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.

WNEW-FM (2000-2003)

Ron and Fez's new show in New York City debuted on February 21, 2000, one week earlier than had been originally planned. During this time, they reworked and improved their show, and through the help of their popular lead-in ("The Opie and Anthony Show") they discovered a receptive and excited fan base of listeners. Ron and Fez also made a conscious decision at this time to evolve the tone of their new show away from their "shock jock" roots as a way to balance out WNEW's line-up.

Related Topics:
February 21 - 2000

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

RonAndFez.com

When WNEW-FM in New York switched to an all-talk format in 1999, after years of being known and respected as a rock station, the "masthead show" became the afternoon drive team of Opie and Anthony. Ron and Fez were signed to host an overnight talk show named "Ron and Fez Dot Com," which started on February 21, 2000 and was broadcast from 11PM - 3AM. The show's original premise was two comedians discussing the internet into the wee hours of the morning. Ron and Fez were eventually moved to the early afternoon hours (12:00-3:00 p.m.) and later to the evening hours (7:00-11:00 p.m.), where buoyed by Opie and Anthony's lead-in ratings, Ron and Fez began to enjoy success.

Related Topics:
WNEW-FM - 1999 - Opie and Anthony - February 21 - 2000

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During this period, several memorable characters joined their on-air staff, including their mostly-silent producer Hawk, Tasteless Ginny, and the call-in prankster Joe Poo. The show's web-based premise led to the founding of several sites devoted to the show, including RFBabies.com (once a haven for the show's cadre of young female fans), and the unofficial website for the show ronfez.net . Though the "Dot Com" was dropped from the show's title soon after their debut, Ron and Fez have since inspired an enormous cult-like following on the Internet.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Big ASS Cards

Helping to foster the sense of community between themselves and their listeners, Ron and Fez came up with the "Big ASS Card" for any of their fans that wanted to be part of their "All Secret Society". Aside from giving the recipient discounts at sponsors' establishments, the "Big ASS Card" also gave an identity in relation to the show. Everytime a Big ASS card holder would call in and give their card number, a recording of Al Pacino yelling "Hoo-AH!" would be played. Years later, even after they discontinued the promotion, listeners still call in announcing their "B.A.C." number.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In addition to the Big ASS card, there was the "Ron and Fez Restroom Inspection Award" sticker. It was a promotion done on April 12, 2002. In Hoboken, New Jersey a sticker put on a statue of a horse resulted in WNEW having to pay a fine. From a promotional stand point, there were several problems with the Restroom Inspector stickers, including the correct time slot, which was ultimately blamed on the promotins director. Who not only didn't order the stickers after the first batch was handed out at the Cruel Circus, but blamed Billy Staples in which he earned another nichname from Jeremy Ccoleman, 'Meatfist. Later on, when they finally arrived, Billy Staples black ops team, the 'Restroom Rangers were out stealthfully putting them in strategic places...alllegedly.

Related Topics:
April 12 - 2002 - Hoboken - New Jersey - Cruel Circus - Billy Staples - Jeremy Ccoleman

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Calls from listeners who actually saw them, got a kick out of it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Please leave as is.....as this is what truly happened...thank you

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

September 11th Attacks

For many listeners, Ron and Fez showed their true colors during the tumultuous weeks following the September 11th attacks. On the evening of September 11, the team stayed on the air taking calls from distressed listeners, some of whom were still unsure whether loved ones were inside the Twin Towers alive. Hawk walked across the Queensboro Bridge against the outpouring hordes of people to get to work. Billy Staples hid in the Long Island Rail Road bathroom so he could to get to work on-time. Ron and Fez expressed heartfelt sympathy and related the feelings many New Yorkers wanted to express. Throughout this tough time, Ron and Fez staged several "bar crawls" and other events under the motto "New York Forever", designed to get their listeners to come into New York and support restaurants and bars in lower Manhattan. One of the more memorable crawls, from the turnout and hilarious drama that followed from it, was the 2001 Halloween Bar Crawl.

Related Topics:
September 11th attacks - Twin Towers - Queensboro Bridge - Billy Staples - Long Island Rail Road

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some of the frequented bars included The Slaughtered Lamb and Karavas' Place. Additional public appearances soon followed:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Big Ass Promotions

Because of Ron and Fez's timeslot and the fervor of their fans, the New York version of the show had several highly successful and memorable promotions in 2002. These included:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Big Ass Night of Fights I (February, 2002) - The Big Ass Night of Fights held at the Downtown in Farmingdale, Long Island featured the boxing matches of Perrynoid vs. Billy Staples, Tuttle vs. Too Cute and Lobster Claws, and Mikey D vs. Jesse Grubman (roommate of producer Rory Hamptons). The main event was Al Dukes vs. Joe Poo. The gathering also included appearances by the Nature Boy and Retard Martin, and live moan by Sweet Melissa, Crazy Clare cutting the clothes off of French Bread Pizza, and Paul O. in a "sucky bed". (more on the Ron and Fez show regulars).
• The Cruel Circus - (April, 2002) A live broadcast in the basement of Karavas Place, a Greek restaurant in the middle of Greenwich Village in New York City. Featured some of the Ron and Fez girls dancing in cages (see more).
• Big Ass Night of Fights II - (May, 2002) This was the second incarnation of the Big Ass Night of Fights held at The Wreck Room in Wallington, New Jersey. The boxing matches included Hard Rock Johnny vs. Casper, GVac vs. Matty Fridays, Billy Staples in a Diggstown 6 man boxing Challenge, a father and son bout, and the main event of Al Dukes vs. Black Earl, with Al's actual masters degree diploma on the line. AL Dukes lost the match, had his diploma ripped up and was taken out by ambulance. (more).
• Loser Leave Town Match: Al Dukes vs Rory Hamptons - (June, 2002) A way to get rid of the incompetent Al Dukes, a loser leave town boxing match between himself and Rory Hamptons occurred on June 14, 2002 down the block from the WNEW studios outside of Hooters. In the rain, AL Dukes lost his producer job in a hard fought battle.
• The Ron and Fez-tival of Rock and Ribs (August, 2002) - The Ron and Fez-tival of Rock and Ribs held at the Hard Rock Cafe was a "battle of the bands" between local bands (Monty Love was the winner). The festival also included a rib eating contest.
• Big Ass Night of Frights (October, 2002) - The Big Ass Night of Frights held at the Hard Rock Cafe was a Halloween party which included listener "Nurse Mira" in body paint and Billy Staples getting "chicken parmed". Theree was also a contest for the best 'Orange Ball of Failure" costume which was one of Billy Staples many nicknames,this one after the bombing at Red Bank.(See more) Brother Joe's old U2 tribute band, "Joshua Tree", headlined the party.

In addition, Ron and Fez gathered with listeners every Tuesday night after the show held court at a bar/club in New York called "Bar 9." The house band that played was usually fronted by "Brother Joe," and "Laird", former frontman of U2 tribute band, "Joshua Tree".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

AFRO Shows

Ron and Fez shared amicable relationships with all of WNEW's other programs, particularly Opie and Anthony. O&A, as they are often known, would sometimes sit in on the Ron and Fez show, leading to what became known as "AFRO Shows" (AFRO standing for Anthony Fez Ron Opie).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Demise of WNEW

Ron and Fez's motley cast of characters grew as the show entered 2002; Billy Staples, their phone screener and producer, became more of an on-air personality, often confronting his problems of substance addiction, and Al Dukes, their producer, became the butt of many jokes, often ridiculed for his strange habits and perceived managerial ineffectiveness. As the show developed over spring 2002, Ron and Fez began to earn increasingly higher ratings.

Related Topics:
Billy Staples - Al Dukes

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After Ron and Fez's increasing popularity throughout the summer of 2002, the Opie and Anthony show was cancelled. After losing what was considered its flagship show, it seemed certain that WNEW would shift from its all-talk format. Still, Ron and Fez remained in their time slot for another five months until WNEW's format "flipped" in January 27, 2003 and Ron and Fez moved to sister station WJFK-FM in Washington, D.C.

Related Topics:
January 27 - 2003 - WJFK-FM

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~