Larry Glick

Who was Larry Glick?

Larry Glick was an American talk radio host, based in Boston, Massachusetts, whose long-running show on WBZ and later WHDH became a New England institution in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Prior to ending its run on WHDH in 1992, Larry's show went out first over WMEX in 1965. By 1967, he had been hired by WBZ, where he would spend the next 20 years. WBZ Radio is a powerful 50,000-watt Boston station that blanketed the six New England states and reached well beyond, from the Maritime provinces of Canada down through the Carolinas in the South and as far west as the rockies. Larry's "Glicknicks", third-shift workers and insomniacs throughout much of the eastern seaboard and midwest, took comfort when Larry's unique brand of talk radio came on at midnight. For six hours, Larry's affable and charismatic voice enfolded a mix of lighthearted chat, sassy sound effects, obscure and funny musical numbers, and lots of generally wacky calls from listeners.

A typical show might feature a sometimes serious guest, an exchange of repartee with his hapless engineer at the station, and free-ranging free associations on current events and life. Some callers became institutions like Larry: Arnold Tarbox, the dry and droll Maine fisherman; Charlie DiGiovanni, a wisecracking Boston cabdriver; the Champagne Lady; Boston newspaper legend, Kenny "The Night Owl" Mayer; and a number of others. A call from some of these regulars could seem like a visit from an old friend.