They are all creations in the imaginary world of radio personality Gary Burbank, who retired as host of an afternoon radio show at the megawatt 700 WLW station more than a year ago in Cincinnati.
But loyal fans of Burbank, and his weird group of fictional characters, are in luck.
With assistance from writer Greg Hoard, Burbank is sharing the memories of his life on the radio, and his personal life, in a book called “Voices in My Head.”
So when Burbank appears for an autograph session at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Barnes and Noble book- store, 2619 Miamisburg-Centerville Road, chances are likely that Earl Pitts and the gang will show up, too.
Burbank said, “I get a few requests at these book signings for Gilbert and Earl. Both of them are still in syndication and are on the air in about 150 to 200 markets around the nation.”
Burbank added, “I am pleasantly surprised by the fact that at every signing I run into people who will quote things I said on the air 25 years ago. Things I don’t even remember.
“I enjoy meeting my audience for the first time, as well. You know, in radio, you don’t get to see your audience at all.”
These days he sometimes plays to an empty car.
“From time to time I’ll be listening to the radio and I’ll catch myself writing a ‘bit’ in my head. Then I remember that I don’t have a place to perform it. So I end up talking to the steering wheel.”
He said he also spends a good deal of time with his grandchildren “who have me wrapped around their little fingers.”
These days he spends some time each year at a home he has in Dunnellon, Fla., on the Rainbow River. “I play guitar and work with Nathan Witt, and we play a few joints in Florida as a duo from time to time. I also work with an organization known as “Play it Forward,” which I helped create. It is a foundation that helps struggling musicians.”
Now that he is retired, who does he listen to on the radio?
“I don’t listen to talk shows,” he said. “They just aren’t funny or interesting. It is so hard for me to listen to the angry people who often call in, so I just quit listening.”
So he writes and produces music, and spends precious hours with his five grandchildren.
“Voices in My Head” is a hardcover book published by Orange Frazer Press of Wilmington, Ohio. It sells for $27.95.
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