40 years after the last show, 10 things you didn’t know about ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’

The last episode of “WKRP in Cincinnati” aired 40 years ago this week on April 21, 1982. The sitcom following a cast of wacky characters at a struggling radio station ran on CBS for four season from 1978-1982, then in syndicated reruns.

“WKRP” defined Cincinnati for many people living outside the Midwest, from the iconic Tyler Davidson Fountain in all its oxidized green glory to the mellow ’70s theme song and the undisputed greatest Thanksgiving episode of all time (“As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”)

The hosts of “WKRP-Cast,” a podcast all about “WKRP,” recently visited the Queen City to see all the locations from the show. Even though it has been off the air for four decades, “WKRP in Cincinnati” is as timeless as the rock ‘n’ roll music Dr. Johnny Fever spun on the turntables.

In celebration of this fan-favorite show, here are 10 Cincinnati facts you might not know about “WKRP in Cincinnati”:

1. Why was the show set in Cincinnati? “I liked the way it sounded,” series creator Hugh Wilson told Enquirer TV/radio editor Steve Hoffman in March 1978. “WKRP, Cincinnati. It rolled off the tongue very well. And we wanted a big city but not New York or LA.” Hoffman also reported that Wilson claimed the call letters were chosen by researchers, while insiders said the double-play was intended to sound like “C-R-A-P.”

2. Cincinnati cinematographer Bob Gerding filmed the local scenes in the opening and closing credits, including shots of the Tyler Davidson Fountain, Roebling Suspension Bridge, Fort Washington Way, Central Trust Bank Tower and Riverfront Stadium.

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3. And the tower featured behind the show’s titles? That was for television, not radio. It was the old WLWT transmission tower at 2222 Chickasaw St. in Clifton Heights, which was dismantled in 2005.

4. The show used the old Enquirer building at 617 Vine St. as the exterior shot of the Osgood R. Flimm building, where the WKRP offices were said to be located on the ninth floor.

5. When actor Gary Sandy was cast as program director Andy Travis, he contacted The Enquirer to help acquire a Cincinnati Reds warm-up jacket from the team to wear on the show. “I want to be the first to wear it to rehearsals,” said the native of Dayton, Ohio. “I’m a baseball freak and I love the Reds.” It was a signature part of the character’s look throughout the series.

6. Speaking of baseball, legendary Reds manager Sparky Anderson guest starred in the December 1979 episode, “Sparky.” In the show, the former Big Red Machine skipper, who was fired by the Reds in 1978, was brought to WKRP to host a sports talk show, but it didn’t go so well. “I must be nuts,” Sparky says at the end of the episode. “Every time I come into this town, I get fired.”

7. WEBN-FM news director Craig Kopp sent “WKRP” producers a package of Cincinnati items, including empty LaRosa’s pizza boxes, Skyline Chili bags, Little Kings and Hudepohl bottles and an “I Love Norwood” bumper sticker, to use as props to make the WKRP station look more like a real Cincinnati radio station.

8. Gary Sandy and Gordon Jump (who played station manager Arthur Carlson) made a promotional appearance in Cincinnati in October 1978, a month after “WKRP” premiered. The two Dayton natives posed in character at local landmarks, including Fountain Square, The Enquirer offices and the Cricket Tavern, the bar at the Cincinnatian Hotel (next door to The Enquirer), where they likely would have gone for a drink after work.

9. Local low-power television station WBQC-TV (Channel 25), founded in 1990, changed its name to WKRP in 2008 to capitalize on the familiar name. “When I call someone out-of-town and say we’re a TV station in Cincinnati, the response usually is, ‘WKRP in Cincinnati?’ This gives us recognition,” general manager Elliott Block said at the time. The station’s digital TV signal includes several channels, such as Cozi TV (25.1), Get TV (25.3), HSN (25.7), QVC (25.8), Movies! (25.10) and Decades (25.11).

10. Two months after the deaths of 11 concertgoers at The Who concert at Riverfront Coliseum on Dec. 3, 1979, the show addressed the tragedy. In the episode, the radio station staff deals with the guilt and sadness in the aftermath of the deaths, highlighting concerns with the first-come, first-served festival seating that contributed to the surge of the crowd to get inside the venue. WCPO general manager Robert Gordon had reservations that a comedy show would treat the deaths lightly, but upon previewing the episode allowed it to be aired locally. The show handled the subject with sensitivity. At the end, a card noted that as a result of the tragedy, “the city of Cincinnati passed an ordinance prohibiting ‘festival seating’ or general admission.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 10 things you didn’t know about ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’