Topic: Larry Lujack (Superjock)

[oldcoastie6468]

Larry Lujack, legendary Chicago DJ, dies
Radio legend dies of cancer at 73

By Michelle Manchir
Tribune reporter
11:30 p.m. CST, December 18, 2013

Larry Lujack, the legendary Chicago radio personality known as “Superjock” and “Uncle Lar,” died Wednesday in New Mexico, his wife said. He was 73.



Judith “Jude” Lujack told the Tribune her husband had been in hospice care for three days and died of esophageal cancer.

Lujack was known for his gravelly voice, sometimes surly disposition and larger-than-life personality. His radio celebrity paved the way for such shock jocks as Howard Stern, said Bruce DuMont, founder and president of the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago.

He worked for rock ‘n’ roll stations in Chicago from the 1960s until 1987.

Jude Lujack recalled how much her husband enjoyed his retirement in New Mexico, where’d he’d lived the last 15 years, teaching his grandchildren how to golf and enjoying the mountainous views.

“He was passionate … about everything that he did, whether it was helping neighbors or taking care of charities,” said Lujack.

Jude Lujack said he leaves behind a daughter, a son, a stepson and two grandchildren. Another son preceded him in death.

“We’re really hurting right now,” she said Wednesday night from their New Mexico home.

Lujack said he requested that his body be donated to the New Mexico Medical Center for research, which she called a demonstration of his compassion.

“He wasn’t defined by being a Hall of Famer or a superjock, he was defined by being the man that he was, and he was an amazing human being,” Jude Lujack said.

In 1987, WLS-AM management bought out his contract amid sliding ratings. The purveyor of the “Animal Stories” and “Cheap, Trashy Showbiz Reports” features then retired.

Lujack was recognized for his decades of achievement with his induction in 2002 into the Illinois Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. The honor came at the IBA’s annual convention in Peoria, just as Lujack was turning 62.

WLS Animal Stories Pt 1

I sent in an Animal Story to him I got from a friend in Idaho when that state was being overrun with jackrabbits. He read it on the air and credited me as the contributor! (My only claim to fame!) It never made it to one of his records, though. It was for the Idaho Club Sandwich, with a cartoon with rabbit ears sticking out of the sandwich and an ad for a "special breed of long eared cats."   

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-larry-lujack-dead-20131218,0,3056121.story

[ToddF]

Beat me to it.  I delivered papers to Animal Stories, and swear to this day it was the inspiration for Rush Limbaugh's Animal Rights Updates.

RIP

[IronDioPriest]

I barely remember the name and the voice from when I was a little kid. We lived in Wheaton IL for a three year stint between 2nd and 5th grade.

[Libertas]

Knew the name and he was a DJ, mostly wehn being discussed by others on the radio IIRC, really don't know much beyond that.

MNHawk could be right about that Rush inspiration.

[ToddF]

I grew up in Muscatine Iowa.  WLS being a high power station was clear as a bell, in the days when most cars had only AM radio.  This was dad's station, so I was literally musically weaned to WLS.  In my first couple of cars I had no FM radio, so the Big 89 was my station.

Larry Lujack & Tommy Edwards in the mornings with Animal Stories was a big part of that.  I actually have albums (Best of Animal Stories) 1, 2, and 3.  I think 2 is even funnier than 1, although 3 is a dropoff.

They actually did a reunion last year, for PSA's.  Worth a listen, for old fans.

http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/2392-the-wls-animal-stories-news-team-reunite-for-psas

[oldcoastie6468]

I have albums 1 & 2.Whenever I feel low and need a laugh........ 

[oldcoastie6468]

Web Extra: Remembering Larry Lujack
Chicago Tonight | December 19, 2013 9:30 am

Legendary Chicago radio personality Larry Lujack died Wednesday at the age of 73. We look back at two of Lujack's appearances from WTTW's archives. Check back here later to watch a 2003 episode of The Friday Night Show featuring Lujack interviewed by Bob Sirott when he talked about his beginnings in radio and his influence on disc jockeys and radio hosts who came after him; and a 1984 episode of Chicago Tonight featuring a conversation between Lujack and John Callaway.

http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2013/12/19/web-extra-remembering-larry-lujack

[oldcoastie6468]

Possibly one of the funniest Animal Stores is the first selection on this video. We just laugh every time we hear it.

"The Disco Kit"

Animal Stories Vol 2 Side 2