Ron Bennington

Last updated
Ron Bennington
Ron bennington (33199085234).jpg
Bennington in December 2016
Born (1958-12-31) December 31, 1958 (age 65)
Career
Show Bennington
Station Faction Talk on (Sirius XM channel 103)
Time slot12:00pm – 3:00 pm ET
Monday - Friday
Show Unmasked
StationSirius XM On Demand
Style Host
Website Ron Bennington Interviews

Ronald Lee Bennington [1] (born December 31, 1958) is an American radio personality and comedian who is currently the co-host of Bennington and host of Unmasked . Additionally, he has been a co-host of a number of radio shows, including The Ron and Ron Show and The Ron and Fez Show with Fez Whatley.

Contents

Radio career

Ron and Ron (1987–1997)

In 1986, Bennington opened Ron Bennington's Comedy Scene in Clearwater, Florida; he met Ron Diaz, on whose radio show he plugged his club, and quickly the two created the morning radio program The Ron and Ron Show [2] at Tampa Bay's WYNF-FM, known as 95YNF. [3] The show had huge ratings success and Ron & Ron known as "Radio's Bad Boys" then partnered with their agent Ross Reback to form The Ron & Ron Radio Network to own and syndicate the programming. The show's final broadcast for WYNF was on March 12, 1993. Reback became President and CEO of the newly formed network and quickly negotiated a deal to broadcast the show in Miami, Orlando, and Jacksonville, with another dozen markets soon following (including a new more lucrative deal in Tampa). Ron Diaz announced his departure in early 1997, [4] and on September 29, 1997 the show ended.

Ron and Fez (1997–2015)

Bennington in 2007 Ron Bennington.jpg
Bennington in 2007

After The Ron & Ron Show ended Bennington teamed up with Fez Whatley to create The Ron and Fez Show . After stints in Daytona Beach, New York City, and Washington, D.C., the show was broadcast from New York City (originally briefly called "Ron and Fez dot com" as it was devoted to discussing Web sites) on 102.7 FM WNEW-FM from 2000–2003, and syndicated to additional FM stations toward the end of the run, until the station ended the talk format, and eventually moved to 106.7 FM WJFK-FM near Washington D.C. where it aired live from 2003–2005, a station that had been simulcasting the WNEW-based show since 2000. [5] Bennington and Whatley moved back to New York and debuted on XM Satellite Radio on September 12, 2005. [6]

On April 1, 2015, Fez announced his retirement, with their final show being April 3. [7] [ better source needed ]

Bennington (2014–Present)

In October 2014 he began co-hosting Bennington with his daughter Gail. The show initially aired on the Opie with Jim Norton Friday 7–10:00 am time slot when Opie and Norton were off. [8]

In April 2015, following the retirement of Fez Whatley, Bennington began airing five days a week, in Ron and Fez's noon–3:00pm time slot (as of April 2023, 12-2pm), in addition to their Friday spot on Opie Radio. [9]

Other radio ventures

Ron Bennington Interviews is a weekend program on XM which replays different interviews every week which Ron conducts. [10] The show runs on Sirius XM Indie. [11]

In 2007, Bennington began Unmasked , a solo venture which has one-on-one interviews with comedy legends and established and emerging comedic talents. [12]

The Disciples of Comedy

In the mid-1990s Ron Bennington assembled a comedy troupe to tour to the markets where The Ron & Ron Show was syndicated. Ron Bennington's Disciples of Comedy included several comedians who had previously toured as part of Sam Kinison's Outlaws of Comedy. The Disciples of Comedy were Ron Bennington, Carl LaBove, Jimmy Shubert, Mitchell Walters, Dan Carlson, Lou Angelwolf, Jeff Apploff, Ralph Williams, and Curtain Boy Warren Durso. The shows also included Fez Whatley and Fast Eddie Yarb. The tour was produced by Jeff Apploff, Ross Reback and The Ron & Ron Radio Network. The comedy tour sold out theatres of 2,000 to 3,000 seats. [13]

With Ross Reback he co-owned Ron Bennington's Comedy Scene, a comedy club in Clearwater. One of the comics he says "earned his chops" there is Jim Breuer. [14] [15]

Appearances

Bennington is a cigar aficionado and has also been interviewed in Cigar Magazine. [16]

Bennington has a cupcake named for him at Molly's Cupcakes locations, [17] which is chocolate cupcake made with a combination of peanut butter filling, chocolate ganache, and crushed butterscotch topping. [18] In 2008 it was the best-selling cupcake at Molly's. [19]

In 2015, it was revealed on the Bennington Show that an American racing greyhound had been named after Bennington and registered as "Ron Bennington". Owned by Melissa Skrivseth-Schmidt and Christopher Straka, [20] "Ron Bennington" began her racing career at the Iowa Greyhound Park and raced her first official race at Daytona Beach Kennel Club and Poker Room. [21]

Personal life

Bennington began abstaining from alcohol and drugs after periods of addiction. [22]

Related Research Articles

WNEW-FM is a hot adult contemporary-formatted radio station, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Manhattan, and its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Norton (comedian)</span> American comedian, radio personality, actor, author, and podcast host (born 1968)

James Joseph Norton is an American comedian, radio personality, actor, author, and television and podcast host. Norton has been the co-host of the podcast UFC Unfiltered with Matt Serra and the morning radio show Jim Norton & Sam Roberts on SiriusXM Radio since 2016, and The Chip Chipperson Podcast since 2017.

<i>Ron and Fez</i> Radio show

The Ron and Fez Show was an American talk radio show hosted by Ron Bennington and Fez Whatley, which aired from August 1998 to April 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WINS-FM</span> All-news radio station in New York City

WINS-FM is a radio station licensed to New York, New York, and owned by Audacy, Inc. WINS-FM simulcasts all-news radio station WINS (AM) ,, with the station referred to on air as "1010 WINS at 92.3 FM". The station's studios are located in the Hudson Square neighborhood in Manhattan and its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building. WINS-FM also broadcasts in HD Radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Trunk</span> American radio personality

Edward Scott Trunk is an American music historian, radio personality, talk show host, and author, best known as the host of several hard rock- and heavy metal-themed radio and television shows.

Ron Diaz is an American radio talk show host on iHeartMedia, Inc.'s sports radio station WDAE in Tampa, Florida as the host of The Ron & Ian Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faction Talk</span> Radio station

Faction Talk is a subscription-based channel on the satellite radio service Sirius XM Radio. The channel first aired on XM on August 6, 2004, as xL High Voltage in preparation for the launch of the American radio show Opie and Anthony several months later, and required subscribers to purchase the channel as a premium, until 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fez Whatley</span> American talk radio host (1964–2021)

Todd Hillier, better known by his on-air name Fez Marie Whatley, was an American comedian and radio producer and personality who gained prominence as the co-host of The Ron and Fez Show with Ron Bennington from 1998 to 2015.

<i>Opie and Anthony</i> American radio show

Opie and Anthony was an American radio show hosted by Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia that aired from March 1995 to July 2014, with comedian Jim Norton serving as third mic from 2001. The show originated in 1994 when Cumia took part in a song parody contest on Hughes' nighttime show on WBAB on Long Island, New York. After subsequent appearances, Cumia decided to pursue a radio career and teamed with Hughes to host their own show.

The Ron & Ron Show was an American radio talk show that was nationally syndicated and hosted by Ron Diaz and Ron Bennington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Cumia</span> American talk radio personality and podcast host (born 1961)

Anthony Cumia is an American shock jock, podcaster and broadcaster. He is the host of The Anthony Cumia Show on the online video platform Compound Media, which he founded. Along with Gregg "Opie" Hughes, he was the co-host of the Opie and Anthony radio show, which aired from 1995 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrice O'Neal</span> American comedian and actor (1969–2011)

Patrice Lumumba Malcolm O'Neal was an American comedian and actor. He was known for his stand-up comedy career and his regular guest appearances on the talk show Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn and the radio show Opie and Anthony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregg Hughes</span> American radio personality and podcast host

Gregg Hughes better known by his air name Opie, is an American radio personality and podcast host best known as the former co-host of the Opie and Anthony radio show that aired from 1995 to 2014 with Anthony Cumia and comedian Jim Norton. From 2014 to 2016, Hughes and Norton stayed at SiriusXM as co-hosts of Opie with Jim Norton. In October 2016, Hughes became the host of his own show, The Opie Radio Show, which lasted until his firing, for filming an employee as he used the toilet, on July 7, 2017.

WWRM is a commercial radio station licensed to Tampa, Florida, and serving the Tampa Bay area. It has a hot adult contemporary format and is owned by Cox Media Group. The studios and offices are located on 4th Street North in St. Petersburg. It calls itself Magic 94.9.

The year 1997 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting history.

Dennis Elsas is an American disc jockey in New York City, whose radio and voiceover career has spanned 50 years, most notably his more than 25 years at WNEW-FM in New York City, where he debuted on July 11, 1971. He also served as music director. He currently hosts an afternoon show on WFUV in New York and weekend shows on Sirius XM Satellite Radio's Classic Vinyl and a live weekly call-in roundtable show, The Fab Fourum, on Sirius XM Satellite Radio's The Beatles Channel.

<i>Unmasked</i> (radio show) Radio show

Unmasked is an American radio show hosted by Ron Bennington that features one on one interviews with comedians, and established and emerging comedic talents.

<i>The Anthony Cumia Show</i> American talk show podcast

The Anthony Cumia Show(TACS) is an American audio and video podcast hosted by radio personality and former Opie and Anthony co-host Anthony Cumia, which airs on Cumia's subscription-based online streaming platform, Compound Media. It aired from August 4, 2014 to August 31, 2017, running for 628 original episodes. The show aired live from Cumia's home studio in Roslyn Heights, New York and, from 2015, a second studio in Manhattan, New York City.

Bennington is an American talk radio show hosted by Ron Bennington and his daughter Gail Bennington on Sirius XM Faction Talk.

Jim Norton & Sam Roberts is an American radio show hosted by Jim Norton and Sam Roberts that began airing in October 2016. The show originates from New York City and airs live on weekday mornings on Faction Talk, an uncensored channel on the subscription-based satellite radio service SiriusXM. The show is also available on-demand through the SiriusXM app.

References

  1. Bennington show, SiriusXM, July 31, 2017
  2. Rusnak, Jeff (26 August 1994). "The Outlaws Are In". Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  3. 95ynf Tampa Bay Radio History of WYNF FM 94.9 Radio Station
  4. Ron Diaz
  5. Baker, Chris (11 June 2003). "The Washington Times Channel Surfing Column". Washington Times.
  6. "Look Out, Howard!". Washington Post. pp. D03.
  7. Fez Whatley Announces Retirement From Radio, End to Ron and Fez Show
  8. "Ron Bennington to Host Fridays When Opie And Jim Norton Are Off". Lighthouse Magazine. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  9. Bennington Show
  10. RON BENNINGTON INTERVIEWS
  11. Indie Talk Radio-XL
  12. "Announcement of the program". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  13. Warren Durso, Esquire Magazine's Ugliest Comedian, as seen in movies "Cutoff" and "Even Money" with Chad Riden
  14. Geurts, Jimmy (10 April 2013). "SNL alum Jim Breuer earned his comedy chops in local clubs in the '80s". Tampa Bay Times . Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  15. Breuer, Jim (2010). I'm Not High: (But I've Got a Lot of Crazy Stories About Life as a Goat Boy, a Dad, and a Spiritual Warrior). Penguin. p. 48. ISBN   9781101443804.
  16. "In The Humidor » Cigars 101 - The Basics". In The Humidor. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24.
  17. Olvera, Jennifer (2013). Food Lovers' Guide to Chicago: The Best Restaurants, Markets & Local Culinary Offerings. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 283. ISBN   9781493006625.
  18. Chicago Menu
  19. "No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner: Chicago Cupcake Run: Molly's Cupcakes". No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner.
  20. "Pedigree of Ron Bennington".
  21. "Trackinfo - Greyhound racelines, breeding info".
  22. Ron Bennington talks about addiction and his past Part 1 of 3 (YouTube video). Vesperwow. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2024.