Podcast appearances and mentions of charlie brotman

Charlie Brotman was the voice of 16 presidential inauguration parades, for 11 different presidents - from Eisenhower to Biden.

Jimmy Lynn on what went into his decision to stay in Our Town after grad school ~ "When I was coming out of AU after grad school, a couple mentors pulled me aside and said, you think you might need to move to New York or LA? I wasn't sure. And they said, you might be a small fish in a big pond. Why not stay here in DC where you can be a big fish in a medium sized pond." Jimmy Lynn, Entrepreneur, Servant Leader and Georgetown Professor and host Andy Ockershausen in studio interview Andy Ockershausen: This is Our Town. This is Andy Ockershausen. And this is such, I say this in all sincerity, a great, great opportunity and a pleasure to talk to a friend for many, many years. At one time, a big part of WMAL radio. Things have changed, Jimmy. The big days that you and I grew up are gone. But to have you in this studio to me is special and Jimmy Lynn, welcome to Our Town. Jimmy Lynn: Thank you, Andy. It's so great to be back to see you. To see Janice. To be back at the studios from back in the 80s when WMAL and Q107 were the kings of media. Andy Ockershausen: Jimmy, at one time we were the kings of media and we're still ... And Janice is the queen of media now. Jimmy Lynn: We know that. Andy Ockershausen: But Jimmy, if you recall, and I know you do, you got started in the business here. You were fortunate at the time as I was, because I started as you did. I started at the bottom and worked my way down. And you have done so much with your life and I want to talk about it but your DC career, to me, is special. You're a local guy that grew up here and made something out of being a local. Doing Business in Our Town – Big Fish, Medium Pond Jimmy Lynn: Yeah. No, that was very important to me. When I was coming out of AU after grad school, a couple mentors pulled me aside and said, you think you might need to move to New York or LA? I wasn't sure. And they said, you might be a small fish in a big pond. Why not stay here in DC where you can be a big fish in a medium sized pond. And you and Charlie Brotman told me the importance of networking and relationship building, shaking hands, and once you look someone in the eye to do business. So they said stay in DC. You're going to make friends. You're going to business together. You're going to celebrate together. You're going to go to funerals together. You have a chance to become the old boy network which you and Charlie were. Andy Ockershausen: Well, Jimmy, you're so right. And I had an opportunity yesterday to talk to a bunch of young people in something called Leadership Greater Washington. I happened to be one of the founders of the organization in 1986 and '87 was our first class. Nothing has changed, Jimmy. That's over 30 some years ago and it's still networking, getting around, connect the dots. There's no secret to be a success. Show up. Return your phone calls. Andy O, Jr. Jimmy Lynn: I don't think I've told you this but a couple of people have told me, Jimmy, you have one of the top five or top 10 rolodexes in the DC business community. And people used to call me Andy O, Jr. I always took that as a big compliment because you were the most connected guy in town. Andy Ockershausen: Well, because, I still use the old Rolodex. I can't use this thing that you have, Jimmy. And Janice does it. Ken does it. But I'm a dead duck. I can't do it. But my Rolodex is important to my life because I pop up names on there that I haven't talked to in years and suddenly there they are in my Rolodex. And people use me for references and I appreciate it so much. But Jimmy you learned the lesson. But learning it is one thing, executing it in which you did, your career, I never understood what a double alumnus is. American University Communications and Marketing Jimmy Lynn: I went to American University. I have my Communication degree as undergrad and then MBA in Marketing. Andy Ockershausen: I went to American University myself when I was an intern at WMAL.

One of the world's top experts on nutritional intervention says what you eat can, in large part, determine whether or not you get Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Neal Barnard of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine offers tips to boost your brain health with power foods.

Andy Ockershausen on Season Two Our Town - "Well I just heard this morning from Gordon Peterson. He agreed to be on the show. If you don't remember Gordon Peterson, you haven't lived in Our Town because he was Mr Channel 9. Those kind of people are coming back to us, and they want to be on." Andy and Janice Ockershausen, Season One Ender and Looking Forward to Season Two Announcer: GEICO presents Our Town, Season Two. A 30 minute podcast produced by Best Bark Communications, a small but fierce client-centered marketing company powered by decades of experience and well-established business networks. GEICO. 15 minutes will save you 15 percent or more on car insurance. Now, here’s your host, Andy Ockershausen. Janice Ockershausen: Hi, this is Janice Ockershausen, the executive producer of Our Town, and we wanted to look at Season One. This is a transition piece, and we wanted to let people know that we are finishing Season One and starting Season Two. Andy Ockershausen: We had 53 guests in our first season, were going to have at least 40 more in our second, and we hope you've enjoyed listening to their stories. You know, we've got stories of success, of failure, some happiness, some sadness, prosperity, we had people that failed that were on this show. We have a homeless person who talked about the city and what she goes through. It makes this Our Town tick, the people. Janice Ockershausen: You know what? It makes it personal. What has been really exciting for me, listening to every podcast then re-listening to it and presenting it, it's a wonderful thing because you have experienced with these people, all hand-picked people, all hand-picked guests by either you or me, and we know them, we have lived through some of these exciting times, and it was so interesting to hear it from the horse’s mouth. Andy Ockershausen: Well you know, Janny, that has been a big revelation to me. For whatever reason, I got a lot of stuff in my cranium. I guess I absorbed and kept everything I ever heard of, and it's like a computer, but to have people talk about things that I grew up with, and to be able to understand what they're saying, has been a great boon to me and to them. I can get questions and ask questions of people that think I don't know, and I know because I was there. Janice Ockershausen: Yeah, you're incredibly well read, and your memory is unbelievable. It's the little details that you're able to connect with your guests that make it so interesting and so full, and so flavorful. The texture of Our Town is remarkable. Andy Ockershausen: The people of Our Town have made it so great over the 50 years of that we are talking about, and we've got more to come, but the guests that we've had, and they don't really feel like guests. They feel a part of Our Town, which makes me feel great. Janice Ockershausen: They're our family and our friends. Andy Ockershausen: Absolutely. They're great friends. Janice Ockershausen: If you look back at a little bit of the list of people we had, were Bill Regardie, a fantastic interview, Cary Hatch, Sonny Jurgensen, Dexter Manley, Lon Anderson, Wendy Rieger. Andy Ockershausen: You know, Tommy Loverro, that he just started his own show. Janice Ockershausen: With Andy Pollin. Andy Ockershausen: Andy Pollin, and listen, Irene Pollin called us to be on with us. You know, we've had people like Frank Herzog, boy nobody forgets him. Paul Berry, my god, Paul. Christine Brennan, Johnny Holiday, golly what a great talent. Janice Ockershausen: We had Charlie Brotman before he was Charlie Brotman. We had Henry Sacks, our dear friend, and probably the most meaningful guest for me, I guess symbolically, was that we based Our Town on the principles of The Harden and Weaver Show, our first guest and our last guest. Actually he was the first one that we interviewed, and the last one we out on for Season One, was our dear friend Frank Harden.

Charlie Brotman announced every inaugural parade since 1957, and was fired by Donald Trump's team in 2017. Brotman told Jacob Brogan about how his work at the parades have changed over the decades, and about some of the tricks he used to keep the crowd's attention. In a Slate Plus Extra, Charlie Brotman reads an announcement about the history of different kinds of inaugural parades. Start your two-week free trial at slate.com/workingplus. Email: working@slate.com Twitter: @Jacob_Brogan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlie Brotman announced every inaugural parade since 1957, and was fired by Donald Trump's team in 2017. Brotman told Jacob Brogan about how his work at the parades have changed over the decades, and about some of the tricks he used to keep the crowd's attention. In a Slate Plus Extra, Charlie Brotman reads an announcement about the history of different kinds of inaugural parades. Start your two-week free trial at slate.com/workingplus. Email: working@slate.com Twitter: @Jacob_Brogan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lyles Carr on community service - "I get much more credit than I’m due. To me, it’s the almost irrationally committed leaders and staff of the community service organizations in this Region and their supporters that really deserve the applause. They’re the ones that do the real work. We just try to support them." Lyles Carr, Senior Vice President The McCormick Group - Leadership Greater Washington A Ockershausen: This is Andy Ockershausen and this is Our Town and we have the pleasure, a distinct personal pleasure to me to talk with a very dear friend who's made a great impact on the city of Washington. A name most of you don't know but you should is Lyles Carr is with The McCormick Group. Lyles, welcome to Our Town. Lyles Carr: Andy, I'm pleased to be here although I figure you needed some comic relief at some point so that's how you got me. The Early Years A Ockershausen: Until we talked, I had no idea you were a suburban guy. I always thought of you for whatever reason as Northern Virginia and DC. Then I started talking to you and found out you're from Palmer Park. Lyles Carr: Yeah, it's interesting. A Ockershausen: It's incredible. Lyles Carr: I was born over in Eastern Maryland and ... A Ockershausen: Waterfowl country. Lyles Carr: Yep. My mother's family is from down there and my mother's still there and so I feel like Easton Maryland's home but my father and our family moved into Palmer Park in 1957 when I was six or seven years old and at the time we were the first family into the second section of Palmer Park. A Ockershausen: They expanded. Lyles Carr: That was really the farthest outlying suburb. Well, there became five sections all together. This is pre Bowie and so I grew up in there. I used to take music lessons down on Minnesota Avenue and go to church in Seat Pleasant. A Ockershausen: You don't go there now do you? Lyles Carr: Actually I do go there but it's for different reasons. A Ockershausen: It's a different world. Lyles Carr: My friend Butch Hopkins down there then ran Anacostia Economic Development Partnership and down and around Marshall Heights with some of the non profit work. A Ockershausen: Those names are so familiar to me. I'll give you my little story and then I'll let you get yours. Charlie Brotman a very dear friend of mine started representing ... He said, "I've got a kid out here that's going to be so great in Palmer Park and he's in the boys club and we're prepping him for bigger things like the Olympics." He said, "I'm not getting paid, I'm doing this," this is a true story, "as a pro bono." The kid's name was Sugar Ray Leonard. He was Ray Leonard then. Then they added the Sugar Ray. I knew about Palmer Park and all those kids that grew up there. There's some terrific athletes. Lyles, how did you get connected then? You went to high school? No, you didn't go to high school back then. Lyles Carr: No, I went to elementary school and junior high. In fact, Kent Junior High is now a police substation in Palmer Park and then I went away to Episcopal High School in Alexandria. A Ockershausen: You crossed the river? Lyles Carr: Yeah, I was third generation and had an option. You can go to the school or you can not got to school I think. Both my father and grandfather had gone so as a legacy they probably had to take me if I went. A Ockershausen: Were you a boarder? Of course. Lyles Carr: Boarder. They're all boarders. At the time, it was 270 boys and since then, 1991 they brought in girls as well and I think it's been terrific for the school. A Ockershausen: We went through the same thing at St. Stephens and they joined with St. Agnes. Now it's one school. That was a Till Hazel effort. Another Board of Trade guy that I got to meet through the Board. That got you started in a different world. It was a different world than where you grew up. Lyles Carr: It was. It's interesting,

This week on Unorthodox, Bernie Madoff's prison hot chocolate scheme. We've got two Jewish guests this week: our first is return visitor Rosie Gray, who covered the election for BuzzFeed and is now a staff writer at the Atlantic. Our second guest is Charlie Brotman, who has announced every inauguration parade from Eisenhower to Obama but was snubbed by the Trump inauguration committee. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get new episodes and more. Email us with comments, questions and kvetches at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com (we may share your note on air!). Music credits:  “Unorthodox Theme Song” by Golem “NPR’s Morning Edition Theme” by BJ Liederman “Le Hustle” by Polyrhytmics “Rosie” by Jackson Browne “Alley Cat” by Bent Fabric “Hail to the Chief” by American Patriotic Music Ensemble Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlie Brotman on Sugar Ray Leonard and success negotiating his first professional fight: "First professional fight, the youngster normally gets $400. That's just tradition and normal. We were able to negotiate with Baltimore for $40,000, considerably higher. We worked with him the rest of his 15 year career." Charlie Brotman, Public Relations Expert and Announcer of Presidents A Ockershausen: This is a special treat for Our Town for our million of listeners to have the most famous announcer in the history of the President of the United States, Charles Brotman, a native Washingtonian, grew up here, went to Tech High School, and fortunately moved to West Virginia at one time. Charlie Brotman: At one time. Getting Started in Broadcasting A Ockershausen: That's where he got started in broadcasting, as I recall. Charlie Brotman: Correct. I went to the National Academy of Broadcasting. A Ockershausen: And graduated. Charlie Brotman: And graduated. It doesn't exist anymore, but it was on 16th Street. A Ockershausen: Know it quite well, 16th and R Street. No, no. Higher there. Park Road. Charlie Brotman: Yeah, in that area. A Ockershausen: Charlie, did you get your first radio job in West Virginia? Charlie Brotman: Ronceverte, West Virginia. A Ockershausen: Wow. Charlie Brotman: When I graduated, they said they'll get me a job. At first, they said it was in Owosso, Michigan in the wintertime. I told the people who were going to move me to Michigan, I said basically, "I'm busy right now." A Ockershausen: Call me. Charlie Brotman: Finally, when all my friends went back to school in the summertime, that was fall, and I had nothing to do, I said, "I better see what's available." What was available was Ronceverte, West Virginia. That was near the Hotel Grand ... What was the name of that hotel? A Ockershausen: Bedford Springs? Charlie Brotman: No. A Ockershausen: Something like that in West Virginia? Charlie Brotman: No. A Ockershausen: West Virginia? Wheeling? Anyway. Charlie Brotman: That famous hotel. A Ockershausen: Greenbrier? Charlie Brotman: Greenbrier. That's it. A Ockershausen: Wow. That's a resort. That's fabulous. Charlie Brotman: Yeah, so I would go- A Ockershausen: Did you live at the Greenbrier? Charlie Brotman: I used the Greenbrier, played golf there, swam there like I was a guest. A Ockershausen: That's the best. Charlie Brotman: I interviewed, goodness gracious, the Prince of Wales. Is that possible? A Ockershausen: Yeah, he could have been visiting there. Absolutely. Charlie Brotman: Yeah. He was visiting the Greenbrier, and I had a little microphone and tape recorder that I put right behind a plant. I was interviewing the Prince of Wales. He said that he'd just gotten off a golf course. He says, "Don't tell anybody, but I gave myself some “gimmes” I would never have made. A Ockershausen: That sounds like Bill Clinton. The Prince of Wales was King of England for a while. Charlie Brotman: That's it. A Ockershausen: He abdicated. He married a woman from the state of Virginia. Charlie Brotman: Yes. A Ockershausen: Wallis Simpson. Charlie Brotman: Correct. A Ockershausen: We all know that, Charlies. We learn a lot. Charlie Brotman: She was a really lovely lady. A Ockershausen: I'll bet, being at the Greenbrier. That started you, and you've interviewed celebrities your whole life now, whether it was in live radio or over a PA system. Then you came to Washington and said, "I'm going to be in the PR business." Charlie Brotman: Correct. A Ockershausen: How'd that happen? Charlie Brotman: Yeah, basically everything has a beginning and end. I hope the end isn't soon, but in any event, when I got into broadcasting, I decided that I wanted really to get into sports. That was my thing. I wanted to be a sports announcer. A Ockershausen: Ah-ha, we share that. Washington Senators Announcer Charlie Brotman: Yeah. Finally, when I went to Orlando,

Mark Russell, the laughter of politics, on roasting "Charlie Brotman - "Why did I want to get on? Because it was a roast and you must go on first. It's an old rule of the Friars Club. The guy to say, mmhmmhm gets all the laughs. In Charlie's case, there's one obvious reference. I talked about how wonderful RFK Stadium was and that there's no AstroTurf at RFK Stadium and the only AstroTurf there at all was on Charlie Brotman's head. Referring of course to his magnificent hairpiece made by little old ladies in Iran." Mark Russell, Political Satirist and Entertainer A Ockershausen: I'm Andy Ockershausen and this is Our Town. We have the distinct pleasure of talking to a Washington legend who is also a Buffalo legend and he's my legend and his name is Mark Russell. Mark Russell, WMAL and Bill Trumbull Mark Russell: Thank you Andy. Thank you. You gave me my first job in radio, right in this building. WMAL, this was the first nonsmoking building in the city. It opened in the late '60s, early '70s and people said, that's never going to work. You can't smoke in the entire building? A Ockershausen: That's right, it drove Bill Trumbull crazy. Mark Russell: I was on with Bill Trumbull and you gave me that job too. A Ockershausen: Absolutely. Mark Russell: We were on Sundays. This was when WMAL carried the Redskin game so this was off season. A Ockershausen: Right, I recall. Mark Russell: Trumbull and I are on and we have a new sponsor, a billiard academy. Not a sleazy pool room but a billiard academy. We said, we want to welcome our new sponsor, fancy billiard academy, that's what they call them now. Bill said, I don't know how wholesome they are. He said, I was there the other night and I engaged two little old ladies in a game and I beat them and they took me out behind the place and broke my thumbs. A Ockershausen: Only Trumbull. Didn't we do something with you in a snowstorm too, had to pick you up somewhere? Mark Russell: I was home and I couldn't make it to the station. Again, it was a Sunday. Tremendous snowstorm and they gave me the names of the schools that are closed. Okay, read these names. This school is closed, this school is closed, this church is closed. I said, the Pixieland Day School, which was where my daughter was going, a little day school. Pixieland Day School will be open but the Pentagon will be closed. Well, the switchboard lit up. The Pentagon is closed? What do you mean? A Ockershausen: Only you, Mark Russell. Mark Russell: I'm surprised you didn't fire me then. A Ockershausen: Those were the great days of WMAL but we want to talk about you and your early days in Buffalo. Were you born in Buffalo, New York? Mark Russell: Yes, I went to Catholic school. A Ockershausen: Tenacious. Mark Russell: I was 18 years of age before I knew that Protestants also played basketball. As a young man I dodged the draft, I did it my joining the Marine Corps. A Ockershausen: I did not know that. The Marine Corps Mark Russell: After the nuns in Catholic school, Marine boot camp was a piece of cake. I enlisted during the Korean War, the forgotten war. I never forgot. I was wounded in that war. It was Tijuana but I was wounded. A Ockershausen: Where did you go to basic in Camp Lejeune? Mark Russell: No, I went to Parris Island, which was déjà vu going on these days. A Ockershausen: It was tough. Mark Russell: They've got a huge scandal now, a horrible thing. I was there. There were seven Marines killed back in 1953. They were drowned by this drill instructor who was busted down from Staff Sergeant to Buck Private. We've got this hazing going on now, which is tremendous. A Ockershausen: Were you on the base? Mark Russell: No, I was there before that. We had to shine our shoes, not this corps fam stuff. A Ockershausen: You worked. Mark, I did not know. Mark Russell: Yeah, it was in '53, '53-'56. A Ockershausen: Of all my life, I never knew about that.

From Wednesday, January 11, 2017: As inauguration nears, Thom chats with Charlie Brotman, the longtime announcer for the Inaugural Parade since 1957 who was replaced for this year by President-elect Trump. They also talk about his expansive career in D.C. sports.