Bruce Wolf, by his own admission, is the best lawyer turned sportscaster turned lawyer again in the history of Chicago media. He claims to have begun his career in the 1940s as a sound man on Jack Benny's show. He was responsible for making the sound of Mr. Benny's trouser legs rubbing against each other as Mr. Benny sashayed across the stage.
In the 1950s while Wolf was living in the Soviet Union he was blacklisted during a witch hunt in which he was accused of being a member of the Republican party.
In 1964, Wolf, at the age of 10, turned the sound down during a White Sox-Yankees game and began announcing the game himself. ("Here's the pitch from Peters. Mantle swings and it's going, going, boomshakalaka. Remind me to tell my friend Sly to use a variation on that word in that new song he's working on.") Wolf's excitement woke up his father, who had been sleeping on the couch. His father told him never to announce another game and to become a lawyer like all good Jewish boys should.
Wolf actually did practice law (1982-87) and even tried a case in front of U.S. District Court Judge Susan Getzendanner. And even had the chutzpah to ask the judge to recuse herself from the case. Which she did not. He lost the case. But not because of his request.
Wolf then took a 22-year hiatus from the law to practice broadcasting during which time he won a few emmys ("the best one was for 'Extremely Local News' on Fox. I didn't even show up for the emmys, and I won. Nothing like participating in and snubbing something.")
Wolf has worked on every radio station in Chicago and has achieved his dream of intra-market syndication through time. (which somewhat parallels his marriage. He is a serial monogamist with the same woman, Caryn, whom he has been wedded to for 34 years.)
Wolf worked with Jonathon Brandmeier from 1983 to 1994 on the LOOP, then again with Brandmeier in 1998 (on WCKG) and then again with Brandmeier on the LOOP from 2005 to March 2009.
His next tour of duty with Brandmeier is scheduled for next year when Brandmeier will become his board operator ("give me that drop-in of Louis Nye saying 'why not,' Johnny") on WGN radio, the former radio home of millions (on paper, but not in actuality, according to the latest innovation in ratings, people meters, which replaced the diary system).
Wolf credits Jimmy deCastro, the former radio czar, with building his career. And, of course, Brandmeier. And, of course, Steve Dahl and Garry Meier. They inspired him to create Chet Chitchat. Wolf replaced Meier as Dahl's partner in 1994 after Meier hastily left and gave up big money. Wolf was wooed by Roe Conn to replace Meier in 2004 after Meier hastily left and gave up even bigger money.
Dahl, currently podcasting in his basement with his sidekick, his sump pump named "Sumpy," is contemplating suing the Arbitron radio ratings service because the bottom fell out on Dahl's ratings when the switch was made from diaries to people meters.
Dahl is contemplating pleading that he was "lulled into a false sense of security that I was doing a good show all of these years. Who knew you couldn't eat on the air and draw real listeners?" Wolf says he would represent Dahl in his lawsuit because he is trying to get back into lawyering since his career has been reduced to writing blog bios like this for bupkis.
Wolf considers his partnership with Dahl (1994-96) to be his second greatest accomplishment in broadcasting. The greatest was hosting "Barely Today," which came on before "Today" and before "Early Today" on NBC5. The show was created by NBC honcho Larry Wert, to whom Wolf will always be grateful.
The irreverent show lasted only four months in 2006 but during that time Wolf managed to win an Emmy for it. Well, not for it exactly. Wolf won an Emmy for a promo for the show, which was created before the show ever aired.
In this regard, the Emmy is similar to the Nobel Prize won by President Obama before he had completed two weeks on the job. And, as former NBC5 news anchor Warner Saunders noted, the award was the first time in tv history that someone won an emmy for a promo about himself.
Wolf currently freelances at NBC5, the SCORE, WGN, and as a Paul McCartney imitator for the Phab Phour, the American English tribute band.
Wolf resides in the nothern suburbs with the aforesaid Caryn. He has five children. He loves golf and only recently began turning into the ball rather than lunging toward it.