Legendary Broadcaster Bill Diehl

It's night Side with Dan Ray on Wbzyston's Radio.

Welcome back to our number two of Nightside. Dan Ray is off tonight, he'll be off tomorrow. Night should be back on Monday. And when you call him on Monday, ask him how his vacation went. I have a gentleman. When you hear his name, it's going to take you instantly to the world of news because for years and years you heard him say, my name is blank blank for ABC News. And I first got him to be on the radio with me about a year and a

Well, what a wonderful opening. That is just very beautiful. Thank you so much.

Morgan.

So, what do you think about news climate of twenty twenty four?

Oh, you must be talking about the election coming up.

I'm talking about everything that's happened over the past eight months, and the election is definitely a part of it.

Yeah, yeah, we can talk about that. Yeah. In a little bit. I did want to talk about something if you'd let me. You know, I've interviewed some of the greatest celebrities in our era, Yes you have, I mean, yeah, including Elizabeth Taylor, and I never interviewed her personally, but once you know, she was very involved.

In the age effort.

Why he was the nineteen nineties and so forth, and they were doing a big thing at the Jabba Center and I was there for that, so I never got a chance to talk to her there, but I admired her so much. And now on television, I think it's on HBO and Max, they have a fabulous, fabulous program called It's a documentary Elizabeth Taylor the Lost Tapes, YELP

In twice Richard Burton.

Yeah, and she stole h Eddie Fisher from Debbie Reynolds. So there's a lot to talk about. But that's a terrific program. It's well done, and again it's it's now out on HBO and HBO Max.

Well, when you think about her image and you compare that to Debbie Reynolds, I can understand how Eddie Fisher allowed his head to be turned. I won't go into any greater detail than what I just said, but it's a very believable turning of Eddie Fisher's head away from Debbie and towards Elizabeth. Was I tactful enough and now I said that.

Mm hmm.

She of course really loved Mike Todd, who was an imversario in the movie business. He died in a plane crash and I think that really crushed her. She was so unhappy about that. But anyway, that's Elizabeth Taylor, who I just wanted to mention great films. Of course, uh as we all know Cleopatra having a hot ten roof.

Uhs, I said, Betterfield eight.

Yeah, I loved her in that.

Yes, she she in the camera had a mutual love affair for each other. And that goes back ahead.

We last talked Morgan, we've lost some some biggies in the business. One that maybe your audience wasn't familiar with, but Fischer was doctor Ruth Westtheimer Doctor Ruth.

She did a.

Program on radio and television called Sexually Speaking, and she really, you know, let it all hang out, don't know doubt about it. She was quite something, only four foot seven. She was a Holocaust survivor, yes, and so I really enjoyed interviewing her a couple of times. One other person that I would like to mention because I'm on WBZ, Dick Summer died not too long ago.

He was a friend of the show, a friend of mine. I had him on at least a half a dozen times over the years. And boy with somebody tailor maid to do radio, to communicate with this medium and do it so smoothly, Dick Summer.

He had a beautiful delivery, beautiful voice.

Yes.

After WBZ, he worked at several other stations, including WNW in New York, where I got to know him quite well. But I really miss people like that on the air. And he was special, no doubt about it.

I really. Right now, I closed my eyes and he did a TV commercial for a lawyer's office, a Bender and Pender, and I can hear his liner right now, the way he would just say bender and Bender. I just it was he had a fingerprint voice, as you do. You have a fingerprint voice.

Well, I've never heard that term before, because that's very nice of you to say that, after so many years in the business, a fingerprint voice. Yes, I'll have to tell my wife that.

All right, you have my permission to use that. Let me take my first break of the hour. You've you've already got a phone call online, and I'll mention the phone numbers if anyone else wants to call in and speak with this gentleman. You've heard his liners for years here on BZ and depending on if you're not from Boston, because we hit thirty eight states, I'm sure you've heard Bill deal ABC News six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty or eight eight, eight, nine to nine, ten thirty.

Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World Life Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.

Dan should be back on Monday. He's been on vacation. I've been very fortunate to get as many of the Dan Ray eight to midnight shifts that I have gotten. I had my first a week ago on Thursday. I was here Monday, I was here last night. Obviously, I'm here tonight, and i'll be here tomorrow night. And right now I'm joined by a news legend, mister Bill Dial ABC News, among other things. And Bill, your book is still available, is it not.

There's a couple of books that are out. One is called Celebrity Chatter fifty years of my many interviews, So the more recent one, did they really say that? The great quotes from famous people like Catherine Hepburn for instance, of course she said, I've had regrets. Unless you're an absolute moron, you have regrets. You know, life's tragic at times. I've had my share. Well, it's that kind of a book. It was a fun book to write, all right. And by the way, I'm on something. I hope maybe you're

There used to be one on the Rainndom Taunton Line, which is about maybe twenty five miles a bit south of Boston and was called the Raindom Flea. And I used to go there and pick and choose, and there were nickknacks that really I didn't need, but I would buy them and bring them home anyway, because that's what a flea market is for. Something entice you to reach into your wallet and pull out a couple of bills and buy this. So by that nick knack, tell you what.

Doreene, him Moregan, how are you?

I'm fine, Don and you.

And your to your guest, mister Scale Scale. There was a flea market in Vea. We had those cinema shows were at one time. I know right now it's no longer there because Amazon now is there.

Flea markets are kind of fading away, and whereas almost most major communities had one within their environs, and now five, ten, fifteen, twenty years later, they've dwindled. You can't really find them anymore. I'm sure they still happened, but they're not as commonplace as they once had been.

No stal Go ahead, No, I'm sorry, I interrupted, that's all right.

Morgan markets in New York that are still very popular. The one is on the West side of Manhattan. Another one is in Chelsea, which is in down in Lower Manhattan, and I try to stop at it, both of them every once in a while. I need a celebrity, believe it or not, at a flea market. Bernadette Peters is the great singer. She was at a flea market not too long ago and I said, well, well, what are.

You doing here?

And she said, well, my jeweler is here. You know, a lot of jewelry is very popular at flea markets, and so she wanted to meet her jeweler for something that she was buying.

It's ironic you mentioned Chelsea because there's a community just off of Boston all right next to the airport Chelsea, mass So we've got to Chelsea and you just mentioned and that's where Dorene is from, because I have her name and her community on my computer stream. So you talked about Chelsea and Dorene is from Chelsea.

Yeah.

And and Morgan, I want to tell you that you have most unique voice yourself.

Well, thank you.

It's always a pleasure talking to you and your guests. You have a lovely guests all the time important guests. And I shall talk to you next time, Doreine.

I look forward to the next time we speak. Thank you for making this moment happen. You enjoy your Thursday all right? Now, you want to talk more about the quotes that are in your second book Bill, anyone else come? You mentioned Katherine Hepburn, any others come to mind off the top of your head.

Lily Comlin.

Uh, she was so great and she's still alive. Thank goodness, Lilly said to me, I'm reading from my book right now. I never dreamed of stardom growing up. But my neighbor's in Detroit.

Uh uh do we lose Bill? All right? Rob, Rob endeavor to reconnect. I remind him just where he left off. And people, if you want to call in six one, seven, five, four, ten thirty or eight eight eight nineteen nineteen thirty, you do that next hour. We've got Susan Brigman, who wrote a book about all the interesting stops along Route one north of Boston. That Route one, and Bill you you left off by saying Lily Tomlin's quote back from her days in Detroit.

Yeah, she said, my neighbors were a lot more interesting than Rita Hey were with her Atlanta Turner. I was just happy, she said, making the living, and these people were gratifyed.

And she had had a great career, exploded upon the public scene. Would laugh in many great movies in her career, and her last series that I'm aware of was West Wing, which was the President's Secretary, and that was a very memorable role for her. I hope she got a kick out of playing that role of Debbie the President.

You're absolutely right, Jane Fonda. Of course, she's still with us the I think.

Eighty five years old.

Wow.

And I loved her viewing her.

But you know, the thing that really kind of took me back, as you know, she's got.

The label hanoid.

Jane, Yes, but she said, you know, I'm gonna go to my grave with that quote that I said that I was on a gun and northree of them, I'm sitting there. So it's things like that that you think about when you're interviewing people over the years.

And there are some people whose popularity explodes for a core of years, but they outlive that particular pinpoint in their career. And they're still here, as you mentioned with both Lily Tomlin and Jane Fond. And Jane Fond, who's looked upon as one of the most beautiful women in the world, Yeah, in her twenties, but now that she's in her I'm getting I've seen late seventies, early eighties. Is that accurate?

She's eighty five, right, She's.

No longer looked upon as being the most beautiful and one of the most beautiful women in the world, but she's scratched down shore. Interesting still, yep, yep.

I interviewed Christopher Reeves many years ago, who played obviously Superman, but you know, he talked about his one of jumping horses, and I thought about that because I was watching the horses at the Olympics and it's going on right now, and he said that he was well trained to the sport.

Only two years.

Later he became paralyzed from that awful, awful accident he had a horse helping exhibition. So you think about things that kind of flip out during interviews, and they come back to haunt too.

And that type of accident is more frequent than we hear about, but we hear about it when it's a celebrity, the status of a major actor like Christopher Reeve was, and being paralyzed from the fall from a horse happens a lot more than you read about. They still want to do it. They want to, you know, jump those fences. I know they're called oxs. Yes, I have, yes, I have.

Every today that one of the runners who won uh was running with cold.

And collapsed, collapsed as soon as the finish line. They had to put them in a wheelchair.

Yeah, And that's they.

Is sport. That is what sport is, pushing yourself to the limit and then finding just another smidgen of energy to go beyond the limit.

Real, I ask if you're talking about celebrities now, Erica jon who was the flying Oh boy, you were ready up on some things that surprised me that you will remember that.

II. So my job, and I take my job seriously. And you know, speaking of my job, I'm right at a break time. So we'll pick up with whatever carment you're about to make about Erica on the other side of the news. And anyone who wants to call in six one, seven, two, five, four ten thirty or eight eight, eight, nine, two, nine ten thirty, you can speak with Bill Dial and he is dropping names, well known names from our mind

It's night Side Radio.

I'm Morgan filling in for Dan. Dan should be back on Monday. Bill Deal is my guest. And Bill, you get a call from your neck of the woods. Gary in New Jersey has called in to speak with you here on Nightside.

Gary, Good evening is our signal getting to the New Jersey.

Uh, well there. I live in rural southern New Jersey and I listened to you guys on a transistor AMFM radio and I have to sit in a certain spot and then I get it.

They still radios.

I have, Yes, I'm an analog man in a digital world, the feeling. But what I did have was the question. I grew up in Brooklyn and I listened to New York radios. I'm in my seventies, Okay, and what I want to know is what happened that they sort of abandoned the medium. I remember as a young kid, I used to listen to Jean Shepherd every night on WOOR.

To be done youtely right though. Color So you know, you mentioned Gene Shepherd, one of the great radio storytellers.

I loved listening.

To him r New York years ago, you know, but there were others too. I used to listen to one station you might remember it WMCA that a guy on in the middle of the night, long John Neville with his wife can and they had crazy stuff on, but it was so entertaining, and I think it's lost a lot of that zip radio today.

I love your comment and analog man in the digital.

World doing quite well. My head.

Gary, I will say this, I've been with BZ since the mid nineties. I have never ever been pointed in a direction by my bosses. I have had to adjust at times I've been on the air. I was on the air of the night that someone tried to assassinate Donald Trump, so the show I had planned, I tabled that and I had to focus on that particular incident. I was on the air when the Lewis and Maine circumstance happened last fall, and Nicole Davis, who's doing news tonight here on BZ, she and I had to focus

Let me tell you you have a variety of guests. I do about certain things that people might not even think are interesting. I mean, you had that one guy comes on about the records and everything.

Yes, I do.

I'll tell you what. We don't have enough of that today, and we don't have we don't have enough radio personalities anymore that speak to you and not at you. And I think we've I think a lot of the young people today missed out on something that was really good.

Well, I'll say this and then Bill make his carment. But the world of radio just a generic five letter word. Radio is not what it was when I was a kid, elementary school, junior high, high school, college, sixties seventies. It's not what it was then. And I do the best I can to try and keep in touch with the way it used to be. Bill, Do you have.

Any comment you're doing it now?

We've got more election coming up. We're going to have a lot of talking heads, and your listener from New Jersey knows what I'm talking about. So we've just got to try to get back to the conversations between us and stop yelling at everybody.

Absolutely absolutely, well, listen, you guys, have a good night. And it was a pleasure talking to you, Jerry.

Thank you for the call. You keep listening, Okay, I.

Certainly do, all right, I got to be in one spot of the house to get you guys.

Well, make sure you've got food and beverages in that one spot for you.

That's fine.

Good night, Thank you.

Garrety, good night to you too, and Billy, do you.

Have any other quotes that you want to share in my audience? O, Well, before you went to the break, we mentioned Erica joons Yes, We're a flying and I asked her if she could live her life over again, she said.

I would not care at all what people thought of me. I would be born knowing what I know. Now, that's what you think of yourself, that's important. I would never read my reviews, neither the good ones or the bad ones, and care far less about being liked and being loved. Do what I had to do in the world with the what they wish for approval.

She once told me.

She said she tried to rent a house up in Connecticut and they wouldn't rent it to her because, as they said, oh, you're those show business people say you're gonna have big parties all the time.

Well, that's the front foot, not necessarily leading you to where it needs to be. And your quote from Erica reminded me a little bit of the Kipling quote from If, and I'm paraphrasing about good things and bad things and treating those two impostors just the same. And that's that last line is a direct quote from that poem. And that's life. You can't get too smiley happy when compliments come a way, and you can't get too frownie sad

Yep, you're right, I agree. I totally agree with you.

Yeah.

And as I said the earlier, the with the election coming up, we're gonna hear so many talking heads. It's going to be scary. I don't know what's gonna happen. I don't think you do either, Morgan.

No, I don't. But I will say this, come the headlines the next morning on the major newspapers. The quotes that we will read will be infuriating for most people. Whether you are an elephant or a donkey, you're going to be infuriated at hearing what the debates yielded in last night's telecast. I know there are three of them that are planned. One is confirmed for September. I'm just shuddering at the potentiality of what we're going to hear.

It's a little scary, it's a lot scary.

Well, if you want to call in, I've got Bill Deal here, and Bill, could you give the title of your books one more time? And people, it's well worth if you can scouting around.

They're on Amazon. Fifty years of celebrity chatter. And the other one is did they really say that? Great quotes from famous people?

Uh huh.

Sean Connery was one of them. When I was interviewing him, I said, you know, I said, people in the magazine once said you were the sexiest man alive, and he said, well, there aren't many dead men, so alive.

He was.

He was one of my favorites because I was a huge James Bond fan, and of the half dozen men who played that role, he was still the best.

Nineteen sixty two.

Doctor no Ye, your productions, everything or nothing. That's what Eon stood for. According to Brooke, Brocoli and Saltzman, if you want to call in six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty or eight eight, eight nine to nine, ten thirty Herd Gary from New Jersey, just call in to speak to my buddy Bill Deal. You can do the same thing. This is night Side. I am Morgan. Dan

Now back to Dan Ray line from the Window World night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.

The bill deal is here And before I take my next phone call, they'll have a question if If the first answer is yes, do you have any children? And if so, do they want to follow in your footsteps?

Well, that's always a question that people ask. I guess in the acting world it's usually yes, they do get involved in the business in acting. My daughter, who was in her fifties, she lives in Needham, Massachusetts, next.

Town for me. I live in Newton, next town overs need Him.

Yep, do you know that area? But she had no interest in what I do. She's a child psychologist. She did enjoy sitting in on some interviews that I had done. Neil Diamond was one. She always wanted to meet him, and my wife said, so then you know he's your father's age. But that was a delightful interview and she got to meet him and go see him at a show. We have two grandchildren who are delightful. One of them, Teddy,

You mentioned Needham. On Tuesdays, I entertain at a place called the Midway Restaurant and I do trivia as kind of an interaction with the audience. Have been doing that since the eighties and I'm there at this place for the past seven or eight years on Tuesday nights from six to seven thirty. And there's a nice feel of entertaining and need them. So tell you tell your daughter next time you speak to her. She's of a mind too, come and check me out on Washington Street and eat him.

Oh, I'd love to go up there, So next time that we're up there, if you're there on Tuesday, So I'd love to meet you in person.

Oh, Bill, I would treasure that, I truly would.

You and I have such a great rapport on on analog.

Radio, and I would take it as an honor to buy you the quick nosh and the beverage.

Oh, thank you, thank you.

That I interviewed, Yes.

Tell us Jimmer. I remember so well. She said I had two facelips that if I have another one that will be a cesarean.

Lie Yep. I'd loved her jokes about Bang, her husband, Michael and Adam b. Thank you for calling. Don't get nervous. I saved some time for your call. H Hello, Michael.

Hey Bill, I got to question so far and halfway through I'll know the answer. I you the same Bill Deal that had the cool hit record back and in sixty nine or seventy Bill Dial on the Rondelles.

The same Bill Deal.

Yeah. There was a Bill Deal who was an author who was quite famous. And there was a Bill Deal who was the newspaper man and a disc jockey other Minneapolis. And there is a David Deal who's a football player I think for the New York Giants.

Okay, there was a Bill Dial in the seventies. It was in the late sixties, early seventies, and they.

Had I think it was late sixties, they had hit song.

I can't think of it at the moment.

They were and even.

Though I never saw pictures of him, they.

Just reminded me of a uh logan wouldn't know what I mean.

Uh oh, you know what.

There was?

Ah uh not a DJ, but a singer called Bill Deal and the Ron Bells.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Yes, right, I saw one of his records that are speed markers, and I brought a hold there you go. That was okay, out of the woodwork.

Did he spell Deal the way you spelled Deal?

The I e h L.

He spelled it the same way you sure?

Okay, okay, that's what I was wondering if it was you.

And so okay, Hey, thank you, Michael, thank you.

For the call.

Yeah, thank you, all right.

I love that.

I like the fact that you are aware of a football player, an author, and a singer who have had your name first and last name.

Well, it never became famous in different ways, but there you go. Right the weather up there are you getting that storm?

Parts of the state are getting it. The temperatures have gone into the sixties for the first time in weeks, but we're supposed to be back into the eighties tomorrow.

A little chill in the air, my friend.

Makes you think of September, which is one month away, two weeks away, yep. And how is it where you are.

Or just getting the vestiges a little of the.

Lustovers of the storm.

So I think we're going to be all right here foul, the suburbs has gotten a lot of trees down and so forth. But yeah, this little storm really resonated all over the Eastern seaboard.

Well, this is a time of year, obviously, everybody knows. From June first to the thirtieth of November that's hurricane season. And hurricanes necessarily don't have to be seventy five plus miles an hour. The tropical storms, which is what you get before, can grow into a hurricane fifty sixty miles an hour can do enough damage knock down wires and tree limbs. And this is why we live where we live. It's better than living in Tornado Alley. And whether you're in Minnesota or the Carolinas.

They're trying to rebuild Mali. Now over that awful fires.

Oh yeah, a year ago.

Yeah, yep.

They're trying to get back to normal and rebuild that lovely, beautiful area in Hawaiian Are.

There any stories that are out that you wish you could cover for any reason? It could be a story to put a smile on your face, or a political story, something that you've basically retired but you wish you was still active.

Well, I always wanted to interview Doris Day, who was one of my favorite celebrities. Yeah, and my wife and I were driving up on the West Coast years ago and I got in touch with her manager and he said to me, he said, sorry, Bill, but we'd love to have you. But she just doesn't do any interviews anymore. It's a sad story because she was married to a guy named Marty Melchner Belcher and there I've read an old magazine recently and she said, Marty takes care of

And that happens so frequently. The person you most trust turned out to be fingers deep into your financial pie.

Yeah, and I became friends with Angelian, who was a.

Very lovely actress, Jennifer.

Yeah, and her husband was wonderful, wonderful guy. She married a guy who was her bodyguard, and we became friends. And suddenly I didn't hear from him. Turned out that they were out driving one night in Los Angeles and he had a stroke and he smacked into a tree and then he died not too long ago. So you know, you see stories like this and you fall in love with the actresses and their spouses. And I never really

Well, we've come to the end of our hour, bet. Bill. You know I will have you back again. That's a promise from my heart. And I thank you for be all the time that you gave me tonight.

I still go back to the old days of radio.

One oh three. Here you go.

Radio for all the England. Bill, thank you for your time. I look forward to our next time. You take my friend, you take care. I love you too, all right, people, Susan Bregman will be here after the news time and temperature nine fifty eight sixty four degrees