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Joe Amarante, Register Staff
January 31, 2003
NEW HAVEN — Agnew the wonder dog has barked his last at WPLR. Smith & Barber, a popular morning show on WPLR-FM for almost 18 years, ended its storied local run Thursday when management bought out the remaining contract of its two stars.
Another morning radio team, Chaz and A.J. from Long Island station WRCN-FM, will take over the morning-drive program at the classic-rock station as early as next week, officials said.
Bruce Barber and WPLR General Manager John Ryan confirmed that what led to the change was the feeling by Barber that he was ready to do something else.
"Bruce came to us in October and said work wasn’t as much fun as it once was," said Ryan Thursday. "After 17 years that’s a natural remark to make, but he mentioned it again a couple of weeks later and that got our attention."
Ryan said he listened to the show closely after that, especially when Brian Smith was on solo, and determined the show wouldn’t work with just Smith (and supporting players Megan Doll and Billy Winn).
It was also determined that finding a new partner for Smith would likely fail.
Program Director Ed Sabatino made a correlation to TV’s "Seinfeld," which earned top ratings but never produced a successful spinoff for its supporting cast.
Barber also made a "Seinfeld" reference, saying the morning team was going out on top. The show was recently named by Arbitron as the No. 1 morning-drive program in the New Haven radio market.
"It’s hard; we had such a great run together," Barber said. "I spoke with Brian a little while ago. … He was surprised; he thought something might happen in May. It was a surprise when they said to take the rest of the contract as a sabbatical."
Smith couldn’t be reached for comment.
A lot has changed in radio since Smith and Barber were teamed up in 1985, when Ron Rohmer was still leading WELI-AM’s morning drive and the Hartford voices on WHCN were Picozzi and the Horn.
Rival WKCI-FM has gone through at least four morning teams during that period. And WPLR had to name a new team, too, in 1989 when Smith and Barber took a job at WKRL-FM in Tampa, Fla. The job went sour fairly quickly and the pair returned to WPLR’s Hamden studio in May 1990.
The station’s recent owner, Cox Radio, has since moved the studios to a building near the Merritt Parkway in Milford. Barber, a bachelor when he started at WPLR, is now a married father of four children.
He said now it’s as good a time as any to wrap it up.
"I wasn’t feeling challenged. We were just shy of our 18th anniversary … and I sort of treated the 18 years as my adolescence," Barber said.
The show featured occasional rock songs but a majority of ad-libbing and goofing about local personalities, news stories and sexual innuendo. Smith was the smooth, personable and relaxed board operator; Barber sat or stood off to the side with his laptop computer and a stack of newspapers.
The show featured its share of wacky stunts, visiting actors, local musicians, gushing fans and strippers.
Smith would close each show with the recorded bark of wonder dog Agnew.
The pair had a loyal following and appeared at countless community events. Each St. Patrick’s Day the show would pack Callahan’s tavern and its parking lot in Cheshire with a lively remote show.
Barber, whose wife, Karen, is a doctor at Yale-New Haven Hospital, said he would be starting an Internet-based business called Famarama that would allow families to share information on raising children.
"That’s the stuff that interests me now," Barber said.
Ryan said he hoped that Winn, Doll and producer Jesse Goslin would stay on "for the long haul."
Ryan said he expected reaction today from Smith and Barber fans and that Thursday was no picnic either.
"It wasn’t an easy day," he said.