HERE’S GREGGO!

Controversial Host Speaks To DB.com

Mike Fisher -- DB.com

Like metaphors? Dig this: Deposed Ticket host Greg Williams, emotionally naked thanks to a stunning expose in the Dallas Observer and angling for a fresh start on ESPN 103.3 thanks to him having “pissed away the greatest job in the world,’’ is also mourning the recent death of his father while serving as the executor of the will. Which is why, as we speak, he is contemplating a Ziplock bag left behind by his father, a plastic sack that contains “dozens and dozens and dozens of keys,’’ Greggo says. “And I have no idea what they fit.’’

I urge you to carve out the time to read my friend Richie Whitt’s detailed account of the breakup (and emotional breakdown) of the members of the most successful and influential radio show in DFW history. (No less an authority than Ed Bark says the article is "the best media piece ever written in this market. ... brilliant, exceptional, riveting. ...'') In New York, they are bemoaning the conflict between “Mike and The Mad Dog,’’ and that story is getting all sorts of national run. Besides the fact that “Rhyner and Williams’’ was in virtually every way a match for the WFAN duo, there is this point: While nobody know why “Mike and The Mad Dog’’ might be divorcing (or even if they are), Whitt has in meticulous detail painted a portrait of a man (Williams) and his supposed friends that is overflowing with all the things that make a great story great.

Drugs. Sex. Rock-and-Roll. Plus guns, money and near-suicide.

“I think Richie did a great job in being accurate and fair,’’ Williams tells me. “I don’t think he took a side. And that’s fine. … I guess I’d like to make it more clear that depression – terrible depression – is probably the root of my problems. And I’d like it pointed out that I’ve tried to take the high road in talking through this process. …’’

Rhyner and Williams, of course, were/are the foundation of the Ticket radio phenomenon. That teaming is over now. Whitt’s story suggests that their friendship (if that’s what it ever was) is over as well. In my recent conversations with Williams, it is clear that the estranged state of his relationship with Rhyner devastates him; I was at Williams’ lakehouse with Whitt, and the OCD-driven scenes he describes in the Observer – the Coca-Cola souvenirs, the lighthouse room, the place-for-everything obsession – is accurate. … right down to the two photos that remain up, portraying Rhyner and Williams in happier times.

Critics can say that many of Greggo’s troubles are self-imposed. Still, it is easy for me to be empathetic for the guy I’ve known for 18 years when I see him with his girlfriend, when I hear his apologies, when I analyze his self-reflection. I always used to figure that his participation in “Fish-bashing’’ on the radio was simply show-biz. I now do not know. Nor do I care. Dude contemplates suicide while at the same time salivating to guests (including me) while displaying a room insanely full of weaponry?

It’s sobering enough to make one forget we ever worried about radio ratings.

Greggo is ready to try it again, with an evening show. ESPN 103.3 seems like it is proceeding with caution; I’ve heard talk of Greggo being paired with Chuck Cooperstein (a temporary safety net) or with RJ Choppy (a young, energetic and more permanent option). As Whitt writes, the salary will be a fraction of what Williams once earned. Even the starting date is iffy; I hear the station would like to launch the new show at Cowboys training camp – not a bad idea except that life and death keep interfering with Greg Williams’ plans.

Greggo’s father just passed away. Father named son the executor of the will. A good choice; OCD people make good executors. But there is a “like-father,-like-son twist here’’: While Greggo is a collector obsessed with organization, his dad was a collector who “was a disorganized packrat,’’ says his son gently.

“I found this Ziplock bag full of keys, dozens and dozens and dozens of keys,’’ Greggo says. “And I have no idea what they fit. … There is money stashed at different banks, just socked away, but with no real records. … He owns eight boats and five Cadillacs. … I found a box that had important papers, like his discharge papers from Vietnam, stuffed in with promotional material from WBAP (Greggo’s first radio job.). …I guess I’ve got a lot of organizing to do.’’

522pm july 10 2008