Goodbye Uncle Lar- RIP Larry Lujack

We got the very sad news that charming and delightful ol’ Uncle Lar- the inimitable Larry Lujack- has passed away. Larry  was a top radio personality in Chicago for many years, and  well remembered by fans as “SuperJock” (which was also the title of his autobiography).

The first time I met Larry was at a taping at WFLD with Jerry G. Bishop as the original Svengoolie . Jerry and Larry had known each other from back when Larry first came to Chicago, and was doing the overnight shift on WCFL, while Jerry was doing mornings. Larry was a guest  on that Sven show, and I remember us , off camera, discussing a rumor that Larry and  a guy named Chuck Collins- a sort of "underground" TV personality- might buy Ch. 44. The rumor wasn’t true in the least.

In his book, “SuperJock”, Larry talked about how he had taken over the WCFL overnight show that had been hosted by Yvonne Daniels playing jazz. He recalled that, shortly after hitting the air playing some rock oldies, he got a call from a female listener asking “What’s with this Brenda Lee s%*t, baby?”

Of course, Larry moved on to morning and afternoon shifts , back and forth between WLS and WCFL. He had them bring in  his old friend, deejay  “World Famous” Tom Murphy, whom I would work with  later, for an air shift. Larry teamed up with Tommy Edwards  at WLS for the incredibly popular feature “Animal Stories” which he and Tommy brought back in several incarnations. His on-air style of pretty much speaking his mind, being a bit ornery and cranky, would make him stand out from the typical, happy-talking radio personalities. I’d run into Larry now and then, including before and after I had become my Sven character. He was always friendly, even though I always had the feeling that he’d rather not be at some of the events- and would rather be golfing!

Ironically, both Larry and Jerry G. had their last Chicago air shifts on the same station, a few years ago, on the “Real Oldies” am station, which was doomed by its low power. Both men did their shifts from their respective home towns, and were never actually in Chicago.

Larry had coronary bypass surgery (yeah, him too!) a few years ago- but not many of us here knew about the esophageal cancer that has now sadly stilled his voice forever. So, now, both he and Jerry are in the great hereafter, probably swapping broadcasting stories and laughing at us foolish mortals still toiling below. Are we all gonna be okay, Uncle Lar? Sure- but…a little sad.