Remembering WKRP with Gary Sandy

Here's an interesting and (if you like the show, entertaining) find: Gary Sandy discusses working on WKRP in Cincinnati.  He looks and sounds like every retired DJ I've ever met, which is ironic since he didn't actually play a DJ on the show (he was the Program Director).  He's also very complimentary to his castmembers... seems like everyone got along on that set.  He does hesitate, though, when saying Howard Hesseman has "become a good friend later in life," or words to that effect; was there some beef between them while the show was on?  If so, one explanation could be that, as originally conceived, Sandy's character was supposed to be the "normal guy" centerpiece of the show.  After six episodes, CBS took the show off and claimed it needed "re-tooling" (something creator Hugh Wilson says he didn't actually do).  When the show returned a few months later, it had a better time slot (following "MASH"), and had added the office/bullpen set to allow the characters to meet and interact (instead of staging scenes like that in Andy's office, as they had previously).  At this point, Loni Anderson (who at one point was in a relationship with Gary Sandy) and Howard Hesseman became the breakout stars of the show.
Sandy also mentions that they performed the show twice each week, editing together the best takes from each production to get a final show.  This was standard procedure for multi-cam shows.  What is interesting is that the first taping was on a closed set!  Seems like a better way to go, because then you have a fall-back and can put all of your energy in the "live" taping toward being insane.
Sandy has worked steadily over the years, but never had the more noticeable success some of his co-stars had, which is too bad.  I saw him in the play "Breaking Legs" in 1992 and he was just as entertaining as ever.  (He also alludes to his past playing nutjobs on soap operas in the 1970s, something which I may have to track down at some point).  I have to assume this is from the Shout! Factory DVD sets; enjoy.




Below are some outtakes from the show, including one from the lone episode that focuses on Andy's life away from the station, "Love Returns."  That was the last episode before the re-tooling, and shows how Andy Travis was supposed to be the focal point, solving problems at work and looking for love at home (just like "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," from the same production company).