Radio stations star studded morning show a hoax

Turns out to be the hoax.

Listeners were actually hearing comedian Craig Gass, an impressionist who was publicizing tonight’s show at 8 at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. Through the rest of the week, the hosts continued to refer to the interviews as if they had really taken place. The interviews were especially convincing because Johnjay and Rich routinely talk to big-name celebrities on the show.

As of Friday afternoon the interview was available on the podcast portion of johnjayandrich.com, under the heading “Adam Sandler and Christopher Walken,” with the descriptor: “Johnjay and Rich hang out with Adam Sandler and Christopher Walken in the studio.”

Clear Channel Tucson operations manager Tim Richards said the heading would be changed, and that Gass would reveal on an afternoon show Friday the celebrity voices on Johnjay and Rich were his own.

Richards said the idea was Johnjay and Rich would come clean about the impersonations after the Gass interview.

“We got sidetracked with all the Super Bowl stuff,” Richards said. “There was no time to do that. I think they had plans to do a big unveiling with Craig but unfortunately there was way too much stuff going on at the radio station this week so we couldn’t do it.”

Neither radio personality, Johnjay Van Es and Rich Berra, responded to phone or e-mail messages for comment.

Gass, a former Tucsonan, told the Star Friday morning he expected Van Es and Berra to reveal the interviews were fake after his guest stint. His impressions convinced listeners the celebrities were in Phoenix for Super Bowl week and would beheading to Tucson to see Gass’s performance. As Walken, Gass told corny jokes and asked listeners to call the Rialto and ask theater personnel to let Walken open for Gass.

Gass’s performance was convincing enough to draw starstruck fans to the Phoenix 104.7-FM KISS studio, where the show was broadcasting from that day. The show, which originated in Tucson at 93.7-FM KRQQ before going statewide in 2006, occasionally broadcasts from KRQQ. At the end of the segment, when a crowd of listeners had gathered outside the Phoenix building Berra and Van Es said they’d help the celebs sneak out the back way. Rialto general manager Curtis McCrary said the venue was besieged with calls as a result of Gass’s radio appearance, and that he expected the chicanery as part of the comic’s promotional modus operandi.

“We’ve gotten quite a few of those calls that have come into the box office,” McCrary said. “I didn’t know exactly how (The Gass appearance on ‘Johnjay and Rich’ appearance) played out. It’s something Craig has done before. He offers refunds for people who are unhappy that people like Christopher Walken are not, in fact, in attendance. No one ever takes him up on it because they’re impressed with his impression abilities.”

Gass also appeared Friday on other radio shows, including “The Frank Show” on KFMA 92.1-FM and “Jennie & Blake in the Morning” on KWMT 92.9-FM, doing impressions on both shows. The Frank Show hosts casually revealed Gass was behind the impressions, while KWMT did not. Show host Blake Rogers said they played the bit with tongue clearly in cheek.

“We didn’t come out and say it,” Rogers said. “But we said we had Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley and four or five different guys supposedly with them. You’d have to be dumb not to know the people weren’t in town.”