Larry Lujack

Larry Lujack
190px Lujack at WCFL in 1974.
Born	Larry Lee Blankenburg (1940-06-06)June 6, 1940 Quasqueton, Iowa, U.S.
Died	Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.
Cause of death	Esophageal cancer
Nationality	American
Other names	Superjock, Lawrence of Chicago, Uncle Lar, King of the Corn Belt
Alma mater	College of Idaho Washington State University
Occupation	Radio host, disc jockey
Spouse(s)	Gina (div.) Judith Seguin (m. c.1972–2013; his death)
Awards	Illinois Broadcasters Association's Hall of Fame (2002) National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame (2008)

Larry Lujack (June 6, 1940 – December 18, 2013) was a Top 40 Music radio disc jockey who was well known for his world-weary sarcastic style. "Klunk Letter of the Day", the darkly humorous "Animal Stories" with sidekick "Little Tommy," and the "Cheap Trashy Show Biz Report" were some of his more popular bits. He was also referred to as Superjock, Lawrence of Chicago, Uncle Lar, and King of the Corn Belt.

Professional life

Lujack initially came to Chicago to work for WCFL-AM. He spent a few months there before being hired at WLS. While at WCFL, Lujack drew the air studio curtains during public visiting hours.

"Animal Stories" came about because WLS was still receiving farm magazines long after they went into Rock and Roll in 1960. Lujack started reading some of them and began airing stories from them instead of reading the grain reports connected with the Farm Report. When the Farm Report was officially discontinued, the feature became Animal Stories. A perfectionist about his work, Lujack would review every word he said on the air after each broadcast by listening to an audio cassette "skimmer" tape which would record only when the microphone was open.

Lujack initially retired in 1987, shortly after his son John from his first marriage died in an accident. In 1997, Lujack moved from Palatine to the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico and, in May 2000, began working again for then-WUBT in Chicago, via a remote ISDN link from a New Mexico recording studio, teaming up with Matt McCann who was based in the Chicago studio. The ratings for the show out-paced the rest of the radio station. In 2003, he re-teamed with his Animal Stories partner, Tommy Edwards ("Little Tommy"), on WRLL (1690 AM) in Chicago, to broadcast his signature features on weekday mornings. On August 16, 2006, Lujack was terminated along with the entire WRLL on-air staff as it was announced that the station's "Real Oldies" format would cease on September 17, 2006. The broadcast duo were on the air once again as part of the WLS "The Big 89 Rewind" on Memorial Day, 2007 and 2008 where the station returned to its "MusicRadio" programming, featuring many of the former WLS personalities and special guests, other DJs, etc.

Lujack was inducted into the Illinois Broadcasters Association's Hall of Fame in June 2002 and the National Radio Hall of Fame on November 6, 2004. On April 15, 2008, Larry Lujack was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame during their annual convention in Las Vegas.

Personal life

Born in Quasqueton, Iowa and raised in Arkansas, as Larry Lee Blankenburg, he later changed his last name to that of his football idol, Johnny Lujack. He attended the College of Idaho (in Caldwell) and Washington State University and was a radio disc jockey, starting in 1958, at KCID in Caldwell. His entry into radio came when he was a biology major at College of Idaho and at the time was a matter of finances; he was looking for a part-time job. He originally intended to go into wildlife conservation. He subsequently worked at several other radio stations, including KJR (AM) in Seattle, but is best known for his antics on Chicago AM radio stations WLS and WCFL. He can be heard on WLS at the beginning of the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Lujack had three children from his first marriage and a stepson from his second. Lujack lived in Palatine, Illinois until he retired from broadcasting, moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1998.

Away from the job, he was an enthusiast about golf. After triple heart bypass surgery in 1991, Lujack marked his calendar for the date his doctor told him he could return to the sport. Not just a "fair weather" golfer, Lujack suited up in winter gear and snowshoes to play Chicago area golf courses in winter. He played a full 18 holes at Buffalo Grove on January 23, 1985; the temperature was 27 degrees below zero with a windchill of -75 degrees. Lujack collapsed afterward.

Lujack died December 18, 2013 at a Santa Fe, New Mexico hospice after a year-long struggle with esophageal cancer. He is survived by his second wife of 41 years, Judith (née Seguin); a son, Anthony Lujack; a daughter Linda Lujack-Shirley, two grandchildren and a stepson, Taber Seguin.

Radio stations

Station	City	State	Dates	Notes
KCID 1490	Caldwell	ID	1958
KGEM 1140	Boise	ID	?
KNEW* 790	Spokane	WA	1963
KPEG 1380	Spokane	WA	1963
KRPL 1400	Moscow	ID	?
KFXM 590	San Bernardino	CA	1963
KJRB* 790	Spokane	WA	1962 – 1963	evenings
KJR (AM) 950	Seattle	WA	April 1964 – September 1966
WMEX 1510	Boston	MA	September 1966 – December 1966	as Johnny Lujack
WCFL 1000	Chicago	IL	1967	four months; all-nights
WLS (AM) 890	Chicago	IL	August 1967 – July 1972	afternoons, then mornings
WCFL 1000	Chicago	IL	July 3, 1972 – March 16, 1976	afternoons ^
WLS (AM) 890 WLS-FM 94.7	Chicago	IL	September 16, 1976 – August 28, 1987	mornings; then in 1985, afternoons**
WUBT 103.5	Chicago	IL	May 25, 2000 – January 10, 2001
WRLL 1690	Chicago	IL	September 8, 2003 – August 15, 2006

^* KNEW and KJRB refer to the same radio station.

^{^} After WCFL switched to "Beautiful Music" in 1976, Lujack remained on staff, as he had a high-paying contract. When WLS made him an offer to return to work there, the two stations each paid half of Lujack's remaining WCFL contract.

^** WLS continued to pay Lujack for five years after his 1987 departure to keep him from competing with them in markets where ABC had local radio outlets.

External links

• Larry Lujack at the National Radio Hall of Fame
• Scott Childers' The History of WLS Radio The Rock of Chicago, the 1980s. Read about Lujack in the context of WLS history.
• Audio of Larry Lujack and the end of Rock on WCFL-March 15, 1976 on YouTube
• audio file-Reel Radio "The Legendary Lujack" Composite
• Video of WLS-AM "Animal Stories" Promo featuring Lujack and Edwards on YouTube
• audio file of Lujack's first day on the job at WLS-1967
• Real Oldies 1690 AM WRLL. Through Sept. 17, 2006, hear an automated version of the station where Lujack and Tommy Edwards (Little Tommy of Animal Stories) hosted mornings from October 2003 through August 15, 2006.