“How Did You Get the Name Joey Pants?”
It was November 11, 2002. I was filling in as producer on the morning show. The night before, I was watching the Sopranos and Tony killed off the miserable slime Ralph Cifaretto. This was no ordinary murder. The buildup to them finally wacking Ralph was years in the making. The Sopranos writing MADE you hate Ralph and when they killed him off, it was and still is the greatest T.V. murder EVER. I was standing and screaming "yes!" with both arms raised. Click here to see the awesome, profanity laden clip.
If you watched the clip and know the scene, as soon as Tony said "I will have some eggs", it was about to get interesting. The look on Ralph's face says it all. Tony hated Ralph and wanted him taken out and found his excuse. Another side note: Ever since I have seen this episode, Mrs. Pants makes her eggs with sour cream.
So, on the morning show I kept doing my Tony Soprano impersonation saying "You Killed my horse! It was a beautiful creature and you killed her!"
At some point Deb asked who played Ralph and I told her Joe Pantoliano. She said "Joey Pants?!"
"You know Joey Pants would be a good radio name for you."
Before we knew it people were calling in and saying what my name should be. Pretty much every lady who called liked Joey Pants. Now, when you hear a lady say "Pants", it piques your interest. After I heard 5 ladies say Joey Pants, I was ok with the name.
When I started on afternoons on January 17th, 2005 the Program Director "Evil" Mark Stevens loved the Joey Pants name. He came up with a REAL FAKE name. Joseph Edward Pantera was/is my REAL FAKE name. Joe E. Pants.
So, the honest to god truth is: Deb Hart named me Joey Pants because of the Sopranos. No one else deserves any credit.
Come celebrate with Deb and I Friday night at the WMMQ Birthday Party!
Get up with Deb and Joey weekdays 6-10 am. Find Joey on Facebook here.
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