The first time I heard The Phil Hendrie Show, I have to admit – I fell for it. The very first segment I listened to featured an old school teacher (Mavis Leonard) talking about how one of her students had flipped her "the bone" after school. As punishment, Ms. Leonard chased the boy down (with her car), eventually pinning him between her front bumper and a concrete wall. She kept him pinned there while she waited for the police. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The callers were all upset with Ms. Leonard (and Hendrie was aghast that a school teacher would do such a thing). As the hour progressed, the story became worse. Initially Ms. Leonard had stated that she didn’t hurt the boy, but by the end of the hour, she revealed that she had given him a compound fracture!
I listened the next hour, and I quickly noted a pattern. The second hour’s guest sounded a bit similar to Mavis Leonard (although this guest was a man). I tuned in again the next day, and by the end of the show, I thought I had it figured out. Hendrie clearly had a partner (who is adept at doing voices) calling from another room. For the next two months, I listened religiously and laughed my ass off at the antics of Vernon Dozier, Steve Bosell, and Bobbie Dooley. Occasionally, I would catch Hendrie (or the "guest") cracking themselves up. At one point, I was convinced that Hendrie was doing BOTH voices, but I could have sworn that several times I’d heard the host and the guest talking over each other. Eventually, I figured it out. It WAS Phil Hendrie doing the guest voices (ALL of them).
For over four years now, I’ve been listening to the "man of a thousand voices," Phil Hendrie. The "characters" he plays vary from Mavis Leonard (an elderly black woman) to Steve Bosell (a man with a penchant for frivolous lawsuits). Here’s how it works: Hendrie features a "guest" (one of the characters he plays) calling in and talking about something that starts out harmless enough, but becomes gradually more outrageous. With his radio microphone in front of him and a cell phone on his shoulder, Hendrie is able to play both host AND guest. Sometimes, he’s able to juggle two or three guest voices during a conversation. The man is brilliant.
As difficult as it is to believe, the callers to the Phil Hendrie show who talk to the "guests" have no idea that it’s Phil doing all the voices. There is a very strict call screening process which prevents fans from talking to the "guests." All the callers are first-time listeners who’ve stumbled on to the show and can’t believe what they’re hearing. Sure, an occasional fan may slip through, but for the most part, the callers have no clue.
When it comes to politics, Hendrie (a lifelong Democrat) does an excellent job of making the case for sticking with the War on Terror. In other words, he "gets it." But more importantly, The Phil Hendrie Show is laugh out loud funny. If you don’t get The Phil Hendrie Show in your town, call your local station (or sign up for a Backstage Pass). I will go on record as saying that Hendrie’s website is the ONLY one worth paying for. If you’re driving on the freeway, and you see someone next to you laughing himself silly in his car, chances are he’s listening to The Phil Hendrie Show.
