A blog entry from Bob Hughes:
Willy Winds it Up - Say it Ain't So!Mornings are never going to be the same. Who is going to talk me to out of my sleepy state? Who will cavort on the air with the glib guy from the big auto dealership at the north tip of the city, even though he calls its location "In beautiful downtown Regina."? Who will do those weekend remotes like nobody else has, or can?
When I got word through a top-secret email that Willy Cole was retiring as Regina's longest running morning radio host, I blinked more than once. Willy Cole is not supposed to retire. Never. He's more than a fixture in this joint. He IS this joint. He is everybody's morning cup of coffee. He's the province's wakeup call. More people have awakened with Willy than models have with Hugh Hefner.
At the end of January, Willy will sign off on CKRM forever, and it isn't fair. There should be a law against it. Somebody start a petition. Why, I told my aunt at her Hillsdale estate the other night that Willy was retiring and she huffed, "Oh damn! I like him. What am I going to do? I might have to change stations. Where is he going?"
Well, I don't think he's going anywhere. He won't have to get up and drive to work in a blizzard at three in the morning anymore. "I'm not sure when the right time is to retire," Willy told me. "I've been thinking about this for some time and I think now is the time to do it. I've had a great run."
Willy always made you feel as if he was sitting on your bedside when you woke up, or sitting next to you in the car as you drove along. Sometimes, he even talked to you. One morning, I was driving to Nicky's in the early morning and I drove by CKRM, and stopped at the corner of Rose and 12th for a red light. I had Willy on the radio. "There's Bob Hughes," he said, "I wonder where he's going? Maybe, he's going to get us a coffee."
Willy was everybody's friend during a radio career that spanned 42 years, most of it in Regina. He told you what the weather was going to be like. He told you what streets to avoid. He gave recipes. He talked you down if the Riders blew another game. He would even sell an old stove for you on the Flea Market, perhaps one of the funniest shows in radio anywhere. And, Willy would make such fun of some of the people who phoned in it was hilarious, but never in a hurting or insulting way. Everybody knew that Willy was their friend. You figured he never even killed a fly. He'd tell him a joke instead. Even though he was on radio, you could see him sitting there, with that smile, and the twinkle in his eyes.
Willy Cole spent his whole career making people feel good when they started their day out. He gave out more good moods than anybody in radio, just by being Willy Cole.
It seemed like Willy has always had partners on radio. For years, he and Fred King, the unofficial Mayor of Regina Beach, had the province rolling in the aisles with their morning banter. In more recent times, it's been Jamie Lewis who has saddled up with Willy in the mornings. Same results.
But, you wouldn't just find him on radio. If anybody was Mr. Community, it was Willy Cole. He was everywhere, all at once it seemed. You figured there had to be more than one of him. From the high-rise Plaza of Honour Dinner to a fund-raiser in some church basement hall, Willy Cole was at the microphone, keeping the show going. He was a sideline reporter during Rider broadcasts, and if the Riders were in the Grey Cup, so was Willy.
In many ways, he was larger than life. But, in most ways, he was just Willy. The guy had no ego. He was as at home chatting with the premier of the province as he was sitting in the back room at the Northgate Bakery and having a drink with his buddy Wav.
He led the league in dishing out kind words. He lapped the field in being a nice guy. He was the Poster Boy for Warmth and Sincerity. He was everybody's best friend, every morning. He had a smile for everyone, and it was always genuine.
Willy Cole wasn't born with a booming radio voice. He wasn't one of those guys whose personality acted like a shield when he walked into a room. Willy Cole was as down to earth as they come, and that's what came through the radio at you. You felt comfortable listening to him. You couldn't get enough. And, now he is snatching it away from all of us who listened to him, just like that.
There shouldn't be a sunset for guys like Willy Cole to ride off into. But, you know, he does deserve it. He has worked hard for it, even if it never seemed like work to those who listened to him. He was a natural.
They will never replace him. You know that. He was the original. You know what they say. There is only one original Mona Lisa. One Empire State Building. One Willy Cole.
Maybe, what they should do come February 1st, is put together a series of shows called, "The Best of Willy Cole." It would last for 42 years, and everybody would be happy. I predict that on the morning of January 31st, CKRM's morning ratings will go through the roof. Because it will be the end of an era, the last chance to listen to him. Yeah, Willy has had a great run, as he said. But, so have have we who eves-dropped.
Really, there is only one Willy Cole.
Bob Hughes blog:
http://www.exitrealtyfusion.com/bob-hughes.html