Editing Jean Shepherd (section)

===Radio===
After his military service, Shepherd began his broadcast radio career in early 1945, on [[WJOB (AM)|WJOB]] in Hammond, Indiana, later working at [[WWYC|WTOD]] in Toledo, Ohio, in 1946.<ref>Whitaker, John (November 19, 1946). "Speculating in Sports". ''The Hammond Times''. Hammond, Indiana. "Jean Shepherd, onetime Hessville flash and later an announcer at WJOB, gets a chance to whoop it up for a fellow Hammond High alumnus in Toledo ... Jean's the basketball broadcaster for WTOD in Toledo. ..."</ref> He began working in Cincinnati, Ohio, in January 1947 at [[WSAI]],<ref>Staff (January 28, 1947). "Tuesday Radio Programs", ''The Cincinnati Enquirer''.</ref> later also working at Cincinnati stations [[WCKY (AM)|WCKY]]<ref>Caldwell, John (March 2, 1948). "Bullfrog Holler, Rah!". ''The Cincinnati Enquirer''. Cincinnati, Ohio. "Jean Shepherd, former WSAI late night and early morning disk jockey, opened a new all-night disk show on WCKY last night."</ref> and [[WKRC (AM)|WKRC]]<ref>Adams, Magee (November 2, 1948). "Scene is Changed on Election Night by Aired Returns". ''The Cincinnati Enquirer''. Cincinnati, Ohio. "Gene Shepard's easy, flexible style makes him a welcome addition to WKRC's announcing staff."</ref> the following year, before returning to WSAI in 1949.<ref>Adams, Magee (July 1, 1949). "New Station Planned with Farm Owners; To be Nation's Third". ''The Cincinnati Enquirer''. Cincinnati, Ohio. "Rather than wait until Monday, as originally announced, WSAI is putting the new Jean Shepherd Show on the air from 11 p.m. tonight until 1 a.m."</ref> From 1951 to 1953, he had a late-night broadcast on [[KYW (AM)|KYW]] in [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania,<ref>Caldwell, John (April 1, 1951). "Baby Sitting Interferes". ''The Cincinnati Enquirer''. "'Old Shep' has sent his classic collection of jazz records off to Station KYW, Philadelphia, where his new show opens this week."</ref><ref>Staff (March 6, 1953). "Radio Features Scheduled on the Airwaves Today". ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''.</ref> after which he returned to Cincinnati for several different shows on [[WLW]].<ref>Devane, James (March 19, 1953). "Look and Listen". ''The Cincinnati Enquirer''. "Jean Shepherd begins a Channel 4 show next Monday immediately following the late-night movie."</ref> After a stint on television there, he returned to radio.<ref>Staff (April 4, 1953). "Radio Highlights". ''The Cincinnati Enquirer''. Cincinnati, Ohio. "Jean Shepard, 2:15 p.m., WLW: The popular Cincinnati disk jockey begins an afternoon record-spinning session."</ref> "Shep", as he was known, settled in at [[WOR (AM)|WOR]] radio New York City on February 26, 1955, where he would remain until spring 1977.<ref>Staff (February 26, 1955). "On Radio". ''The New York Times''. New York, New York. "4:30-WOR: Jean Shepherd, Disk Jockey (Premiere)." Bergmann, Eugene (2005). ''Excelsior, You Fathead!: The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd''. page 373.</ref> Beginning on an overnight slot in 1956, he delighted his fans<ref name="cult">{{cite news
 |last=Phillips 
 |first=McCandlish 
 |title=400 Hold A Wake For Radio Cult 
 |work=The New York Times 
 |date=August 13, 1956 
|url=http://www.flicklives.com/Articles/articles.asp?ID=19560813A 
 |access-date=2007-11-09 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807201412/http://www.flicklives.com/Articles/articles.asp?ID=19560813A 
 |archive-date=August 7, 2007 
}}</ref> by telling stories, reading poetry (especially the works of [[Robert Service (poet)|Robert W. Service]]), and organizing comedic listener stunts.

====''I, Libertine'' hoax ====
The most famous<ref name="nobook">{{cite news
 |last=Wilcock 
 |first=John 
 |title=The Book That Wasn't 
 |work=[[The Village Voice]] 
 |date=August 1, 1956 
 |url=http://www.flicklives.com/Articles/articles.asp?ID=19560801Ab 
 |access-date=2007-11-09 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808001135/http://www.flicklives.com/Articles/articles.asp?ID=19560801Ab 
 |archive-date=August 8, 2007 
}}</ref> stunt was a hoax he created about a nonexistent book, ''[[I, Libertine]]'', by a fake author "Frederick R. Ewing", in 1956. During a discussion on how easy it was to manipulate the best-seller lists based on demand, as well as sales, Shepherd suggested that his listeners visit bookstores and ask for a copy of ''I, Libertine'', which led to booksellers attempting to order the book from their distributors.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} Fans of the show planted references to the book and author so widely that demand for the book led to claims of it being on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldnews.com/bloggers/x35033844/All-I-want-for-Christmas-is-my-name-on-the-Bestsellers-List |title=All I want for Christmas is my name on the Bestseller's List |last=Lortie |first=Arthur |date=December 17, 2012 |work=The Herald News |access-date=2013-07-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105035455/http://www.heraldnews.com/bloggers/x35033844/All-I-want-for-Christmas-is-my-name-on-the-Bestsellers-List |archive-date=November 5, 2013}} Bergmann, Eugene B. (2005). ''Excelsior You Fathead! The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd''. Applause Theatre and Cinema Books. ISBN 978-1-55783-600-7. page 133. "[P]roof of this has not been found."</ref> Filling the demand, [[Theodore Sturgeon]] and [[Betty Ballantine]] wrote the long-awaited book to Shepherd's outline, with a cover designed by illustrator [[Frank Freas|Frank Kelly Freas]], published by [[Ballantine Books]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digital.goodreadingmagazine.com.au/?iid=7794 |title=Good Reading |website=Digital.goodreadingmagazine.com.au |access-date=2016-09-25}}</ref>

====Sweetheart Soap====
When he was about to be released by WOR in 1956 for lack of sponsors, he did a commercial for Sweetheart Soap, not a sponsor, and was immediately fired. His listeners besieged WOR with complaints, and when Sweetheart offered to sponsor him, he was reinstated.<ref>Staff (September 1, 1956). "Sheperd, WOR May Again be Sweethearts". ''Billboard''. New York, New York.</ref><ref>Allison, Jane (September 2, 1956). "Phantom Author has Dizzy Hoosier Label", ''The Indianapolis Star''.</ref> Eventually, he attracted more sponsors than he wanted{{snd}}the commercials interrupted the flow of his monologues. Former WOR engineer, Frank Cernese, adds, "The commercials of that era were on 'ETs'{{snd}}phonograph records about 14" in diameter. Three large turntables were available to play them in sequence. Shepherd preferred the engineer to watch and listen to his stories. That left little time to load the turntables and cue the appropriate cuts. That was when he started complaining about "too many commercials".{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}}

[[File:Jean Shepherd, RIT NandE 1973 Feb2 Complete.jpg|thumb|right|Shepherd circa 1973]]

His last WOR broadcast was on April 1, 1977.<ref>Adams, Val (March 21, 1977). "3 More 'Resign' at WOR". ''New York Daily News''.</ref> His subsequent radio work consisted of short segments on several other stations, including crosstown [[WCBS (AM)|WCBS]],<ref>Staff (October 27, 1977). "New Series for Shepherd", ''New York Daily News''.</ref> and occasional commentaries on [[NPR]]'s ''[[All Things Considered]]''.<ref>Smith, Cecil (February 9, 1985). "Shepherd: Actor, Humorist, Writer ... A Shifting Role from Coast to Coast". ''The Los Angeles Times''.</ref> His final radio gig was the Sunday-night radio show ''Shepherd's Pie'' on [[WBAI]] in the mid-1990s {{citation needed|date=May 2025}}, which had him reading his stories uncut, uninterrupted, and unabridged. The show was one of WBAI's most popular of the period.

In addition to his stories, his shows also contained humorous anecdotes and commentaries about the human condition, observations about New York City life, accounts of vacations in Maine, and travels throughout the world. One striking program recounted his participation in the [[March on Washington]] in August 1963, during which [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] gave his "[[I Have a Dream]]" speech, and another program that aired on November 25, 1963, covered the burial of assassinated President [[John F. Kennedy]].

Throughout his radio career, he performed without scripts. His friend and WOR colleague [[Barry Farber]] marveled at how he could talk so long with so few notes. During a radio interview, Shepherd claimed that some shows took weeks to prepare, but this may have been in the planning rather than the writing of a script. On most of his Fourth of July broadcasts, he did read one of his most enduring and popular short stories, "Ludlow Kissel and the Dago Bomb that Struck Back", about a neighborhood drunk and his disastrous fireworks escapades. In the 1960s and 1970s, his WOR show ran from 11:15&nbsp;pm to midnight, later changed to 10:15&nbsp;pm to 11&nbsp;pm, so his "Ludlow Kissel" reading was synchronized to many New Jersey and New York local town fireworks displays, which would typically reach their climax at 10&nbsp;pm. It was possible, on one of those July 4 nights, to park one's car on a hilltop and watch several different [[pyrotechnic]] displays, accompanied by Shepherd's storytelling.