Phil Hendrie

Philip Stephen Hendrie (b. September 1, 1952, Pasadena, California) is the host of "The Phil Hendrie Show," a comedy talk radio program syndicated throughout North America on Premiere Radio Networks and on XM Satellite Radio weeknights from 7:00pm to 10:00pm Pacific time. While "The Phil Hendrie Show" has become renowned for its unique and controversial guests, those guests are not real people at all — they are fictional characters created and portrayed by Hendrie.

Related Topics:
September 1 - 1952 - Pasadena, California - Premiere Radio Networks - XM Satellite Radio - Fictional characters

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Though Hendrie often alludes to the fact that he is, in fact, doing the voices, listeners are invited to call and many are duped into believing that the guests on the show are real. He rapidly switches back and forth between a studio microphone and a conventional telephone, creating the illusion that his "guest" has called into the show. Adding to the llusion, the telephone line often features prerecorded background noises from various locations.

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Early in his program's syndication, Hendrie was reluctant to reveal that he was the voice behind his outrageous "guests". The only notification to those listeners was the occasional "It's a goof" mumbled at the start of the show. He discovered, however, that once listeners knew the truth, his show's ratings went up sharply.

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Hendrie began doing voices on his program at KVEN in Ventura, California during the Gulf War when he created "Raj Fahneen," an Egyptian who demanded that George H. W. Bush bow down to Iraqis. Following moves to Minneapolis and then to Miami, Hendrie further developed his show and in 1996 moved to KFI, Los Angeles. In February of 2005, Hendrie was replaced by his flagship station in Los Angeles, KFI. His show has since been moved to XTRA Sports 570 (KLAC), a sports talk station geared more toward entertainment, which according to Hendrie is a better fit for the show than the political talk heard on KFI.

Related Topics:
Ventura, California - Gulf War - Egypt - George H. W. Bush - Iraq - Minneapolis - Miami - KFI - KLAC

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Hendrie has voiced characters in television and movies since 1999, including King of the Hill, Futurama, and in 2004, Team America: World Police. Some believe his stoner-like characterization of Team America's central computer system, I.N.T.E.L.L.I.G.E.N.C.E. was loosely based on his radio character, Dr. Jeff Dowder.

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