Thursday, November 11, 2010

11/12-Alan Colmes

Alan Colmes-Liberal Commentator, Syndicated Radio Talk Show Host and Fox News Channel Political Contributor

In 1979, his first year in talk radio, Alan Colmes unintentionally changed national policy during the Iranian hostage crisis by calling the American Embassy and speaking to a "student" identified as "Z". After that program, the US banned calls to Iran. During the ensuing years, Colmes spoke to luminaries like former President Bill Clinton and former President George H.W. Bush, and was stood up by the Reverend Al Sharpton at least four times. Colmes was the first media person to interview seduced secretary Jessica Hahn during the Jim Bakker scandal -- he accomplished this by promising her a stretch limousine with color TV as her transport to and from the station, plus a sandwich from the Carnegie Deli.
He was the last person to speak on radio stations WNBC, WMCA and WEVD before each closed or changed its format. WNBC went off the air in 1988, WMCA was sold to a religious broadcaster shortly after Colmes began there, and WEVD was leased to Disney to cover its ESPN format.
Colmes found himself heard in a new and unwelcome (to him) format when rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy took an earlier interview with Colmes and sampled it in Fear of a Black Planet. He threatened to sue, but could not, because Colmes did not own his own words -- the station did. He later stated in an interview that he and Chuck D "laugh about it".
In October of 1996, Colmes moved to television as Sean Hannity's co-host on Fox News' eponymous Hannity and Colmes, where Colmes offered a centrist liberal counterpoint Fox News opposite the conservative Hannity. In 2003, Fox News brought Colmes back to radio with the nationally-syndicated Alan Colmes Show, and in 2009 he quit Hannity's TV show.



Scott St. James began his acting career with a role in Heart Of A Champion: The Ray Mancini Story. Since then, he has appeared in dozens of motion pictures and TV series including Everybody Loves Raymond, ER and Jimmy Kimmel Live! His national television commercial credits include roles for American Express, Pepsi and Honda Motor Company. A true renaissance man, Scott began his career as an award-winning radio personality, enjoying tremendous success at stations all across the country, including St. Louis powerhouse KMOX and KMPC and KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, working with legendary personalities Robert W. Morgan and Rick Dees. Along the way he picked up multiple Golden Mike and Mark Twain Awards for commentary writing. His daily morning commentaries on Arrow 93FM covered a broad spectrum of topics from sports to entertainment to politics, and over a period of nine years, raised an eyebrow or two. In the 80’s, Scott was also the on-camera Sports Director at LA’s KCAL-TV, Channel 9. Contact Scott St. James via e-mail: scottstjames@sbcglobal.net