The Listener

Gary Owens was a fixture on "Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In," a television program that everyone (at least everyone in my high school class) watched in the late 60s and early 70s. Gary’s full-time gig was the afternoon drive shift on KMPC, Los Angeles. On "Laugh-In," he played a parody of himself, cupping his hand over his ear, the better to hear his dulcet tones as they flowed into the oversized mike.

I sounded nothing like Gary Owens, but I always wanted to. So, when KBAT (later to become KKYX) agreed to take me on as a high school intern, I figured I’d better get my voice down an octave or two, and get it down fast. I practiced speaking from my diaphragm, but that didn’t seem to accomplish much other than making me yawn. So, I tried forcing my vocal cords into a lower register. All that did was get me in touch with my inner caveman. My first day at work was rapidly approaching, and I still sounded like the pimply-faced teenager I was.

The day of reckoning arrived. I walked into the newsroom to meet the news director, whose booming baritone punctuated the airwaves every afternoon. The red light went on, the news intro began playing, and Joe Simpson covered his ear. He not only covered it, he bent it all the way over, creating an airtight seal.

It worked for Joe; it worked for Gary. I’m still trying to find something that will work for me.

Dan Rosen

Joe Simpson

Dan Rosen

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