Brian Wayne Phelps (born May 5, 1959) is an American

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

personality (

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

) and occasional

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

, best known for the nationally

syndicated Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

'' Mark & Brian'' morning show. Brian began his acting career at

Cambridge High School Cambridge High School may refer to: In the United States *Cambridge High School (Georgia) in Milton, Georgia *Cambridge High School (Idaho) in Cambridge, Idaho * Cambridge High School (Illinois) in Cambridge, Illinois * Cambridge Rindge and Lati ...

Cambridge, Illinois Cambridge is a village in Henry County, Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other ...

, and appeared in the school's musicals, as well as being a member of the Cambridge Vikings football team. After graduating in 1977, Brian attended college in

Normal, Illinois Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and Illinois' seventh mos ...

. After attending

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

, Phelps did commercial work and

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

before meeting his partner

Mark Thompson Mark Thompson may refer to: Sports * Mark Thompson (American football) (born 1994), American football player * Mark Thompson (baseball) (born 1971), baseball player * Mark Thompson (footballer) (born 1963), former Australian rules football premie ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

in 1986. The next year the duo moved their show to

KLOS-FM Klos or KLOS may refer to: *Klos (surname) *Klos, Dibër, a town in eastern Albania **Harketari Klos KF, a defunct football club based in Klos, Dibër *Klos, Elbasan, a village in central Albania *Klos, Mallakastër, a village in south-central Alban ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. The enormous popularity of his radio show has given Phelps several opportunities to branch out into other entertainment media. In 1991–92, he and Thompson hosted a short-lived

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

, '' The Adventures of Mark & Brian'', based on their radio show. Phelps has also appeared in several

motion pictures A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, notably '' Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'' (the 1993 ninth installment in the ''

Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. ...

'' series) and ''

The Princess Diaries ''The Princess Diaries'' is a series of epistolary young adult novels written by Meg Cabot, and is also the title of the first volume, published in 2000. The series revolves around Amelia 'Mia' Thermopolis, a teenager in New York who discovers ...

'' (2001). He has also made numerous

guest appearances, including the role of Reverend Gigg LeCarp on the

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy program ...

series ''

Reno 911! ''Reno 911!'' is an American comedy television series airing on Comedy Central. It is a mockumentary-style parody of law enforcement documentary shows, specifically ''Cops'', with comic actors playing the police officers. Thomas Lennon, Robe ...

''. Phelps often ended the ''Mark & Brian Show'' with the catch phrase "Be good humans!". On August 17, 2012, after 25 years as the KLOS morning team, Mark and Brian signed off the air waves and closed their show. Brian debuted the podcast "The Brian and Jill Show" on September 10, 2012 with his new partner, actress

Jill Whelan Jill Whelan (born September 29, 1966) is an American actress. She played Vicki Stubing, the daughter of Captain Stubing, in the first nine seasons of the American television series ''The Love Boat'' (later rebooted as '' Love Boat: The Next W ...

. On August 17, 2020 The Radio Hall of Fame has announced its list of inductees for its 2020 class. Longtime 95.5 KLOS Los Angeles morning hosts Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps (Longstanding Local/Regional). https://www.radiohalloffame.com/2020-inductees

External links

*
Mark & Brian Archive SiteBrian & Jill Official Website
American radio DJs 1959 births Living people Illinois State University alumni {{US-radio-bio-stub