Scott Carpenter (1971-77)

“To me, the secret of CHUM’s success was ‘the family’. A close group of people who were far more than colleagues, we were best friends, lifetime friends, really. I have never seen this in any other radio station.” (Scott Carpenter)

Throughout most of the 1970’s, Scott Carpenter aka ‘The Boogieman’, was a super high energy CHUM jock that listeners absolutely loved.

And Scotty loved them right back.

Like many jocks in the 1960’s and ‘70’s, Scott’s on-air name was different than the one on his birth certificate. That name is Pat Bergin, and he’d used his real name for much of his early radio career. At CKLW in Windsor, Ontario, he was Dean Scott.

Here’s how the name Scott Carpenter came to be.

“People always ask me how I came up with the name and I always tell them, “Ask Bob Wood”. I’d arrived on New Year’s Eve 1970. That afternoon I met with Bob [J. Robert Wood] and we tossed around what name I’d be using on CHUM. Dean Scott it seemed, was the name of a Canadian jock that Bob had known so he wanted to avoid any confusion. “I know…how about Scott Carpenter?” he suggested. Scott Carpenter was also the name of a Mercury 7 astronaut, but that didn’t seem to concern Bob, so Scott Carpenter it was. The name Scott Carpenter is one of the most recognizable names in Canadian radio history.”

As for Scott’s high energy style on-air, that too was helped along significantly by CHUM Program Director J. Robert Wood.

“My approach on-air was ‘up’ but not frantic, until one day I got a call from Bob Wood. I was sick with the flu but had come in to do my shift anyway. It was a Saturday so I had a long 5 hour shift. If you don’t think 5 hours on the air in a fast temp station like CHUM was exhausting, try it sometime! Anyway, as my energy was giving out by the second, the ‘Batphone’ lit up and Bob Wood was on the other end.

“Ahhhhhhh, Scotty…”

I knew what was coming. Whenever he used the phrase “Ahhhhh…Scotty”, there was criticism on the way.

“Uummmmmm…I noticed your energy level is a bit low today. Could you pick it up just a little bit, the station is starting to drag.”

“Sure Bob”.

“Thanks Scotty.”

Now I was PISSED! Not only was I sicker than a dog, but I had to pick up the pace which would probably make me sicker. A devious plot began to take shape in my mind. If I went on the air screaming like a lunatic at 100 mph, maybe he’d decide he liked me better the old way. I decided to give it a shot, I cued the op for the next song and let ‘er rip…

“AAAAAWWWWWWWRIGHT BABY, WE ARE SMOKIN’ TODAY. GIT YOUR BOODIE BOOTS ON AND GIT YO’ TAIL END OFF DA’ COUCH FOR’ DIS ONE, IT’S LLLLEEEEDDDD ZZZZEEEEPLIN WITH ‘A WHOOOOOOOOLE LOT-A-LOVE!!!!”

I sat back and waited for Bob to phone back and tell me to crank it back down. Sure enough, seconds later the ‘Batphone’ lit up again.

“Ahhhhhhhh…Scotty?”

“Yes Bob?”

“That’s JUST EXACTLY what I want!”

Scott Carpenter became a legend on CHUM. He presided over CHUM’s “Canadian Graffiti” programs for many years, he launched the ‘’Graffiti’ parade of hundreds of ‘50’s cars and the subsequent concert at Nathan Phillips Square. His ‘Big Honk’ event, where Scott told listeners to honk their car horns outside 1331 Yonge Street at precisely 11 PM caused not only a traffic jam, but a warning from Metro Police to ‘never do that again’. He also hosted a weekly teen advice program called “Guidance”.

And of course, he was ‘The Boogieman’.

“As for the name ‘Boogieman’, I didn’t think of that either. It was pretty common in the early seventies to use the term ‘boogie’ in conjunction with music, dancing, partying, etc. I was on the air one day and using the word copiously as usual…”We’re gonna boogie tonight”…”Dis is the baddest, boogiest jam I have EVER heard”…etc. when my op, Bob Humenick piped up over the talkback.

“Hey, you’re ‘The Boogieman’.

“Hmmmmmm”, I thought. ‘Boogieman’…yeah, that’s the ticket! So ‘The Boogieman’ was born.”

After leaving CHUM in the late 1970’s, Scott/Pat/Boogieman worked on-air in both New York and Los Angeles and was a regular fill-in host for Larry King’s Mutual Radio Network talk show, before settling down in Virginia and working for the U.S. Department of Energy. Pat is happily retired now and along with his wife Sandee, travels extensively, eats well, and plays his drums at the drop of a hi-hat.

Scott Carpenter aka Pat Bergin has a blogsite featuring many tales from his ‘wild and crazy’ adventures at CHUM. It’s patberginblogspot.ca.

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