Robert “Bob” Weston Smith, born in New York in 1938 recreated himself as Wolfman Jack while working as a DJ at a country music radio station in Shreveport Louisianna in 1962.
Looking for something different, where he could make big money, he headed to Mexico to broadcast on the 250,000-watt monster: XERF. The station was so strong that it could reach most of the continental U.S.
He initially went down to Mexico to work as a DJ but when he arrived, allegedly, he found that the radio station was in receivership, and he eventually gained control. In 1970 the Mexican government took control of XERF, and the Wolfman was out of a job.
In 1972 he bounced back co-hosting NBC’s late night music series; “The Midnight Special.” In 1973 George Lucas, a fan of his radio programs, offered him a part, as himself, in the hit classic film “American Graffiti.” Shortly after the success of the film, with his fame in the stratosphere, he began to distribute “The Wolfman Jack Radio Show”, eventually reaching over 2000 stations in 53 countries. He appeared in 87 TV shows and films and was the subject of at least five records including the “The Guess Who’s-Clap for the Wolfman.”
On July 1, 1995, Wolfman Jack died of a heart attack at his home in Belvidere, North Carolina, but “The Wolfman Jack Radio Show” is still on the air, every night, somewhere in the world.
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