I have admired the work of a number of people in the industry over the years, a few of whom I eventually got to meet. In each of those instances I tried to relate to them as human beings. These people may be famous but not flawless. Very often beneath the shining armour are underlying weaknesses as the above story aptly illustrates.

RadioActive wrote:

I’m guessing most of us here listened as a kid to a radio personality – usually a DJ - that made us want to get into the industry. I had a number of people I really admired growing up, starting as a young child with CHUM, but eventually branching out to other stations across North America.
 
One of them was a guy who worked in some of the biggest markets in the U.S., ranging from Cleveland, Miami and L.A. all the way to the pinnacle of a 50,000 watt giant network owned radio station in New York City. He was an absolutely outstanding talent, has been elected to many Broadcasting Halls of Fame and – as I would find out later – was an inspiration not only to me, but to other future creative types, including Dan O’Shannon, the amazingly successful TV producer behind shows like "Cheers", “Frasier,” and "Newhart," who actually emailed me a few years ago looking for this man’s email address.
 
The reason I had it was that I was lucky enough to meet my idol both online and over the phone and he was as terrific in person as I always hoped he’d be. We’ve been in touch ever since.
 
And it’s because we keep in touch that he sent me a brief essay he was asked to write for a future book compendium on the subject of life change. What was contained in those four short pages frankly threw me for a loop.
 
In essence, he stated that he started in radio at age 18, went on to become a famous announcer, had all the riches, fancy cars, expensive houses and perks you can imagine – and that he hated every second of it from the moment he started until the day he left the business.
 
I was stunned.
 
Here was the guy I looked up to for more than four decades admitting that all those years he was “playing a character” as he called it, he was mired in complete and utter misery and thought endlessly about getting out. Yet he felt trapped by money, fame and the fact that he really didn’t know how to do anything else.
 
“I recognized I needed an attitude adjustment,” he wrote in the yet-unpublished essay. “But I truly could no longer find anything redeeming or salvageable in the work, or to even appreciate that is was fueling a pretty good (albeit crazy/stressful) life. As I type these words I can’t believe that I’m talking about me.”
 
Eventually he got his wish, going back to school at the age of 41 and earning his Ph.D., while describing how he went from mansions to a one-bedroom apartment on a campus in the U.S. Midwest. That took some real courage, but it also made me very, very sad.
 
Here was the classic real life Pagliacci – a guy who made hundreds of thousands laugh, while crying in private. He’s retired now, making short films and videos for his own amusement, after becoming a respected professor in a major American college, essentially starting life over in his late 40s.
 
As a young boy, I idolized this man, and that’s not his fault. But I can’t help but feeling – what’s the word, betrayed, disappointed? – by his admission all these years later that what made me so happy made him so miserable. Especially when he reached such incredible heights in a very fickle industry.
 
I can’t really put myself in his shoes, but I always wished I could have had a career even half as fantastic as his. All of which makes me wonder about the feelings of some of those assembled here. Did you/do you hate your broadcasting job so much you wished you’d gone into something else? If so, did you ever act on it? It’s all I ever wanted to do and I was lucky enough to get that chance in the major market in Canada. And while there were moments of intense frustration, I never wanted to do anything else.
 
In the end, I suppose it shows that some people’s dreams are other people’s nightmares. And really, there can’t be anything sadder than that.

I know the identity of that person (we've discussed him before and you sent me some tapes) and his admission does surprise me. He seemed to be having a good time on the air. He was very entertaining.