the jokes. I understood what was funny about me and Frank getting married in Brooklyn at a place called the Glen Chateau. Because, you know, you would be hard pressed to find an actual glen or a chateau in Brooklyn. And yet, "Everybody I know that gets married in Brooklyn, gets married in a 'chateau.'" Fitz joked.
Bob Fitzsimmons saw some sort of spark in me. He thought I was funny. And let me tell you, it was so satisfying to make that man laugh.
And so, when the producer position was opening, I wanted it bad. I didn't exactly interview for the job. I just sort of let them know that I wanted the job and I knew I had it when Bob approached me in the hall, gave me a hug and said, "Of course, we'd love to have you." And just like that I was hired.
The Fitz and Rosenberg Show was this crazy mix of people. There was Fitz, the very Irish man-about-town and consumate New Yorker. There was Al - a nice Jewish "boy" living in south Jersey with his 2nd wife, Ann and their large blended family. There was me, the Italian girl from Brooklyn with the big, macaroni eating family. And then there was our engineer, the late Pete Feldman (or "The Feldman" as Fitz would call him), who really defies description. In the midwest, people might describe him as "different."
Come to think of it, it wasn't crazy at all. It was very New York. We were children of immigrants, our ages ranged 25 years, we were from different ethnic and religious backgrounds and yet we were like this little family.
It was during this time that I met Fitz' son, Greg. Greg was my age and honing his craft as a stand-up comedian in clubs all over the country. From time to time, he would stop in and visit, sharing his stories from the road, doing a set on the air and promoting up coming appearances. Bob was fiercely proud of Greg and thought he was incredibly brave and really funny.
Greg and I were talking one day and Bob got this look in his eye and he smiled and said to me, "You know, I forget that you're the same age as my son. I can't believe I let you boss me around!" I remember Greg saying, "You're 23 and you're producing a drive time radio show in New York? Where do you go from here?"
Yeah, I thought I had arrived too. As luck or the industry would have it, less than a year later, we had the rug pulled out from under us. As Bob put it, "They said they love us. They want to keep doing the Fitz and Rosenberg show. Only without a producer, without an engineer and without a Rosenberg." Contracts were not renewed, budgets were slashed and even the general manager of the radio station was fired.
When the dust settled, Fitz was still doing the morning show with Pete as his engineer. Bob was relieved that I was offered a job in Programming because he needed to go to bat for Pete. Pete was diagnosed with cancer and needed the job and the medical coverage. That's the kind of friend Fitz was. Loyal and generous.
I hestiate to write about Fitz because I am afraid I will not do him justice. I'm afraid the details will be lost on anyone who didn't know him, so I will just say this: I adored him. He was my mentor and my friend. He treated my like a favorite niece. He gave me a tremendous amount of encouragement when Frank and I moved to Ohio. He was sure of me when I wasn't sure of myself.
It was heartbreaking to lose him.
Fitz passed away just 2 months after I moved to Ohio. He was only 53. I was there for his funeral. He was the first friend I'd ever lost.
I think of him often, especially as I saw his son Greg's star rise over the years. Greg Fitzsimmons has appeared on Letterman, Leno and Conan O'Brien. He has had his own HBO and Comedy Central specials. He's one of the featured comics on VH1's "Best Week Ever," and has won four Emmy's for writing "The Ellen DeGenerous Show." Fitz would have been bursting with pride.
Many times I have wanted to contact Greg and congratulate him on his success and tell him about the impact his father had on my life beyond the broadcast studio. I always hestiated because I get so sentimental when I talk about Fitz that I was worried he would think as he was reading a letter from me, that the next sentence would say something like, "I think it's time you got to know your half sister." Also, I was a little embarrassed. What if he didn't remember me? What if he thought I was stalking him?
Last week our family had plans to spend Friday night up in Columbus. My son Frankie had an event the following morning and we knew we'd never get out of the house on time. So, we decided to get a hotel room and not be stressed. As Frank was getting directions on the internet, he stumbled upon an ad for The Funny Bone at Easton in Columbus. Greg was performing there all weekend. "You should go." Frank said.
These days, everyone seems to have a MySpace page - Greg and myself included. (Although I have a paltry 28 friends...) I shot Greg a note, reminding him that I worked with his Dad a million years ago and that I was coming up to the club to see him. He told me to find him after the show so we could talk and so I did.
Next: Part II - "Fitz of Laughter"
Bob was a fixture in NY broadcasting. As seasoned radio and TV host, Fitz also did commercial voice overs, emceed special events and was a regular on the Jerry Lewis Telethon. He was a distinguished member of the New York Friar's Club. Fitz was larger than life. A team was made of him and Al Rosenberg. Al was a former accountant who would call in to Imus and Howard Stern as a listener, and then later went on to write for each of these broadcast legends. He was paired with Fitz for four and half hours on weekday mornings.
Fitz was the kind of guy who could talk to anybody. From the CEO of the company, to the guy who swept the floors, Bob had a way with everyone. We started to develop a friendship. During the year 1990, my impeding nuptials were a source of amusement for Bob, and he began inviting me into the studio so we could poke fun at the whole affair. I was in on the jokes. I understood what was funny about me and Frank getting married in Brooklyn at a place called the Glen Chateau. Because, you know, you would be hard pressed to find an actual glen or a chateau in Brooklyn. And yet, "Everybody I know that gets married in Brooklyn, gets married in a 'chateau.'" Fitz joked.
Bob Fitzsimmons saw some sort of spark in me. He thought I was funny. And let me tell you, it was so satisfying to make that man laugh.
And so, when the producer position was opening, I wanted it bad. I didn't exactly interview for the job. I just sort of let them know that I wanted the job and I knew I had it when Bob approached me in the hall, gave me a hug and said, "Of course, we'd love to have you." And just like that I was hired.
The Fitz and Rosenberg Show was this crazy mix of people. There was Fitz, the very Irish man-about-town and consumate New Yorker. There was Al - a nice Jewish "boy" living in south Jersey with his 2nd wife, Ann and their large blended family. There was me, the Italian girl from Brooklyn with the big, macaroni eating family. And then there was our engineer, the late Pete Feldman (or "The Feldman" as Fitz would call him), who really defies description. In the midwest, people might describe him as "different."
Come to think of it, it wasn't crazy at all. It was very New York. We were children of immigrants, our ages ranged 25 years, we were from different ethnic and religious backgrounds and yet we were like this little family.
It was during this time that I met Fitz' son, Greg. Greg was my age and honing his craft as a stand-up comedian in clubs all over the country. From time to time, he would stop in and visit, sharing his stories from the road, doing a set on the air and promoting up coming appearances. Bob was fiercely proud of Greg and thought he was incredibly brave and really funny.
Greg and I were talking one day and Bob got this look in his eye and he smiled and said to me, "You know, I forget that you're the same age as my son. I can't believe I let you boss me around!" I remember Greg saying, "You're 23 and you're producing a drive time radio show in New York? Where do you go from here?"
Yeah, I thought I had arrived too. As luck or the industry would have it, less than a year later, we had the rug pulled out from under us. As Bob put it, "They said they love us. They want to keep doing the Fitz and Rosenberg show. Only without a producer, without an engineer and without a Rosenberg." Contracts were not renewed, budgets were slashed and even the general manager of the radio station was fired.
When the dust settled, Fitz was still doing the morning show with Pete as his engineer. Bob was relieved that I was offered a job in Programming because he needed to go to bat for Pete. Pete was diagnosed with cancer and needed the job and the medical coverage. That's the kind of friend Fitz was. Loyal and generous.
I hestiate to write about Fitz because I am afraid I will not do him justice. I'm afraid the details will be lost on anyone who didn't know him, so I will just say this: I adored him. He was my mentor and my friend. He treated my like a favorite niece. He gave me a tremendous amount of encouragement when Frank and I moved to Ohio. He was sure of me when I wasn't sure of myself.
It was heartbreaking to lose him.
Fitz passed away just 2 months after I moved to Ohio. He was only 53. I was there for his funeral. He was the first friend I'd ever lost.
I think of him often, especially as I saw his son Greg's star rise over the years. Greg Fitzsimmons has appeared on Letterman, Leno and Conan O'Brien. He has had his own HBO and Comedy Central specials. He's one of the featured comics on VH1's "Best Week Ever," and has won four Emmy's for writing "The Ellen DeGenerous Show." Fitz would have been bursting with pride.
Many times I have wanted to contact Greg and congratulate him on his success and tell him about the impact his father had on my life beyond the broadcast studio. I always hestiated because I get so sentimental when I talk about Fitz that I was worried he would think as he was reading a letter from me, that the next sentence would say something like, "I think it's time you got to know your half sister." Also, I was a little embarrassed. What if he didn't remember me? What if he thought I was stalking him?
Last week our family had plans to spend Friday night up in Columbus. My son Frankie had an event the following morning and we knew we'd never get out of the house on time. So, we decided to get a hotel room and not be stressed. As Frank was getting directions on the internet, he stumbled upon an ad for The Funny Bone at Easton in Columbus. Greg was performing there all weekend. "You should go." Frank said.
These days, everyone seems to have a MySpace page - Greg and myself included. (Although I have a paltry 28 friends...) I shot Greg a note, reminding him that I worked with his Dad a million years ago and that I was coming up to the club to see him. He told me to find him after the show so we could talk and so I did.
Next: Part II - "Fitz of Laughter"
5 comments:
I was in my twenties and I loved the Fitz and Rosenberg Show. My favorite bit was the "Brush with greatness". What a hoot those guys were. SO New York, i'm a Brooklynite too. I'm not much for the morning zoo's I prefer the cleaner type of humor they offered, not raunchy at all....
Kudos to you too as their producer.
Larry
Nice to hear from a fan of the show. "Brush With Greatness" was fun. I remember screening the calls and one day we had all brushes with Vic Damone. Pretty funny. We also heard from a woman who claimed to have used the bathroom after Princess Diana. Fitz proclaimed it to be, "A Flush with Greatness."
I also knew and worked with Bob Fitz - he and I enjoyed jousting over the NY Times crossword puzzle in between V/O sessions.
The week of St. Pats he would have us all at The Friars Club for a bash. Bedecked in his lime green tux he was the consummate host.
I once called the show with a brush with greatness story - I claimed that my grandmother had actor Franchot Tone's bathroom scale. Fitz fell out of his chair when he heard my voice - live on air.
Joanne - we must have met at some point through the years. I was also at the funeral.
I also knew and worked with Bob Fitz - he and I enjoyed jousting over the NY Times crossword puzzle in between V/O sessions.
The week of St. Pats he would have us all at The Friars Club for a bash. Bedecked in his lime green tux he was the consummate host.
I once called the show with a brush with greatness story - I claimed that my grandmother had actor Franchot Tone's bathroom scale. Fitz fell out of his chair when he heard my voice - live on air.
Joanne - we must have met at some point through the years. I was also at the funeral.
I always think of Fitz's party this time of year. The Friar's Club, that green jacket and matching socks, the lovely Irish dancers and lots of laughs.
We had so much fun in the studio when we did the St. Patrick's day shows.
Bittersweet. I miss my friend.
Thanks for your comments.
I wonder what brought you to my blog?
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