Friday, March 28, 2008

My New Radio and Television Role Model, Petey Greene

Apparently Don Cheadle made a feature film not so long ago where he himself portryed tv and radio talk show host, Petey Greene. Being a dumbass, I paid it no mind.

And even after seeing the following, I'm still not sure I will see that movie, Talk to Me, but I will seek out the documentary.

Long story short, he was from Washington, D.C., a high school dropout, was kicked out of the army for drug use, and ended up with a 10-year prison sentence for armed robbery.

That's where he got his first "radio" experience - as the prisons's disc jockey. How fucking cool is that?

Anyway, that, combined with his idea to convince a fellow inmate to threaten suicide by leaping from a water only to "save his life" by talking him down, would take time off his sentence.

After leaving prison, he took a job at an AM station to host his own show, "Rapping with Petey Greene," and later ended up with a tv show.

Howard Stern was/is a big fan, and enjoyed one of his first tv appearances thanks to Mr. Greene.

According to Wikipedia:
"On March 8, 1978, he was invited as a guest to the White House by President Jimmy Carter to honor visiting Yugoslavian President Josip Broz Tito. He famously quipped to the Washington Post that he 'stole a spoon' during the evening gala."


If you're not already convinced that this man is an entertainment god, check out his advice on eating watermelon.



Then a preview of his documentary.

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