We dedicate the final episode of The Last Broadcast to the memory of a true radio legend: our friend Pat O’Day, who passed away August 4. Pat was an inspiration to everyone he met, and his passion for entertainment burned brightly right to the end.
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Here’s another excerpt from the book:
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“Bruce Allen glances at the faces peering at them from the adjacent studio and through the small square window of the closed door, and he suddenly realizes the end has come. He says into his mike, ‘It’s been a thrill for me, Red, to sit here with you guys and talk to you, because these stories… this should be eight hours. They should have given us the whole damn day.’
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‘Agreed, Bruce.’ Pat O’Day leans into his mike, intent on making his final words count.
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‘I want to say something else about Red, and his phenomenal success from the time he was in high school on through the years. The key to his success – and everybody listen to this – was his ability to use that magical word, “yes”. We waste so much time saying “no”, and we accomplish nothing with the word “no”. But the word “yes” can open the doors to magic. Look what it’s done for Red Robinson, as we celebrate his last big radio show.’
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Robinson introduces Aretha Franklin, but the song that closes the final broadcast couldn’t be more appropriate: “The Time Of My Life,” covered by Bill Medley.
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But just as they remove their headsets and stand up, producer Art Factora has a small surprise: through the speakers he plays what will be the coda to the show.”
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Red Robinson: The Last Broadcast, out now at FriesenPress, Indigo, Chapters and Coles, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Barnes & Noble, Google Play and Apple Books.
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Listen with our podcast partners:
Spotify Podcasts spoti.fi/3hGpkba
Google Podcasts bit.ly/2EJ3sgl
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RIP pat. Heard on the last red rock diner episode three years ago yesterday. He will greatly be missed.