A Legend: Wolfman Jack

Robert Weston Smith was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1938. Smith was a big fan of radio when he was growing up and turned this love of radio into a career.

Smith started out in Virgina as "Daddy Jules" in 1960 before moving to Shreveport, Louisiana where he DJ'd under the name "Big Smith". In Shreveport, he eventually changed his on-air name to what he became more famously known for Wolfman Jack.

In 1962 Wolfman Jack took his act south of the border, working in Rosarito Beach for XERB-AM.

Here he was able to broadcast free of FCC regulations and do whatever he wanted. The station became known as the Mighty 1090 in California and is reported to be able to be heard at night all the way up in New York and parts of Canada. When the Wolfman was broadcasting from this station, it was rumored that where he was broadcasting was 10 minutes from the Tijuana-San Diego border. He eventually moved his show to Hollywood in 1967 and finished out his radio career in the United States.

Wolfman even starred in the movie American Graffiti which was directed by George Lucas (who went on to make the ultimate fanboy movie trilogy, then ruined it). Wolfman's broadcasts in the movie helped tie together the movie and the main character runs into Wolfman at an important scene in the movie.

When the Wolfman would show up in public for band appearances and emceeing events he would consistently different because he was unsure of how the Wolfman should appear. He would experiment with different hairstyles and facial hairstyles.

Wolfman Jack did his last radio broadcast on June 30, 1995 before retiring. He mentioned how he had never missed his wife so much and was excited to finally spend time with her. The next day he walked into his home, hugged his wife and had a heart attack. He died in her arms.

In 1996, Wolfman Jack was posthumously inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

The Wolfman will be forever remembered as one of the pioneers in radio.