Steve Harvey has a pretty good career going.
– He’s one of the top touring standup comedians, one who usually sells out his appearances at Chicago’s All Jokes Aside and other comedy clubs and theaters around the country.
– He’s the host of the syndicated music variety show “It’s Showtime at the Apollo” (Sundays at 1 a.m. on WMAQ-Ch. 5), which just celebrated its 200th show.
– He has a budding acting career thanks in part to the good reviews he generated from his first acting job on “Me and the Boys,” an ABC family sitcom that only lasted one season in 1994-’95.
So what is he doing in Chicago hosting a morning drive-time radio show?
Harvey in January started a scheduled two-year hitch on urban contemporary music station WGCI-FM 107.5. He was part of an overall shuffle that resulted in the station losing top-rated Doug Banks to his own nationally syndicated radio show, and syndicated deejay Tom “The Hardest Working Man in Radio” Joyner moving his morning act to WGCI’s rival WVAZ-FM 102.7.
The Cleveland native attended Kent State in Kent, Ohio, to study advertising. He owned a rib shack and a carpet cleaning company with fellow Cleveland comic A.J. Jamal, and his last “straight” job was selling life insurance before trying standup in 1984.
Harvey, 39, a divorced father of twin teenage daughters, is enjoying his new job as host of a show he calls “Club ThrowDown,” which is heard weekdays between 6 and 10 a.m.
One recent morning after his shift was over, Harvey sat down for an interview at ‘GCI’s Michigan Avenue studios. He was in a relaxed mood, his ever-present brown Fedora low on his forehead, complementing a brown turtleneck and matching slacks:
Tribune–Level with us. Exactly how much money did ‘GCI program director/operations manager Elroy Smith spend to pry you away from Los Angeles?
Harvey–They’re giving, like, what you call retarded relocation money, which is what I had to have, man. I mean, they’re paying me, man. You said it all, though. If they weren’t paying, would I move to Chicago in the dead of winter and work somewhere five days a week? I’ve got to get up at 4 (in the morning).
Tribune–But why make this type of move, with all the stuff going on in your career?
Harvey–Because it is my way of showing the entertainment world another side. “Is he a standup?” Yes. “Can he act?” Yes. “Can he do radio?” Yes. That’s television, radio and live performance. That pretty much covers the gamut.
Tribune–Speaking of television, it was pretty shabby the way ABC treated “Me and the Boys,” which got a higher rating than the show preceding it, “Full House.” What did you learn from that experience?
Harvey–Not to trust Hollywood, you know? I mean, it further reinforced the thing that you can’t believe what people say to you. So it has made me a much tougher negotiator this time around, in terms of what I want up front and right now.
Tribune–If you did another sitcom, what type would it be?
Harvey–I would never play a married person on a show. I don’t like the romantic stuff on television. I don’t know if I’m able to separate the two. If you’ve got your tongue in my mouth, that’s for real.
Tribune–You did vacation fill-in work for Doug Banks while he was at ‘GCI. What other radio experience do you have?
Harvey–I have none. I have no background at all. I didn’t come from the Columbia School of Broadcasting or nothing. Straight project-dreaming brother, that’s all. From the projects, had a dream, saw an opportunity, did it.
Tribune–Describe how you got a morning show you lovingly call “Club ThrowDown”?
Harvey–Elroy told me when I was first sitting in for Doug, “You’re good at this, you’re great. My God, you ought to think about a career in radio.” And at the time I said no way, they’ve got to be crazy, man. I’m on television. Do you know how much money I’m making here?
And then when Doug left, they said, “Boy, you ought to consider it.” And I said no, it’s not the time. And then they kept coming, man, they just kept coming. And they made an offer, and I didn’t like it, and they made another offer, and I didn’t like it. And I just kept turning them down. And finally, I told my management, “You tell them this figure right here. Now that’ll stop them from asking me.”
They paid the figure (Harvey wouldn’t say what the amount was) and it really startled me.
Tribune–Have you adjusted to your new “day job?” Because instead of sleeping late and working at night, you’re going to bed early and getting up really early in the morning.
Harvey–It’s tough, especially because I go out on weekends as a standup. On a Friday night I find myself in Detroit doing three shows, and the last show doesn’t start until midnight, and it isn’t over until 2:30 in the morning. I’m still up and I’ve been up since 4 o’clock that morning. And Saturday is the same schedule.
Tribune–So what is it about radio that makes you work so hard?
Harvey–I can be funnier on the radio than they’ll ever let me be on TV. They wouldn’t let me be funny on TV. On the radio, man, the shackles are off. I can be funny on the radio, because no one’s there writing any lines for me, and nobody can filter what I’m saying, or censor it. Because it all comes out as I think it. I’ve said some pretty funny stuff on this station.
Tribune–Like the Top 10 lists that you do on “Club ThrowDown?”
Harvey–The Top 10 is what everybody is stopping me on the street about. Every cab driver, every store I walk in, every restaurant. That is the buzz.
My favorite one was, “The Top 10 Things O.J. Simpson Said To Ed Gordon During The Commercial Breaks of His Interview” (on cable’s Black Entertainment Television channel). My No. 1 answer was, “Say, Ed, you mean ain’t no white girls working at BET?”
It is theater of the mind. I can make people laugh without them seeing my face. And it’s more of a challenge. It helps me become more verbally funny. (On stage) I’ve got my facials to help me sell the joke. Where here, it’s all voice inflections and timing, which I’ve found has helped my stage performance out a lot. Because now I’ve become more verbal on stage because I’m on the radio five days, and I’ve got my face selling jokes. I think I’m a better act because of this, I really do.
