R.I.P.: Paul Menard From Charlie & Harrigan Fame

Jack Woods & Paul Menard

We've lost another radio legend.  Paul Menard, best known as Irving Harrigan from the famous Charlie & Harrigan Morning Show has died.

He was 81-years-of-age, according to Joe Nelson at SanDiegoRadio.org.

He passed peacefully in a North County San Diego hospital on Tuesday September 25th.

The duo of Charlie & Harrigan was created in 1962 at KLIF/Dallas when station owner Gordon McLendon teamed up disc jockeys Jack Woods, using the name “Charlie Brown,” and Ron Chapman, a.k.a. “Irving Harrigan,” for a two-man show that would combine music and humor.

It was an instant success in the ratings, and when Woods was joined by Paul Menard in 1966, the duo’s classic lineup was born.



Charlie & Harrigan were one of the first morning teams to juxtapose Top 40 music with freewheeling jokes and comedic characters, including salesman Seymour Broomwad and Doctor Goose, a purveyor of risqué fairy tales.

They were also pioneers in the field of “reconstructed syndication,” selling their show to more than 40 stations nationwide by utilizing pre-recorded breaks specifically tailored to each market, convincing listeners everywhere that Charlie & Harrigan were live and local.



Woods and Menard moved to WKYC/Cleveland at the end of 1966 for a two-year run. In ’72 they reunited for a toprated morning show at KFMB/San Diego, and four years later they took their talents to rival station KCBQ. The duo moved to WAVA/Washington, D.C., in 1985 before pursuing solo ventures but reunited once again in ’92 at KCBQ and almost a decade later at KFMB. Finally, in 2007 Charlie & Harrigan hosted a daily showfor SignOn Radio, an online station in San Diego.


Jack Woods died on March 17, 2015.

Charlie & Harrigan were inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2014.