WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.419 When you think about the ultimate cliques in 00:00:02.419 --> 00:00:05.019 entertainment history, where does your mind go? 00:00:05.240 --> 00:00:07.259 Oh, usually straight to the classics. Right. 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:09.699 Usually it's the definition of cool. You picture 00:00:09.699 --> 00:00:12.300 the Rat Pack in the 50s. Frank Sinatra, Dean 00:00:12.300 --> 00:00:15.519 Martin. Exactly. Sammy Davis Jr. You think of 00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:20.140 tuxedos, whiskey, Vegas showrooms. Or maybe if 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:22.000 you grew up a bit later, it's the Brat Pack. 00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:24.280 Yeah, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore. Beautiful people 00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:27.280 of the 80s. Right. Groups that represented aspiration. 00:00:27.800 --> 00:00:29.140 You know, you wanted to be them or at least you 00:00:29.140 --> 00:00:31.339 wanted to be at their party. Yeah. They defined 00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:34.500 a certain type of elite exclusivity. Exactly. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:37.740 But today we are doing a deep dive into a group 00:00:37.740 --> 00:00:41.479 that is the twisted, almost funhouse mirror image 00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:44.259 of that concept. Definitely. They are a radio 00:00:44.259 --> 00:00:47.920 phenomenon that has spanned decades and they 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:50.590 are a collection of personalities so bizarre, 00:00:50.890 --> 00:00:53.689 so unfiltered, and often so physically or socially 00:00:53.689 --> 00:00:56.670 distinct that they created an entirely new ecosystem 00:00:56.670 --> 00:00:59.109 of fame. It really is unique. We aren't talking 00:00:59.109 --> 00:01:00.829 about the beautiful people today. We are talking 00:01:00.829 --> 00:01:03.409 about the Whack Pack from The Howard Stern Show. 00:01:04.189 --> 00:01:08.909 And calling it a group almost undersells it. 00:01:08.909 --> 00:01:11.090 Yeah. It's really more of a bizarre social experiment 00:01:11.090 --> 00:01:14.280 that ran for 40 years. What's fascinating here 00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:17.099 is that while the name Whack Pack sounds like 00:01:17.099 --> 00:01:19.299 a chaotic free -for -all, it does sound like 00:01:19.299 --> 00:01:21.939 that. It is actually a highly structured, almost 00:01:21.939 --> 00:01:24.840 bureaucratic institution. That is what really 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:27.019 surprised me as we were prepping the sources 00:01:27.019 --> 00:01:29.200 for this deep dive. You might think, oh, it's 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:31.159 just anyone weird who calls into the show. Right, 00:01:31.299 --> 00:01:33.200 just random people. But that's not true at all, 00:01:33.239 --> 00:01:35.319 is it? It's not just a list of frequent flyers. 00:01:35.400 --> 00:01:37.980 No, not at all. There are votes. There are criteria. 00:01:38.140 --> 00:01:40.700 There's a literal official registry. It's a cast 00:01:40.700 --> 00:01:44.760 system. Stern effectively gamified eccentricity. 00:01:44.939 --> 00:01:47.000 Gamified eccentricity. I like that. Yeah, he 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:49.299 created a bureaucratic structure. You know, ranks, 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:52.420 hierarchies, entry requirements. And he built 00:01:52.420 --> 00:01:55.680 this around people who are, by definition, completely 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:58.560 chaotic. Right. It's imposing order on total 00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:01.900 disorder. So let's unpack this strange universe 00:02:01.900 --> 00:02:05.040 for you, the listener. Our mission today is to 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:07.859 figure out what separates a regular guest from 00:02:07.859 --> 00:02:10.840 a bona fide whack packer. Because there is a 00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:13.750 line. There is a line, and it is surprisingly 00:02:13.750 --> 00:02:16.689 rigid. To understand that line, you really have 00:02:16.689 --> 00:02:19.530 to look at the definition. Stern biographer Richard 00:02:19.530 --> 00:02:22.110 Mincer labeled the pack a key part of the show, 00:02:22.669 --> 00:02:25.150 noting it was a direct parody of those cool packs 00:02:25.150 --> 00:02:27.710 we mentioned earlier. The rat pack. Exactly. 00:02:28.449 --> 00:02:30.990 But the criteria for entry isn't just about looking 00:02:30.990 --> 00:02:33.150 different or sounding different. Right. Because, 00:02:33.150 --> 00:02:36.169 I mean, plenty of people have odd voices or unique 00:02:36.169 --> 00:02:38.210 looks. That's not enough to get you a jacket 00:02:38.210 --> 00:02:42.139 in this club. No, it's not. The core definition, 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:45.139 the thing that Stern has explicitly stated over 00:02:45.139 --> 00:02:48.280 and over is that a true whack packer is defined 00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:51.139 by an inability to understand why they are funny. 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:53.400 That is the aha moment right there. It's the 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:56.060 lack of self -awareness. Precisely. If you are 00:02:56.060 --> 00:02:58.300 in on the joke, you aren't a whack packer. You're 00:02:58.300 --> 00:03:00.039 just a comedian. Right, you're a collaborator. 00:03:00.379 --> 00:03:02.500 A whack packer is someone the audience is laughing 00:03:02.500 --> 00:03:06.500 at, or perhaps with, but the individual themselves 00:03:06.500 --> 00:03:09.520 doesn't quite grasp the dynamic. They think it's 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:11.219 serious. Yeah, they think they're being taken 00:03:11.219 --> 00:03:13.759 seriously. Or they think they are famous for 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:16.199 a totally different reason entirely. So if I 00:03:16.199 --> 00:03:18.000 call in and I'm doing a bit or I'm trying to 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:20.560 be the crazy character, I'm automatically disqualified. 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:23.300 Essentially, yes. Yeah. Because you're trying. 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:26.360 The magic of the Wack Pack is that they aren't 00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:29.000 trying to be funny. They just are, often due 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:31.569 to their circumstances or their worldview. Let's 00:03:31.569 --> 00:03:33.650 go back to the beginning. How did this whole 00:03:33.650 --> 00:03:36.289 concept even start? Because Howard Stern has 00:03:36.289 --> 00:03:38.229 been on the air since the dinosaur age. Yeah. 00:03:38.569 --> 00:03:41.030 Was the whack pack there from day one? Not by 00:03:41.030 --> 00:03:43.389 name, but the prototype was definitely there. 00:03:43.889 --> 00:03:46.270 If you want to find patient zero based on our 00:03:46.270 --> 00:03:48.550 sources, you have to go all the way back to May 00:03:48.550 --> 00:03:53.270 1980. Wow, 1980. Yeah. Stern was broadcasting 00:03:53.270 --> 00:03:56.490 from WWW in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit Rock City. 00:03:56.849 --> 00:03:59.889 Exactly. And he meets a woman named Irene. She 00:03:59.889 --> 00:04:02.189 becomes known as Irene the Leather Weather Lady. 00:04:02.590 --> 00:04:04.990 Which, I just have to say, is a fantastic radio 00:04:04.990 --> 00:04:07.409 name. It really is. She met Stern at the station, 00:04:07.789 --> 00:04:10.449 and she just had that unique energy. Unpredictable, 00:04:10.909 --> 00:04:14.430 distinct, completely herself. Yeah. She is identified 00:04:14.430 --> 00:04:17.170 as essentially the first whack packer, even though 00:04:17.170 --> 00:04:19.329 the term itself didn't exist yet. So when did 00:04:19.329 --> 00:04:22.009 the branding kick in? Because the Whack Pack 00:04:22.009 --> 00:04:24.750 is such a sticky term. It rhymes. It's punchy. 00:04:24.910 --> 00:04:27.889 It took a full decade. A decade? Yeah. The term 00:04:27.889 --> 00:04:30.990 Whack Pack wasn't officially used on air until 00:04:30.990 --> 00:04:35.290 July 6, 1990. This is documented in Stern's own 00:04:35.290 --> 00:04:38.089 history of the show. OK. But there was a catalyst 00:04:38.089 --> 00:04:40.670 event a couple of years prior that really shifted 00:04:40.670 --> 00:04:44.410 the dynamic from random, odd guests to a recurring 00:04:44.410 --> 00:04:46.730 cast of characters. And that involves a certain 00:04:46.730 --> 00:04:48.850 member of the animal kingdom. Fred the Elephant 00:04:48.850 --> 00:04:52.060 Boy. A legend in this world. November 28, 1988. 00:04:52.540 --> 00:04:54.600 That's the exact date he was introduced. Okay. 00:04:55.160 --> 00:04:57.019 Before Fred, you had people who would pop in 00:04:57.019 --> 00:04:59.769 and out. But Fred's arrival... followed by a 00:04:59.769 --> 00:05:02.430 few others around that time, solidified the idea 00:05:02.430 --> 00:05:04.009 that these weren't just guests. They were part 00:05:04.009 --> 00:05:05.730 of the crew. They were part of the show's DNA. 00:05:06.129 --> 00:05:08.350 They were characters in a sitcom that never ended. 00:05:08.509 --> 00:05:10.689 And it just exploded from there. I mean, since 00:05:10.689 --> 00:05:13.129 the move to Series XM, the ecosystem expanded 00:05:13.129 --> 00:05:15.250 even further. Dramatically. Some of these members 00:05:15.250 --> 00:05:18.230 even got their own shows. Which is wild when 00:05:18.230 --> 00:05:20.149 you think about the definition we just established. 00:05:20.449 --> 00:05:22.250 People who don't know why they are funny were 00:05:22.250 --> 00:05:25.660 given hours of airtime to just... to just talk. 00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:27.379 Which validates the point that they aren't just 00:05:27.379 --> 00:05:29.959 sideshows. They became content generators in 00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:32.360 their own right. And here's where it gets really 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:35.139 interesting. As the group grew, the need for 00:05:35.139 --> 00:05:37.379 regulation grew. You can't just let everyone 00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:39.480 in. This is my absolute favorite part of the 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:42.839 research, the official list. It sounds ridiculous 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:44.939 to have a boardroom meeting about this, but that's 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:47.160 exactly what happened, right? It is. February 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:50.660 24, 2015. This wasn't a casual conversation. 00:05:51.019 --> 00:05:54.779 This was an event. Stern and his entire crew 00:05:54.779 --> 00:05:57.839 held an official vote to determine the roster. 00:05:58.339 --> 00:06:00.420 They went through name by name to decide who 00:06:00.420 --> 00:06:03.040 was in and who was out. Just picture that room. 00:06:03.300 --> 00:06:05.980 You have highly paid producers, writers, and 00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:08.639 Howard himself sitting there debating the merits 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:11.060 of High Pitcherick. It establishes that membership 00:06:11.060 --> 00:06:13.319 isn't arbitrary. It's a status that is granted 00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:16.199 or revoked. It's a bureaucracy of the absurd. 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:19.079 So who made the cut? Let's run through some of 00:06:19.079 --> 00:06:20.980 the heavy hitters on this living Whack Packers 00:06:20.980 --> 00:06:24.300 list because the variety is honestly staggering. 00:06:24.939 --> 00:06:27.680 Well, if we are talking Whack Pack royalty, you 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:30.379 have to start with the man who is named the greatest 00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:34.139 Whack Packer of all time in that same vote. Beetlejuice. 00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:36.949 Lister Green. Beetlejuice, he is the gold standard. 00:06:37.550 --> 00:06:40.410 He embodies every single criteria we discussed. 00:06:40.569 --> 00:06:43.610 He has microcephaly and dwarfism, so he's visually 00:06:43.610 --> 00:06:46.910 distinct. He is incredibly combative, but lovable. 00:06:47.189 --> 00:06:50.730 Very lovable. And most importantly, he has absolutely 00:06:50.730 --> 00:06:53.910 zero concept of the show's context. You ask him 00:06:53.910 --> 00:06:55.949 a question, and he answers a question that no 00:06:55.949 --> 00:06:57.910 one asked. He's a global meme at this point. 00:06:58.009 --> 00:07:00.230 I mean, I've seen kids on TikTok using Beetlejuice 00:07:00.230 --> 00:07:02.509 clips who have no idea who Howard Stern even 00:07:02.509 --> 00:07:04.939 is. Exactly. He transcends the medium. The veterans 00:07:04.939 --> 00:07:07.500 like high -pitch Eric, he celebrated 20 years 00:07:07.500 --> 00:07:10.379 on the show back in 2017. That's incredible! 00:07:10.579 --> 00:07:12.740 Think about that. That is longer than Seinfeld, 00:07:12.980 --> 00:07:15.899 Friends, and The Office combined. He has made 00:07:15.899 --> 00:07:18.300 a literal career out of just being high -pitch. 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:21.040 And then you have the crossover hits like Tan 00:07:21.040 --> 00:07:24.550 Mom, Patricia Crensell, She was in the news for 00:07:24.550 --> 00:07:27.149 that tanning salon incident involving her daughter, 00:07:27.370 --> 00:07:29.449 which, you know, that was a pretty dark news 00:07:29.449 --> 00:07:31.949 story. It was very dark. But then she gets absorbed 00:07:31.949 --> 00:07:35.230 into the Stern universe and becomes this bizarre 00:07:35.230 --> 00:07:39.110 recording artist character. It's a rehabilitation 00:07:39.110 --> 00:07:41.389 program for the strange. And we have to talk 00:07:41.389 --> 00:07:43.689 about the names. I mean, the creativity or the 00:07:43.689 --> 00:07:45.910 crudeness, depending on your perspective, is 00:07:45.910 --> 00:07:48.670 off the charts. We've got Ask Napkin Ed. Yes. 00:07:48.790 --> 00:07:51.639 We've got Debbie the cum lady. Gary the Conqueror, 00:07:51.779 --> 00:07:53.420 who was previously known as Gary the Retard. 00:07:53.579 --> 00:07:55.720 Right. That name change is interesting. It shows 00:07:55.720 --> 00:07:57.839 that even in the whack pack, the outside world 00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:00.779 eventually seeps in. They had to update the terminology, 00:08:01.220 --> 00:08:03.680 even if just slightly. It was a fascinating moment 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:06.800 where the show had to grapple with changing social 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:09.740 norms. Yeah. Stern stuck with the original name 00:08:09.740 --> 00:08:12.819 for a long time, arguing he was descriptive, 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:15.779 not derogatory in his intent. But eventually, 00:08:15.819 --> 00:08:19.000 Gary the Conqueror became the title. It's a grander 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:20.990 title, anyway. It sounds like a medieval king. 00:08:21.310 --> 00:08:23.629 Then you have Jeff the Vomit Guy and Jeff the 00:08:23.629 --> 00:08:28.110 Drunk. It's a very, well, bodily function heavy 00:08:28.110 --> 00:08:30.449 list. It is. Yeah. But looking at this list, 00:08:31.189 --> 00:08:35.149 Asian Pete, Bigfoot, Medicated Pete, Sour Shoes. 00:08:35.909 --> 00:08:38.330 What stands out to you about the makeup of this 00:08:38.330 --> 00:08:41.350 group? Well, it's diverse, but in a very specific 00:08:41.350 --> 00:08:44.279 way. It's the diversity of the unusual. The list 00:08:44.279 --> 00:08:47.580 includes blatant racism, mental disability, comical 00:08:47.580 --> 00:08:50.960 appearance, strange voices, or specific abilities. 00:08:51.159 --> 00:08:53.320 Like Sour Shoes. Right. Sour Shoes is a musical 00:08:53.320 --> 00:08:55.879 savant, but socially chaotic. It is a catch -all 00:08:55.879 --> 00:08:58.840 for anything outside the norm. But there is one 00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:01.320 hard rule that Stern adheres to, which I think 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:03.120 is important to distinguish the pack from the 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:05.559 crew. What's that? Staff members are never whack 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:07.659 packers. That's a crucial distinction, because 00:09:07.659 --> 00:09:09.440 some of the staff members are pretty weird themselves. 00:09:09.580 --> 00:09:12.259 They are. But they are employees. They are in 00:09:12.259 --> 00:09:14.620 on the production. They receive a paycheck from 00:09:14.620 --> 00:09:17.600 the company to produce the show. Right. The Whack 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:20.179 Pack exists outside the payroll, generally speaking. 00:09:20.539 --> 00:09:22.340 They are the other. They are the raw material 00:09:22.340 --> 00:09:24.980 that the staff mines for comedy. Okay, let's 00:09:24.980 --> 00:09:27.320 dig deeper into this idea of the other. Because 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:29.299 there is a section of this history that I found 00:09:29.299 --> 00:09:32.539 absolutely hilarious and weirdly poignant. The 00:09:32.539 --> 00:09:35.480 rejected list. Yes, the not -whack -pack material 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:37.200 list. These are people who seem like they should 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:38.960 be in the club. They're weird. They're frequent 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:40.940 guests, but they were rejected. This is where 00:09:40.940 --> 00:09:43.899 the psychology of the show really shines. The 00:09:43.899 --> 00:09:47.179 primary reason for exclusion. The ability to 00:09:47.179 --> 00:09:50.659 hold a job and function in society. That is such 00:09:50.659 --> 00:09:54.019 a low bar. Can you hold a job if, yes, you are 00:09:54.019 --> 00:09:56.779 out? It's the functional barrier. If you can 00:09:56.779 --> 00:09:59.179 navigate the real world too well, you lose a 00:09:59.179 --> 00:10:02.129 mystique. You aren't helpless enough or disconnected 00:10:02.129 --> 00:10:04.809 enough to be a true Wack Packer. Let's look at 00:10:04.809 --> 00:10:06.870 some of these rejects. Mary Ann from Brooklyn. 00:10:07.370 --> 00:10:08.929 If you listen to the show, you know her voice 00:10:08.929 --> 00:10:11.090 immediately. If she screams, she loves Howard. 00:10:11.129 --> 00:10:13.429 She calls in constantly. She's the number one 00:10:13.429 --> 00:10:15.730 super fan and the den mother to the Wack Pack. 00:10:16.370 --> 00:10:19.129 She organizes things for them, but she's not 00:10:19.129 --> 00:10:22.389 in the pack. Why? Because she's a functioning 00:10:22.389 --> 00:10:26.350 suburban mother. She's too aware. She's too organized. 00:10:26.809 --> 00:10:29.250 She's playing a character of a crazed fan. But 00:10:29.250 --> 00:10:31.850 she knows exactly when to turn it off. And then 00:10:31.850 --> 00:10:34.809 there is King of All Blacks. Lawrence Coward. 00:10:34.929 --> 00:10:37.990 He's been a staple for years, but he's excluded 00:10:37.990 --> 00:10:41.009 because he functions. The research notes he has 00:10:41.009 --> 00:10:43.110 even filed discrimination suits in his personal 00:10:43.110 --> 00:10:46.269 life. He holds a job. He has money. Right. He's 00:10:46.269 --> 00:10:49.269 obsessed with high end brands like mowing faucets 00:10:49.269 --> 00:10:52.509 and ball main jeans. He's materialistic and quirky, 00:10:52.549 --> 00:10:55.110 but he's navigating the capitalist system just 00:10:55.110 --> 00:10:58.480 fine. Exactly. He is not material. because he's 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:01.480 too grounded in reality, even if his reality 00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:03.779 is warped. There are also people who were excluded 00:11:03.779 --> 00:11:05.960 because they got banned. It's not just about 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:08.139 being functional, it's about being manageable. 00:11:08.399 --> 00:11:10.679 Right. There is a line where wackiness becomes 00:11:10.679 --> 00:11:14.860 a genuine liability. Elegant Elliot Offen, permanently 00:11:14.860 --> 00:11:17.620 banned in 2006. Whoa. He was physically threatening. 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:20.639 Hansi, permanently banned in April 2016 because 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:22.500 he started bringing Howard's family into his 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:24.840 conspiracy theories. You can be crazy, but you 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:27.360 can't be dangerous. Correct. The ecosystem has 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:29.679 to be safe for the host. But the best story of 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:32.279 rejection, without a doubt, is the saga of Bobo. 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:35.159 This poor guy. I mean, talk about desperation. 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:37.779 He desperately wants to be considered a whack 00:11:37.779 --> 00:11:40.360 packer. He wants the jacket. He wants the accolades. 00:11:40.460 --> 00:11:43.590 Oh, he craves it. But the show treats him with 00:11:43.590 --> 00:11:46.070 such disdain. There was this incredible sequence 00:11:46.070 --> 00:11:48.429 of events where he actually lost his name. Right. 00:11:48.789 --> 00:11:51.210 He was caught plagiarizing jokes or doing something 00:11:51.210 --> 00:11:53.809 to annoy Howard. And the punishment was that 00:11:53.809 --> 00:11:57.250 he was stripped of the Bobo moniker. He was demoted 00:11:57.250 --> 00:12:00.190 to just Steve from Florida. Which is so generic, 00:12:00.190 --> 00:12:02.629 it hurts. It's like being called occupant. And 00:12:02.629 --> 00:12:04.730 to get the name Bobo back, he had to perform 00:12:04.730 --> 00:12:08.129 a humiliating act. This was June 2017. Paint 00:12:08.129 --> 00:12:10.450 the picture for us. He had to walk the streets 00:12:10.450 --> 00:12:13.299 of New York City. specifically around the Sirius 00:12:13.299 --> 00:12:17.059 XM building, wearing a mesmerizingly awful outfit. 00:12:17.340 --> 00:12:19.440 I believe it was an obscure military uniform 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:21.919 or something equally baffling, covered in badges, 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:24.379 essentially looking like a stolen valor case 00:12:24.379 --> 00:12:26.820 or just a lunatic. And he's doing this in broad 00:12:26.820 --> 00:12:28.860 daylight. People are staring. And he's doing 00:12:28.860 --> 00:12:30.940 it just for the privilege of being called Bobo 00:12:30.940 --> 00:12:33.860 again. It illustrates the sheer desperation involved. 00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:36.940 But here is the kicker. Even after doing that, 00:12:37.139 --> 00:12:40.340 even after the debasement, the 2015 criteria 00:12:40.340 --> 00:12:44.370 lists him under not -whack -pack material. It's 00:12:44.370 --> 00:12:46.470 tragic. It's Shakespearean. He did the Walk of 00:12:46.470 --> 00:12:48.730 Shame, and he's still just a hanger -on. Because 00:12:48.730 --> 00:12:51.789 he wants it too much. Remember the rule. A lack 00:12:51.789 --> 00:12:55.070 of self -awareness. Mm. Bobo is too aware of 00:12:55.070 --> 00:12:58.149 his desire to be famous. He's trying too hard. 00:12:58.149 --> 00:13:00.669 Right. A true whack -packer like Beetlejuice 00:13:00.669 --> 00:13:04.389 doesn't try. He just is. Bobo is a fanboy trying 00:13:04.389 --> 00:13:06.850 to get into the band, and that makes him ineligible. 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:09.799 That is a brutal psychological assessment. It 00:13:09.799 --> 00:13:11.799 really shows that Stern holds all the cards. 00:13:11.879 --> 00:13:14.059 You can't just decide to be a Whack Packer. It 00:13:14.059 --> 00:13:15.980 has to be bestowed upon you, usually against 00:13:15.980 --> 00:13:17.679 your will or without your full understanding. 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:20.200 Exactly. Now, we have been having fun with the 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:22.200 names and the rejection, but we have to pivot 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:24.320 a little bit because the show has been on for 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:27.000 so long. The reality of life and death has caught 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:29.139 up with the Whack Pack. These aren't cartoons. 00:13:29.299 --> 00:13:31.960 They are people. Yes. And when you look at the 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:34.879 list of deceased members, it's a sobering reminder. 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:37.879 that behind the characters are real human beings, 00:13:38.340 --> 00:13:40.620 often with difficult lives and serious health 00:13:40.620 --> 00:13:43.059 issues. One of the biggest losses for the show, 00:13:43.179 --> 00:13:45.639 and I think for the audience, was Eric the actor. 00:13:46.100 --> 00:13:48.419 Formerly known as Eric the Midget. He passed 00:13:48.419 --> 00:13:51.240 away in 2014. He was, in my opinion, the greatest 00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:54.100 radio guest of all time. But... He hated being 00:13:54.100 --> 00:13:56.460 called a whack packer, didn't he? He despised 00:13:56.460 --> 00:13:59.639 it. And that was his charm. He was the antithesis 00:13:59.639 --> 00:14:02.299 of the happy -go -lucky character. He was grumpy. 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:05.360 He was demanding. He was ungrateful. He would 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:08.379 call in and demand that Howard get him roles 00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:11.519 on CSI or in Plainsight. And the audience loved 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:13.879 him for it. They did. Because he was fighting 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:16.799 against his reality. He was a very small man 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:20.059 in a wheelchair who saw himself as a mogul. When 00:14:20.059 --> 00:14:22.759 he died, it was a legitimate blow to the show's 00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:25.220 universe. And then there's Hank, the angry drunken 00:14:25.220 --> 00:14:27.899 dwarf. A legendary early member. He was exactly 00:14:27.899 --> 00:14:29.820 what his name implied. He passed away quite young. 00:14:30.019 --> 00:14:32.340 And Riley Martin. The alien expert. He was a 00:14:32.340 --> 00:14:34.700 different flavor entirely. He had his own cosmology, 00:14:34.980 --> 00:14:37.139 his own symbols. He claimed to be in contact 00:14:37.139 --> 00:14:40.899 with the Biavians. The Biavians. Yeah. He wasn't 00:14:40.899 --> 00:14:42.840 just a whack packer in the sense of being silly. 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:46.179 He was a true eccentric with a deeply held, albeit 00:14:46.179 --> 00:14:50.120 strange, belief system. He died in 2018. We also 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:53.700 lost Fred the Elephant Boy recently in 2023. 00:14:54.019 --> 00:14:55.879 We mentioned him earlier as a catalyst for the 00:14:55.879 --> 00:14:58.000 whole group. That feels like the end of an era. 00:14:58.139 --> 00:15:00.259 It does. And we have to mention the darker side 00:15:00.259 --> 00:15:02.419 of this lifestyle. The history mentions Joey 00:15:02.419 --> 00:15:05.620 Booth's visitor, Joseph Basilino, who died of 00:15:05.620 --> 00:15:08.940 an overdose, and Crackhead Bob. Right. The nicknames 00:15:08.940 --> 00:15:11.659 themselves Crackhead Bob, Jeff the Drunk, often 00:15:11.659 --> 00:15:14.159 pointed to substance abuse issues. When you see 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:16.759 Crackhead Bob on a funny list, you laugh. But 00:15:16.759 --> 00:15:18.879 then you realize, oh, that was a person struggling 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:20.659 with addiction who suffered permanent damage 00:15:20.659 --> 00:15:23.000 from it. That is the tension at the heart of 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:25.120 the whack pack. It's entertainment, but it's 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:27.679 drawn from the margins of society. These are 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:30.419 people who, in many cases, wouldn't have a platform 00:15:30.419 --> 00:15:33.080 anywhere else. That is the debate. Is it exploitation 00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:36.659 or is it inclusion? Because on one hand, the 00:15:36.659 --> 00:15:39.179 show is mining their misfortune for comedy, but 00:15:39.179 --> 00:15:41.580 on the other hand, they are celebrated. They're 00:15:41.580 --> 00:15:44.120 loved. And that leads us to the cultural impact. 00:15:44.350 --> 00:15:47.049 Because for better or worse, being in the Whack 00:15:47.049 --> 00:15:50.289 Pack made these people famous. Real fame. They 00:15:50.289 --> 00:15:52.350 did. They gained notoriety. They made personal 00:15:52.350 --> 00:15:54.450 appearances around the country. Imagine showing 00:15:54.450 --> 00:15:56.809 up to a club in New Jersey on a Friday night 00:15:56.809 --> 00:15:59.210 to see Beetlejuice or High Pitch Eric. People 00:15:59.210 --> 00:16:02.230 did it. Thousands of them. They paid cover charges. 00:16:02.789 --> 00:16:04.970 The Whack Packers made money, sometimes more 00:16:04.970 --> 00:16:06.649 money than they could have made doing anything 00:16:06.649 --> 00:16:09.590 else. Wow. Some of them landed roles in films 00:16:09.590 --> 00:16:12.269 and television programs. They transcended the 00:16:12.269 --> 00:16:14.909 radio show. It's the ultimate example of famous 00:16:14.909 --> 00:16:18.070 for being famous, but with a twist. It's famous 00:16:18.070 --> 00:16:20.789 for being peculiar. And this brings us back to 00:16:20.789 --> 00:16:23.450 that core definition, the lack of self -awareness. 00:16:23.950 --> 00:16:26.889 It creates a unique dynamic where the fame is 00:16:26.889 --> 00:16:28.950 almost accidental on the part of the performer, 00:16:29.470 --> 00:16:32.169 they are being themselves, and the world is consuming 00:16:32.169 --> 00:16:34.769 it as comedy. It's fascinating that someone like 00:16:34.769 --> 00:16:37.809 Beetlejuice is arguably more recognizable to 00:16:37.809 --> 00:16:40.509 a certain generation than some A -list actors, 00:16:40.629 --> 00:16:43.299 just from memes and clips online. Absolutely. 00:16:43.659 --> 00:16:46.120 The Whack Pack branding was genius marketing. 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:48.600 It took disparate individuals, a guy with a high 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:51.919 voice, a woman who tans too much, a man who thinks 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:54.440 he talks to aliens and turned them into a collectible 00:16:54.440 --> 00:16:57.399 set. Like trading cards. Gotta catch them all. 00:16:57.419 --> 00:16:59.340 But instead of Pokemon, it's high -pitched voices 00:16:59.340 --> 00:17:02.279 and conspiracy theories. Exactly. And it created 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:05.440 the community. As weird as it sounds, the Whack 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:08.960 Pack is a family. A dysfunctional, messy, sometimes 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:12.160 tragic family. but a family nonetheless. So let's 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:13.799 try to summarize what we've learned here for 00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:16.559 you. But WACPAC isn't just a random list of guests. 00:17:16.819 --> 00:17:19.619 It's a parody of Hollywood elites, formalized 00:17:19.619 --> 00:17:22.700 by a vote in 2015. It is a rigid institution 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:25.559 defined by a lack of self -awareness. If you 00:17:25.559 --> 00:17:27.500 know you're funny, you're out. If you can hold 00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:29.460 a normal job, you're out. It's a club for the 00:17:29.460 --> 00:17:31.720 unemployable and the unexplainable. And despite 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:34.259 the funny names Tan Mom, Medicated Pete, Jeff 00:17:34.259 --> 00:17:36.579 the Vomit Guy, these are real people who became 00:17:36.579 --> 00:17:39.099 unlikely celebrities, sometimes struggling with 00:17:39.099 --> 00:17:41.539 real issues, but always providing content for 00:17:41.539 --> 00:17:44.119 the stern machine. It's a symbiotic relationship. 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:47.480 The show needs the chaos. And the Whack Packers, 00:17:47.480 --> 00:17:49.880 for the most part, seem to crave the attention 00:17:49.880 --> 00:17:51.660 or the validation that comes with the title. 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:55.180 Even Bobo, after his walk of shame, is still 00:17:55.180 --> 00:17:58.200 calling in today. So what does this all mean 00:17:58.200 --> 00:18:01.119 for you, the listener? Why does this phenomenon 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:04.380 exist? Why do we tune in to hear people who don't 00:18:04.380 --> 00:18:06.759 know why we are laughing? I think it leaves us 00:18:06.759 --> 00:18:09.539 with a really provocative question about the 00:18:09.539 --> 00:18:11.640 nature of entertainment and our own psychology. 00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:15.599 If the defining trait of a whack packer is that 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:18.279 they don't understand why they are funny, what 00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:20.240 does that say about the millions of people who 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:22.480 are laughing? That's a great point. Are we celebrating 00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:26.299 unique humanity in all its forms? Or are we participating 00:18:26.299 --> 00:18:28.880 in something a bit darker, a spectacle where 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:30.940 we feel superior to the person on the stage? 00:18:31.140 --> 00:18:32.880 That is a question that might make you think 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:34.960 twice the next time you chuckle at a viral clip 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:37.960 of Beetlejuice or High Pitch Eric. Are we laughing 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:40.819 with them or at them? And does it matter if they're 00:18:40.819 --> 00:18:43.650 cashing the check? Indeed, it forces us to look 00:18:43.650 --> 00:18:45.630 in the mirror as much as we look at them. Well, 00:18:45.930 --> 00:18:48.789 on that note, we will leave you to ponder the 00:18:48.789 --> 00:18:51.849 ethics of the Whack Pack. Thanks for diving deep 00:18:51.849 --> 00:18:54.170 with us today into one of the strangest, most 00:18:54.170 --> 00:18:56.650 enduring corners of pop culture history. It was 00:18:56.650 --> 00:18:58.789 a pleasure. See you on the next Deep Dive.