Voice male
NPR's Barry White, Carl Kasell, wants you to leave a message at the sound of his tone.
When Carl Kasell phones us from Washington, D.C., at 10:30am on a Wednesday, he’s just left work. After 30 years on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, the baritone-voiced newscaster recently announced he’ll sign off one last time on December 30. But fans can breathe a sigh of relief: The 75-year-old North Carolina native will continue his role as scorekeeper, celebrity impersonator and limerick master on Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, NPR’s locally produced game show on which contestants flex their current-events muscles to win a custom recording by Kasell for their outgoing message. We asked the newsman about being the voice of America’s answering machines.
What was the impetus for leaving messages as a prize on Wait Wait?
At the beginning of the show, people would call in to play the games and, for the winners, all we could say was, “Nice job!” We didn’t even have money to buy mugs or tote bags. So the producer asked me if I would do the messages for a short time. That was 2,000 messages ago. Peter [Sagal, the host of Wait Wait] labels them “priceless because you can’t buy them anywhere, but completely worthless because who wants them?”
Why? Are winners disappointed?
We had Penn Jillette on and he asked a winner, “You don’t want Carl? I’ll get Robin Williams to do it! I’ll get anyone in Hollywood to do it!” [Laughs] But, no, I have people stop me on the street all the time and ask, “Can you sneak one in?” I say, “Sure, I’ll do it. But you have to call 1-888-WAIT-WAIT, and if you win, boy, you’ll get one real fast.” [Laughs]
How do you record the messages?
When I get to Chicago on Thursday afternoons, I go into a studio and record them and have them transferred to a CD and they’re mailed. At the beginning, winners would send instructions on how to record it remotely onto their machines.
I can see that going poorly.
It did! I’d spend 15 minutes trying to get the darn thing recorded, and most of the time it wouldn’t work.
What’s the weirdest message request you’ve gotten?
A couple weeks ago, someone wanted me to sing their message in a specific melody from a 50 Cent song.
Were you even aware of 50 Cent?
No. An intern, who helps me on this, got the recording, and I was able to come close to sounding like him. I’ll tell you one I got a big kick out of: “You’ve been long friends of our family. We enjoy what you’ve done for us through the years, and for making this call $10 has been added to your telephone bill.” [Laughs] Doug Berman [producer of Wait Wait and Car Talk] had me do that one for him. People kept hanging up because they didn’t want $10 added to their phone bill.
Are there any messages you’ve said no to doing?
Not yet. They get filtered through the intern, who tells the contestant if it’s something that I wouldn’t say, like a commercial pitch or any profanity.
Carl Kasell doesn’t swear?
No, he doesn’t swear. I try to avoid it. But once in a while you get so darn frustrated that something comes out.
Do you ever feel this whole message-as-prize thing is sort of beneath you? Like, “I’m legendary newscaster Carl Kasell, dammit! I don’t need this!”
I enjoy doing it, though I have had winners on Wait Wait request messages to that effect: “Daniel Schorr wouldn’t do this! Terry Gross wouldn’t do this! I feel so cheap.”
Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! airs Saturdays at 10am and 9pm, and is recorded live at Chase Auditorium on most Thursday nights. Go to chicagopublicradio.org/waitwait.aspx for tickets.
