Chaz Allen
Little Known Facts Show
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“This has to be the dumbest stunt that you have pulled to date!” Those were pretty much his wife’s words when he told her. And what he had just told her was not what she wanted to hear. After all, she had put up with quite a bit in this marriage thus far. As a radio station disc jockey at KACY, Robert wasn’t exactly on the top of the salary scale. Oh, don’t misunderstand, he was making ends meet. But getting rich? Nope. Not spinning platters. That’s what we called it before the days of CDs and digital music. The old 45s and even 78s. Now don’t tell me you don’t remember. I consider my days spent in the radio station to be golden. I love radio (always have) but you don’t get rich. Robert knew that too, and he decided to do something about it. He had heard of a new recording group that would be touring and they had an open play date in his area. If he could get them, he figured he could clean up, and make a tidy profit. Problem was the rock group was getting more popular all the time and their management company wanted some big bucks to guarantee the date. Not only would Robert have to put up a goodly sum of money, but in order to hold the expected crowd, it would have to be held outside. That made it susceptible to the weather too! A good rain and it would all be over. And Robert would be ruined. |
The group’s schedule did not allow for a return engagement for rain. Nope, it was an all or nothing proposition. Not that all that was so bad, but as I said, he needed money to send as a deposit to guarantee the band’s appearance. That’s what his wife was so cranky about. In order to get the money, he mortgaged his house. Her house! As if being the wife of a disc jockey wasn’t tenuous enough already, with the frequent changes in programming and stations being sold. This bozo had to go and take a second on her house to get the money for a rock group no less. The next two months were pure agony for her. She couldn’t believe that her whole life was wrapped up in some silly almost-unknown musical group. But it was! To make a good story short, let me tell you that in the end all went well. The group came and performed to an over-sold house. No, it didn’t rain, and Robert made a very handsome profit. With which he paid the mortgage off and promised never to do it again. And he used the money to promote a good career for himself. He became a manager for such greats as Stevie Wonder, Ike and Tina Turner, The Beach Boys, The Supremes, Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton and Marty Robbins just to name a few. He created and produced such television hit shows as the Tony Tennille Show, The Guinness Game, Infatuation and even the major motion picture “Payback.” And I’ll bet you didn’t know any of that either. Because you do know Robert, the man who mortgaged his home and darn near lost a wife for a chance at the big time. But you know him as host for one of the most popular game shows of all times. It’s a Little Known Fact that Robert (Bob) Eubanks, host of The Newlywed Game, once almost lost it all by mortgaging his home to promote an unknown but growing rock group. But as I said, that worked out all right too, for both Bob and . . . The Beatles. |