Channel
Surfing
by Laura Nachman
March 18, 2003
"The long and winding
road" for WMGK 102.9-FM disc jockey Andre Gardner has taken him to
his dream job of hosting "Breakfast with the Beatles" every
Sunday from 9-11 a.m. Gardner said he has been ready for this job
since the age of 3 when he was dubbed "The Baby Beatle" by his
mother when he would dance to "Please Mr. Postman" and other
Beatles songs.
Gardner, who worked at rival rock
station WYSP 94.1-FM from 1988-1993, returned to town last year after
almost a decade at WXRK-FM in New York City. He joked that many
listeners probably remember him as "The jerk on "The Howard
Stern Show," who had the thankless job of making sure Stern
wouldn't say something on the air that would get the station fined by
the FCC.
Gardner's Beatles' show dips into
his collection of over 220 songs, and features many rarities.
Where else can one hear a George Harrison song from the soundtrack of
"Shanghai Surprise?"
Gardner named his daughter, Glynnis,
3 after someone in the Beatles party. "During the "Get
Back" sessions, John (Lennon) would call his associate Glyn Johns
"Glynnis."
So what is Gardner's favorite
Beatles' song? No, it's not "Yesterday," "Hey
Jude," or "Paperback Writer." It's the B-side of
"Let It Be" called "You Know My Name - Look Up the
Number." You'll be sure to hear it on "Breakfast with
the Beatles" from 9-11 a.m. on Sunday.
Gardner also mans the 2-7 p.m.
shift on WMGK Monday through Friday.
"Good Day
Philadelphia" co-host Kerri Lee Halkett, 31, and WTXF manager of
broadcast information systems, Jim Liott, 35 have made a
"connection," as sources at the station say they are dating.
Although Halkett was not permitted to comment on the romance due to a
new station policy by new general manager Robert Simone that prohibits
WTXF employees from talking to the press, station insiders said the two
have been linked for a few months. Halkett is coming up on her
first anniversary at "Good Day."
Wally Kennedy, who recently
co-hosted the "St. Patrick's Day Parade" on WPVI, is holding
his own as the replacement for Marc Howard on the Sunday morning show,
"Inside Story." In the February sweeps, it beat
"Meet the Press" and "Face the Nation" at 10:30 a.m.
with a 5.3 rating/11 share compared to a 4.8 rating11 share last year.
Wally's "Sunday Live" that airs at 8 a.m., improved to a 4.9
rating/12 share from last year's 2.9 rating/8 share.
Former WPVI reporter Rose Tibayan
is set to marry Don Villar, a producer at the ABC station in Chicago in
June of 2004. Tibayan met the fellow Filipino-American at a
journalism convention six years ago, but began dating in August of 2003.
After only four months Villar proposed to Tibayan at the base of the
Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
Good news for two WPHT 1210-AM
hosts. Michael Smerconish has been named a contributor to CNN.
And Jeff Katz is a father for the second time, as his wife Heidi gave
birth to Julia Jaillet Katz. She joins brother, Harrison, 19
months.
|