R.I.P.: Larry O'Brien, Morning Mainstay On Pittsburgh Radio

Larry O'Brien (1943-2924)

Coffee, breakfast and “O’Brien & Garry” — it was a morning mainstay for thousands of Pittsburghers who woke up every weekday for more than 20 years with a smile, thanks to the morning radio team on WTAE 1250 AM and its sister station, WHTX 96.1 FM.

The Pittsurgh Post--Gazette reports the team was second-longest talk radio show of its kind in America, running from 1975 to 1997, it featured the dynamic duo of John Garry Lindemulder — known simply as John Garry to most listeners — and Larry O’Brien.

When Garry died in September, Mr. O’Brien shared thoughtful memories of his “fantastic partner” and longtime friend and now, less than seven months later, Mr. O’Brien also has died.

On April 3, O’Brien, of Hilton Head Island, S.C., died after a series of health setbacks. He was 81.

Hilarious and irreverent, the comedy show broke new ground for radio duos with skits and motley characters like “Lieutenant Macho,” a satire of television’s favorite detective, Kojak, between a steady stream of rock and oldies music.

Their spark and witty repartee was instant magic, said Mark Roberts, WTAE program director during the “O’Brien & Garry” show, which was broadcast weekdays from 5 to 10 a.m.

“Both of them were really intelligent, really funny and really good to be around,” he said. “But, the best ‘O’Brien & Garry’ shows were when we were just hanging around the pool at [Mr. Garry’s], with those two riffing off each other. When they got together, they were always on, but they were never performing. They were just really sharp, smart people whose brains really meshed. It was an honor to hang out with them.”

Their droll banter translated well on-air, dovetailing “like pieces of a puzzle,” Garry recalled in a 1997 Post-Gazette piece.

“Things sort of fit. I zig and he zags. I’m up and he’s down. And we see eye to eye on many things, including politics, but we try to appear neutral on the air. Neither political party really knows whose side we’re on.”

Garry and Obrien

Born in Toronto, Canada, O’Brien moved to Toledo, Ohio, as a boy, where he worked in his parents’ general store, delivering orders and mixing bubble solution to sell in bottles.

In 1962, O’Brien joined Martz’s radio station, WTOD in Toledo, where he also met Garry, a fellow DJ.

His burgeoning career in radio took O’Brien to stations across the country for the next 10 years, from Tampa, Fla., to Chicago and San Francisco.

He met up with Mr. Garry again in 1967 when both worked at WGH, a large station in Norfolk, Va.

By 1972, they both landed at WTAE, but working different shifts, with O’Brien hosting mornings and Garry in the afternoons. In 1975, the duo approached WTAE management in a bid to let them host their own morning show.

“I was bored and we were in a meeting with the general manager, and I told him, ‘I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you put us together?’” O’Brien said, a smile in his voice. “He said, ‘God, no!’ I said, ‘Trust me, it’s going to work. So, he let us experiment for two hours every morning, then we’d do our regular shifts.”

Though they sometimes pushed the envelope — like imitating general manager Ted “Captain Showbiz” Atkins — everyone recognized what they had was gold. It was the highest rated radio show around.