Have Mercy!

Radio’s all time most distinctive voice, “Wolfman Jack” was born Robert Smith in Brooklyn, New York on January 21, 1938. In 1963, while working in Shreveport, Louisiana, he drew upon his love of horror movies and rock and roll, to create the raspy-voiced, howling persona of “Wolfman Jack.” Wolfman crossed the border to Mexico and joined the 250,000-watt powerhouse XERF-AM. Thanks to XERF and later XERB-AM, the Wolfman reached most of the southwestern United States while selling everything from coffins to inspirational literature. In 1970, the Wolfman returned to American radio at KDAY in Los Angeles. In 1972, he moved back to his hometown and joined WNBC in New York. For all of his fame, many of Wolfman Jack’s fans had never seen him until 1972 when Wolfman began his eight-year stint as host of NBC-TV’s Midnight Special. Then, in 1973, he appeared in George Lucas’ hit film American Graffiti. Wolfman Jack is the most famous radio personality of all time. He died in 1995 and was inducted in the Radio Hall of Fame in 1996.