The Greaseman
Encyclopedia
Doug "The Greaseman" Tracht (born August 1, 1950) is an American
radio, television, and movie personality. Tracht is best known for his morning show on WWDC-FM in Washington, D.C.
, during the 1980s where he took over the morning drive time slot from Howard Stern
and his controversial comments made on that show.
Tracht recently finished a stint on the afternoon drive at WFYV-FM
in Jacksonville, Florida
.
) with his younger sister, Diana, and parents, Alfred and Gertrude Tracht. His father was a native New Yorker who sold dental supplies; his mother was a Lutheran immigrant from Germany who stayed home to raise her two children until they were in high school, then became a noted educator. Tracht attended DeWitt Clinton High School
and graduated in 1968. He majored in broadcasting at Ithaca College
and landed a job at the college radio station. "From the first day I got on the air, I was trying to do comedy bits and tell jokes. After my first year in college, I had this station (WYSL
) in Buffalo, New York, offer me a big time job." Tracht got a job at WTKO, a low-power top-40 station in Ithaca. The following year, he had moved up to night DJ at a larger station in Binghamton, New York, WENE. Tracht graduated from Ithaca College in 1972
and married Marie who was the receptionist at WENE.
His radio name had been Dougie T, but when he became the Greaseman, a different personality surfaced. His voice deepened and he projected the image of a middle-aged tattooed truck driver with a beer belly and a cigar. In reality, Tracht was 6 foot 2 and 120 pounds. He used the radio as an alter ego; a guy with a swaggering bravado. At WENE, he was asked to do remote broadcasts from a sponsor's business and listeners were disappointed to see that he looked like a wimp.
in Rochester, New York
, WRC
in Washington, D.C.
, and WPOP
in Hartford, Connecticut
. None of the jobs lasted very long because he was constantly looking for bigger audiences and better time slots. The frequent moves from city to city were a major reason for the end of his first marriage, after less than two years.
, in August 1975 and became the dominant radio personality not just in northeast Florida, but in the Southeastern U.S. While in Jacksonville, his true identity was kept confidential because the public was disappointed that the booming, macho voice belonged to a young guy who was skinny and shy. The station turned Tracht's request for privacy into a marketing ploy. Curtains were hung in the window of the broadcast booth, a TV interview showed only his lips, and Tracht wore a gorilla costume at personal appearances. The Greaseman was named as the top radio personality in the United States for 1977 and 1980. In 1979, he signed a five-year contract worth $1 million.
He was an early shock jock
, but Tracht denies the label: "I'm telling jokes. The bottom line—it's a comedy show." "I'm creating characters and stories, I'm weaving a tapestry of humor. The others are just saying nasty things."
However, his show was outrageous and edgy, which offended some people. Tracht kept his stories from violating FCC obscenity regulations by using "code words" for certain anatomical features (hydraulics for male genitalia, for instance) and sound effects for physical acts.
Allen Moore, WAPE's news director, was also a bodybuilder. Tracht questioned Moore about his hobby, and Moore encouraged Tracht to try it. Tracht began a high protein diet of canned tuna, raw eggs, and milk; took vitamins; and lifted weights for 90 minutes a day. In the first three months, he added 25 pounds of muscle to his thin physique. After a year, he had gained 45 pounds, and people commented that he looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger
. Tract enrolled in an evening law enforcement training program, and after completing it, he volunteered as an auxiliary officer. He occasionally worked the night shift with a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
r, then went directly to the station at 5:30 a.m. for his morning show, still in uniform.
Tracht remained in Jacksonville almost seven years, then moved in 1982 to WWDC
in Washington, D.C.
, where he replaced Howard Stern
. DC-101 was his first FM
station. He purchased a home in nearby Potomac, Maryland
, continued working out, and overcame his dislike of public appearances. During that time, he was known for a series of publicity stunts, including his "presidential campaign" in 1984.
in honor of Dr. King
. The Washington Post noted that he was the highest paid DJ in D.C. during 1987, making $400,000 a year.
for five years, from January 1993 until January 1998. Tracht moved to Los Angeles
and bought the former home of Stepfanie Kramer
in the Santa Monica Mountains
near Mulholland Drive
. The show originated from a private broadcasting studio in LA and was carried by stations in Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and KLOS
in Los Angeles, among others. During 1994 his audience was estimated at 2.5 million listeners each day.
Syndication was not as successful as Infinity had hoped, so the contract was not extended beyond five years. In the last year of his Infinity contract, he was hired by WARW-FM for $1 million per year and returned to Washington, D.C., where he again incorporated music into his show.
who had ten nominations at the 41st Grammy Awards. Tracht then stated, "And they wonder why we drag them behind trucks." After the comment, he immediately stated that he "didn't mean nothin'." This incident proved catastrophic to his radio career, igniting a firestorm of protest from listeners of all races, including Donnie Simpson
, who savaged Tracht on his morning show on sister station WPGC-FM
. Not only was Tracht quickly fired
from WARW, but also lost his position as a volunteer Deputy Sheriff in Falls Church, Virginia
.
on Black Entertainment Television
where he faced angry questions. He was lectured, chastised, called a racist, and told he didn't deserve another chance. After being pilloried by one caller, Tracht begged, "Let me down off this cross, will you?" Counseling was recommended. The show asked its audience what Tracht could do, but almost 75 percent said "nothing."
saw Tracht's apology on TV and heard his desire to show he was sorry. She thought that the "Kitchen" would be a good place for the Greaseman to prove himself, and shared the idea with a co-worker who knew Rock Newman; he made a phone call. Soon, Tracht was mopping floors and cleaning bathrooms for four hours a day, several times a week. He volunteered for four months, laboring with unemployed and homeless people. Of the experience, Tracht stated: "It's the kind of place where you can rediscover yourself. I did things I'd never done in my life. I went in there like an idiot, and now I know how to clean and mop, how to shovel and unload, how to slice and dice."
Tracht began counseling with a psychologist at Howard University
. After the counselor got to know his patient, he stated, "I saw nothing consistent with what I would expect to find with someone who is a racist." Tracht continued to see the therapist weekly for over a year.
In February 2000, a station owner in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
offered Tracht a DJ job. Tracht intended to make a new start, but when local residents found out about it, they objected. Local politicians talked to the station owner, who was persuaded to rescind the offer.
Tracht had a part in the Discovery Channel
's show, "The FBI Files" and appeared in an infomercial
for an internet dating site in 2000.
, and was soon afterward syndicated to numerous other stations in the region. He then held the morning-show slot on WMET
-AM 1160 in Gaithersburg, Maryland
, until November 2, 2007. The Washington Post
has described this period as "six years of broadcasting his morning show on tiny, unknown AM stations with signals so weak they dissolve under the static created by a car's ignition switch."
Marc Fisher
, a Washington Post columnist , wrote a story in November, 2007, asking why Tracht hadn't been rehabilitated. The list of disgraced broadcasters is long and distinguished: Pat O'Brien
, Howard Stern
, Don Imus
, Marv Albert
, and Opie and Anthony
. All were suspended for bad behavior, some of which was criminal, but all returned to the microphone. Fisher called Tracht "the most talented of the shock jocks, a storyteller so verbally nimble, so fantastically imaginative that his showmanship seemed wasted on an audience of adolescent guys."
Selected Greaseman bits were heard during late PM drive
on WGRX-FM 104.5 in the Fredericksburg, Virginia
, area. On March 31, 2008, WWDC
announced that the Greaseman show would be returning on Saturday mornings beginning April 5, 2008, and that the run would go until October 2008, after Clear Channel
decided to have more "music intensive" weekends on DC101.
in Jacksonville is David Israel. In January, 2008 Israel brought back Bubba the Love Sponge
, who was fired in 2004 for indecency. When people asked about another former Jacksonville radio personality, the Greaseman, Israel tracked Tracht down and they began discussing a job in August, 2008.
On September 29, 2008, during the Bubba the Love Sponge show, it was announced that the Greaseman would be returning to Jacksonville to do the afternoon show. This wasn't his first time back since his 1982 departure from WAPE. In the fall of 1996, his show was broadcast via syndication in Jacksonville over WTLK
"Real Radio" 106.5, where it lasted until January 1998, when the station changed owners and formats. On October 1, 2008, the Greaseman began his 3-7 pm show on WFYV-FM
. He planned to originate some of the shows from his Maryland home studio, with the Jacksonville station studio hosting most of the time. According to Tracht, "It's a thrill, frankly, to be back in Jacksonville. This is where the Greaseman bloomed."
On August 10, 2010, the Greaseman didn't host his afternoon show. "Jake" from Kansas City was on the air, and there was no explanation on the WFYV website; all references to the Greaseman were removed, as well as another DJ, Cowhead.
This notice was posted on the greaseman.org website:
song "Time of the Season
." He said, "I converted it to have a spicy connotation. As men we want validation because we are such inept lovers. . . . It just kind of popped out of the blue."
Jack Reed: A Search For Justice (1994) and Jack Reed: Death And Vengeance (1996).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio, television, and movie personality. Tracht is best known for his morning show on WWDC-FM in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, during the 1980s where he took over the morning drive time slot from Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
and his controversial comments made on that show.
Tracht recently finished a stint on the afternoon drive at WFYV-FM
WFYV-FM
WFYV-FM is an FM radio station owned by Cox Radio in Jacksonville, Florida, known as "Rock 104.5" The station broadcasts with 100 kilowatts of both horizontal and vertical power...
in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
.
Personal
Tracht was born and grew up in the South Bronx (New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) with his younger sister, Diana, and parents, Alfred and Gertrude Tracht. His father was a native New Yorker who sold dental supplies; his mother was a Lutheran immigrant from Germany who stayed home to raise her two children until they were in high school, then became a noted educator. Tracht attended DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School is an American high school located in the Bronx, New York City, New York.-History:Clinton opened in 1897 at 60 West 13th Street at the northern end of Greenwich Village under the name of Boys High School, although this Boys High School was not related to the one in Brooklyn...
and graduated in 1968. He majored in broadcasting at Ithaca College
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs. The college is...
and landed a job at the college radio station. "From the first day I got on the air, I was trying to do comedy bits and tell jokes. After my first year in college, I had this station (WYSL
WWWS
WWWS is a radio station broadcasting a Rhythmic Oldies format. Licensed to Buffalo, New York, USA, the station serves the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area...
) in Buffalo, New York, offer me a big time job." Tracht got a job at WTKO, a low-power top-40 station in Ithaca. The following year, he had moved up to night DJ at a larger station in Binghamton, New York, WENE. Tracht graduated from Ithaca College in 1972
and married Marie who was the receptionist at WENE.
The name
The Greaseman pseudonym originated while he was in college. "In those days of top 40, everybody who was on the radio was 'cookin'; cookin' with the Temptations, cookin' Four Tops, that kind of thing. Which meant they were really rockin'. One day I said I was cookin' with heavy grease. It was my way of saying I was out-cookin' the other guys. I said it enough times, so one day one of the other deejays referred to me as the Greaseman."His radio name had been Dougie T, but when he became the Greaseman, a different personality surfaced. His voice deepened and he projected the image of a middle-aged tattooed truck driver with a beer belly and a cigar. In reality, Tracht was 6 foot 2 and 120 pounds. He used the radio as an alter ego; a guy with a swaggering bravado. At WENE, he was asked to do remote broadcasts from a sponsor's business and listeners were disappointed to see that he looked like a wimp.
The show
"The Greaseman Show" is a fast-paced array of what he terms "bits". Calls from listeners inevitably lead to a story of a recurring character from his repertoire, and no topic is taboo. He calls his deep voice his "basso grosso" or "basso profundo."Early career
Tracht went through a string of stations including WAXCWHIC
WHIC is a Catholic radio station broadcasting from Rochester, New York. WHIC is located at 1460 on the AM dial. Referred to as The Station of the Cross, WHIC is owned and operated by Holy Family Communications. The station began broadcasting Catholic programming on July 1, 2003...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, WRC
WRC
WRC may refer to:Auto racing:* World Rally Championship* World Rally CarVideo games:* World Rally Championship * WRC: Rally Evolved* WRC: FIA World Rally Championship Broadcasting stations:...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and WPOP
WPOP
WPOP is a radio station broadcasting a Sports radio format. Licensed to Hartford, Connecticut, USA, the station serves the Hartford-New Britain-Middletown area...
in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
. None of the jobs lasted very long because he was constantly looking for bigger audiences and better time slots. The frequent moves from city to city were a major reason for the end of his first marriage, after less than two years.
Success
Tracht found a home at WAPE-AM in Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, in August 1975 and became the dominant radio personality not just in northeast Florida, but in the Southeastern U.S. While in Jacksonville, his true identity was kept confidential because the public was disappointed that the booming, macho voice belonged to a young guy who was skinny and shy. The station turned Tracht's request for privacy into a marketing ploy. Curtains were hung in the window of the broadcast booth, a TV interview showed only his lips, and Tracht wore a gorilla costume at personal appearances. The Greaseman was named as the top radio personality in the United States for 1977 and 1980. In 1979, he signed a five-year contract worth $1 million.
He was an early shock jock
Shock jock
Shock jock is a slang term used to describe a type of any radio broadcaster who attracts attention using humor that a significant portion of the listening audience may find offensive. The term is usually used pejoratively to describe provocative or irreverent broadcasters whose mannerisms,...
, but Tracht denies the label: "I'm telling jokes. The bottom line—it's a comedy show." "I'm creating characters and stories, I'm weaving a tapestry of humor. The others are just saying nasty things."
However, his show was outrageous and edgy, which offended some people. Tracht kept his stories from violating FCC obscenity regulations by using "code words" for certain anatomical features (hydraulics for male genitalia, for instance) and sound effects for physical acts.
Allen Moore, WAPE's news director, was also a bodybuilder. Tracht questioned Moore about his hobby, and Moore encouraged Tracht to try it. Tracht began a high protein diet of canned tuna, raw eggs, and milk; took vitamins; and lifted weights for 90 minutes a day. In the first three months, he added 25 pounds of muscle to his thin physique. After a year, he had gained 45 pounds, and people commented that he looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
. Tract enrolled in an evening law enforcement training program, and after completing it, he volunteered as an auxiliary officer. He occasionally worked the night shift with a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is a joint city-county law enforcement agency, which has primary responsibility for law enforcement, investigation, and corrections within the consolidated City of Jacksonville and Duval County, Florida, United States...
r, then went directly to the station at 5:30 a.m. for his morning show, still in uniform.
Tracht remained in Jacksonville almost seven years, then moved in 1982 to WWDC
WWDC (FM)
WWDC is a commercial radio station in Washington, D.C., broadcasting to the Washington, DC-Baltimore, Maryland area. WWDC airs an alternative rock format on 101.1 FM branded as DC101.-History:WWDC-FM signed on in 1947 as a beautiful music station...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he replaced Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
. DC-101 was his first FM
FM broadcast band
The FM broadcast band, used for FM broadcast radio by radio stations, differs between different parts of the world. In Europe and Africa , it spans from 87.5 to 108.0 megahertz , while in America it goes only from 88.0 to 108.0 MHz. The FM broadcast band in Japan uses 76.0 to 90 MHz...
station. He purchased a home in nearby Potomac, Maryland
Potomac, Maryland
Potomac is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named for the nearby Potomac River. The population was 44,822 at the 2000 census. The Potomac area is known for its very affluent and highly-educated residents. In 2009 CNNMoney.com listed Potomac as the fourth...
, continued working out, and overcame his dislike of public appearances. During that time, he was known for a series of publicity stunts, including his "presidential campaign" in 1984.
Martin Luther King Day comment
In January 1985, Tracht created an uproar by making an on-air joke about the new federal holiday, Martin Luther King Day saying, "Why don't we plug four more and get the whole week off?" followed by, "Come on, now, you know I don't mean nothin'!" He was suspended from the station for five days, publicly apologized, and donated money to create a scholarship at Howard UniversityHoward University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
in honor of Dr. King
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
. The Washington Post noted that he was the highest paid DJ in D.C. during 1987, making $400,000 a year.
Syndication
His show was syndicated by Infinity Broadcasting CorporationInfinity Broadcasting Corporation
Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Don Imus and Mike Francesa. Infinity merged with CBS Corporation in 1997 and later...
for five years, from January 1993 until January 1998. Tracht moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and bought the former home of Stepfanie Kramer
Stepfanie Kramer
Stepfanie Kramer is an American actress, writer, and singer/songwriter. She is probably best known for her role as the tough-minded detective, "Sgt...
in the Santa Monica Mountains
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains are a Transverse Range in Southern California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States.-Geography:...
near Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after Los Angeles pioneer civil engineer William Mulholland...
. The show originated from a private broadcasting studio in LA and was carried by stations in Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and KLOS
KLOS
KLOS is an FM rock music radio station based in Los Angeles, California, that debuted in 1969. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. It is home to the nationally broadcast Mark & Brian radio show, and Off The Record host Uncle Joe Benson.-History:...
in Los Angeles, among others. During 1994 his audience was estimated at 2.5 million listeners each day.
Syndication was not as successful as Infinity had hoped, so the contract was not extended beyond five years. In the last year of his Infinity contract, he was hired by WARW-FM for $1 million per year and returned to Washington, D.C., where he again incorporated music into his show.
James Byrd comment
In February 1999, after a year at WARW (now WIAD), Tracht made a comment about James Byrd, who was murdered in 1998 by being dragged behind a pickup truck by three men, two determined to be white supremacists. The day before, jurors had convicted John William King of Byrd's murder. The Greaseman had been playing a sound bite of Lauryn HillLauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress.Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of...
who had ten nominations at the 41st Grammy Awards. Tracht then stated, "And they wonder why we drag them behind trucks." After the comment, he immediately stated that he "didn't mean nothin'." This incident proved catastrophic to his radio career, igniting a firestorm of protest from listeners of all races, including Donnie Simpson
Donnie Simpson
Donnie Simpson is a longtime American radio DJ as well as a television and movie personality. He hosted The Donnie Simpson Morning Show on Washington, D.C. radio station WPGC-FM from March 1993 to January 29, 2010. Simpson is the first urban-format radio personality to have an annual salary over...
, who savaged Tracht on his morning show on sister station WPGC-FM
WPGC-FM
WPGC-FM is one of the most popular among Washington, D.C.'s urban format radio station's, and has been ranked as one of its top rated radio stations for over 20 years, according to the Arbitron ratings. It has a city of license of Morningside at the 95.5 MHz frequency on the FM dial...
. Not only was Tracht quickly fired
Firing
Dismissal is the termination of employment by an employer against the will of the employee. Though such a decision can be made by an employer for a variety of reasons, ranging from an economic downturn to performance-related problems on the part of the employee, being fired has a strong stigma in...
from WARW, but also lost his position as a volunteer Deputy Sheriff in Falls Church, Virginia
Falls Church, Virginia
The City of Falls Church is an independent city in Virginia, United States, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The city population was 12,332 in 2010, up from 10,377 in 2000. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Anglican parish, Falls Church gained township status within...
.
Apology
Rock Newman was a black businessman who knew Tracht before the incident. Newman felt that Tracht was truly sorry and accompanied Doug and his wife on a quest to apologize and show that he wasn't a racist. The week following his firing, Tracht held a press conference and made an apology to his listeners, "Every day you deserve my best, and last Wednesday I gave you my worst. This experience, compiled with my past transgressions upon racial and human decency, have forever taught me the value of respect and restraint." They spoke to several black organizations, then appeared on BET Tonight with Tavis SmileyTavis Smiley
Tavis Smiley is a talk show host, author, liberal political commentator, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi and grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of...
on Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
where he faced angry questions. He was lectured, chastised, called a racist, and told he didn't deserve another chance. After being pilloried by one caller, Tracht begged, "Let me down off this cross, will you?" Counseling was recommended. The show asked its audience what Tracht could do, but almost 75 percent said "nothing."
Penance
A worker at DC Central KitchenDC Central Kitchen
DC Central Kitchen is a nationally recognized "community kitchen" that recycles food from around Washington DC and uses it as a tool to train unemployed adults to develop work skills while providing thousands of meals for local service agencies in the process....
saw Tracht's apology on TV and heard his desire to show he was sorry. She thought that the "Kitchen" would be a good place for the Greaseman to prove himself, and shared the idea with a co-worker who knew Rock Newman; he made a phone call. Soon, Tracht was mopping floors and cleaning bathrooms for four hours a day, several times a week. He volunteered for four months, laboring with unemployed and homeless people. Of the experience, Tracht stated: "It's the kind of place where you can rediscover yourself. I did things I'd never done in my life. I went in there like an idiot, and now I know how to clean and mop, how to shovel and unload, how to slice and dice."
Tracht began counseling with a psychologist at Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
. After the counselor got to know his patient, he stated, "I saw nothing consistent with what I would expect to find with someone who is a racist." Tracht continued to see the therapist weekly for over a year.
In February 2000, a station owner in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Croix is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Formerly the Danish West Indies, they were sold to the United States by Denmark in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies of...
offered Tracht a DJ job. Tracht intended to make a new start, but when local residents found out about it, they objected. Local politicians talked to the station owner, who was persuaded to rescind the offer.
Tracht had a part in the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
's show, "The FBI Files" and appeared in an infomercial
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
for an internet dating site in 2000.
Later career
By 2002 Tracht returned to the air from his home studio, broadcasting on WDMV AM 700 (previously WGOP) near Frederick, MarylandFrederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
, and was soon afterward syndicated to numerous other stations in the region. He then held the morning-show slot on WMET
WMET
WMET is a radio station broadcasting on 1160 kHz in the mediumwave AM band, serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Over several decades, it has gone through a number of radio formats, from progressive rock to all-comedy to a conservative talk-show format...
-AM 1160 in Gaithersburg, Maryland
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Gaithersburg is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The city had a population of 59,933 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest incorporated city in the state, behind Baltimore, Frederick, and Rockville...
, until November 2, 2007. The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
has described this period as "six years of broadcasting his morning show on tiny, unknown AM stations with signals so weak they dissolve under the static created by a car's ignition switch."
Marc Fisher
Marc Fisher
Marc Fisher was a columnist for the Washington Post between 2000 and 2009. He is now the Enterprise Editor for the Post. He attended the Horace Mann School and Princeton University. He worked at the Miami Herald from 1981 to 1986. Since then, he has worked at the Washington Post as a reporter,...
, a Washington Post columnist , wrote a story in November, 2007, asking why Tracht hadn't been rehabilitated. The list of disgraced broadcasters is long and distinguished: Pat O'Brien
Pat O'Brien (television)
Pat O'Brien is currently a radio host with Fox Sports Radio as well as an author. He is best known for his time as a sportscaster with CBS Sports and as anchor/host of Access Hollywood and The Insider .O'Brien covered five Olympic Games, two for CBS...
, Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
, Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
, Marv Albert
Marv Albert
Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
, and Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in the United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the merger of the two satellite companies, this is now called Sirius/XM...
. All were suspended for bad behavior, some of which was criminal, but all returned to the microphone. Fisher called Tracht "the most talented of the shock jocks, a storyteller so verbally nimble, so fantastically imaginative that his showmanship seemed wasted on an audience of adolescent guys."
Selected Greaseman bits were heard during late PM drive
Drive time
Drive time is the daypart analog to prime time for radio broadcasting. It consists of the morning hours when listeners wake up, get ready, and/or head to work or school, and the afternoon hours when they are heading home and before their evening meal. These are the periods where the number of...
on WGRX-FM 104.5 in the Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...
, area. On March 31, 2008, WWDC
WWDC (FM)
WWDC is a commercial radio station in Washington, D.C., broadcasting to the Washington, DC-Baltimore, Maryland area. WWDC airs an alternative rock format on 101.1 FM branded as DC101.-History:WWDC-FM signed on in 1947 as a beautiful music station...
announced that the Greaseman show would be returning on Saturday mornings beginning April 5, 2008, and that the run would go until October 2008, after Clear Channel
Clear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
decided to have more "music intensive" weekends on DC101.
Jacksonville again
The vice president and general manager of Cox RadioCox Radio
Cox Radio, Inc. is a division of Cox Enterprises that holds a number of radio stations. Cox Radio is headquartered at 6205 Peachtree Dunwoody Road in Sandy Springs, Georgia....
in Jacksonville is David Israel. In January, 2008 Israel brought back Bubba the Love Sponge
Bubba the Love Sponge
Todd Alan Clem is an American radio personality better known by his Legal name Bubba the Love Sponge Clem. He is the host of The Bubba the Love Sponge Show on various Cox Radio and Beasley Broadcast Group stations, formerly on Sirius XM Howard 101, as well as on RadioIO.-Early career and the...
, who was fired in 2004 for indecency. When people asked about another former Jacksonville radio personality, the Greaseman, Israel tracked Tracht down and they began discussing a job in August, 2008.
On September 29, 2008, during the Bubba the Love Sponge show, it was announced that the Greaseman would be returning to Jacksonville to do the afternoon show. This wasn't his first time back since his 1982 departure from WAPE. In the fall of 1996, his show was broadcast via syndication in Jacksonville over WTLK
WTLK
WTLK is a radio station broadcasting a Southern Gospel format. Licensed to Taylorsville, North Carolina, USA. The station is currently owned by Apple City Broadcasting.....
"Real Radio" 106.5, where it lasted until January 1998, when the station changed owners and formats. On October 1, 2008, the Greaseman began his 3-7 pm show on WFYV-FM
WFYV-FM
WFYV-FM is an FM radio station owned by Cox Radio in Jacksonville, Florida, known as "Rock 104.5" The station broadcasts with 100 kilowatts of both horizontal and vertical power...
. He planned to originate some of the shows from his Maryland home studio, with the Jacksonville station studio hosting most of the time. According to Tracht, "It's a thrill, frankly, to be back in Jacksonville. This is where the Greaseman bloomed."
On August 10, 2010, the Greaseman didn't host his afternoon show. "Jake" from Kansas City was on the air, and there was no explanation on the WFYV website; all references to the Greaseman were removed, as well as another DJ, Cowhead.
This notice was posted on the greaseman.org website:
"The Grease Show is no longer airing on Rock105 in Jacksonville. Grease has asked that the Branch Doodadians refrain from sending complaints to Rock105 as it won't change anything. He complements [sic] the staff there and said they just decided to go another direction, and there are no hard feelings. His latest ratings were great. Grease vows to find a new place to shriek sooner or later, and is planning to enjoy the rest of his summer and hopes to be back in action soon!"
Who's your daddy?
The phrase "Who's your daddy?" may have been given its first widespread airing by Tracht in the late 1980s and 1990s on his syndicated radio program. Tracht used the term comedically but left no doubt about its sexual aspects; Tracht put the phrase in the mouth of his imagined male characters while they were in the middle of "a zesty session." Tracht said he first heard the reference in The ZombiesThe Zombies
The Zombies are an English rock band, formed in 1961 in St Albans and led by Rod Argent, on piano and keyboards, and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group scored a UK and US hit in 1964 with "She's Not There"...
song "Time of the Season
Time of the Season
"Time of the Season" is a song by The Zombies, featured on their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle. It was written by keyboard player Rod Argent and recorded at Abbey Road Studios in August 1967.-Song information:...
." He said, "I converted it to have a spicy connotation. As men we want validation because we are such inept lovers. . . . It just kind of popped out of the blue."
Movies
Tracht appeared in two television movies produced by his close friend Brian DennehyBrian Dennehy
Brian Mannion Dennehy is an American actor of film, stage and screen.-Early years:Dennehy was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Hannah and Edward Dennehy, who was a wire service editor for the Associated Press; he has two brothers, Michael and Edward. Dennehy is of Irish ancestry and was...
Jack Reed: A Search For Justice (1994) and Jack Reed: Death And Vengeance (1996).