Biography for
Wolfman Jack More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

21 January 1938, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Date of Death

1 July 1995, Belvedere, North Carolina, USA (heart attack)

Birth Name

Robert Weston Smith

Spouse

Lucy Lamb

(1960 - 1 July 1995) (his death) 2 children

Trade Mark

Wolf howl and gravelly voice

Trivia

He made his final syndicated radio broadcast from a Planet Hollywood restaurant in Washington D.C. on Friday Night June 30, 1995.

Wolfman Jack was an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church, and was officially known as "Reverend Jack".

Wolfman Jack worked as a disc jockey from 1958 to 1966 for the (then) 250,000 watt radio station XERF (1570 AM) in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico, just across the river from Del Rio, Texas, USA.

He died almost immediately after returning home from a promotional tour for his autobiography, "Have Mercy." He entered his house, hugged his wife, said "Oh, it is so good to be home!", and literally died in his wife's arms.

"Wolfman Jack" was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1996.

Hit #106 on the Billboard Singles Charts in 1972 with "I Ain't Never Seen a White Man" (Wooden Nickel 0108)

Is referred to in the songs "Clap For the Wolfman" by The Guess Who, and "Wolfman Jack" by Todd Rundgren.

Is referred to in the song "Ramble on Rose" by the Grateful Dead.

Career began on KCIJ-AM, a daytime station in Shreveport, Louisiana.

For the last two years of his life, Wolfman Jack did a live weekly show from WXTR-FM in Washington, DC, which was carried on 50 affiliate stations around the United States.

A final tribute show aired one week after Wolfman's death on over 100 radio stations.

Once appeared in a commercial for Clearasil.

He was a fan of disc jockey Alan Freed who helped to turn African-American rhythm and blues into Caucasian rock and roll music. Freed originally called himself the Moondog after New York City street musician Moondog. Freed both adopted this name and used a recorded howl to give his early broadcasts a unique character. The Wolfman's adaptation of the Moondog theme was to call himself Wolfman Jack and add his own sound effects. The character was based in part on the manner and style of bluesman Howling Wolf. He kept the name Wolfman Jack and attempted to mask his true identity to create public interest in his radio character.

Began his radio career in 1960 at WYOU in Newport News, Virginia and later moved to KCIJ in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he first came up with the idea of the 'Wolfman Jack' character.

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