A tribute to Phil Hendrie

Thanks to all who add their comments to this blog because it helps me develop ideas for additional entries. Yesterday, during my posting about multi-tasking, I had commented about my favorite radio show -- The Phil Hendrie Show. Someone then asked about what is going on with Phil's neurons (brain cells). I have often wondered the same thing. Many of you reading this may have no idea what I am talking about. Phil Hendrie used to have a nationally syndicated radio show from 1999 to 2006. The show became renowned for its unique and controversial guests. But here is the catch…the guests were not real people—they were fictional characters created and voiced by Hendrie himself.

So you may be asking two questions at this point: 1. "So what?!" and 2. "What does this have to do with anything medical?" Starting with question 1, what Phil Hendrie did was carry on long conversations between himself and the fictional character (and sometimes multiple characters in the same skit). In addition, he would seamlessly transition between the multiple voices with the callers he provoked to call in due to the outrageous things his "guests" would say. Listening to it, I always marveled about how on Earth he is able to maintain such mental control as to never make a mistake when performing this feat. I have listened to hundreds of hours of this show and have never heard him make a mistake crossing over voices. Sometimes, he'll laugh in the middle of a character because what he is doing is so outrageously funny, but that just makes it funnier to the listeners who know what is going on.

Now to the medical part. As a neuropsychologist, I marvel about what Phil does because I realize the extraordinary level of frontal lobe functioning required. To those who may be unfamiliar, your frontal lobes play a significant role in higher level cognitive skills known as executive functioning. Examples of executive functioning include multi-tasking, planning, organization, and abstract thinking. The ability to do these activities quickly is another aspect of executive functioning. Phil Hendrie's speeded multi-tasking skills and creativity are second to none. For those who are interested, the man has created over 60 characters which are described here. My personal favorites are Chris Norton, Jay Santos, Herb Sewell, and Ted Bell.

In sum, Phil Hendrie is literally the most ingenious and creative radio personality who ever lived. And Phil, if you ever read this, please send me a coffee mug from Ted's of Beverly Hills, have a "Ted" on me, tell Walter Bellhaven I have some Japanese gardening tips for him, give Jay Santos a tip of the cap (or pith helmet), and tell Chris that all the girls in Syracuse think he is just so darn "sessy." I'd love to hear from any Phil fans or even the man himself.