'big' Wilson (spelled with a lower case 'b', perhaps to avoid confusion with the long-time afternoon man at WNBC in New York) came to WPGC from WZOO for afternoons & Program Director in 1969 when Charlie Scheu gave up programming duties to move into sales. His tenure lasted until approximately 1973 when he left for WEAM. He later programmed WNOK in Columbia, South Carolina.

If anyone knows of his whereabouts today, please email the webmaster.

Good Guy Todd Reynolds / Ed Kowolski / Ed McNeil writes:

"big" Wilson's handle came from, you guessed it, Bob Howard. "big" was removed as PD when the shit hit the fan as a result of the Chris James phone call that got on the air during Harry Chapin's "Taxi", shortly after 6PM one unforgettable Sunday. He went on the air one Sunday in late-summer '72 to do 6p-Mid. Second song into the show was "Taxi." He gets on a business line and calls his girlfriend.

Previous jock Brad Scott had left the studio Ampex in record position WITH the pot on the board UP & OPEN. Phone call goes on the air over "Taxi." James doesn't know, has monitor potted down. Several profanities, but never the F-bomb. Finally, a listener who was working at the Mobil station over the hill calls the newsline to tell James that his call is going on the air, adding "and so is this one!" James quickly figures what has happened.

Next morning, shit hits the fan at the PIG. Bob Howard learns of episode. James is fired. BoHo also discovers several other shady deals Wilson has pulled. Howard strips Wilson of PD stripes, gives 'em to Harv Moore. Shortly thereafter, Wilson moved to overnight remotes, including board op (!), and sales before taking remote idea to WEAM a short time later. I actually heard the phone call on the air. Since that day, I have never been able to listen to "Taxi" without expecting to hear a phone conversation in the background.

I lost track of him after he left DC around '74-'75 (that saga would take more words than I have time for now.) Then in '82, when I was at the FCC, I read in one of the trades where he was PD at WNOK in Columbia, SC, a market-leading CHR pulling double-digit shares. This was just before I was taking a week off to visit friends in Myrtle Beach. So I took one day of my vacation, and drove to Columbia for lunch. It wasn't too much later that a competitor came into the market, cut 'NOK's shares in half, and "big" was outta there.

Sometime in '90 or '91, someone, don't remember who, called to say he would be featured on Hard Copy or another of those tabloid TV shows. The show aired at 3 in the morning, so I set the VCR. Turned out that he was running his own chimney sweep biz. It still exists in suburban Columbia. I called the number. The guy who answered told me he bought the business from him a few years earlier. He said he hears from him once a year of so. He also gave me a phone number for him, but it had been reassigned.

big was having an affair with some low level (Clerk of the Court or Register of Wills) government official from one of the rural counties. They had split up right before the election. Word of the tryst got out just before Election Day. The girlfriend was defeated. She was taking him to court for alienation of affection, and also claiming that he leaked word of their affair as a vendetta for the break-up. IT'S DAMNED SCANDALOUS, I TELL YOU! (I then understood why Channel 4 buried the show in the middle of the night.) That was the last I've heard of him. I will never forget, however, the video of him on someone's roof, wearing a top hat, preparing to stuff the brush down the chimney, all the while flashing his sly grin.

 

 

Anita Miller ("April May') writes:

Big Wilson gave me the name 'April-May'. He had a thing for initials meaning something cosmic so Anita Miller became April-May so when the guys bounced gags off me on the air I could be famous and unknown to the listeners. Chris Fisher made everyone play Elvis records if they wanted a paycheck. It was a small price to pay to get paid. One time she gave Biggie a check with all zeroes in the amount. We waited in bookkeeping for a long time waiting for him to hit the roof and demand his due. Nothing. Finally Chris broke down and went in search of Biggie to see if he was dead on the control room floor -- nope! He said he figured it would happen sooner or later - that Uncle Sam would take out more than he earned!

 

Photos 

Tall Texan in late '60's	Circa May 1971	Publicity shot in July 1971
With Bob Raleigh (Bill Miller) in August 1971	With Paul Revere in Sept. 1971	With Harv Moore in November '71
With 'April May' in Dec. 1971	At Shenanndoah, VA in March '72	With Harv Moore & Bob Raleigh (Bill Miller) in '72
With 'Phono Phunnies' Contest Winner in 1973	Doorman to the stars

Playlists

05/21/71	06/05/71	06/12/71	07/03/71	08/28/71
09/18/71	10/23/71	11/13/71	12/04/71	02/19/72

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