[Mb-hair] An Untold Tale, of HAIR....

[Jim Burns]

Suzyn Waldman has been a bit of a pioneer.

As one of the first woman sportscasters in the country, Waldman was the
"beat" reporter, covering the New York Mets, and later Knicks, for WFAN
radio, the country's first all-sports radio station.

She went to work with the station as a newswoman, when it debuted, in
1987.

(Now, a sad digression, for those of us who grew up with rock and roll
in the greater Tri-State area: WFAN started on 1050 AM, but a year
later, took over the bandwidth, of the old WNBC, at 660....)

(Even those non-sports fans amongst you are familiar with WFAN, as the
home station of IMUS IN THE MORNING, simulcast daily, on MSNBC....)

But before Suzyn became a sports commentaor...

She was an actress.

And while she never played Broadway, she WAS successful, touring for
years, with Richard Kiley, in MAN OF LA MANCHA.

And she had other good roles.

This year, Waldman made history when the New York Yankees made her the
first woman ever to be a member of a baseball team's everyday radio
broadcast team. Waldman supplies the color commentary for the
play-by-play, of John Sterling.

(Way back in 1994, Suzyn became the first woman ever to work a national
TV game, when she teamed with the legendary Bob Murphy, to call a Mets
game, on NBC.)

But Waldman DID have one Broadway gig, previous to her sports
ascendancy.

A couple of years ago, Suzyn and  I were doing a bit on the radio, and
it developed that her first job, just out of college, was working as an
usher at the Biltmore, in the spring of '69....


House left mezzanine.


And she has nothing but good memories, from HAIR.


Jim Burns