Joe Pyne: America's First Angry Talk Show Host

 By Bruce Shawkey

I remember my grandparents watching "The Joe Pyne Show" on late-night TV, when they wanted a break from "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson. I thought it odd that my typically mild-mannered grandparents would want to watch a show filled with anger and confrontation.

But there it was. The show is being called the prototype for more modern-day "shock shows" hosted by the likes of Howard Stern, Geraldo Rivera, Morton Downey, Phil Donahue, and others.

The episodes I remember typically involved Joe insulting guests where they would walk off the set --- KKK. Nazi, and John Birch guests. One of Joe's catch phrases was "Oh, go gargle with razorblades."

The rest of this entry I am paraphrasing from an NPR article on Pyne.

One thing absolutely forbidden on the show was to mention Joe's wooden leg, which resulted from an injury during World War II, where he served in the Marines. That injury turned cancerous, which resulted in the loss of his lower leg.

In one exchange with Frank Zappa. Pyne is reported to have said "I guess your long hair makes you a woman," to which it is claimed that Zappa responded "So I guess your wooden leg makes you a table."

Pyne died of cancer in 1970, just a few years after his show went national. He was 45.

People who knew Pyne well say his personality and personal views didn't always align with his on-screen persona. "Off the air, he was a totally different person," Harrell says. "When the microphone went out, when it was just you and him, he was nice."

"It's just a shtick," said Ed Pyne, his son. He remembers dad telling him, "Don't ever worry if people are taking shots at you. If you want to worry, it's when people stop talking about you."