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Tom Magliozzi, Popular Co-Host Of NPR's 'Car Talk,' Dies At 77
NPR ^ | 11/3/14 | Lynn Neary

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.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: cartalk; magliozzi; npr; publicradio; tommagliozzi
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To: raccoonradio

The only radio program that my kids enjoyed with me.


41 posted on 11/03/2014 1:35:30 PM PST by dangerdoc ((this space for rent))
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To: Rummyfan

I was thinking the same thing. The very end of the article says they’ve been doing reruns for two years.


42 posted on 11/03/2014 1:35:56 PM PST by jiggyboy (Ten percent of poll respondents are either lying or insane)
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To: raccoonradio

The Cheech & Chong of car repair ....


43 posted on 11/03/2014 1:39:55 PM PST by mikrofon (RIP Mr. M)
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To: raccoonradio

Press release by Mike Rafone


44 posted on 11/03/2014 1:40:53 PM PST by morphing libertarian
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To: raccoonradio

One of the best decorations on my desk is a Car Talk coffee cup with the motto “Non Impediti Ratione Cogitationis” (Unincumbered by the Thought Process). Thanks for all the laughs guys. Gonna miss ya, Tom....


45 posted on 11/03/2014 1:51:05 PM PST by Donkey Odious ( Adapt, improvise, and overcome - now a motto for us all.)
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To: corkoman

They quit 6 or more months ago


46 posted on 11/03/2014 2:01:37 PM PST by ImJustAnotherOkie (zerogottago)
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To: Gamecock

Must be Kramer


47 posted on 11/03/2014 2:03:24 PM PST by ImJustAnotherOkie (zerogottago)
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To: raccoonradio

This is such terribly sad news. He had such a quick wit and infectious laugh. Except for the classical music I no longer have a reason to listen to NPR. I sure as heck don’t donate because their idea of “balance” is to have uber RINO David Brooks agree with white hut talking points.


48 posted on 11/03/2014 2:08:07 PM PST by Sirius Lee (All that is required for evil to advance is for government to do "something")
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To: ImJustAnotherOkie

Actually IIRC they retired a couple of years ago. Thankfully they live on in repeat broadcasts.


49 posted on 11/03/2014 2:09:09 PM PST by Gamecock (USA, Ret. 27 years.)
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To: raccoonradio
Was he "Click"?

Or "Clack"?

50 posted on 11/03/2014 2:12:28 PM PST by x
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To: Gamecock

That long, I guess they just rebroadcasted the last few years. I always came in in the middle of the show.


51 posted on 11/03/2014 2:47:30 PM PST by ImJustAnotherOkie (zerogottago)
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To: Robwin

My husband, the engineer and car guy, used to enjoy trying to outguess them when callers would call in with their problems. My husband is really good about cars, but they were even better! We still enjoy the reruns of their programs.


52 posted on 11/03/2014 4:10:16 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
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To: katana

Madison, Madison....


53 posted on 11/03/2014 4:11:01 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
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To: Rummyfan

They stopped doing shows 2 yrs back. My guess is maybe they were seeing he was developing Alzheimer’s and figured it was time to stop, then rerun old shows.


54 posted on 11/03/2014 5:07:12 PM PST by raccoonradio
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To: raccoonradio

Perhaps the most prominent program on one of the arch-enemy networks, NPR. Yet through 54 posts, there are only glowingly positive comments. Class. Imagine if the opposite situation was in the news. Very proud to be a FReeper.


55 posted on 11/03/2014 5:20:52 PM PST by Engraved-on-His-hands (Conservative 2016!! The Dole, H.W. Bush, McCain, Romney experiment has failed.)
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To: raccoonradio
R.I.P. Tommy. I wonder if there are Dodge Darts in Heaven?

One of my favorite segments was Vowels To Bosnia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6atDT3cmrs

56 posted on 11/03/2014 5:23:23 PM PST by Artem55
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To: raccoonradio

Aww, I’m sorry to hear this. Great guys, great show, a one of a kind gig that won’t be duplicated.


57 posted on 11/03/2014 6:26:32 PM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity (Visualize whirled peas.)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Ah, yes, my bad.


58 posted on 11/03/2014 7:47:35 PM PST by katana (Just my opinions)
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To: raccoonradio

So! Was he “click” or “clack”?


59 posted on 11/03/2014 7:50:29 PM PST by reg45 (Barack 0bama: Implementing class warfare by having no class.)
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To: reg45; All

Tough to say; Wikipedia lists them as:
>>by brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi, known also as Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers.

I will assume Tom, the elder (by 12 years) was Click and Ray is Clack, but given their irreverance on and off air, it probably is no big deal who was who :)


60 posted on 11/04/2014 4:22:12 AM PST by raccoonradio
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