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Ludlow Porch has passed

T

tlyle

From the Funseekers.net and Whackos message board (http://members5.boardhost.com/whackos/):

God is laughing today. Ludlow Porch passed from this mortal plane at 6:06 AM (2/11/2011).

Memorial service will be held at Big Canoe Chapel next Saturday February 19, 2011. Details will be posted here soon.

Everyone is invited to celebrate Ludlow's life.

Check here for any updates. News will also be relayed on-air.

Cards or letters can be mailed to Ludlow Porch, PO Box 643, Dawsonville, GA 30534
 
Memorial service will be held at Big Canoe Chapel on Steve Tate Road in Big Canoe next Saturday February 19, 2011 at 2:00PM. Everyone is invited to celebrate Ludlow's life.
 
What are some of your memories of Ludlow? I met him many years ago at WRNG radio when I had to go by and pick up a Falcon's report tape for another station. He came out of the booth and introduced himself and wanted to know everything about me. He was very personable. Later, I saw him in a restaurant up in Jasper, GA. I told him I was recently unemployed, and he offered me a job to help him build his network.

He has a legion of Fans called Whackos, and they are grieving today. Also, his partner in crime Denny Ainsworth kept his health issues a secret on the air after Ludlow retired from radio. He only recently communicated to us that Ludlow as very ill.

Ludlow was funny right up to the end. And his famous phrase at the end of each show:

"Whatever else you do today, you find somebody to be nice to."
 
For a few years at WSB I had the honor of producing Ludlow's show. He was like the big brother I never had. This Marine was the kindest, most gentle, and honest person I've ever known. What he tought me about life is a debt I can never repay. When I lost my second mom he paused his show to play Amazing Grace for "a close friend who has lost his mom".
How many people in radio would stick their neck out like that today? I recall enjoying the peaceful quiet of a mountain deck with him on a beautiful fall afternoon. Anyone who knew Ludlow (Bob Hanson) would know he would not want us to be sad for his passing. A celebration of his life is just that....a cause for celebration. Anyone who was lucky enough to enjoy his show, or know him personally has been truely blessed. May God comfort his family in the loss of this true Southern GENTLEMAN. "Whatever you do today....find somebody to be nice to".
 
For a time, before it became a gospel station, WSTT-AM 730 in Thomasville GA carried the Ludlow Porch show. For whatever reasons, they didn't run it for too long and changed programming before going silent for a time, but..

This had to be one of most enjoyable talk programs ever carried in the Tallahassee/Thomasville market. I'm still not a big talk radio fan. But I did listen to Ludlow quite often while it was on 730.

Condolences to all of his family, friends, and radio family.
 
I worked in a number of radio markets before and after Atlanta, and always enjoyed listening to those home-grown guys who were legends in their local markets but probably wouldn't have made it elsewhere.

Ludlow stood out, because his combination of gentleness and wit would have played well anywhere. I'm not surprised he made fans of listeners who generally don't like talk radio.

One of a kind!
 
About Ludlow's side-splittingly humorous story-telling, someone once told me, "He could draw tears out of a rusty wagon wheel". Amen to that.

I wonder if a recording exists of the fabulous "Montana is a CIA plot" story? I've heard him tell it in-person, but never inquired about a permanent copy.

I never got it straight in my mind - were Ludlow and Lewis step-brothers or half-brothers? Either way, with those two at center-stage, any rainfall today are just tears of laughter falling from the heavens.
 
I remember listening to Ludlow Porch when I was a college student in Atlanta. I was a faithful listener and a reader. I'm not sure if many folks were aware of his many books. He was truly an inspiration to me as a radio reporter and a writer. My prayers are with Nancy and the family.

Todd Starnes
Fox News Radio
 
jovialjay said:
About Ludlow's side-splittingly humorous story-telling, someone once told me, "He could draw tears out of a rusty wagon wheel". Amen to that.

I wonder if a recording exists of the fabulous "Montana is a CIA plot" story? I've heard him tell it in-person, but never inquired about a permanent copy.

I never got it straight in my mind - were Ludlow and Lewis step-brothers or half-brothers? Either way, with those two at center-stage, any rainfall today are just tears of laughter falling from the heavens.
Click to expand...

Lewis Grizzard's dad divorced Lewis' mom and then married Luddy's mom. Would this be step brothers?
 
I listened to Luddy at Ring Radio when I was in High School and college - he was one of a kind. And he was still very funny just a few years ago at the Ga Radio Hall of Fame dinner. He was the funniest guy there that night.
 
OgOgglby said:
I listened to Luddy at Ring Radio when I was in High School and college - he was one of a kind. And he was still very funny just a few years ago at the Ga Radio Hall of Fame dinner. He was the funniest guy there that night.
Click to expand...

At the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame dinner, he told a story about when he was at WSB, and (I believe) Skip Carey was reading a newscast. While Skip was reading, Ludlow walked up to him and unzipped his (Ludlow's) zipper. Then Ludlow walked behind Skip and slowly poured water from a bottle into a metal bucket. Skip cracked up on the air.
 
I first heard "You're the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly" on Ludlow's show - he was kind enough to dub a copy for me on a reel to reel tape back in the early 80's which I played until the oxide fell off.
Ludlow was a true American original and will be missed.....
RIP Luddy.....we hardly knew ye!
 
This morning my barber said, "Neal Boortz died yesterday." After I corrected him, he went to 3 other employees there to inform them, including the person who told him. He said they'd been telling people all morning.
 
Working with Ludlow was an honor, and it made me a better broadcaster. His regular listeners were more than fans, and Ludlow knew it. They were his friends. I consider myself a very lucky person to have worked for and worked alongside some of the best people in the radio business at WSB. Ludlow was one of those "one-of-a-kind" broadcasters that we get a chance to be near... if we are very, very lucky.
 
Ludlow was a class act, pure and simple. We carried his show for many happy years on our station, and losing it during a format flip was one of my biggest disappointments. Ludlow and Denny once invited me and my colleague Chris East up to his studios when they were in a hotel room in north Georgia. He graciously greeted us during a spotblock, then spoke with us a while after the show was over. He then gave us both a book. We asked him if they were autographed, and he said no, because he always thought it was very pretentious to assume someone wanted your autograph. He did, however, willingly oblige when we assured him we'd like it. The book I received was Lewis and Me and Skipper Makes Three, which was the tale of the life of Lewis Grizzard Sr, Lewis Jr (the "famous" Lewis, AKA to them as Skipper), and Ludlow himself. Lots of great tales in that book.

Another instance... I was searching for a very specific new truck, and had absolutely horrendous experiences at dealerships all over the state. I finally found a dealership up in north Georgia that had the vehicle. Given my lousy experiences elsewhere, I was braced for the worst... but when I walked in the salesman's office, I saw he had an autographed photo of Ludlow Porch on his desk. I knew I was in good hands.

The last time I saw Ludlow was probably around 2006 or so. We had briefly carried him on our 10,000 AM signal (in addition to his more-permanent carriage on our 1000-watt station). And even though we were no longer carrying his show on the 10k stick, some of his whackos had remained with us to hear our (admittedly pretty lousy) local origination talk. One of these was a lady known as Miss Conduct. She had fallen very ill and soon died. I went to the memorial service, and found that Ludlow and Nancy had made the 1.5-hour drive to attend as well.

Both times we had to drop Ludlow's programming, once to put conservative talk on the 10k stick, and the other time when we flipped the 1k stick to sports talk, Ludlow was still very polite to us despite the situation we were faced with.

He's a true southern radio legend, and I will definitely miss him. A friend of mine put it best... "Ludlow Porch was a class act in an industry that doesn't encourage it."
 
I've told this story before, but it bears repeating --

Ludlow was doing "TV talk" in the evenings on Channel 36 in April 1977. I was a regular viewer. A college friend and I had been on his show one Halloween when we produced some radio drama for an experiment on WABE-FM. Ludlow mentioned his gues the next day on WRNG was going to be Himan Brown, the creator of INNER SANCTUM and THE CBS RADIO MYSTERY (and ADVENTURE) THEATER. I called just to comment on the legacy of the famed radio director. They went to break and Ludlow kept me on the line, told me to come by the studios at about 11:30 the next morning and he'd introduce me to Mr. Brown. I got there, Ludlow met me in the lobby, escorted me to the Gren Room and he left me with Mr. Brown for about 20 minutes. I got the man's autograph and we talked about the future of radio drama and radio in general. Then, just as the CBS news was starting, Ludlow came and reclaimed his guest. Now that was a treat, and a very, very genrous thing to do. Last time I saw him was when he spoke at the Women of the Motion Picture Industries annual dinner (my sister was president). We talked afew times, and he almost came to our apartment to watch a movie on HBO one night (he didn't have cable!) but plans changed. That would have been an honor.
 
taylorengineer said:
I first heard "You're the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly" on Ludlow's show - he was kind enough to dub a copy for me on a reel to reel tape back in the early 80's which I played until the oxide fell off.
Ludlow was a true American original and will be missed.....
RIP Luddy.....we hardly knew ye!
Click to expand...

I know that I am reviving a very old thread. I actually came across this while doing a Google search. My husband and I were talking about the song "You're the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly". I played it on Youtube and we both realized that is not the version we know (Tammy Wynette and Conway Twitty). The only place either of us have heard the song was Ludlow's show. Is the version Ludlow payed out there on the inter-web?
 
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