WGN-TV Adds New Commentator, "Earl Pitts"

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: WGN-TV Channel 9 has just signed another new, out-of-town commentator, and this commentator isn't even real. "Earl Pitts" will soon be delivering 90 second commentaries on WGN News and occasionally at various other times during the day. Why is the name "Earl Pitts" in quotations? "Earl Pitts" is a character created & voiced by legendary Midwestern DJ, Gary Burbank. : Earl Pitts (who sometimes goes by his supposed full name of Earl Pitts Uhmerikun), is the opinionated red-neck alter ego of Burbank's. The "Pitts" character is a cigar-smoking, too-proud, all-American, trailer trash knucklehead, who enjoys talking about subjects he knows little about. "Earl Pitts" started in the early 80's, long before comedians like "Larry the Cable Guy" took the same concept and made a hit out of it. : Here is a typical Earl Pitts commentary: When discussing why it is good to eat meat, he uses the argument that a living cow's natural methane gas expulsion from it's rear end is dangerous for the environment. "Did you ever hear a meat loaf fart?" "Every time you pass up a Big Mac, a polar bear dies at the North Pole." : This past Thursday, Gary Burbank filmed 8 pilot commentaries for WGN-TV. As "Pitts," he dressed in a camouflage Freedom cap and red flannel shirt. Burbank claims that he had a great time filming these initial 8 spots. "I'm excited," Burbank said. "I'm more intrigued. I want to see how this is going to fit in. I had to edit it down into 90 seconds. I think it worked." : While Burbank retired from full-time radio almost 3 years ago, he still records 5 radio shorts a week as "Earl Pitts." Those "Earl Pitts" radio spots are syndicated in 125 markets. "Earl is still hot and getting hotter again," Burbank said. : Being "Earl Pitts" on the radio is nothing new for Burbank. The "Earl Pitts" character has rarely been filmed, though. Burbank filmed a TV pilot episode as "Earl Pitts" in the early '90's, but that show was not picked up by any network. He also did a pair of local Cincinnati TV shows as Pitts. (Burbank was a very successful DJ in Cincinnati for most of his career.) These WGN commentaries are the first regularly filmed spots for ol' Earl. : The Tribune Company approached Gary Burbank about doing these segments for their Chicago television station a few weeks back. The Tribune Company's Television Group will also ask its other owned & operated TV stations to look at using the "Pitts" spots in their morning shows, as well. : Sean Compton, Senior Vice President for programming and entertainment for the Tribune Television Group said, "We've been exploring different programming opportunities with personalities from Web, TV and radio. Earl Pitts is heard all over the county. Why not see if there's a TV commentary opportunity for him?" : The man born with the name Billy Purser began as a DJ in the mid-60s, using the name Johnny Apollo in Memphis, TN. A few years later, he moved to Louisville, KY and adopted the Gary Burbank name. The name was a tribute to famed broadcaster, Gary Owens, who as the announcer on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In would announce each week that the TV show was coming from "beautiful downtown Burbank." For much of the 70's, Burbank bounced around radio stations in the southeast and as far north as Detroit (broadcasting into Windsor, Canada), before finally settling down at WLW-AM in Cincinnati, OH. Burbank was a top talent at WLW until he retired in 2007. It was there that he famously developed & used well over a dozen different voices & characters, including & especially "Earl Pitts." : WLW is Cincinnati's equivalent to Chicago's WLS-AM -- a one-time music radio powerhouse that became a popular talk radio format. Chicago radio legend Wally Phillips also worked at WLW just before coming to WGN-AM. Another big WLW alumni is Randy Michaels, the former Jacor/Clear Channel CEO, who now runs the Tribune Company. It was Randy Michaels that converted WLW from a music radio station to a talk station. The Ohio Jacor/Clear Channel connection is what brought Burbank to WGN (as well as numerous other Tribune hires in the past year or so). : There is no definitive start date for the "Earl Pitts" TV shorts on WGN-TV, but it is expected that they will begin in early to mid March.

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