Wally George R.I.P.

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― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 19:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Probably an unknown person outside southern California.. but if you grew up in the L.A. or Orange County area in the 80s, you could not escape the phenomenon that was Wally.

In many ways, Wally George was a catalyst for the whole surfer/punk scene in Orange County. His studio audience was always frequented with those types who were there, ironically, to cheer on Wally loudly. Also, some of the guests on his show (aside from the "BIMBOS!") were fucking hilarious.. I loved the guy who claimed to be the leader of the Religion Of Drugs, among many. He also boasted having booted Morton Downey Jr. from his show before.

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 19:05 (twenty-two years ago)

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Part of the dream has died. If you want to call it that.

(It should be said that you haven't lived without seeing DB's impersonation of Wally, though knowing the original's mannerisms will help in such an appreciation.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 19:12 (twenty-two years ago)

I used to love this show.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 19:20 (twenty-two years ago)

WAL-LY! WAL-LY! WAL-LY! WAL-LY!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 19:21 (twenty-two years ago)

WAL-LY! WAL-LY! WAL-LY! WAL-LY!

― luna (luna.c), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 19:33 (twenty-two years ago)

As an early-80s anarcho-punk I hated his guts. I still do.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 22:48 (twenty-two years ago)

To qualify a bit, before Wally George had ironic appeal, he was the perfect hero for conservative Huntington Beach jock-punks whose politics centered on which jacked-up truck to get: Chevy or Ford. Fuck him - go sloganeer in hell.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 22:56 (twenty-two years ago)

I think there was ironic appeal even at his height. I enjoyed it more on a mayhem/tacky O.C./lunatic fringe level and I think a good number (if not a majority) of the people in his audience did too. I could be wrong, but at least I'm sure you could at least feel utterly superior to those who were taking him seriously.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 23:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Dude, no! He's not entirely unknown outside Cali. He appeared periodically on The Alan Thicke Show in its dying days and turned it into a complete circus.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 23:12 (twenty-two years ago)

He was a scary motherfucker, that's for shit-sure.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 23:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Oooooh...I meant Thicke of the Night! How could I have gotten THAT wrong?

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 23:18 (twenty-two years ago)

I think there was ironic appeal even at his height.

Not in the mid-80s. He totally fed into Reagan-era right-wingers and was quite popular among junior OC power republicans. Sure, any old washed-up artifact will have some ironic appeal ten years down the line.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 23:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, I remember laughing at him in the late-80s. Of course there was a lot of conservatism, but Wally was so over-the-top that I didn't take him seriously...

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 23:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Of course there was a lot of conservatism, but Wally was so over-the-top that I didn't take him seriously...

hahaha... There were plenty of people in Orange County who did

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 23:54 (twenty-two years ago)

like I said, I was on the outside looking in... I feel for you then.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 8 October 2003 00:01 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm sorta glad I only ended up here in OC in 1992 so I missed that era of his existence. Everything seemed jokey about him then! (Was the secret eighties political war in OC Wally vs. Larry Agran?)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 8 October 2003 00:07 (twenty-two years ago)

A little of my childhood is dead.

Very little.

― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Wednesday, 8 October 2003 01:00 (twenty-two years ago)

In his defense, he did have on Klan members and other fascist types that he proceeded to call "jerks" etc.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 8 October 2003 02:32 (twenty-two years ago)

well, unless, it was a rambuctios blonde KKK member with big boobies! then Wally would put on that insincere "shocked" mug and tell off "this BIM-BO!", while the audience cheers for her.

― donut bitch (donut), Wednesday, 8 October 2003 02:48 (twenty-two years ago)

ooooh.. A little of my teenage nights is dead.. I remember spending so much time at night watching re-runs on KDOC.

― Baaderist (Fabfunk), Wednesday, 8 October 2003 06:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Wally George--
A dead serious fucked up joke much like Ronald Reagan was.
People actually *believed* this guy, thought he was great. Fuck him and good riddance.

― Orbit (Orbit), Wednesday, 8 October 2003 06:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I used to watch him now and then in the early 80s, he used to be more serious and his audience was kind of scary. By the time he got the young male WA-LLY chanters he was a complete joke, and I expect even he knew it.

Speaking of dead youth, when I voted today I noticed Jim "Poorman" Trenton on the Rebublican write-in list.

― nickn (nickn), Wednesday, 8 October 2003 06:49 (twenty-two years ago)

eight years pass...

Wally George, music critic and exotica fan

― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 4 September 2012 01:32 (thirteen years ago)

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