Phil Hendrie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Phil Hendrie
Born (1952-09-01) September 1, 1952 (age 69)
Arcadia, California, U.S.
OccupationRadio personality, actor, voice-over artist, entrepreneur
Years active1973–present
Known forRadio satire
Notable work
The Phil Hendrie Show
WebsitePhilHendrieShow.com

Philip Stephen Hendrie (born September 1, 1952) is an American radio personality, actor, and voiceover artist.[1][2] He is widely known for his voiceover talent throughout the radio and film industry.[3] He came to prominence in the 1990s hosting The Phil Hendrie Show, a radio talk show where he portrayed both himself as a calm, rational host while simultaneously portraying any of several outrageous and offensive characters who would engage in debates with Hendrie and callers to the show.

Hendrie has also done acting, notably a recurring role on the drama The Unit and as multiple characters on the animated comedies Futurama, Rick and Morty and King of the Hill.

Early life[]

Hendrie was born and raised in Arcadia, California.[3] In 1958 when Hendrie was five years old, his family took a road trip to visit relatives in Toronto, Canada. They listened to the radio the whole way.[4] He knew then he wanted to work in radio one day.[5] He was one of four children in an upper-middle-class Catholic family[6] and an altar boy at Arcadia's Holy Angels Church.[3]

Hendrie's father was a salesman who came to Los Angeles in 1950 after serving in the Canadian army during World War II.[6] When Hendrie was 12 years old, listening to radio was his escape.[7] He was a huge fan of the Top 40 D.J. "Emperor" Bob Hudson and once rode his bike to radio station KRLA in Pasadena to meet him.[6]

When he was 13 years old, Hendrie's parents divorced.[7] His father moved to Europe and married a woman who had four kids.[6] Hendrie's family home was repossessed, forcing them to move into a small rented apartment where he slept on the couch during his high school years.[6] After graduating, Hendrie attended Pasadena City College to earn an English degree.[6][8] After one year at college, he left for Orlando, Florida, in the mid-1970s.[7] He got a job in construction working on the build-out of Disneyworld.[6]

Career[]

Radio[]

Hendrie made a demo tape and got his first DJ job at WBJW in Winter Park, a city just outside Orlando, in 1971 at age 19.[4][9][10] In 1978, he left WBJW to do evenings at WNOE-FM in the French Quarter of New Orleans.[11] He would go on from there to spin records up until 1988 in Miami, San Diego, Los Angeles, Utica and Fresno.[6]

In 1989, Phil returned to the Los Angeles area to debut as a weekend talk show host on KFI, a news/talk station.[6]

After his show was cancelled on KFI, KVEN in Ventura, California, offered him a job in August 1990.[7] In late September 1990, Hendrie introduced his first fictional on-air character on his radio talk show: Iraqi Raj Fahneen.[7] The Gulf War had broken out and Fahneen vociferously defended Saddam Hussein. Thinking it was a real person on the air, listeners went ballistic. An entire cast of characters evolved, and in 18 months Hendrie took the show to major market stations in Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Miami and eventually back to Los Angeles.[4]

As a radio satirist whose show is driven by a cast of fictional characters, all of whom Hendrie created and plays on air, he sets up a topic and discusses it with one of his characters. Feeding the circle of social satire are the callers who are real and genuinely passionate about what Hendrie's "guest" is saying. Loyal fans enjoy being in on the ruse as Hendrie orchestrates a parody of his own profession—talk radio.[12]

In October 1996 Hendrie went back to KFI to host The Phil Hendrie Show daily.[4] Hendrie's popularity resulted in the radio show going national in 1999 via Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications.[5]

In February 2005, Hendrie's flagship station, KFI, moved him to sister station KLAC in an effort to help turn the all-sports talk radio station into a ratings winner with entertainment programming incorporated.[13] The show remained nationally syndicated on 100 radio stations until 2006.[14] On April 27, 2006, Hendrie announced he was leaving radio to pursue his acting career on a full-time basis.[15] At the time, Hendrie was working on NBC-TV's sitcom Teachers as cynical history teacher Dick Green.[16]

His last day on air was June 23, 2006.[17]

On June 4, 2007, it was announced that Phil Hendrie would return to radio June 25, 2007, via national syndicator Talk Radio Network (TRN), with shows airing nationally Monday through Friday from 10 PM to 1 AM Pacific Time on 100 radio stations.[18] The show was a straight talk show until September 14, 2009, when he welcomed back his cast of characters, bringing back his original brand of radio theater.[19] "Radio needs alternative programming, like my show, now more than ever," said Hendrie. "Having the advantage of communicating compelling and outrageous points of view through these characters is an opportunity no other host has."[20]

On Saturday, November 20, 2010, KFI in Los Angeles announced that Phil Hendrie and his cast of voices were joining the station's weekend lineup.[21] Heard Saturdays on KFI, Hendrie did a local show for the station while doing his national show Monday through Friday.

On February 23, 2012, Hendrie announced to his fans via Twitter and www.PhilHendrieShow.com that February 25, 2012, would be his last KFI show.[22] Hendrie said, "This was not an easy decision because I'm going to miss everyone at KFI big time. However, doing a show like mine six days a week is murder. With the acting work cranking up and my obligation to TRN, something had to give."[23]

Late in 2013 Hendrie announced he was leaving TRN, and paying from his own pocket to have his show broadcast on about a dozen radio stations. However, in 2014 Hendrie announced he would be leaving over-air broadcasting for good because no one ever did the leg work to sell and place the show correctly. He then switched to an all-digital format of his show that is listenable to anyone in the world with an internet connection, airing Monday-Friday at 9a.m. Pacific time, accessible from his website or via the smartphone application TuneIn. The show is then podcast for free within hours, available for a period of five days.[24] This show is known to some fans[which?] as "Phil Hendrie's audio show."

Acting[]

Hendrie has worked as an actor and voice-over artist. From 1999 to 2009, Hendrie voiced characters on 24 episodes of the hit animated TV series King of the Hill. He also voiced characters for three episodes of Futurama from 2000 to 2002 and played three characters on the 2009 feature-length video Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder.

From 2001 to 2002, Hendrie appeared in the TV series Andy Richter Controls the Universe and in Judd Apatow's TV movie North Hollywood. He played Judge McCarthy on Richard Appel's A.U.S.A. in 2003.[25] He also starred in a TV pilot he wrote and executive produced called Phil at the Gate the same year. In 2004, Hendrie voiced the computer I.N.T.E.L.L.I.G.E.N.C.E. and the Chechen terrorist in Trey Parker's and Matt Stone's motion picture Team America: World Police and starred in Steven Levitan's animated TV pilot Phil Hendrie.[25]

From 2006 to 2007, Hendrie had a recurring role in David Mamet's series The Unit and appeared in five episodes. Other TV series included NBC's sitcom Teachers, wherein as part of an ensemble cast he played the part of school teacher Dick Green for the full season;[26] and The Replacements, wherein he appeared in two episodes as the mayor. He was also in the 2006 TV movie Three Strikes. In 2008, Hendrie played the New Jersey Nets coach in the comedy film Semi-Pro starring Will Ferrell. Also that year, Hendrie had parts in the TV movies Mike Birbiglia's Secret Public Journal and Giants of Radio. He also appeared in the Modern Family season 3 episode "Me? Jealous?".

In the summer of 2011, Hendrie filmed a part for Judd Apatow's motion picture This Is 40, which was in theaters in December 2012. In 2012, he played the recurring character Joe Napoli on three episodes of New Girl.[27] Other television work in 2012 included recurring parts on six episodes of Napoleon Dynamite and a role in an episode of ABC's Emmy Award-winning TV series Modern Family.[28] Also out in 2012 was the film Last Call, in which Hendrie was cast as the liquor company representative, Mulvahill. In 2013, Hendrie contributed voice work for the critically acclaimed Adult Swim show Rick and Morty.[29][30] In 2014, Hendrie played a fictionalized version of himself in the TV series Maron, and narrated a segment of the Comedy Central program Drunk History on the show's Hawaii episode. In 2015, Hendrie joined F is for Family to play various background characters.[31] In 2018, he voiced the male Action Police officers on Unikitty! In 2019, Hendrie was set to play the lead as an "insane" grandparent in the CBS’ multi-camera comedy, Our House, opposite of Katherine Heigl and Malcolm Barrett.[32] In 2020, he voiced the Universe Simulator on The Midnight Gospel.

Digital[]

Hendrie created his website, www.PhilHendrieShow.com, in 1999 during his syndication deal with Premiere Radio Networks. In 2006, he acquired ownership of the website.[33] On March 26, 2010, Hendrie launched his revamped website with new features like "Backstage Pass" and "Phollow Phil."[34] In August that same year, Hendrie launched a podcast version of his national radio show on iTunes for his Backstage Pass subscribers.[35]

In 2012, Hendrie extended his brand to Pandora with a collection of comedy bits featuring such characters as Jay Santos, Chris Norton, Bobbie Dooley, David G. Hall and Ted Bell.[36]

In 2013, it was announced that Hendrie partnered with LEG Digital and Courtside Media's Launchpad Digital Media to increase his growing digital fan base.[37] As part of the partnership, Hendrie also launched a weekly podcast.[38] The Dooley podcast is available on www.TheSideShowNetwork.com, www.PhilHendrieShow.com, iTunes and PodcastOne.com. The first Dooley podcast wherein she interviewed Actress Patricia Arquette garnered more than 15,000 downloads in three days.[39]

As of 2014, Phil Hendrie's show is an all-digital audio show accessible via his website or the smartphone application TuneIn. This show is also a podcast.[24]

References[]

  1. ^ Lycan, Gary (June 9, 2011). "Characters count for Phil Hendrie". Orange County Register. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2015-01-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Hitt, Jack (June 17, 2001). "Talk-to-Yourself Radio". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Carney, Steve (March 29, 2002). "Gotcha". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Heine, Paul (March 18, 2005). "Radio Schizo". Billboard Radio Monitor.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Cullum, Paul (June 11, 2004). "Radio Provocateur". LA Weekly.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Johnson, Brett (2006-03-30). "Call Baiting". Ventura County Star.
  8. ^ Horgan, Richard (September 12, 2013). "SO WHAT DO YOU DO, PHIL HENDRIE, SYNDICATED RADIO SHOW HOST?". Mediabistro. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  9. ^ Yount, Michael (September 3, 2004). "Bait & Switch; Phil Hendrie hears voices–40 or so and all his own–on his radio show; Phil Hendrie: The man behind 40 radio characters". Salt Lake Tribune.
  10. ^ March 29, 2002, Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ Walker, Dave (September 12, 2001). "Phil Hendrie has much to say". Times Picayune.
  12. ^ Ryan, Ed (February 8, 2012). Radio Ink Magazine. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ^ "XTRA Adds More Non-Sports Content". Los Angeles Times. April 29, 2005.
  14. ^ "Phil Hendrie Retires From Radio to Pursue Acting Career". Radio Online News. April 27, 2006.
  15. ^ "Radio Vet Hendrie to Pursue Acting". Mediaweek. April 27, 2006.
  16. ^ Peterson, Al (April 28, 2006). "Phil Hendrie Retires From Radio". Radio & Records.
  17. ^ "Phil Hendrie's retiring from radio". Inside Radio. April 27, 2006.
  18. ^ Marcucci, Carl (18 January 2010). "Phil Hendrie Show hits 100th affiliates | Radio & Television Business Report". Radio Business Report. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  19. ^ "Phil Hendrie Brings Characters Back To Life". All Access. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  20. ^ "phil hendrie brings comedy back to late night show". Radio Syndication Talk. October 14, 2009.
  21. ^ Lycan, Gary (November 22, 2010). "New online station reflects the culture of Venice". Orange County Register.
  22. ^ Saxe, Frank (February 23, 2012). "[page missing]". Inside Radio. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  23. ^ Fleischer, Matthew (February 24, 2012). "[page missing]". Fishbowl LA. Archived from the original on April 29, 2012.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b "Listen to the Phil Hendrie Show live!". Phil Hendrie Show.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b Harris, Jeffrey (March 25, 2012). "411wrestling.com Interviews: Radio Legend Phil Hendrie". 411MANIA.
  26. ^ Haston, Chris (2006). "Teachers - Kali Rocha, Phil Hendrie, Justin Bartha and Deon Richmond". TV Guide.
  27. ^ Ryan, Ed (September 10, 2012). "[page missing]". Radio Ink Magazine. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.
  28. ^ Simon, Perry (December 7, 2011). "Phil Hendrie Shoots Role On 'Modern Family'". All Access.
  29. ^ Young, Nathan (December 16, 2013). "Animation Monday: Rick and Morty On Adult Swim". All Access.
  30. ^ "'Rick and Morty' Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. 2013-11-22. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  31. ^ "F is for Family". IMDb.
  32. ^ Petski, Denise (28 March 2019). "'Our House': Nancy Lenehan & Phil Hendrie To Co-Star In CBS Comedy Pilot". Deadline. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  33. ^ Vizzo, Emily (April 24, 2010). Ventura County Star. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  34. ^ Peterson, Al (October 26, 2010). "Phil Phires Up New Website". NTS MediaOnline.
  35. ^ "Phil Hendrie Launches Podcast via iTunes". All Access. August 6, 2010.
  36. ^ "Phil Hendrie Distributes Content Via Pandora". Talkers Magazine. March 20, 2012.
  37. ^ Ryan, Ed (March 13, 2013). Radio Ink Magazine. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  38. ^ Taylor, Tom (March 13, 2013). Tom Taylor Now. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  39. ^ Talkers Magazine. March 13, 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links[]

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