The Philips Phile
Encyclopedia
The Philips Phile is a talk radio
program that airs on WTKS-FM
in Orlando, Florida weekdays from 3-7pm (EST) and can also be heard on the WTKS' website as well as taped delayed on XM Satellite Radio Channel 152 and via the iheartradio
app for mobile devices. The host of the program is Jim Philips. Other members of the cast include Moira, Jana "Banana" and producer Jack Bradshaw. A variety of serious and frivolous topics are discussed, though many of the show's topics are specific to the Orlando area.
104.1FM. Since this time, Jim and his ensemble cast have risen to become one of the highest rated radio programs in the area and, as he phrases it "the most listened to talk show of its kind heard anywhere." Philips excels at a variety of different skills including skeet shooting, cattle rustling (for which he earned the cowboy moniker "Lips"), didgeridoo playing and the ability to discern truck brands simply by hearing their horns (which he employed for a number of years in a game known as "Whatcha' Haulin'?").
Jim takes serious interest in politics and will actively berate his listeners if the opportunity arises, though many topics are discussed on the program most of which are meant strictly for entertainment. He has used his local celebrity in the past to have various subjects investigated by the local media. Unlike most talk radio show hosts who discuss politics, Philips leans decidedly to the left.
Philips is also known as the "Commodore". A reference to his early show days when his listeners joined The Commodore Club. Membership cards were given for discounts at local businesses. One of Jim's proudest physical assets is his left thumb which is uncommonly larger than his right. Jim attributes this extraordinary phenomenon to his being left-handed and asserts that in fact all left-handers possess a larger left thumb, though this is factually inaccurate.Some of Mr Philips finer moments on air inculude ranting the stupid people are in contol after the 04 election, reveling in joy after the death of any noteworthy conservative/republican and calling 81 year old callers old bats.
Moira - (Lynn Warner) Jim's right-hand woman and second-in-command, Moira (also known as Big Mo, much to her chagrin) is a talkative member in charge of a brief news segment at the beginning of each program (known as the "Laa Dee Daa") as well as hosting duties if Jim is away. Due to her quirky and talkative personality, Moira is consistently the receiving end of jokes, especially ones regarding her age (Jack and Oddo randomly claim she is somewhere between 80-2000+ years old). Moira is Jewish, and will occasionally entertain callers in a segment known as "Ask a Jew," answer their questions regarding the religion. Much like Jim, Moira is a liberal Democrat, but seems to display an even stronger left lean than Philips himself. Moira often shows her bad habit of using her favorite intra-sentence (thought) hurdle of "Annnnndd-Ummmmmmm", especially when she is hosting. She has a heavily-accented voice, almost a caricature of a New York Jew.
Jack Bradshaw - Resident joker and New York Yankees fanatic, Jack Bradshaw adds more light conversation to the program as well as runs a variety of effects and processes in the background as the program producer. Aside from producing, Jack is also the resident sports fan and even ran a segment known as "The Yankee Update," specifically intended to update listeners on the progress of his beloved sports team. Sadly (for him anyway), Jack lost his privilege to perform this when he lost a bet to Jim regarding the outcome of the World Series final. Bradshaw can be heard piping in with random commentary. He occasionally gets involved in serious debate. He also co-hosts his own radio show on Saturdays from 2 - 4pm called "Two Guys, One Sports Show" with Cabin Boy from SBK Live.
Jana "Banana" - The most recent addition to the Phile, Jana originally came on as an intern and was eventually offered a regular spot on the program. Jana proudly hails from the state of Kansas, and tends to comment on the difference between metropolitan city-life and the rural area she grew up in. Though many people contend that it is a well-performed act, Jana asks about some very strange and/or silly things. She has mentioned so many weird things over the years that the other members joke that she is from Mars and does not understand Earth culture. Aside from adding air-headed comments, leading cheers and inserting the occasional unintended sexual innuendo ("I just got corn-holed!"), Jana regularly mentions stories about her husband, Jason, and their dog, Sassy, whom she loves more than anything else in this world, since she believes she is her reincarnated
grandmother. Although the Phile makes no mention of, and refuses to take any calls about it, Jana uses a wheelchair
exclusively.
. Oddo also tended to be the cast member to participate in radio bits, including dressing up in a Viking helmet and being lassoed by Jim Philips in the parking lot and stripping for Moira on her birthday. On the program Oddo tried not to chime in on political topics, as he preferred participating in the ribbing of other cast members, normally alongside Jack Bradshaw. Oddo was terminated on April 28, 2009, due to budget cuts by Clear Channel. However, on June 9, 2009, Oddo officially returned to WTKS as a member of The BS (Buckethead Show). He stated that he is "grateful for the time and experience on The Philips Phile but that chapter is over." The BS airs Monday through Friday from 11:00am to 3:00pm.
Ms.B! - Leslie "Ms.B!" Brewington was born in Puerto Rico. as an infant she was adopted and the family moved to Harlem in New York City. "Ms.B!" came to Florida at the age of 20. Leslie is a graduate of the University of Central Florida with a B.A. Degree in Radio and Television Communications. Her radio career began in 1986 at WKIS-AM 740 as producer for the Clive Thomas show. Leslie became known as "Ms.B!", when she moved with Jim Philips to WTKS-FM 104.1 in 1992. Leslie was Jim's foil for 4 years. Ms. B! did her last "Philips Phile" show Nov. 18, 1996.
Monday
The Monday Movie Review
Local gay celebrities Michael "Wanzie" and Doug review films currently in theaters and regale the Phile with tales of their activities over the last week, normally involving their involvement with local theater and any gay-friendly events in the coming days.
Tuesday
"Insert Game Name Here"
Originally created so that listeners could create their own games for the Phile to play, it is currently cycling between two games, "Who's The Smarty", a game in which members try to answer a difficult question with clues that gets easier each round, and "Todd's Top Ten", a game where the Phile splits into two teams and tries to guess the top ten on a variety of different lists.
Wednesday
Scott Maxwell's Takin' Names
A respected gossip and political columnist for the Orlando Sentinel
newspaper, Scott Maxwell, spills the beans to Jim and crew regarding local events, celebrity encounters and political mishaps.
Closest to the Pin
One of the most popular games on the program, this involves callers challenging one of the members of the program. The Phile member and the caller must then answer five questions as closely as they can to questions with varying (and usually large) numbers as fast as possible. Callers who beat the Phile can collect a prize. Regardless of the question categories for every other member, Jim Philips also begins the game and the category is almost always "It Happened This Week," regarding various famous events in history.
Thursday
The Five Minute Professor
Bill Keevan is the "Five Minute Professor". Each week the professor gives a brief "lecture" on a topic chosen for that week. Following the lecture, a series of related trivia questions are asked of the "class" (the Phile) for bragging rights.
Friday
Sports Talk with Pat Clarke
Sports Director for WESH-2
Channel 2 News and friend of the Philips Phile Pat Clarke calls in to voice his opinion regarding news in the sports world, especially regarding local sports teams such as the Orlando Magic and University of Florida Gators (Jim's favorite team and his college alma mater). Occasionally Jim will keep Pat on the line to discuss other topics with him, including his culinary creation, the Goop Dog.
So You Wanna' Winna'
The most popular of the games hosted by the program, this involves listeners calling in and successfully passing three rounds of questions. The rounds include a True or False question, Common Bond, in which players must state the link between three seemingly separate things and a survival question, answering a question related to survival through an incident. After every answer given by a player, an audio clip of Regis Philbin
from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
asks, "Is that your final answer?"
Eddie the Shaman
A friend of the Phile, Eddie comes in each week to both act as a life-line for "So You Wanna' Winna'," but also to give his spiritual guidance to the program and its listeners, doling out cryptic words of wisdom and ending with his mantra "peace, love and the Philips Phile!"
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
program that airs on WTKS-FM
WTKS-FM
WTKS-FM 104.1 is a FM radio station airing a talk radio format during the work week. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast from Cocoa Beach, Florida , and serves mainly the Orlando and Central Florida areas.Most of the programs are designed to appeal to...
in Orlando, Florida weekdays from 3-7pm (EST) and can also be heard on the WTKS' website as well as taped delayed on XM Satellite Radio Channel 152 and via the iheartradio
Iheartradio
iHeartRadio is a Clear Channel Radio network to aggregate local radio brands, personalities and on-demand content. It is best known as a mobile application...
app for mobile devices. The host of the program is Jim Philips. Other members of the cast include Moira, Jana "Banana" and producer Jack Bradshaw. A variety of serious and frivolous topics are discussed, though many of the show's topics are specific to the Orlando area.
Regular Cast
Jim Philips - The host and namesake of the program. Previously a radio news director for WKIS, Philips began the talk show more than a decade ago on WKIS 740AM and later it moved to a relatively new station in Orlando, Florida, WTKS-FMWTKS-FM
WTKS-FM 104.1 is a FM radio station airing a talk radio format during the work week. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast from Cocoa Beach, Florida , and serves mainly the Orlando and Central Florida areas.Most of the programs are designed to appeal to...
104.1FM. Since this time, Jim and his ensemble cast have risen to become one of the highest rated radio programs in the area and, as he phrases it "the most listened to talk show of its kind heard anywhere." Philips excels at a variety of different skills including skeet shooting, cattle rustling (for which he earned the cowboy moniker "Lips"), didgeridoo playing and the ability to discern truck brands simply by hearing their horns (which he employed for a number of years in a game known as "Whatcha' Haulin'?").
Jim takes serious interest in politics and will actively berate his listeners if the opportunity arises, though many topics are discussed on the program most of which are meant strictly for entertainment. He has used his local celebrity in the past to have various subjects investigated by the local media. Unlike most talk radio show hosts who discuss politics, Philips leans decidedly to the left.
Philips is also known as the "Commodore". A reference to his early show days when his listeners joined The Commodore Club. Membership cards were given for discounts at local businesses. One of Jim's proudest physical assets is his left thumb which is uncommonly larger than his right. Jim attributes this extraordinary phenomenon to his being left-handed and asserts that in fact all left-handers possess a larger left thumb, though this is factually inaccurate.Some of Mr Philips finer moments on air inculude ranting the stupid people are in contol after the 04 election, reveling in joy after the death of any noteworthy conservative/republican and calling 81 year old callers old bats.
Moira - (Lynn Warner) Jim's right-hand woman and second-in-command, Moira (also known as Big Mo, much to her chagrin) is a talkative member in charge of a brief news segment at the beginning of each program (known as the "Laa Dee Daa") as well as hosting duties if Jim is away. Due to her quirky and talkative personality, Moira is consistently the receiving end of jokes, especially ones regarding her age (Jack and Oddo randomly claim she is somewhere between 80-2000+ years old). Moira is Jewish, and will occasionally entertain callers in a segment known as "Ask a Jew," answer their questions regarding the religion. Much like Jim, Moira is a liberal Democrat, but seems to display an even stronger left lean than Philips himself. Moira often shows her bad habit of using her favorite intra-sentence (thought) hurdle of "Annnnndd-Ummmmmmm", especially when she is hosting. She has a heavily-accented voice, almost a caricature of a New York Jew.
Jack Bradshaw - Resident joker and New York Yankees fanatic, Jack Bradshaw adds more light conversation to the program as well as runs a variety of effects and processes in the background as the program producer. Aside from producing, Jack is also the resident sports fan and even ran a segment known as "The Yankee Update," specifically intended to update listeners on the progress of his beloved sports team. Sadly (for him anyway), Jack lost his privilege to perform this when he lost a bet to Jim regarding the outcome of the World Series final. Bradshaw can be heard piping in with random commentary. He occasionally gets involved in serious debate. He also co-hosts his own radio show on Saturdays from 2 - 4pm called "Two Guys, One Sports Show" with Cabin Boy from SBK Live.
Jana "Banana" - The most recent addition to the Phile, Jana originally came on as an intern and was eventually offered a regular spot on the program. Jana proudly hails from the state of Kansas, and tends to comment on the difference between metropolitan city-life and the rural area she grew up in. Though many people contend that it is a well-performed act, Jana asks about some very strange and/or silly things. She has mentioned so many weird things over the years that the other members joke that she is from Mars and does not understand Earth culture. Aside from adding air-headed comments, leading cheers and inserting the occasional unintended sexual innuendo ("I just got corn-holed!"), Jana regularly mentions stories about her husband, Jason, and their dog, Sassy, whom she loves more than anything else in this world, since she believes she is her reincarnated
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
grandmother. Although the Phile makes no mention of, and refuses to take any calls about it, Jana uses a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
exclusively.
Former Cast
Oddo - Show rocker and wild-man, Oddo was the most aggressive and antagonistic member of the Phile. In the past Oddo involved himself in music and videogaming, but more recently had taken up a heavy addiction to poker, both on-line and off-line. Oddo was the resident voice-actor for the radio program and would occasionally grace the show with an impersonated celebrity or stereotypical foreign accent. For a number of years, he had a regular schedule of recording raunchy and embarrassing monologues as the newscaster Ted KoppelTed Koppel
Edward James "Ted" Koppel is an English-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for Nightline from the program's inception in 1980 until his retirement in late 2005. After leaving Nightline, Koppel worked as managing editor for the Discovery Channel before resigning in 2008...
. Oddo also tended to be the cast member to participate in radio bits, including dressing up in a Viking helmet and being lassoed by Jim Philips in the parking lot and stripping for Moira on her birthday. On the program Oddo tried not to chime in on political topics, as he preferred participating in the ribbing of other cast members, normally alongside Jack Bradshaw. Oddo was terminated on April 28, 2009, due to budget cuts by Clear Channel. However, on June 9, 2009, Oddo officially returned to WTKS as a member of The BS (Buckethead Show). He stated that he is "grateful for the time and experience on The Philips Phile but that chapter is over." The BS airs Monday through Friday from 11:00am to 3:00pm.
Ms.B! - Leslie "Ms.B!" Brewington was born in Puerto Rico. as an infant she was adopted and the family moved to Harlem in New York City. "Ms.B!" came to Florida at the age of 20. Leslie is a graduate of the University of Central Florida with a B.A. Degree in Radio and Television Communications. Her radio career began in 1986 at WKIS-AM 740 as producer for the Clive Thomas show. Leslie became known as "Ms.B!", when she moved with Jim Philips to WTKS-FM 104.1 in 1992. Leslie was Jim's foil for 4 years. Ms. B! did her last "Philips Phile" show Nov. 18, 1996.
Program content
The Philips Phile has a very regular rotation of games and guests on the program based upon the day of the week. The only game played every day for a prize is "What'd I Say," in which Jim asks a question near the end of the show relating to something that was discussed earlier on that day's program. To win a prize, listeners call in at the designated time and the first person with the correct answer to the question wins.Monday
The Monday Movie Review
Local gay celebrities Michael "Wanzie" and Doug review films currently in theaters and regale the Phile with tales of their activities over the last week, normally involving their involvement with local theater and any gay-friendly events in the coming days.
Tuesday
"Insert Game Name Here"
Originally created so that listeners could create their own games for the Phile to play, it is currently cycling between two games, "Who's The Smarty", a game in which members try to answer a difficult question with clues that gets easier each round, and "Todd's Top Ten", a game where the Phile splits into two teams and tries to guess the top ten on a variety of different lists.
Wednesday
Scott Maxwell's Takin' Names
A respected gossip and political columnist for the Orlando Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel
The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. As of 2005, the Sentinel’s president and publisher was Kathleen Waltz; she announced her resignation in February 2008...
newspaper, Scott Maxwell, spills the beans to Jim and crew regarding local events, celebrity encounters and political mishaps.
Closest to the Pin
One of the most popular games on the program, this involves callers challenging one of the members of the program. The Phile member and the caller must then answer five questions as closely as they can to questions with varying (and usually large) numbers as fast as possible. Callers who beat the Phile can collect a prize. Regardless of the question categories for every other member, Jim Philips also begins the game and the category is almost always "It Happened This Week," regarding various famous events in history.
Thursday
The Five Minute Professor
Bill Keevan is the "Five Minute Professor". Each week the professor gives a brief "lecture" on a topic chosen for that week. Following the lecture, a series of related trivia questions are asked of the "class" (the Phile) for bragging rights.
Friday
Sports Talk with Pat Clarke
Sports Director for WESH-2
WESH
WESH is the NBC affiliate in Orlando, Florida. It is licensed to Daytona Beach, with studio facilities in Winter Park. It transmits its digital signal on VHF channel 11, which redirects to virtual channel 2.1, reflecting its former analog channel assignment, through PSIP. It is currently owned by...
Channel 2 News and friend of the Philips Phile Pat Clarke calls in to voice his opinion regarding news in the sports world, especially regarding local sports teams such as the Orlando Magic and University of Florida Gators (Jim's favorite team and his college alma mater). Occasionally Jim will keep Pat on the line to discuss other topics with him, including his culinary creation, the Goop Dog.
So You Wanna' Winna'
The most popular of the games hosted by the program, this involves listeners calling in and successfully passing three rounds of questions. The rounds include a True or False question, Common Bond, in which players must state the link between three seemingly separate things and a survival question, answering a question related to survival through an incident. After every answer given by a player, an audio clip of Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...
from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
asks, "Is that your final answer?"
Eddie the Shaman
A friend of the Phile, Eddie comes in each week to both act as a life-line for "So You Wanna' Winna'," but also to give his spiritual guidance to the program and its listeners, doling out cryptic words of wisdom and ending with his mantra "peace, love and the Philips Phile!"
External links
- Jim Philips biography at Central Florida Radio History
- How Moira came to the Phile at Digital Story Teller
- Official website
- WTKS-FM's website