Ron and Fez

The Ron and Fez Show is a national radio show hosted by talk radio duo Ron Bennington and Fez "Marie" Whatley.With a background as professional comedians known for their sharp minds and lightning fast delivery, over their almost twenty year career in talk radio, the Ron and Fez show has evolved and grown, from market to audience to timeslot.

Florida (1986-2000)

Fez Whatley grew up in the Tampa suburbs, and for almost 15 years it was home to Ron Bennington, a transplant from Philadelphia, PA. Appropriately, this location became the testing ground for both Ron and Fez's blooming broadcasting careers.

Related Topics:
Fez Whatley - Tampa - Suburbs - Ron Bennington - Philadelphia - PA

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On July 7, 2004, while Ron and Fez were still on terrestrial radio, they briefly returned to the Tampa airwaves when "The Ron and Fez Show" was syndicated from Washington D.C. for a six month stint.

Related Topics:
July 7 - 2004 - Syndicated

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The Ron and Ron Show (1986-1997)

In the mid-1980s, stand up comedian, Ron Bennington joined Ron Diaz in creating the hugely popular, and raunchy, morning radio show "The Ron and Ron Show." The show eventually was syndicated all over the southeastern United States, and became a launching pad for show regulars like Gary Spivey, The Curtain Boy (comedian Warren Durso) and Larry The Cable Guy. Producer Fez Whatley and regular guest Paul O. all took advantage of their on-air opportunities and became popular and prominent show personalities.

Related Topics:
Ron Diaz - The Ron and Ron Show - Syndicated - Southeastern United States - Gary Spivey - Warren Durso - Larry The Cable Guy

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For a brief period of time, Fez hosted a second show - "Hooters On The Radio" - with Hooters girls. It was during this time that he also developed the very popular "Nature Boy" character, as a tribute to the wrestler Ric Flair. "The Ron & Ron Radio Network" made national headlines when, during the height of the success of "Miami Vice," Ron and Ron got into a verbal screaming match with actor Don Johnson. This segment is often repeated and aired on television biographies on Johnson, to illustrate his lowest point when battling alcohol addiction. Eventually, Diaz left the show, and on September 29, 1997, after an eleven year run, syndication and after several replacement hosts failed to gel with Bennington, "The Ron and Ron Show" was officially cancelled.

Related Topics:
Hooters - Ric Flair - Don Johnson - Television - September 29 - 1997

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"Let The Puppies Breathe"

In the early 1990s, to meet the needs of their fans, the Ron and Ron Show produced CDs and videotapes with show highlights and specially produced material. While their two videos, "Pup Friction" and "Let The Puppies Breathe" included footage from the show and original bits in between segments, much like the popular "Girls Gone Wild" video series or Opie and Anthony's "WOW" promotion, both of which they predated, the underlying request behind the phrase "Let the Puppies Breathe" was to encourage women to expose their bare breasts, which was featured on both tapes.

Related Topics:
Girls Gone Wild - Opie and Anthony's

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Florida Appearances

While in Florida, Ron and Fez hosted several comedy shows that were very racy, explicit and very adult in nature. These included:

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• Diaz Live From The Riviera Deli (1989)
• Ybor City (1991)
• Tampa Convention Center (1992)
• Celebrities in Orlando (1992)
• The Button South, Hallendale (1993)
• Daytona, Beach (1993)
• Frankie's Patio, Ybor City, Tampa (1995)
• The Ron and Ron Christmas Party (1996)
• The Ron and Ron New Years Party (1996)
• Hammerheads in Key West (1997)
• Fez Whatley's Birthday Party (1997)

In addition, in the late 1990s, Ron and Fez hosted one of the country's first adult dodgeball matches in Daytona Beach, Florida.

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The Disciples of Comedy

In the mid-1990s Ron Bennington, Fez Whatley, Jimmy Shubert, Mitchell Walters, Carl LaBove and Warren Durso were some of the comedians who toured the southeast of the United States as "Ron Bennington's Disciples of Comedy." Several of them had previously been part of Sam Kinison's comedy posse - "Sam Kinison's Outlaws of Comedy" before Sam Kinison was killed in a 1992 car accident.

Related Topics:
Jimmy Shubert - Mitchell Walters - Carl LaBove - Warren Durso - Sam Kinison's - 1992

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In addition, Ron managed Ron Bennington's Comedy Scene, a comedy club in Clearwater, Florida, where he is credited by actor and funnyman Jim Breuer for helping discover him. Whenever Ron talks on the radio about these times running a comedy store, they are often shrouded in mystery and intrigue.

Related Topics:
Clearwater - Jim Breuer

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WKRO-FM (1998-2000)

On August 24, 1998 "The Ron and Fez Show" debuted on Daytona Beach's WKRO in the mornings. A few months earlier, On May 22, 1998, Real Radio 104.1 in Orlando's midday show, and friends of Ron and Ron, The Monsters of the Midday (today known as The Monsters of the Morning), gathered together many of the regulars from the cancelled "Ron and Ron Show" in for a reunion - Ron Bennington, Fez Whatley, Billy the Phone Freak, Paul O. and Mitchell Walters. After explaining their side in the the split with Ron Diaz, Ron and Fez announced they were getting back into radio.

Related Topics:
August 24 - 1998 - May 22 - Real Radio 104.1 - Orlando - The Monsters of the Midday

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Using the formula they had created in Tampa, they rebuilt the show and recruited new employees, interns and characters. They were on the WKRO for about a year and a half until they were hired by Infinity Broadcasting and moved to New York.

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