Phil Hendrie is a genius
I have been digging Phil Hendrie quite a bit lately. I have listened off and on for years (probably six or seven now, I grew up on the AM radio dial) but now I have been catching the shows I miss online. Hendrie is the most talented personality currently on radio, bar none.
For those not in the know (something I suggest you change) Hendrie has a few interviews per show. Usually they involve an insane guest and irrate callers. But as LA Weekly puts it,
The hook — the kicker, as they like to say in Hollywood — is that Hendrie does the voices of all his guests, some 40 regular characters in all, while the callers themselves are real.
Hendrie ties in the characters amazingly well. They come in different races, sexes, ages and political stances (and are performed in real time without the aid of anyone else). The only uniform fact is that they typically say very offensive things. The first time I listened, when I was a mere tween, Ted Bell of Ted’s of Beverly Hills was on to talk about his policy of reusing food from guests at his restaurant. Why would we throw out half a plate of good food? That’s what stir fry is for. I was hooked even though I wasn’t quite sure what the schtick was (that in fact it was an interview with one man).
I watched a webcast of his show to see him in action and it’s quite the workout. He uses a regular phone to voice the characters (to simulate that they are calling into the show) and a regular radio mic for himself. He is almost flawless in delivery.
Here’s the first hour from a recent show to illustrate what I’m talking about. Hendrie is both characters in this conversation and it was performed live (just from notes). In this clip: Brad Rifkin’s Hollywood Party Experience company sent a Natalie Holloway impersonator to a little girls bats mitzvah. If you’re easily offended, steer clear. The last half of this clip involves Phil just driving the caller crazy, making absolutely no sense.
Start listening!
I originally thought Hendrie did all the voices but I actually did find on google one time information that a second guy did many of the most well known voices but was under contract to never discuss it or reveal his identity. There was even a picture of the guy. But you say he does it live, so maybe someone just pulled a Phil Hendrie on me?
Here’s some followup info on the “other” voice.
http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/philhendrie/jharris.html
Well I’ve seen live videos of him doing it Russ, so it was just him those nights.
HA. I believe you. Like I said, I guess that guy with the website is pulling a “Phil Hendrie” himself. I’ll check out the videos but it looks like I have to get Phil’s backstage pass to download those. I’ve made an effor to listen to Phil carefully to find any of the voices overlapping and haven’t found any, so Phil’s good.
oh come on i can up with my own theory about this
ccc has voice changers that can dupcalite any voice
phil may not being doing these voices
I have been listening to Phil for almost 8 years now. I can vouch for the fact that Phil does ALL of the voices himself. He has some supporting helpers, but they are more administrative and such. The voices are Phil’s, 100% of the time.
I have seen Phil in person twice, once back in the 2000 timeframe and again more recently. He will do 5-6 different voices each time. All told, I’ve heard most of his voices actually come from his mouth.
He truly is a genius. You should make every effort to see him do a show in person; it’s something you’ll never forget.
thanks,
bruce
I have been listening for 10 years and have talked to his staff, watched live broadcasts and been a backstage pass member for years. IS IS REAL. HE IS THE REAL MCCOY He is a genius. Get a backstage pass and watch his live webcasts on file and see him do the whole show with a microphone and a phone line. It is hilarious. Get all the facts before drawing conclusions.
Eric Hester is the genius. His fresh ideas regarding reality television will revolutionize the way we view boob tube. Phil Hendrie sucks, Eric Hester is much better