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Chapter Six A Study in Reality The Third Season In the summer of 1980, The Screen Actors Guild initiated a strike against theatrical and prime time producers. Effectively shutting down film and television production, SAG demanded higher wages for its members and a resolution to the problems concerning actor's compensation for industry profits generated by pay TV, videodisk and video cassette technologies (Thsher 1). As the strike continued into early fall, the resulting production delays wrecked havoc with network prime time schedules (Knight 51). The lengthy strike postponed most first-run programming until mid-October. As the strike neared a conclusion, Richard Sanders and Michael Fairman began putting together a new script for WKRP. Many radio stations had been sponsoring marathons; Sanders and Fairman felt this could make for a very colorful episode, particularly if the entire cast shot it on location in Cincinnati. With the strike still in progress, however, SAG would not allow the entire cast to work. Getting a special waiver, Sanders and Fairman went to Cincinnati to shoot scenes for a modified version of their script, "The Airplane Show," which featured Les Nessman flying around in a rickety old plane piloted by a disgruntled veteran played by Fairman. The stunt flyer hired to play Fairman during the aerial scenes was found at Ohio's King's Island amusement park. Sanders was to have a stunt double, as well, but a problem at the last minute forced Sanders to go up in the plane himself. "The stunt double got sick," recalled Sanders. "So they shot it from a helicopter and I was up there in the plane. I don't know what the heck got into me to do that, but I was in the plane doing stupid stunts like that. I was halfway out on the plane's fuselage...there was no way in the world I could have survived if I would have fallen 85 86 America's Favorite Radio Station out. The plane was a 1934 Wacco-you had to be careful-if you stepped off, you'd step through the wing" (Sanders). This was not the first time Sanders had gone to Cincinnati on business for the show. "We would go back there and do parades...they had people there who were selling T-shirts that said 'WKRP in Cincinnati'," said Sanders. "I think the people in Cincinnati, in general, really liked the show" (Sanders). Sanders, who was often invited to speak at various agricultural events and, of course, hog contests, traveled to other parts of the country, as well. Identified so strongly with his confused news character, he would often appear at these functions as Les Nessman. "It was much more fun that way," admitted Sanders. Dance ofthe Mental Pygmies Many of WKRP's other actors would also do promotional appearances for the show, including Howard Hesseman who, during WKRP's four-year run, spoke on a number of radio stations across the country. On an episode of Saturday Night Live, Hesseman and Harry Shearer did a sketch based on some of the actor's experiences with various radio DIs. "That was all real stuff [in that sketch]," recalled Hesseman "...1 mean, some of [the DIs] were quite decent-some of them were real mental pygmies, too. "I remember going to a San Francisco radio station one day, sitting down-it was like on a Thanksgiving week, or a holiday or somethingsitting down with the guy and he hit the pot-he was off the air-and, as the music was playing, he said, 'Okay, here's a list of ad-libs that I put together from one of these radio services that I subscribe to. It's some pretty good jokes. You know? Like, if you could say this then I'll say that. Or, here's a reverse, and you'll say this and I'll say that.' "I'd say, 'What the fuck are you talking about, man?' "And he said, 'Well, you know, this is like stuff we can do.' "And I said, 'Why don't we just talk? Why don't you ask me whatever you want to ask me? Or say whatever you want to say? And I'll ask you what I want to ask you and I'll say what I want to say. And that's what will pass for conversation in between the records.' " 'Well, I just thought some ofthis stuff was kind of good.' "And, I'd say, 'Gee, I...

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