|
Mark Samansky:
Radio antics hooked his audience
April
06, 2011|By Nicole A.
Willis, Orlando Sentinel
 Mark Samansky was popular in the Orlando radio
market for decades. He was the Mark of the "Baxter and Mark
Show." At the closing of his parody rock band's shows in Orlando,
Mark
would light his guitar on fire, colleague Adam Fendrich
said. Samansky's latest Facebook profile picture even shows him doing
it. These performances, however, were merely Samansky's hobby. His voice
was a staple of rock radio in Orlando for 20 years. He was
known for his twisted and irreverent sense of humor, extensive knowledge
of rock music and musical parodies performed on air and at various small
Orlando venues. Samansky, of Westminster, Colo., died Sunday of
complications from a stroke. He was 59. In the ever-evolving radio
industry, Samansky carried listeners from station to station, hooking
them with his on-air antics, his colleagues said. "Mark was a born
entertainer," said Fendrich, program director of Dial Global Radio Networks in Denver. "His personality resonated
with listeners." Samansky's radio career began in 1976 in Cheyenne,
Wyo., as host of KCHY's (now KDAM-FM 94.3)
afternoon drive-time show. After a few years there and at stations in
Denver and Chicago, Samansky began a hit show with fellow disc jockey Alan
Baxter in Houston, "The Baxter and Mark Show."
The show came to Orlando rock station WDIZ-FM
100.3 in 1983, one of Samansky's former producers, Chris Hill,
said. "He had the craziest sense of humor out of everyone I've ever
worked with in radio," Hill said. Hill said Samansky owed his
following to his original skits. One bit was called "Shaq
Daddy," when Shaquille O'Neal played for the Orlando Magic. Samansky once had a friend call in and pose as O'Neal's
father. Together, they improvised and poked fun at the basketball star's
free-throw shortcomings. "Baxter
and Mark" was rated for a while as the No. 1 radio show
in Orlando among adults 18 to 34 years old. It lasted until 1992.
The rock station is now heard only online. Like Samansky's food
preferences, his material was spicy. "There'd always be people who
didn't get the joke or were offended, but that's what got the show such
high ratings," said "Baxter and Mark" program
director Neal Mirsky. "He knew where the line was, and he liked to
dance as close to the line as he could without going over it." His
jokes fit the category of "shock," much like those of Howard Stern. Samansky was fired for an off-color comment made on air in
1993 while working for Orlando talk-radio station WWNZ. His next
gig was at classic-rock station WHTQ, with a ratings-topping
summer in 1996 among 25- to 54-year-olds. Samansky later served a
one-year stint at WJRR in 2000 alongside Larry the Cable Guy, and he helped produce the now-famous comedian's first album.
Samansky and his wife, Karen, had a music studio in their Orlando and
Denver homes where he recorded his parody albums. His songs
included "Stuck on the Freeway," a tribute to Orlando traffic,
and "Where's Your Passport?," a tune poking fun at Karen's
nagging him about packing for an upcoming trip. Samansky returned to
Denver in 2003 to produce and host a weekend show for Dial Global.
Samansky also is survived by his sister, Ronda Gengler,
and mother, Phyllis Samansky, both of Franklin, Tenn. Horan & McConaty
Funeral Service Cremation,
Denver, is handling arrangements.
niwillis@tribune.com or
407-420-5015
Copyright 2011 Orlando Sentinel
|
