Bob Kevoian
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Robert James Kevoian (born December 2, 1950) is a retired American radio host of the nationally syndicated
radio show A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netw ...
''
The Bob & Tom Show ''The Bob & Tom Show'' is a syndicated US radio program established by Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold at radio station WFBQ in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 7, 1983, and syndicated nationally since January 6, 1995. Originally syndicated by Pre ...
'' together with his partner,
Tom Griswold Thomas "Tom" Bruce Griswold (born April 22, 1953) co-hosts the radio show ''The Bob & Tom Show'' together with Chick McGee, Kristi Lee, and Josh Arnold. Co-host Bob Kevoian retired at the end of 2015. This comedy-based early morning program is ...
. The show is broadcast from WFBQ's studios in
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
.


Education

Kevoian is a 1973 graduate of
California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...
. With no formal training in radio, Kevoian had never set foot in a radio studio until his time at WBMN in Petoskey, Michigan, where he met future business partner Tom Griswold. Kevoian was awarded an
honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
in Communications from
Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...
where he gave the
commencement speech In the United States, a commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions and in similar institutions around the ...
in 2003.


Entertainment career

After touring the U.S. for three years as sound engineer of
The Young Americans The Young Americans is a non-profit organization and performing group based in Southern California. First founded in 1962 by Milton C. Anderson, the group was credited with being the first show choir in America, mixing choreography with choral ...
, Kevoian began his radio career at
WMBN WMBN ("Michigan's Beautiful North") is an AM radio station broadcasting at 1340 kilohertz, kHz in Petoskey, Michigan, United States. The station, owned by MacDonald Garber Broadcasting, Inc. airs the Fox Sports Radio format of sports radio, spor ...
in
Petoskey, Michigan Petoskey ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Emmet County, Michigan, and is the largest settlement within the county. Petoskey has a population of 5,877 at the 2020 census, up from 5,670 at the 2010 census. Petoskey is part of N ...
, in 1979. That lasted until 1982, when Kevoian joined cross-town
WJML WJML may refer to: * WJML (FM), a radio station (106.3 FM) licensed to serve Thompsonville, Michigan, United States * WWMN (AM), a radio station (1110 AM) licensed to Petoskey, Michigan, which held the call sign WJML from 1966 to 2024 * WAWM (FM ...
where Bob and Tom teamed up as a regular morning show. "We were there for 12 to 18 months," Kevoian recalls. The pairing of one of syndicated radio's most successful morning shows came when radio personality-by-day Kevoian moonlighted as a bartender at Harbor Springs, Michigan's Bar Harbor. "In small town radio, you needed to supplement your income by doing anything," the Long Beach State University alum states. "Tom came in after a J. Geils concert at Castle Farms in
earby Earby is a town and civil parish within the Borough of Pendle, Lancashire, England. Although within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic West Riding of Yorkshire, West Riding of Yorkshire, Earby has been administered by ...
Charlevoix Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands ...
and ordered a drink. At the end of the bar was another guy who worked in Country radio." The two radio talents were talking about the inferior nature of their respective stations' cart machines. "Tom overheard us and asked if we worked in radio and I told him I was doing middays," Kevoian remembers. "Tom said he did a year of radio in Florida, but was out of work and wanted to visit the station and look at the trades. Two days later, he was hired as my PD; it was pretty wild." They achieved a 44 share in the ratings and in order to get rid of them the competition made a compilation tape of their best bits and mailed it to the Superstars Convention, a gathering of program directors from 300 stations, where it was played. They started getting offers from all over the country. He is the producer, director, writer and composed credits for The ''Bob and Tom Show Home Movie'', 2004. Kevoian participated in the Bob and Tom Radio: The Comedy Tour shows recorded in
Anderson, Indiana Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. The population was 54,788 at the 2020 census. It is named after Chief William Anderson. The city is the headquarters of the Church of God and its Anderson ...
. Kevoian has personally produced over 15,000 "bits" used in his show, some of which are actually his original ideas.


Retirement

On November 5, 2015, after being inducted along with Tom Griswold into the National Radio Hall of Fame, Kevoian announced his retirement effective at the end of 2015. His last live show as co-host aired on December 17, 2015. On November 17, 2016, Bob and Tom were reunited when they were inducted into the Indiana Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Kevoian made his first post-retirement appearance as a guest host on April 3, 2017, when the show was in Cincinnati for the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
home opener. Kevoian returned again on December 8, 2017, filling in for Tom Griswold. Kevoian returned March 30, 2018, and March 28, 2019, for the Cincinnati Reds opening day broadcast and again on May 24, 2019, for the Indianapolis 500 Bob and Tom Show. Kevoian returned once again on April 17, 2020, to the show.


On TV

The
Bob and Tom Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) *Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II *Bob the ...
Show aired nightly on
WGN America WGN America was an American subscription television network that operated from November 9, 1978 to February 28, 2021. The service was originally uplinked to satellite by United Video Inc. as a national feed of Chicago independent station WGN-T ...
and occasionally weekend best of airings until its cancellation in September 2010.


Personal life

Kevoian was born in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, to John Hike "Toby" Kevoian and Jean Baker. On April 2, 2005, he married his current wife, Becky Martin. He has a son named Toby.07 Kevoian has stepsons named Wade and Joey. Kevoian is almost always seen wearing a
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
hat as a tribute to his father, who was a longtime employee of the Dodgers, but considers himself "a big Cincinnati Reds fan." Kevoian is an avid
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
player and has written some of the lyrics and music for the show's comedic parodies. Kevoian's brother-in-law (Becky's brother) is world-renowned
tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...
player Rex Martin. Kevoian's younger brother is actor Peter Kevoian. His mother was on ''
Let's Make a Deal ''Let's Make a Deal'' (also known as ''LMAD'') is a television game show that originated in the United States in 1963 and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The program was created and produced by Stefan Hatos and Mo ...
'' and won a Brunswick
pool table A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which cue sports are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables (whether for carom billiards, pool, pyramid or snooker) provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, that ...
, which she traded for cases of oyster stew. She retired from the Los Angeles County Office of Education in
Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program and Taco Bell. It is ...
. Kevoian also likes to collect "large" ordinary items, such as coffee cups or safety pins that are extremely large compared to their normal sizes. Kevoian likewise keeps a collection of these "large" items in his studio. On June 7, 2023, Kevoian made a guest appearance on the Bob & Tom show to reveal he had been diagnosed with gastric cancer. Kevoian says the outlook is very good and he has responded to treatment well. While on the show Kevoian promoted his podcast "The Bob & Cancer show". The show includes him, his wife Becky Kevoian, and longtime Bob & Tom show friend Whit Grayson. The show chronicles his journey with cancer and highlights the humorous aspects of it. During his treatment, it has been stated that he has experienced no hair loss and his iconic mustache is still intact and ready to celebrate its 54th birthday on June 18, 2023.


References


External links


The Official Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold Radio Show Website
*
Bob Kevoian SoundCloud profile

Inside Radio interview with Bob Kevoian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kevoian, Bob 1950 births California State University, Long Beach alumni Living people Radio personalities from Indianapolis Radio personalities from Los Angeles American people of Armenian descent The Young Americans members American satirists American radio show creators American satirical radio show creators