The venerable DJ – or disc jockey – has played an crucial part in the movies. Here are ten movie deejays who score higher in Hollywood historical past. It’s an eclectic list, with our story beginning in northern California…

Wolfman Jack/American Graffiti (Universal, 1973)

The legendary Wolfman Jack (1938-1995) winningly plays himself in director George Lucas’ ode to cruising and rock ‘n’ roll. Broadcasting from a radio station just outdoors of an unnamed northern California town, the omnipresent Wolfman Jack dominates the film, spinning records and engaging in his patented deejay chatter as our main characters cruise the principal drag for the duration of a single unforgettable summer season evening in 1962. At very first just a voice on Mexican radio station XERB, we later meet Wolfman Jack when Curt Henderson (Richard Dreyfuss) journeys to the isolated facility, requesting that the Wolfman broadcast a individual message to the sultry blonde (Suzanne Somers) now cruising the streets in her white 1956 Thunderbird. The bearded deejay denies becoming the renowned Wolfman, but later as Curt is leaving the station we see the disc jockey take to the airwaves live by way of a studio window, thundering into the mike and leaving no doubt as to his accurate identity. George Lucas had personally cast Wolfman Jack in American Graffiti, as he had been a fan of the deejay although attending large school in Modesto, California. “Sneakin’ close to with the Wolfman, infant. This is gonna strike a raw nerve, Mama. Here’s the Platters!” Wolfman howls in one scene.

Clint Eastwood/Play Misty for Me (Universal, 1971)

Clint Eastwood plays cool Dave Garver, who performs as a jazz deejay at KRML Radio in northern California. Dave is a swinging bachelor with a groovy girlfriend named Tobie (Donna Mills), but is not beyond hooking up with a single of his fans, Evelyn Draper (Jessica Walter), who often calls in requesting the old Erroll Garner classic “Misty.” Their 1-night stand – “with no strings connected,” heh, heh – triggers the beginning of a nightmare, as the psychotic Evelyn relentlessly stalks Dave, ruining his probabilities for a coveted deejay task at another station, cutting up his housekeeper Birdie (Clarice Taylor) and kidnapping his steady gal pal. The Dave Garver function suits Clint Eastwood perfectly, as the actor has an abiding interest in jazz. James McEachin plays “Sweet” Al Monte, Eastwood’s fellow deejay. “Why do not you play some Montovani some time?” John Larch as police Sgt. McCallum asks. “Didn’t know you liked the show,” Dave Garver replies. “I don’t. I like Montovani,” counters McCallum.

Promotional photo: Clint Eastwood as DJ Dave Garver with Donna Mills in Play Misty for Me (1971) – Heritage Auction Galleries

Adrienne Barbeau/The Fog (Avco Embassy, 1980)

Adrienne Barbeau plays husky-voiced Stevie Wayne, the deejay owner of KAB 1340 Radio in fictional Antonio Bay, California. Broadcasting from an previous lighthouse, Stevie coos to her late-evening listeners, playing soft music and relaying weather reports from her meteorologist boyfriend Dan O’Bannon (Charles Cyphers). But when a mysterious fog begins to roll in, bringing with it six ghostly apparitions hell-bent on revenge, the heroic Stevie becomes the eyes and ears of the little northern California town, directing her listeners (Tom Atkins, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, et al.) to security from the menacing mist and its 19th century killers. “There is something in the fog!” Stevie shouts into the microphone, generating for a grand previous time in this John Carpenter horror movie traditional.

Robin Williams/Good Morning, Vietnam (Touchtone, 1987)

Robin Williams plays Adrian Cronauer, the actual-life U.S. Air Force enlisted man who broadcast his display more than Armed Forces Radio in Saigon throughout the Vietnam War. The irreverent Cronauer swiftly runs afoul of his quick superiors, Lieutenant Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby) and Sergeant Key Dickerson (J.T. Walsh), who want to kick the young deejay off the air. Robin Williams, who garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, provides a tour de force overall performance as the slick, energetic Cronauer. “Goooooooood morning, Vietnam! Hey, this is not a check! This is rock and roll! Time to rock it from the Delta to the D.M.Z.!” Williams’ Cronauer begins his signature introduction.

Tim McIntire/American Hot Wax (Paramount, 1978)

Tim McIntire delivers as Alan Freed (1921-1965), the legendary deejay credited with popularizing the term “rock and roll.” American Hot Wax centers on the year 1959, with the pioneering Freed attempting to put together a rock ‘n’ roll show at Brooklyn’s Paramount Theater. No stranger to controversy, Freed had battled the authorities and record company honchos considering that his early days in Cleveland radio. Jay Leno plays Mookie, with Fran Drescher as Sheryl and Laraine Newman as Teenage Louise. “Whispering Bells” (the Del Vikings), “Sea Cruise” (Frankie Ford), “A Thousand Miles Away” (the Heartbeats) and “Little Darlin’” (the Diamonds) are among the film’s traditional rock ‘n’ roll tunes. “You can quit me, but you’re never gonna stop rock and roll!” McIntire’s Freed proclaims in the course of the riot scene at movie’s end.

Paul Kaye/It’s All Gone Pete Tong (Matson Films, 2004)

Paul Kaye plays Frankie Wilde, a effective deejay whose profession is threatened by drug abuse and hearing loss. A former musician, Wilde becomes a sensation on the Ibiza club scene, but later disappears since of expanding cocaine use and a hearing problem. It’s a story of tragedy and triumph, with Frankie eventually compensating for his disability and returning to the deejay booth. The movie’s “Pete Tong” in the title refers to the legendary English deejay who broadcasts for BBC Radio 1. The real Pete Tong seems briefly in the film, along with Beatriz Batarda, Kate Magowan and Mike Wilmot. “I was thinking, you know Paul Newman’s got his salad dressing and that? So why not Frankie Wilde Hummus?” Paul Kaye’s deejay character announces.

Jon Jacobs/DJ Hound Canine (Golden Shadow, 2003)

Jon Jacobs (billed as John London) plays DJ Hound Canine, a klutzy British transplant from Miami who claws his way up the ladder to deejay fame and fortune in Ibiza. Cameo appearances by globe-renowned DJ’s Pete Tong, Tiesto, Eddie Halliwell, Bob Sinclair, Robbie Riviera, Junior Jack, Carl Cox, Lisa Lashes, Monica X, Kai Tracid, et al., give the film legitimacy and added international glitz. Charlotte Lewis and Tina Wiseman give the requisite club eye candy.

Paul Kalkbrenner/Berlin Calling (Movienet, 2008)

Genuine-existence electronic music maestro Paul Kalkbrenner plays Martin Karow a.k.a. DJ Ickarus, with Rita Lengyel as gal pal Mathilde and Corinna Harfouch as psychiatrist Professor Dr. Petra Paul in this offbeat German film. It explores the Berlin club scene through the eyes of the increasingly paranoid Ickarus, like the electronic trance music rage and the myriad of drugs obtainable to the famously anointed.

Ray Vitte/Thank God’s It’s Friday (Columbia, 1978)

Ray Vitte plays Bobby Speed, the groovin’ deejay at a swinging disco club named The Zoo on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles. The Zoo is a “meet marketplace,” exactly where on-the-make clubgoers knock down drinks, gyrate to the pounding disco sound and try out to hook up for the obligatory 1-night stand. Donna Summer season a.k.a. “The Queen of Disco” plays Nicole Sims, a fledgling singer who badgers DJ Bobby Speed to play her demo record. Appear for Jeff Goldblum and Debra Winger in this dancefest, with Ray Vitte’s Bobby Speed spinning such disco tunes as “Hollywood” (the Village People), “Last Dance” (Donna Summer season), “Adore Masterpiece” (Thelma Houston) and “Thank God It is Friday” (Love &amp Kisses). “Hey listen, man. When I, Bobby Speed, promises his audience live music, he delivers,” Vitte pronounces. Got your platform shoes handy?

Alan Freed/Rock About the Clock (Columbia, 1956)

Alan Freed plays himself in what several view as the first rock ‘n’ roll characteristic film. The story centers on Bill Haley and His Comets, who are found by promoter Steve Hollis (Johnny Johnston) in small-town America. There’s lots of “decadent” rock ‘n’ roll music in this one, along with appearances by such artists as the Platters, Freddie Bell and His Bellboys and of course Bill Haley and His Comets, whose signature song “(We’re Gonna) Rock All around the Clock” provides the movie’s title. When shown overseas, Rock Close to the Clock spawned teenage riots in some film theaters. Alan Freed also portrayed himself in Don’t Knock the Rock (1956), Mister Rock and Roll (1957) and Go, Johnny, Go! (1959).

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