DR. DEMENTO SHOW TO END WITH 55TH ANNIVERSARY

Radio Insight ^ | 1 June 2025 | Lance Venta

[Rummyfan]

Barret ‘Dr. Demento‘ Hansen will retire from his program when it reaches its 55th anniversary in October.

On this week’s show, Demento announced that it was his final regular show with a series of retrospective episodes regarding the history of the show to air weekly until a final episode in October that will feature the top 40 songs in the show’s history. Hansen recently turned 84 years old.

Hansen debuted his ‘Dr. Demento’ persona on Freeform Rock 106.7 KPPC Pasadena CA (now KROQ-FM) in October 1970 quickly converting to to focusing on comedy and novelty music. His show would be heard across multiple Los Angeles stations over the subsequent decades including a long run on 94.7 KMET from 1972 until its demise in 1987. A syndicated version of the show debuted in 1974 and continued until the show moved to a subscription internet platform in 2010.

[rhoda_penmark]

He “discovered” Weird Al Yankovich.

[Norski]

“Shaving cream…
Be nice and clean
Shave every day and you’ll always look neat ….”

- - - - - - -

Keen. You’ll always look keen.

[Yogafist]

https://youtu.be/Q1ajLnuw2oo?si=0CLvi2JBvi16Z5a-

[dadfly]

sigh. my best buddy, hilarious guy, started me listening to Dr. D in high school. it was a natural fit for all us garage bands back in the day. all good things must end.

[Yogafist]

https://youtu.be/AcS3NOQnsQM?si=aNYC2DIM4hAgZsgB

[Jeff Chandler]

KPPC also aired The Credibility Gap back then.

[Responsibility2nd]

https://www.drdemento.com/

Streaming.

[yesthatjallen]

Bubblicious!

[waterhill]

Yes Loudon Wainwright.

He also did a season on M.A.S.H. as the singing surgeon.

[mikey_hates_everything]

[Fiji Hill]

Shaving Cream--Benny Bell (1946)

[posterchild]

I had no idea either.

I didn't listen to him much. In the evenings I listened to music. In the mornings my local market had The Greaseman who was a commedic genius.

He was the fortunate replacement for an idiot 'shock jock' DJ who called the local airline following a plane crash and asked when the next flight was to the 14th street bridge. That boring redundant idiot went on to fame elsewhere.

[Qwapisking]

“Made me the man I am Today” is SO,SO TRUE! ONLY took five marriages to find the women that APPRECIATES a proper upbringing in the comedic arts!

[Toddsterpatriot]

I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.

[Fiji Hill]

This tune got a lot of airplay on his show when I listened to him on KMET. Although it's an off-color "party" record, it's the only tune I know of that's about the Truman Doctrine. US Secretary of State Jimmy Byrnes, British foreign minister Ernest Bevin, and Chinese president Chiang Kai-shek are all in the song.

Everybody Wants a Little Peace--Billy Gray & His Hollywood Bandbox Revue (1948)

[Toddsterpatriot]

https://youtu.be/2JOB_oElZDk?si=Cyn2CiRAsnGGCE19

[posterchild]

That quote was originally from Dorothy Parker. Lobotomies first were done (or called that) in the 1930s so it is reasonable to assume she was the first to coin the phrase.

[poindexters brother]

And the unforgettable, to me at least,

Pencil Necked Geek

[poindexters brother]

Pencil Necked Geek
Grit eatin’ freak
Scum sucking peahead with a lousy physique.

[dfwgator]

Transfusion - Nervous Norvus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbhvZ2y1V80

The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtEpqlrwX5c