Posted on 11/03/2014 11:54:49 AM PST by raccoonradio
Tom Magliozzi, one of public radio's most popular personalities, died on Monday of complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was 77 years old.
Tom and his brother, Ray, became famous as "Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers" on the weekly NPR show Car Talk. They bantered, told jokes, laughed and sometimes even gave pretty good advice to listeners who called in with their car troubles.
If there was one thing that defined Tom Magliozzi, it was his laugh. It was loud, it was constant, it was infectious.
Tom and Ray grew up great friends despite a 12-year gap between them. Both graduated from MIT before going into the car repair business.
"His laugh is the working definition of infectious laughter," says Doug Berman, the longtime producer of Car Talk. He remembers the first time he ever encountered Magliozzi.
"Before I ever met him, I heard him, and it wasn't on the air," he recalls.
Berman was the news director of WBUR at the time.
"I'd just hear this laughter," he says. "And then there'd be more of it, and people would sort of gather around him. He was just kind of a magnet."
The Magliozzi brothers grew up in a tough neighborhood of East Cambridge, Mass., in a close-knit Italian family. Tom was 12 years older, the beloved older brother to Ray. They liked to act like they were just a couple of regular guys who happened to be mechanics, but both of them graduated from MIT.
After getting out of college, Tom Magliozzi went to work as an engineer. One day he had a kind of epiphany, he told graduates when he and Ray gave the 1999 commencement address at their alma mater.
He was on his way to work when he had a near-fatal accident with a tractor-trailer. He pulled off the road and decided to do something different with his life.
"I quit my job," he said. "I became a bum. I spent two years sitting in Harvard Square drinking coffee. I invented the concept of the do-it-yourself auto repair shop, and I met my lovely wife."
Well, he wasn't exactly a bum; he worked as a consultant and college professor, eventually getting a doctoral degree in marketing. And Tom and Ray Magliozzi did open that do-it-yourself repair shop in the early '70s. They called it Hackers Heaven. Later they opened a more traditional car repair shop called the Good News Garage.
They got into radio by accident when someone from the local public radio station, WBUR, was putting together a panel of car mechanics for a talk show.
"They called Ray, and Ray thought it was a dumb idea, so he said, 'I'll send my brother' and Tom thought, 'Great, I'll get out of breaking my knuckles for a couple of hours.' And he went over and he was the only one who showed up," Berman says.
Berman says the station liked what Tom did and asked him to come back the next week. This time he brought Ray. The rest, as they say, is history.
In 1987 Car Talk went national on NPR. The Magliozzi brothers were a huge success. Listeners loved their blend of humor, passion, expertise and just plain silliness.
Oh, no! They gave me the chance to really fool my husband once.
We moved to Wiscosnin and I was worried about what kind of car I should buy to drive on ice and snow, since I didn’t have much experience.
My husband was spending a lot of time at the office on Sat. mornings, and I used to listen to the show when I was home alone, the first time I’d ever heard it. I called to ask my question.
When you called, you got an answer machine and they said they’d call you back. They called back when we had guests present, and I didn’t want to talk to them. So, I hung up on them. But, they called back later in the week and I asked my question.
Their answer? Keep the car you have (a Chevy, full sized, rear wheel drive Impala) and equip it with bald tires. Then, drive it all around, crashing in to things until I got the hang of it. Then go find a new car.
So, the next week, I got my husband to stay home from the office on Sat. morning, and I turned on the radio while he was still in bed. He sat straight up and spilled his coffee when he heard my voice coming out of the radio.
He told his sister about it and she said that her husband had been trying to get on that show for years. It wasn’t fair that I should get picked on my first try. Click and Clack, the Tappet Bros.
R.I.P. Tom. We enjoyed your show and your newspaper column for many years.
I remember the guy who called about his Peugeot’s motronic electrical system and needed parts. He was told that Peugeot,Renault and Citroen cooperated on electrical systems. Peugeot got the motronic sytstem, Renault got the larry-tronic system and Citroen got the curley-tronic system.
RIP.
Good story.
I know nothing about horseless carriages but enjoyed listening to these 2 fellows. They really sounded like they were enjoying themselves. I especially enjoyed the little quizzes they would throw in occasionally.
RIP
half the cars in EU use Motronic, as do BMW and Guzzi motorikes.
I listened to them for many years. Some stories were ROFBL(floor board). One girl called in complaining her boyfriend ruined her clutch. They told her when he was doing 50 to slam his car in reverse.
Those guys had the best gig in the world. To get paid for having as much fun as they did ... Sigh!
Take a creeper nap, Click (or is it Clack?). You’ve earned it.
Don’t drive like my brother.
When did that show stop producing new episodes?
2 yrs ago and I’m wondering if maybe he was starting to show symptoms of Alzheimer’s and that’s when they decided to stop and do reruns
He was constantly forgetting the previous week’s puzzler.
“I invented the concept of the do-it-yourself auto repair shop,...”
And then there is the cook it yourself pizza.
Weren’t they underwritten by Dewey, Cheatem and Howe?
I just listened to them on Saturday. If Tom was suffering from Alzheimer’s it didn’t show. Suppose it was a rebroadcast. RIP.
Sad to hear this. One of the best comedy show ever. They were great. RIP
I’m so sorry to hear this. I loved that show. Rest in peace, Mr.Magliozzi.
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