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Chapter One The Concept Harrison's is a bar in Atlanta that caters to the advertising and media crowd. It was there, in the early 1970s, Hugh Wilson met radio WQXI salesman Clark Brown. 'Through Brown, along with others in the media, Wilson had the chance to meet a number of the people who worked in Atlanta radio. Although he did not realize it at the time, these friendships proved valuable to Wilson's creation of WKRP in Cincinnati. Hugh Wilson's affable manner and light drawl reveal his Southeastern, Coral Gables, Florida upbringing. A humble person, he was blessed with both a sense of humor and a sense of values. In talking with those who have worked with him, it is impossible to find anything but praise for Wilson's ability and demeanor. He is the type who will fight for what he believes in and make compromises only when doing so will promise a better end result. Furthermore, rather than use his power as a producer to simply promote himself, Wilson has helped start or advance the careers of countless other writers and producers. In an age where everyone looks for specialists, Wilson realizes that track records are secondary to a good sense of humor and creative potential. Part of Wilson's commitment to developing new talent may stem from his own rise to fame. Having worked his way up from a number of less-than-glamorous positions-he was once an office copier salesman with an "all-residential" territory (Graham)-Wilson is living proof of the American Dream. After graduating from college, he took a job with the Armstrong Cork Company, where he wrote about luminaire ceilings for an architectural trade magazine. At Armstrong, Wilson met fellow writers Jay Tarses and Tom Patchett, who, after working as stand-up comics, eventually went to Hollywood and began writing for and producing The Bob Newhart Show. Meanwhile, Wilson moved to Atlanta to pursue a career in advertising. Wilson, who made several attempts at film making while in Atlanta, maintained his friendship with Jay and Tom. In 1975 the two set up an 5 6 America's Favorite Radio Station interview between Wilson and Grant Tinker, then head of MTM Enterprises. Impressed with what he saw, TInker hired Wilson as a writer for The Bob Newhart Show. From there, Wilson, Patchett, Tarses and Gary David Goldberg wrote for The Tony Randall Show. Randall, who played Philadelphia Court ofCommon Pleas Judge Walter Franklin, took a liking to Wilson, who eventually became one ofthe show's producers. In 1977, TInker asked Wilson and Goldberg to submit pilot ideas for the upcoming fall season. Goldberg came up with a series that featured the antics of a Black World War II flying squadron. Wilson began "noodling" and soon approached TInker with an idea for a "character comedy" concerning a radio station. "Ideas in themselves are never interesting to me," recalled TInker in a 1978 interview. "It's always a matter of execution. What was interesting is that Hugh is a good writer and has enthusiasm." A week later, TInker and Wilson met with Andrew Siegel, vice president for comedy development at CBS. Siegel was impressed and gave Wilson the go-ahead to write a pilot script (Graham). Before developing the characters for his series, Wilson returned to Atlanta and called upon his old friend Clark Brown. Spending the day at WQXI, a successful AMIFM rocker, Wilson began to people the staff of his fictional station. Brown, who dressed in traditional salesman fashion, found himself on Wilson's growing list of characters as none other than Herbert R. Tarlek, Executive Sales Manager ofWKRP AM radio. While WQXI was the model for WKRP, television's limitations forced Wilson to make some changes. "Most of these stations have a sales force," recalled Wilson. " 'Quixy' had six salesmen. I figured that might be out We would only have one salesman, which led me to the course that I probably would have taken anyhow-WKRP would not be a real successful station" (Wilson). This realized, Wilson arrived at the basic format of the show. WKRP had been a radio station that was stumbling around at the bottom end of the ratings. In an attempt at success, the station manager hires a new program director to turn the station around. Part of the new program director's plans include changing the station's "elevator music" format to rock and roll. The character who would make those changes was Andy Travis...

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