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Chappell: I know you
recently saw a couple of World
Wide shows on video from the late
70s, when you were the announcer.
What passed through your mind when
you saw those?
Landrum: Oh wow, it was
like a trip down memory lane!
Chappell: I’d imagine!
Landrum: Oh, it really was!
My wife and I watched them first,
and she was looking at it and
wasn’t saying much. Which was
good, because if she didn’t say
anything then it was all right!
Chappell: It must have been
like watching an old home movie,
or something like that.
Landrum: It really was. But
unlike the one I’ve seen of her,
where she kept walking into the
tree; I didn’t do that! (laughs)
We were talking about how the guys
looked back then compared to
now…even myself. Of course she’d
be prejudiced and said I looked as
good now as I did back then! I
said, ‘Uh, I don’t know about
that!’ The curly hair is gone…
Chappell: Some of that was
70s as well I imagine…
Landrum: Some of it was.
Actually, my hair really was
curly, but I got sick in ’84 and
had three surgeries in eight
months. Between all the anesthesia
and all the medication, my hair
went to straw.
Chappell: Good grief.
Landrum: And it never came
back the way it was. It’s wavy,
but it’s not curly anymore. Back
then, I just get a perm to match
it all up.
But it was fun watching it, David,
because I definitely remembered
that year end highlight show in
1978. The Flair thing with the
girls…one who ended up being Ricky
Steamboat’s wife in later
years---Bonnie, the blonde. Now
his ex-wife, I understand.
Chappell: Yes, she is.
Landrum: But it was a real
trip down memory lane. You
remember on the show where Flair
says something to the effect,
‘Everybody’s watching your show
because I’ve made your show number
one!’ Here’s the thing, he was
telling the truth…well in fact, my
ratings were higher than the
Mid-Atlantic show in most markets!
Chappell: Really?
Landrum: Yeah! In most
markets, my ratings were passing
theirs! And they couldn’t figure
out why. And I have my own
thoughts about that, but we won’t
go there!
(laughs) Then Flair said, ‘That’s
because you hang around with
greatness.’ I looked at him and
said, ‘I didn’t have anything to
do with it?’
Chappell: That was a great
exchange between you two. That
brings up a good point…you seemed
to really engage the wrestlers
more than say, a Bob Caudle. Bob
was great, but he tended to just
let the wrestlers talk. You would
engage them more, and it led to
some great back and forth!
Landrum: Well, to me,
that’s what I felt like needed to
be done.
My job, yeah, was to put them over
and make them look good. But some
guys, if you didn’t lead them down
the path, you were in trouble.
Chappell: Who, for
instance?
Landrum: John Studd…Tim
Woods, they come immediately to
mind.
If you didn’t get ‘em started,
they’d stutter right on through
the whole interview. But if you
got ‘em started and knew where to
take ‘em, then we had a good
interview.
(laughs) And then I did some
things that didn’t work real well
sometimes!
Chappell: But you were
trying!
Landrum: It was a thing
where I felt like there was more
to it than just sticking the mic
in their face and saying, ‘Go!’
You know, let’s try and have some
interaction.
And, of course, being around [the
wrestlers] all the time helped me.
See, at that point, Bob Caudle
didn’t travel with them…he just
did that one show. He didn’t go
anywhere with them. Where I did
the other live shows in Richmond
and shows around the
area…Charlottesville, and that
sort of thing.
So, I was actually around the guys
a whole lot more than Bob was. And
we all got to know each other, and
became friends.
Chappell: And you continued
your ring announcing in Richmond
while also hosting World Wide
Wrestling.
Landrum: Sure…sure did. It
was a lot of fun hanging out and
traveling with them. We had a lot
of good times together.
I think all that really helped, as
far as them feeling comfortable
with me…and vice versa.
Chappell: You had some good
back and forth in your interviews!
Like the ‘Richard’ thing with
Ricky Steamboat.
Landrum: Right, and no
matter where we were, TV or not,
he always called me ‘Richard.’
Because he was ‘Ricky,’ you know?
Chappell: Other than Bob
Caudle who worked with Channel 5
in Raleigh, most of the Crockett
announcers that were there when
you started didn’t have
professional broadcasting
backgrounds like you did. Many of
them were former wrestlers, or
family. Did they help you when you
were getting started on the TV
side?
Landrum: No, they just
tossed me to the wolves.
Chappell: Do you think any
of the existing announcers viewed
you as a threat?
Landrum: (pauses) Ah, I
don’t know…this may be out of
school, but I think maybe David
Crockett saw me as a threat. But I
don’t know why…he was in the
family!
Chappell: Yeah, if anybody
was safe, it was him!
Landrum: They weren’t going
to do anything with him. As far as
the others go, when I started I
was just doing the commercial
interviews, so when we were
finished…boom, I was gone. And
then I’d be doing the live shows
some place else.
I certainly don’t think most of
the other announcers viewed me as
a threat…I hope not.
Chappell: Compare yourself
style-wise to the other
announcers. Later on, I’ll ask you
who you thought was the best!
Landrum: Your ego says,
‘Yeah, boy, I can do it better
than him!’
But you gotta remember, like
Caudle and I…we were two different
types of announcers. I was
obviously different than David
Crockett. Tony Schiavone…I never
could understand how that all
happened. Schiavone is very bitter
about the business now.
Chappell: I think it’s fair
to say you had a different style
than the guys you’ve mentioned. So
in some respects, it’s like
comparing apples and oranges.
Landrum: Well, I didn’t
want to be a carbon copy of any of
them. Because, then [World Wide
Wrestling] wouldn’t have been a
different show.
I didn’t want to be Gordon
Solie…that wouldn’t have worked.
He’s a legend down in Georgia and
Florida. Funny thing, one time
[Crockett] came to me and asked me
if I’d go to Georgia and do a
show.
Chappell: Georgia?
Landrum: I’m going, ‘Why
Georgia?’ I said, ‘What are we
talking about here?’ They said,
‘We’re thinking about making some
changes.’ I’m thinking, ‘There
ain’t but one announcer in
Georgia, and it’s Gordon Solie!’
Chappell: (laughs) Little
hard to move in on his territory!
Landrum: Yeah! I said,
‘Well, let me think about it.’ I
wasn’t too anxious to go to
Georgia. I wanted to stay where I
was…I enjoyed working out of the
Carolinas.
Chappell: What time frame
would this have been, Rich?
Landrum: Oh, I had only
been doing the World Wide show for
about six or eight months. That
Georgia thing came up one day when
we were in Raleigh, back in the
office.
Chappell: Wasn’t that about
the same time that Crockett
started going up to
Canada…Toronto?
Landrum: Yeah, I did some
stuff up there with them a couple
of times. And it was fun.
Chappell: Different?
Landrum: Different entirely
up there than it was down in the
South.
Chappell: But from
everything I’ve heard over the
years, it played pretty well up
there.
Landrum: It did…it did. And
the World Wide show did very well
up there.
Chappell: And up there in
Toronto, if I’m not mistaken, they
mixed talent with other
promotions?
Landrum: They would…they
would. And then they brought a
Canadian announcer down…I’d be
doing my show, and he’s sitting on
the other side of the ring. You
couldn’t see him, and he’d be
doing a voice over on all of
it…but I’m hearing parts of it.
And I’m going, ‘What in the world
is he talking about!’
Chappell: (laughing) Ya’ll
looking at the same match?
Landrum: Yeah…it doesn’t
sound like what I’m doing, you
know?
(laughing) Are we watching the
same thing?
But yeah, Crockett was starting to
spread out a bit then, in the late
70s. We were down in Augusta,
Georgia a couple of times.
Savannah, certainly. I think the
move to expand was there at that
point…I just don’t think they were
sure how they were going to pull
it all together and expand it out.
Chappell: I remember one
time in 1979, the TV shows were
actually taped from an arena, I
believe for the first time. I
think it was from Dorton Arena in
Raleigh. If I’m not mistaken,
Andre the Giant was on the show.
That was quite something at the
time, and in retrospect, I suspect
a sign that things were changing
and expanding.
Landrum: And then towards
the end when I was with them, they
started taping some house shows in
Charlotte. After we moved the
tapings to Charlotte, to a little
Podunk station…WPCQ.
Chappell: (laughs) It
looked like they needed a giant
shoe horn to get the ring in that
little studio! They couldn’t even
get the ring in there straight…it
had to be crooked to fit in that
little space.
Landrum: Oh man, I mean to
tell you, it was tough in there!
You could have just as easily had
it in your living room!
I mean, it probably held 50 people
at best. And the production, the
guys in the camera crew, worked
real hard to make it look like
there were more than 50 people in
there.
Chappell: Was it hot in
there? It sure looked like the
lights were right on top of you in
there.
Landrum: They were, they
were right on top of us. It was
nothing like WRAL.
WRAL was as close to a network
operation as I had ever seen at
that point in my life. They had
fantastic production facilities,
fantastic studio. Everything about
it, they had. Of course, Jesse
Helms owned it.
Chappell: That didn’t hurt!
Landrum: WRAL was just
fantastic in every way. Then we
moved to Charlotte…
Chappell: During the summer
of 1981.
Landrum: (laughs) I
remember rolling up to this little
UHF station, and I looked and
said, ‘Holy Mackerel…what are we
into now?’
Chappell: I remember
watching that first show from
WPCQ, and I was thinking the same
thing!
They did the shows from WRAL for
so long. Were you privy to the
reasons for the move to this
little ‘coat closet’ of a studio
in Charlotte?
Landrum: Well, the story I
heard was [WRAL] wanted to do some
other things, where they could
make more money in a shorter span
of time. I don’t know David…in the
world of professional wrestling,
you hear so many stories, and you
try to sort through what’s the
truth and figure it out.
So, I don’t really know why!
Chappell: All you knew for
sure is that you ended up in
Charlotte!
Landrum: Yeah, and I said,
‘You guys gonna fly me into
Charlotte, right?’ And they said,
‘Well, we’ll think about it.’ I
said, ‘You better!’
I mean, it was a three hour drive
from Charlotte to Raleigh. Now,
when we first started doing it
from Charlotte….we taped the
commercial interviews there, then
got in the car and drove to
Raleigh to do the show that same
night!
Chappell: Oh man!
Landrum: For a while, we
were taping the wrestling shows in
two different locations! I’d fly
into Charlotte and do the promos
that morning, and then get in the
car that afternoon about
2:00-3:00, generally Gene Anderson
and I, and we’d drive to Raleigh
for the shows.
I’d drive half the way and Gene
would sleep, he’d drive the other
half and I’d sleep. Gene had this
Cadillac with a diesel engine. It
might have gotten great gas
mileage, but it had NO power!
Then I’d fly out of Raleigh back
to Richmond. Or ride back to
Richmond with somebody else.
Chappell: (laughs) No get
up and go in Gene’s Cadillac?
Landrum: It didn’t boogie!
Once you got up rolling you were
all right, but if you wanted to
pass somebody you weren’t gonna do
it.
But yeah, for a while in 1981 we
were doing the TV from two
different places. We did that for
probably two or three months. It
seemed like forever!
Chappell: Was the switch
from Raleigh to Charlotte a
surprise?
Landrum: We knew it was
coming, because Crockett kept
saying, ‘We’re looking for another
location.’ I always thought they
would probably do it at WBT in
Charlotte…that would have been a
station that was comparable to
WRAL. But I think probably WBT
wanted too much money to do it,
and Crockett just didn’t want to
put the money out for it.
Chappell: Rich, let me ask
you specifically about the World
Wide Wrestling show as compared to
the Mid-Atlantic Championship
Wrestling show. What was the major
benefit to having the second show?
Landrum: We were promoting
the same live shows, and the major
advantage to it was that we were
getting double exposure. That’s
what it really amounted to.
Back then, TV was a liability…
Chappell: How so?
Landrum: Because you had
all of the expense of taping it.
Back then the stations played it
in lieu of commercial
consideration…
Chappell: Right, you heard
that line at the end of every
show!
Landrum: The stations could
sell spots in the show, as long as
we maintained two spots.
But it was a liability…it cost a
lot of money to do that. Even back
then.
Chappell: But the weekly TV
show drove the product back then,
didn’t it?
Rich
Landrum on the set of World Wide
Wrestling (Rich Landrum
Collection)
Landrum: But see, that’s
what drove it into the house
shows. Without TV, you could have
had the World’s Champion come in
and nobody would have known what
was going on. So, you had to have
TV…that’s what drove the live
show.
Nowadays, of course, it’s the
total opposite. TV is the big
thing.
Chappell: Without question.
Landrum: Coincidentally,
they taped a [WWE] RAW a couple of
weeks ago…I didn’t even know they
were in Richmond. I had no clue. A
friend told me about it, and I
said, ‘When were they here, I
haven’t seen a thing on it?’
He said that must be a pretty good
indicator, and it was. Checking
the numbers on the WWE shows,
because I also own an advertising
agency, they’re way down here. TV
is way down for them. I think the
circus wrestling has run its
cycle. I hope!
Chappell: Now, Rich, when
you first started announcing for
the World Wide show, you were by
yourself…you didn’t have a color
commentator. How was it doing a
show solo?
Landrum: (laughs) You know
that 1978 highlights show video
we’ve been talking about? I was by
myself then. My wife’s watching
the show with me, and she’s
saying, ‘You have a cold, and
you’re talking awful fast!’ I
went, ‘Yeah, I remember that
show…I did not want to be there
that night.’
Chappell: You seemed fine…
Landrum: I was ill…I did
not feel good. I was dragging by
the time we got to that show.
Chappell: You could have
used a color commentator that
night!
Landrum: I could have used
ANYTHING! So, one of the guys
said, ‘Take this, it’ll make you
feel better.’ About 20 minutes
later, I was feeling great!
Chappell: This is the 1978
year in review show on video,
right?
Landrum: Yeah, David, and
if you listen to it…I’m talking
REAL fast.
(laughing) Little did I know…the
guy had given me speed!
Chappell: (laughing) You
felt no pain!
Landrum: But I come out and
finish, and I’m talking a mile a
minute. Steamboat goes, ‘Listen to
how fast you’re talking!’ And he
starts laughing! And I go, ‘Damn,
I am!’
Chappell: (laughing)
Landrum: Lord, I definitely
remember that show!
Chappell: You did that show
solo, and for quite awhile early
on you announced the show by
yourself. How was that?
Landrum: Oh, man, I was so
happy I ended up with Johnny
Weaver!
You can carry a show just so far
by yourself. And then after a
while, it really becomes a burden.
You run out of things to say. You
can only say so many things, so
many times.
Chappell: Surely.
Johnny Weaver and Rich Landrum
(Rich Landrum Collection)
Landrum: Having somebody
like John, who I dubbed the Dean
of Professional Wrestling, was
really great.
Chappell: Why was that?
Landrum: Because of his
knowledge and his history in the
business. There was very little I
could have thrown at him that he
wouldn’t have known the answer to.
Chappell: You all had a
great chemistry on the air. It
appeared like you all really liked
each other.
Landrum: Oh, we did. And it
was fun, you know?
I talked to John last summer and
then again right before Christmas,
and we had not seen each other or
talked in 20 years. And that was
great!
Chappell: I bet that really
was!
How did John become your regular
color commentator? I remember a
World Wide show in early 1979
where Weaver comes out to help you
commentate a match between Paul
Jones and Ricky Steamboat for
Ricky’s U.S. Title. Paul pulls
Ricky’s tights to apparently win
the belt, but John shows (referee)
Stu Schwartz the instant replay of
the pin and Jimmy Crockett gives
the belt back to Steamboat.
Weaver did really well with you on
that match. It might not have been
immediately after that, but Weaver
was a regular with you pretty soon
after that.
Landrum: No, it wasn’t
immediate…but it was shortly
thereafter.
It wasn’t my idea to have John do
the color, but when it came up, I
was surely in favor of it.
To tell you the truth, my first
thought was that they were trying
to get rid of me. Because I knew
how it worked, from when they
brought me in.
Chappell: How did you
handle that?
Landrum: I went to John,
and I said, ‘Okay, you’ll be the
one that will tell me the truth…I
hope.’ He said, ‘I’m just coming
on to help you with it…I don’t
want to do the show forever.’ That
was good enough for me.
So, when he came on board it was
great. We played off each other
really well. We did so much stuff
off camera, and during the off
period when you couldn’t see us or
hear us. We just had a lot of fun
with it.
PART FIVE
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