View source for Joe Pyne

{{short description|American television talk show host (1924–1970)}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Joe Pyne
| image              = Publicity_Photo_of_Joe_Pyne.jpg 
| caption            = Publicity photo of Joe Pyne
| birth_name         = Joseph Edward Pine
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1924|12|22}}
| birth_place        = [[Chester, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1970|03|23|1924|12|22|mf=yes}}
| death_place        = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| occupation         = [[Talk show|Talk show host]], [[actor]]
| spouse             = {{marriage|Ann Lewicki|<!--years unknown-->|1965<!--years unknown-->}}<ref name=acidTongued/><br />{{marriage|Britt Larsen|1965}}
| children           = 3<ref name=acidTongued>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/delaware-county-daily-times-acid-tongued/142269615/ |title=Acid-tongued Joe Pyne dies; critic of all |newspaper=Delaware County Daily Times |date=March 25, 1970 |page=1 |access-date=June 25, 2024 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref>
| parents            = 
| relatives          = 
}}

'''Joe Pyne'''{{efn|Some sources erroneously spell his surname "Pine" (see e.g. [[#{{sfnref|Perry|1989}}|Perry (1989)]] or [[#{{sfnref|"Hot_Talk"|1989}}|"Hot Talk" (1989)]])}} (December 22, 1924 – March 23, 1970) was an American [[Talk radio|radio]] and [[Talk show|television talk show]] [[Television host|host]], who pioneered the confrontational style in which the host advocates a viewpoint and argues with guests and audience members. He was an influence on other major talk show hosts such as [[Rush Limbaugh]], [[Morton Downey Jr.]], [[Bob Grant (radio host)|Bob Grant]], and [[Michael Savage (commentator)|Michael Savage]].

==Personal life==
Joseph Pyne was born in [[Chester, Pennsylvania]]. His father, Edward Pyne, was a bricklayer;<ref name=darr>{{Cite news |date=November 13, 1966 |title=A Bully of a Broadcaster |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-honolulu-advertiser-a-bully-of-a-bro/142270667/ |access-date=February 28, 2024 |work=The Honolulu Advertiser |pages=79 |first=Bert |last=Darr |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref> his mother, Catherine, was a housewife.

Pyne graduated from [[Chester High School (Chester, Pennsylvania)|Chester High School]] in 1942 and immediately enlisted in the [[United States Marine Corps]].<ref name=murdaugh/> He saw combat in the South Pacific, where he earned three battle stars. In 1943, during a Japanese bombing attack, he was wounded in the left knee; he earned a [[Purple Heart]] as a result of his injuries.<ref name=asburyPark>{{cite news |title=Pyne Once Called Airways Nuisance |newspaper=Asbury Park (NJ) Press |date=March 25, 1970 |page=39}}</ref> In 1955, he lost the lower part of that leg due to a rare form of cancer.<ref name=acidTongued/><ref name=murdaugh/>

In 1965, at age 40, Joe Pyne married 20-year-old Norwegian actress [[Britt Larsen]] in [[Las Vegas]]. After getting married, they went to a show where [[Frank Sinatra]] was performing. Reportedly, Sinatra recognized "the great Joe Pyne" in the audience and asked him to stand and take a bow.<ref name=cook/>

==Career==
===Radio disk jockey===
Discharged from the Marines at the end of [[World War II]], Pyne attended a local drama school to correct a speech impediment. While studying there, he decided to try radio.<ref name=cook/> He worked briefly in [[Lumberton, North Carolina]], before he was hired at a new station, [[WPWA]], in [[Brookhaven, Pennsylvania]].<ref name=wpwa>{{cite news |date=November 17, 1947 |title=WPWA Makes Its Bow On The Air |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/delaware-county-daily-times-wpwa-makes-i/31216645/ |access-date=February 28, 2024 |work=Delaware County Daily Times |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref>  After an argument with the owner he was fired. Next, he got a job at radio station [[WILM (AM)]] in [[Wilmington, Delaware]], the first of three times he would work at that station. A few months later, in March 1948, he left WILM to work at [[WJFP|WVCH]], a newly-opened station in Chester. Seeing little chance to advance his career in Chester, Pyne left after a year and a half.<ref name=murdaugh>{{cite news |date=1959-04-22 |title=Joe Pyne Saw Tobacco Juice Fly |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/delaware-county-daily-times-joe-pyne-saw/142268021/ |access-date=June 25, 2024 |work=Delaware County Daily Times |pages=19 |first=Don |last=Murdaugh |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref> He moved to [[Kenosha, Wisconsin]], where he was hired at [[WLIP]]. He quickly realized that he wanted more than playing music and reporting on community events like the county fair or a new business opening.{{r|halper|page=183}} Six months after starting at WLIP, he got into a heated confrontation with the station owner, William Lipman, and stormed out of the station afterwards. One of Pyne's cohosts later recounted the events of Pyne's fight with Lipman to ''[[Smithsonian Magazine]]'', saying "Joe was yelling. He had one hand on our boss' lapel. He picked up a [[typewriter]] and threw it against the wall."<ref name=cook/>

===Talk show host===
After leaving WLIP, Pyne moved to [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]], where he took a job at [[WPGG|WPFG]] as a [[disc jockey]], and offered brief commentary to fill the silence while switching records. One evening, he made a comment about "corrupt politics in the town," which led to the station manager suggesting he change his broadcasting style &mdash; as he recalls, "the manager ran in and said 'Quit playing records and just talk.'"<ref name=murdaugh/> Pyne gradually developed his on-air persona as an opinionated host who knew something about everything.<ref name=halper/>

Around 1950,{{efn|Sources give conflicting reports on when this happened. [[#{{sfnref|Wilkinson|2012}}|Wilkinson (2012)]] says 1949, [[#{{sfnref|Press|2010}}|Press (2010)]] says 1950, and [[#{{sfnref|Halper|2008}}|Halper (2008)]] says 1951.}} he returned to WILM, where he officially debuted as a talk show host, although he would later tell reporters that he first experimented with two-way talk radio during his time in Kenosha.<ref name=cook/><ref name=page>{{cite news |first=Don |last=Page |title=Pyne Answers Final Call on Two-Way Radio |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=February 21, 1969 |page=J1 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/383049367/ |url-access=subscription}}</ref> He called his new show ''It's Your Nickel'', a popular [[idiom|idiomatic phrase]] referring to the fact that calls from a [[pay phone]] cost five cents. The format was Pyne expressing his opinions on various topics. Listeners would call to ask questions, offer their own opinions, or raise new topics. At first, Pyne didn't put callers on the air; he paraphrased for the audience what they had said. Soon the callers and his interaction with them became the heart of the show. Pyne became famous for arguing with or insulting those with whom he disagreed. One of his trademark insults was "go gargle with razor blades."{{r|halper|pages=184-185}}<ref name=press/><ref name=wilkinson>{{cite web |url=https://www.broadcastpioneers.com/joepynebio.html |title=Joe Pyne |first=Gerry |last=Wilkinson |year=2012 |work=Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia |access-date=June 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420025011/https://www.broadcastpioneers.com/joepynebio.html |archive-date=April 20, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=time>{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/archive/6834283/broadcasting-killer-joe/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240626030455/https://time.com/archive/6834283/broadcasting-killer-joe/ |archive-date=June 26, 2024 |url-status=live |title=Broadcasting: Killer Joe |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=July 29, 1966 |page=30 |access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref>

===Television===
In the late 1940s into the early 1950s, television began to usurp radio as America's main medium for news,<ref name=stephens>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://stephens.hosting.nyu.edu/History%20of%20Television%20page.html |title=History of Television |first=Mitchell |last=Stephens |access-date=June 25, 2024 |encyclopedia=Grolier Encyclopedia |via=[[New York University]]}}</ref> leading Pyne to experiment with a television version of his radio program. In 1954, Pyne hosted ''The Joe Pyne Show'' on Wilmington's [[WVUE (Delaware)|WDEL-TV]], which was only moderately successful and ran for just a few months.{{r|halper|page=186}} In 1957, he stopped hosting ''It's Your Nickel'' and sought out television jobs in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles]], but his search lasted over a month and "nobody even talked to [him]." He eventually found employment in [[Riverside, California|Riverside]] hosting a radio show very similar in format to ''It's Your Nickel''. After exposing a narcotics scandal at a local high school, his popularity exploded, and soon multiple TV stations were vying for his attention.<ref name=murdaugh/><ref name=wilkinson/>

Pyne accepted an extremely lucrative offer &mdash; ''Smithsonian Magazine'' reports that he was paid {{usd|1000|1957|long=no}} per week, a greater salary than most sports stars, including [[Mickey Mantle]]<ref name=cook/> &mdash; from [[KTLA]] in [[Los Angeles]] to host a nightly television program. Just as he had at WLIM, he would argue with and insult his guests on this show. A go-to insult of his was "I could make a monkey out of you, but why should I take the credit?".<ref name=wilkinson/> He considered this program to be a great success,{{r|halper|page=186}} saying in a 1959 interview, "I was in the big time, had my name in lights on [[Sunset Boulevard|Sunset Blvd]]." However, after roughly six months he resigned from the show and returned to Delaware due to a family member falling ill.<ref name=murdaugh/>

Back in Wilmington, Pyne hosted a daily radio talk show on [[WVUE (Delaware)|WVUE]] and a weekly television companion piece on Friday nights from 11 p.m. to midnight,<ref name=wilkinson/> both of which also aired in nearby [[Philadelphia]]. The shows received positive reviews from critics, and Pyne told a reporter his TV show was the channel's most successful program, noting that it went from "an 0.3 to a [[Nielsen Media Research#Nielsen TV ratings|3.5 rating]] in 12 weeks."<ref name=murdaugh/>

In early 1959, Pyne worked briefly for [[Montreal]] radio station CKGM as a talk show host.<ref name=marsters>{{cite news |title=Dial Turns |first=Jack |last=Marsters |newspaper=[[The Gazette (Montreal)|The Gazette]] |location=Montreal, Quebec |date=March 7, 1962 |page=25 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref> Later that year, he returned to Los Angeles, and by 1960 he was hosting a radio show on [[KABC (AM)]], later transferring to [[KLAC]]{{r|halper|pages=186-187}} and eventually [[KTTV]].<ref name=filmDetective>{{cite press release |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-film-detective-rediscovers-regional-classic-the-joe-pyne-show-300861768.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313161716/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-film-detective-rediscovers-regional-classic-the-joe-pyne-show-300861768.html |archive-date=March 13, 2023 |url-status=live |title=The Film Detective Rediscovers Regional Classic, ''The Joe Pyne Show'' |work=PR Newswire |author=The Film Detective |access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref>

In 1966, Pyne hosted the short-lived daytime game show ''Showdown'' on [[NBC]]. It was similar to other game and quiz shows of the era where teams competed to answer trivia questions, but its distinguishing feature was that when a contestant incorrectly answered a question, the chair they were sitting on would break and they'd fall to the floor. ''Showdown'' was cancelled after three months.<ref name=newcomb>{{cite book |last1=Timberg |first1=Bernard M. |first2=Robert J. |last2=Erler |others=Introduction by Horace Newcomb |title=Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show |year=2004 |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin, TX |isbn=0292781768 |page=272 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9f4wu3uygR4C&pg=PA272}}</ref>

===Syndication===
In March 1966, the [[NBC Radio Network]] began [[broadcast syndication|syndicating]] ''The Joe Pyne Show'', which connected Pyne to an audience nationwide. That July, ''Time'' reported that almost 100 stations in the [[Greater Los Angeles|L.A. metro area]] alone and more than 250 stations in total were broadcasting the daily radio program, and the weekly television show was syndicated in three major markets, with 21 additional television stations expected to begin syndication by September.<ref name=time/> Between his radio and television program, Pyne reportedly earned {{usd|200000|1966|long=no}} annually{{r|halper|page=186}}<ref name=time/> or {{usd|4000|1966|long=no}} per week, noted as being roughly twice as much as [[Lyndon B. Johnson|President Johnson]]'s salary.<ref name=cook/>{{efn|One newspaper (see [[#{{sfnref|Darr|1966}}|Darr (1966)]]) reported Pyne's annual salary as being $400,000 but no other sources can verify this number.}}

==Controversies==
Throughout his career as a talk show host, Pyne was consistently polarizing and controversial. His tendency toward insult and vitriol offended most critics, who called him "outrageous," "belligerent," and "self-righteous."<ref name=laurent>{{cite news |first=Lawrence |last=Laurent |title=Joe Pyne is Outrageous |newspaper=Washington Post |date=July 22, 1966 |page=C7}}</ref> A spokesman for KABC reportedly said that "Joe Pyne can make some people angry by merely commenting on the weather."<ref name=fbi>{{cite web |url=https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/fbifiles/celebrities/josephpyne-fbi1.pdf |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |agency=U.S. Department of Justice |date=December 17, 2021 |access-date=June 28, 2024 |title=FOIPA Request No.: 1510808-000 |first=Michael G. |last=Seidel}}</ref>{{rp|page=19}}

During Pyne's time in Wilmington, he was outspokenly critical of those he considered his political enemies, including Wilmington's mayor and Delaware's [[attorney general]]. Many listeners and guests threatened him with violence.{{r|halper|page=185-186}}

Pyne never shied away from having provocative guests on his program. He said that guests on his show should be "visceral" because "we want emotion, not mental involvement."<ref name=time/> He regularly had [[Nazi]]s and [[Ku Klux Klan]] members on his show &mdash; drawing the ire of both the American Jewish Committee, who stated he was giving [[bigotry|bigot]]s a nationwide voice and helping spread their propaganda,<ref name=jta>{{cite web |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/american-jewish-committee-warns-broadcasting-industry-on-bigots |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240626045642/https://www.jta.org/archive/american-jewish-committee-warns-broadcasting-industry-on-bigots |archive-date=June 26, 2024 |url-status=live |title=American Jewish Committee Warns Broadcasting Industry on Bigots |date=December 23, 1966 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |number=245 |access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref> and the FCC, who strongly recommended station managers more carefully [[vetting|vet]] Pyne's program<ref name=rose/> &mdash; as well as other infamous individuals such as [[Anton LaVey]], [[Sam Sloan]], and followers of [[Charles Manson]].{{r|halper|page=187}} Although he was frequently criticized for his choice of guests and "accused of fostering a hate program," he maintained that his show should be considered educational, since it exposed these groups and ideas to the public eye.<ref name=rose>{{cite news |date=August 20, 1967 |title=Pyne Sneers All the Way to Bank |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/corpus-christi-caller-times-pyne-sneers/142268644/ |access-date=February 28, 2024 |work=Corpus Christi Caller-Times |page=80 |via=Newspapers.com |first=Bob |last=Rose}} {{free access}}</ref> He told a reporter, "I don't like tha{{sic}} apathy in America today [...] people should actually take an interest in what's going on [...] If [my shows] have made people think [...] then I think it was all worthwhile."<ref name=murdaughTwo>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/delaware-county-daily-times/34894995/ |title=Radio Geared to 13-Year-Old |first=Don |last=Murdaugh |date=April 23, 1959 |newspaper=Delaware County Daily Times |access-date=June 26, 2024 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref>

Pyne frequently invited [[hippies]], [[homosexuality|homosexuals]], and [[feminism|feminists]] onto his show,<ref name=press>{{cite book |last=Press |first=Bill |title=Toxic Talk: How the Radical Right Has Poisoned America's Airwaves |date=2010 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=9781429927826 |pages=9–10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bjZyYK4030IC&pg=PA9 |accessdate=June 25, 2024 |language=en}}</ref> and would ridicule their looks and their lifestyles. Author Donna Halper posits that these guests were brought on the show just so that Pyne could argue with them and rile up his audience.{{r|halper|page=187}}

Pyne was vocal about his support of [[labor unions]]. According to Lou Rugani, Pyne's coworker at WLIP in Kenosha, Pyne would talk to listeners who called to request a particular song. One such caller wanted to argue with Pyne about unions. While talking to the caller, Pyne had the idea to place his phone receiver right next to the microphone so listeners could hear both sides of the argument, rather than only Pyne's half.<ref name=cook>{{cite web |last=Cook |first=Kevin |title=Joe Pyne Was America's First Shock Jock |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/joe-pyne-first-shock-jock-180963237/ |work=[[Smithsonian Magazine]] |language=en |access-date=June 26, 2024 |date=June 2017}}</ref>

Pyne often campaigned against [[racial discrimination]]. During his tenure at WVUE, the local black press generally praised him for inviting black newsmakers on his show to discuss issues of concern to their community.{{r|halper|page=186}} One of his regular guests was a member of the editorial staff of the area's black newspaper, the ''[[Philadelphia Tribune]]'', usually a columnist or the newspaper's publisher.<ref name=tribune>{{cite news |title=Tribune Comptroller Scores on TV Show |newspaper=Philadelphia Tribune |date=July 8, 1958 |page=2}}</ref> Years later, he also had [[Maulana Karenga]], a black author, political activist, and creator of [[Kwanzaa]], as a guest on his syndicated show.<ref name=cook/>

In 2021, the FBI released a slate of documents pertaining to Pyne under the [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]]. The documents indicated that the FBI began monitoring Pyne in late 1961, and they were aware of allegations he was "anti-government."{{r|fbi|pages=9,17}} The FBI took a generally favorable view of Pyne,{{r|fbi|pages=18, 32}} although on one occasion, the Los Angeles field office contacted him because of comments he had made on his show that led them to believe "he had access to confidential material in our files."{{r|fbi|page=20}} The FBI received numerous letters from people concerned about the content of ''The Joe Pyne Show'', often pertaining to a recent episode in which Pyne or a guest had made negative comments about government officials. In one such letter, addressed to FBI director [[J. Edgar Hoover]] and dated March 1965, the writer stated that Pyne had referred to Hoover as a "flat-foot cop" and made other comments perceived as denouncing the [[House Un-American Activities Committee|House Committee on Un-American Activities]] (HCUA), an opinion backed up by a 1962 FBI internal memo. The writer went on to state he believed Pyne was "advancing the Communist 'line.'"{{r|fbi|pages=18-21}}

===Notable conflicts===
Pyne was often verbally confrontational with his guests. If a discussion got too heated, the guest would often walk off or sometimes Pyne would himself throw the guest off the show with a parting comment like "take a hike" or "get lost."<ref name=cook/> On occasion, conflicts would escalate and became physical.<ref name=mcmahon/> One guest threw a telephone at Pyne, and another punched his producer in the mouth.<ref name=time/> One especially noteworthy brawl, allegedly started by a guest, resulted in the audience charging the stage and knocking down the entire set.<ref name=cook/><ref name=mcmahon/>

In 1965, during the [[Watts Riots]] in Los Angeles, Pyne was interviewing a black militant on his TV show. At one point, Pyne opened his coat to reveal that he was carrying a handgun. His guest did likewise. The station suspended Pyne for one week as a result.<ref name=time/><ref name=newcomb/><ref name=mcmahon>{{cite book |last1=McMahon |first1=Ed |last2=Fisher |first2=David C. |title=When Television Was Young: The Inside Story with Memories by Legends of the Small Screen |date=September 9, 2007 |publisher=Thomas Nelson |location=Nashville, TN |isbn=978-1401603274 |pages=153–154|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2uN_AkdwAioC&pg=PA153}}</ref>

Few things were off limits on ''The Joe Pyne Show'', and the unpredictability of never knowing what might happen next was a major perk for both viewers and guests alike.{{r|halper|pages=185-187}}<ref name=mcmahon/> One of the only things considered taboo was talking about Pyne's wooden leg. For the most part, guests obeyed this unspoken rule, but there are unconfirmed rumors of two people who violated it. [[Paul Krassner]], editor of ''[[The Realist]]'', appeared on the show on July 16, 1967. According to Krassner, Pyne made insulting remarks about his acne scars. Krassner then asked Pyne if his wooden leg caused any difficulty in having sex with his wife. The audience supposedly gasped and the show's producers "averted their eyes" as "the atmosphere became surrealistic."<ref name=cook/> A similar exchange allegedly occurred with [[Frank Zappa]]. Pyne is reported to have said something like ...I guess your long hair makes you a woman..., to which it is claimed that Zappa responded ...so I guess your wooden leg makes you a table... The stories about Zappa and Krassner have been oft-repeated in numerous online and print sources as a fact,<ref name=cook/><ref name=mcmahon/> but their authenticity is unknown.<ref name=halper>{{cite book |last1=Halper |first1=Donna L. |title=Icons of Talk: The Media Mouths That Changed America |date=November 30, 2008 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, CT |isbn=9780313343810}}</ref>{{rp|page=187}} Although video clips of portions of Krassner's appearance on the show have been archived,<ref name=showClip>{{cite episode |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tioVEPXUN2s |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628065611/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tioVEPXUN2s |archive-date=June 28, 2024 |url-status=bot: unknown |series=The Joe Pyne Show |title=Episode dated July 16, 1967 |date=July 16, 1967 |access-date=June 28, 2024 |first=Joe (host) |last=Pyne |via=Youtube }}</ref> none of them contain video of the incident. Krassner insists that it occurred, but was edited out of the broadcast.<ref name=krassner>{{cite news |url=https://www.fifthestate.org/archive/37-september-1-15-1967/pyne-vs-krassner/ |title=Pyne vs. Krassner |first=Allan |last=Katzman |newspaper=Fifth Estate |number=37 |date=September 1–15, 1967 |access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref><ref name=bourne>{{cite interview |url=http://classicshowbiz.blogspot.com/2015/05/an-interview-with-paul-krassner-part-one.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224121114/http://classicshowbiz.blogspot.com/2015/05/an-interview-with-paul-krassner-part-one.html |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=June 28, 2024 |title=An Interview with Paul Krassner - Part One |first=Bob |last=Bourne |interviewer=Kliph Nesteroff |work=Classic Television Showbiz |date=May 11, 2015}}</ref>

==Death and legacy==
Pyne was a life-long smoker and was rarely seen without a cigarette in his hand, even when on the air. In 1969, he noticed it was becoming increasingly hard to breathe, leading to him being diagnosed with [[lung cancer]]. He stopped his television show after it became too difficult to drive to the studio, but he set up a makeshift studio at home to continue the radio show for a few more months. Eventually even that became impossible and he retired altogether in November 1969. He died in Los Angeles on March 23, 1970.<ref name=cook/>{{r|halper|page=188}}<ref name=mcmahon/>

In the years following Pyne's death, many talk show hosts drew inspiration from him and sought to emulate his on-air persona of an angry host who belittles and jeers at guests.{{r|halper|pages=182,188}} [[Harlan Ellison]] said "I’ve appeared on that sort of show all over the country. They call it controversy, but they’re all about vilification and hostility, and their model is Pyne."<ref name=cook/> Some times, the heirs to Pyne's metaphorical throne directly cited him as an influence. For instance, [[Bob Grant (radio host)|Bob Grant]] worked with Pyne in Los Angeles in the early 1960s and considered him a mentor. He would fill-in for Pyne on occasion and took over the time slot in 1964 when Pyne departed for KLAC.<ref name=vitello>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/03/nyregion/bob-grant-a-pioneer-of-right-wing-talk-radio-dies-at-84.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511130123/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/03/nyregion/bob-grant-a-pioneer-of-right-wing-talk-radio-dies-at-84.html |archive-date=May 11, 2023 |url-status=live |url-access=limited |first=Paul |last=Vitello |title=Bob Grant, a Combative Personality on New York Talk Radio, Dies at 84 |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 January 2014 |access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref> [[Sean Hannity]], in turn, took inspiration from, and gave praise to, Grant.<ref name=cook/> Other times, various media outlets have drawn the connection. [[Rick Kogan]], a reporter for the [[Chicago Tribune]], believes that [[Morton Downey, Jr.]] formatted his own talk show after ''The Joe Pyne Show''.<ref name=kogan>{{cite news |title=Morton Downey Jr. Paved the Way for the Angry Talk Show Host of Today |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/08/17/morton-downey-jr-paved-the-way-for-the-angry-talk-show-host-of-today/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524204707/https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/08/17/morton-downey-jr-paved-the-way-for-the-angry-talk-show-host-of-today/ |archive-date=May 24, 2024 |url-status=live |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |access-date=June 26, 2024 |first=Rick |last=Kogan |date=August 17, 2015}}</ref> The ''Los Angeles Times''<ref name=perry>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-02-27-me-427-story.html |title='Mort Tells It Straight' &mdash; Maybe He Should Zip It |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628021711/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-02-27-me-427-story.html |archive-date=June 28, 2024 |url-status=live |first=Anthony |last=Perry |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=February 27, 1989 |access-date=June 28, 2024 |quote=A generation ago, students tried to shout down one of Downey’s predecessors, the arch-conservative Joe Pine{{sic}}...}}</ref> and ''Radio Only'' magazine<ref name=radioOnly>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Only/Radio-Only-1989-09.pdf |via=World Radio History |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519181754/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Only/Radio-Only-1989-09.pdf |archive-date=May 19, 2024 |url-status=live |title=Hot Talk |date=September 1989 |page=18 |magazine=Radio Only |publisher=Inside Radio |issn=0731-8294|quote=[Tom] Tradup labels old-style angry talk as Morton Downey Jr. or Joe Pine{{sic}} screaming at callers and calling them names. |ref=CITEREF"Hot Talk"1989}}</ref> have also made similar remarks. Likewise, Bill Press, author of the book ''Toxic Talk'', characterized Pyne as "a precursor to [Rush] [[Rush Limbaugh|Limbaugh]]."<ref name=press/>

A lot of the footage from ''The Joe Pyne Show'' has since been lost, either because the [[videotape]] was destroyed or because another program was recorded over it, and much of what does exist is of poor quality. The organization Films Around the World owns a collection of over 100 episodes of ''The Joe Pyne Show'' and is working with videotape archival specialists to restore the reels of tape.<ref name=cook/> In 2019, The Film Detective, an organization self-described as "a leading distributor of restored classic programming," published a press release stating they had obtained and restored six hours of footage from ''The Joe Pyne Show'' which would be available on their website starting in June of that year.<ref name=filmDetective/> However, their website is now defunct and the footage is no longer available.

Pyne was [[posthumous award|posthumously]] inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame on November 16, 2012.<ref name=wilkinson/>

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*{{IMDb name|0701541}}
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0282307 ''The Joe Pyne Show'' at IMDB]

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