His entry into radio came when he was a biology major at College of Idaho and at the time was a matter of finances; he was looking for a part-time job.
He originally intended to go into wildlife conservation. He subsequently worked at several other radio stations, including KJR (AM) in Seattle, but is best known for his antics on Chicago AM radio stations WLS and WCFL.
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Lujack was laconic, sandpapery and curmudgeonly - and, to judge from the one million listeners he garnered at his height, delightfully so. The Chicago Sun-Times called him “a crabby coot dropping PG-rated acid bombs at a snail’s pace.”
First at WCFL-AM and later at WLS-AM, a clear-channel station that could be heard far beyond Chicago, Lujack — known on the air as Uncle Lar’ or Superjock — spent 20 years spinning records and spouting opinions. Frequent targets of his opprobrium included the very albums he was playing, the very stations he was working for and various rival D.J.s.
Larry with The Monkees at WLS in 1966.
In April of 1967, a 27-year-old disc jockey walked into the radio studios of WCFL to start his brand new job as the overnight man. The city didn’t exactly greet him with open arms. “I replaced an all-night jazz show,” Larry remembered, “and the listeners who were addicted to that show were not happy with my oldies playlist and let me know about it.”
"The very first caller said to me, ‘What’s this Brenda Lee shit, baby?’ I just stopped answering the damn phone after that.”
Four months later, the powers that be at WCFL’s crosstown rival, WLS-AM, hired Lujack to take over their high-profile afternoon slot and then moved the ironically self-proclaimed “charming and delightful” Old Uncle Lar into the one time slot you’d never expect a cranky and moody guy to succeed - morning drive. He not only flourished, but discovered a bit that would define his Hall of Fame career.
It's September 5, 1974 and Larry is working during his morning show at WCFL. [ LISTEN ] (12:32) Included: Jimmie Rodgers "Honeycomb", Dragster racing commercial, Stevie Wonder "You Haven't Done Nothin'", and more.
WCFL's FINAL ROCK MINUTES
March 15, 1976
March 15, 1976
After WCFL switched to beautiful music format in 1976, Lujack under a high-paying contract, remained on staff. When WLS made him an offer
“I am not the least bit excited,” he was reported to have said. “I can honestly say — and my wife even finds this astounding — that I am not the least bit excited. Trite as it may sound, you can’t take it with you.”
Superjock itch?
He made a couple of Chicago radio comebacks on WUBT and WRLL by remote from his home in Santa Fe, but he never commanded center stage as he had in his heyday. His honors include membership in the Illinois Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame (“It’s not Mount Rushmore,” he said on learning of his induction) and the National Radio Hall of Fame.
“I did rock ’n’ roll radio for 30 years,” he told The Sun-Times in 2008. “It got to the point if I had to play ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’ one more time, I was gonna puke.” Broadcasting from Santa Fe, Lujack made occasional comebacks on Chicago radio in later years. But on balance, he was relieved to be retired.
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In 1997, Lujack moved from Palatine, Illinois to the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico and, in May 2000, began working again, for then-WUBT (WKSC-FM) in Chicago, via a remote Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) link from a New Mexico recording studio, teaming up with Matt McCann who was based in the Chicago studio. Show ratings out-paced the entire station.
In 2003, he reteamed with his Animal Stories partner, Tommy Edwards (Little Tommy), on WRLL (1690 AM) in Chicago, to broadcast his signature features on weekday mornings. On August 16, 2006, Lujack was terminated with the entire WRLL on-air staff as it was announced that the station's Real Oldies format would cease a month later in September.
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Away from the job, he was a golf enthusiast. After triple coronary artery bypass surgery in 1991, Lujack marked his calendar for the date his doctor told him he could return to the sport. Not just a "fair weather" golfer, Lujack suited up in winter clothing and snowshoes to play Chicago area golf courses in winter. In January of 1985, he played a full 18 holes at Buffalo Grove, Illinois. The temperature was 27° below zero with a windchill of -75°!
May 3, 1971 Part I & II
Lujack was inducted into the Illinois Broadcasters Association's Hall of Fame in June 2002, the National Radio Hall of Fame on November 6, 2004, and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame on April 15, 2008, during their annual convention in Las Vegas.
Larry had three children from his first marriage and a stepson from his second. Lujack lived in Palatine, Illinois until he retired from broadcasting, moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1998.
Lujack died December 18, 2013 at a Santa Fe, New Mexico hospice after a year-long struggle with esophageal cancer. He was survived by his second wife of 41 years, Judith, a son, Anthony Lujack; a daughter Linda Lujack-Shirley, two grandchildren and a stepson.
Two of his favorite charities were UNICEF and Save the Children.
WHERE DID LARRY WORK? Here is the list: KCID, KGEM, KNEW, KPEG, KRPL, KFXM, KJRB, KJR, WMEX, WCFL, WLS, WUBT, and WRLL.
Some materials found on this page were originally published by the following: WLS History, Robert Feder, Airchexx, Illinois Entertainer, Chicagoland Radio and Media.
