John Burchett

This one goes back to the days of Grady Cole and Fletcher Austin. Fletcher was doing the morning show on WBT. His guest that morning was Rory Calhoun, the movie actor who was in the area filming a movie in Darlington. This was a set-up on Fletcher. So, when Rory came in with his entourage, the engineer in the control room put music on the air and turned the mic light on is the studio so that Fletcher thought he was on the air (but wasn't). After Fletcher introduced Rory, he asked him, "Rory, now that you have been in our area a while, and seen our Southern Belle's, What do you think of them?" Rory replied, "Oh, I'd like to lay every one of 'em."

Everyone in the studio was laughing; Fletcher tried to apologize to the audience until he was told it was all a joke. Fletcher then went under the table and stayed for about five minutes.

Grady Cole was a talker. Once during my radio production days, Grady came in at 4:45pm to record some commercials for International Harvester. I told Grady I had to leave to pick up my wife at 5 o'clock, and would not have time to record him. George Reynolds, on master control, overheard and said he would record Grady. I left Grady and George and went to pick up my wife.

Around 8:00 that night I had to go by the station to pick up something. When I walked into the control room there sat Grady and George. Grady saw me and said, "Oh we need to record these spots." "You haven't recorded the spots yet?" I asked. He said he would get to them in a moment. I left.

When I arrived at work at 8:30 the next morning, there sat Grady and George. Grady saw me and said, "We have got to record these spots." He jumped up and went into the studio.

I asked George what happened? George said that when the station signed off a 1:00 am, he told Grady he was off and was going home. Grady then asked George how much it would cost for him to stay and record the spots. George thought he had Grady at that point and said "$100." At which point Grady reached into his pocket and pulled out a $100 bill, gave it to George, and they sat there all night while Grady did all the talking.

Grady was not the only talent at the station who did not cash their paychecks. Betty Feezor also did not cash hers. Many times the business office had to call her and ask her to cash them so they could keep their books straight.

Did you know Grady never took a vacation for the 30 some years he work at the station? After he retired Crutchfield TOLD him to take one. So, Grady and his wife took a flight from Charlotte to New York. Then to Paris where he got in a taxi, went into Paris, found a restaurant, had dinner. After dinner, got in a taxi, went back to the airport. (Did not spend the night.) Took a flight back to New York and Charlotte. Came into the station and said, "I have now had a vacation--Leave me alone."

Don't know if that's true, but sounds good anyway.