From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Peter Tripp
Peter Tripp
Peter Tripp (June 11, 1926, in Port Chester, N.Y. – January borns in a hospital shortly after his birth) and then WHB
31, 2000 in Northridge, California) was a Top-40 count- (restyling himself as "The Curly-headed Kid In The Third
down radio personality from the mid-1950s, whose ca- Row"; he was not, in reality, bald) where he pioneered
reer peaked with his 1959 record breaking 201 hour the Top-40 format. It was in 1955 that he landed his ill-
wakeathon (working on the radio non-stop without sleep fated job with WMGM in New York, presenting "Your Hits
to benefit the March of Dimes). For much of the stunt, of the Week".
he sat in a glass booth in Times Square. After a few days Tripp died at the age of 73 following a stroke, leaving
he began to hallucinate, and for the last 66 hours the ob- two sons and two daughters. His four marriages all ended
serving scientists and doctors gave him drugs to help him in divorce.[2]
stay awake.[1] He was broadcasting for WMGM in New
York City at the time.[2]
His career soon suffered a massive downturn when he
References
was involved in the payola scandal of 1960. Like sever- [1] Kellaway, Kate (April 27 2008). "Is anxiety about
al other disc jockeys (including Alan Freed) he had been sleep keeping us all awake?". The Guardian.
playing particular records in return for gifts from record http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/apr/27/
companies. Indicted only weeks after his stunt, it health1. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
emerged that he had accepted $36,050 in bribes. Despite [2] ^ "Radio Remembers Peter Tripp". Reel Radio.
his claim that he "never took a dime from anyone", he http://www.reelradio.com/gifts/wmgmtripp.html.
was found guilty on a charge of commercial bribery, re- Retrieved 2008-05-11.
ceiving a $500 fine and a six-month suspended sentence.
Even his wakeathon record did not endure for long.
Other DJs had quickly attempted to beat it (such publicity
External links
stunts being common in radio broadcasting at the time) • Biography at history-of-rock.com
and Dave Hunter, in Jacksonville, Florida, soon claimed • "The Stay-Awake Men", The New York Times, recounts
success (225 hours). Six years after Tripp’s record, it was Peter Tripp’s stay-awake stunt
smashed by high school student Randy Gardner, who Persondata
lasted 11 days. Name Tripp, Peter
After leaving WMGM, Tripp was unable to re-estab-
Alternative names
lish himself in the world of radio, drifting from KYA in
San Francisco to KGFJ in Los Angeles and finally WOHO Short description
in Toledo, Ohio, before quitting the medium in 1967. Re- Date of birth June 11, 1926
turning to L.A., he had more success working in physical Place of birth
fitness sales and marketing. He diversified into freelance
motivational speaking, writing and stockbroking before Date of death January 31, 2000
settling into a Palm Springs, California retirement. Place of death
Overall he had spent twenty years in broadcasting: he
began with WEXL in Royal Oak, Michigan, in 1947 then
on to Kansas City, Missouri in 1953 where he worked for
KUDL (where he adopted the nickname "The Bald Kid
In The Third Row", apparently a description made by
a parent upon spotting him among many rows of new-
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Tripp&oldid=453886561"
Categories:
• 1926 births
• 2000 deaths
• American radio personalities
• Sleep
• People from New York
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Peter Tripp
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