This was originally posted on December 18, 2012 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Chris "Crash" Clark, while being an ostensible co-host to Ryan Cameron the past year in the afternoons, has actually been an employee of Total Traffic, not V-103.
But Crash today officially signed a deal today with CBS to be a full-time employee and full-time sidekick for Cameron starting Jan. 3, when Cameron takes over for Frank Ski and Wanda Smith in the mornings. Big Tigger takes over afternoons for Cameron and a third person will be named to Cameron's morning team, Cameron's boss Rick Caffey told me last week.
Cameron and Clark’s history goes back to the mid-1990s when Crash called himself traffic reporter “Crash D” on Hot 97.5 when Cameron was the host of that show.
Although Clark has been a Total Traffic employee, V-103 in many respects has treated him like family.
He has his own page on the V-103 web site and was the first white dude in known V-103 history to host a shift on V-103 when Cameron went on vacation.
Caffey said last week that he had to keep Crash and Cameron together because the chemistry was so infectious.
Crash tried to explain why he and Cameron get along so well:
“We’re both so young at heart really. We act like kids on and off the air and we just love what we do,” he wrote me via text. “I think we both respect each other’s word and ethics and enjoy the rewards. I have tremendous respect for his talent but off the air we’re like best buddies pushing each other and telling fart jokes. He’s truly a great friend.”
Crash will continue to do traffic only in the mornings, precluding the need for those wicked split shifts. (While working afternoons with Cameron, Crash has been doing morning traffic for Frank and Wanda but does not converse with them. Frank and Wanda’s final day is Thursday.)
“I actually enjoying reporting the traffic,” he said.”I like adding my little twist of humor to an every-day annoyance.”
He said when he was first putting the deal together, he assumed he’d be able to sleep in because he had no idea Cameron was going mornings. But he’s not complaining.
“I couldn’t be happier to be teamed with Ryan. He’s so deserving of this and I’m gonna bust my butt to keep the V-103 tradition of No. 1 alive… I hope the Mayans are wrong because I’m looking so forward to 2013.”
Crash worked for the seminal Morning X morning team on 99X in the 1990s, helped out with the up-and-coming Q100 Bert Show in the early 2000s and co-hosted a show with Rich Shertenlieb and Fred Toucher in Boston for a few years until he was let go for budgetary reasons in 2010. He came back to Atlanta to help out Dave FM, then found a gig at sister station V-103, which was his lifeline because as we all know, Dave is no longer.
I’ve been trying to reach out to Cameron for an interview but no luck yet.
Other “Crash” blog entries:
- Crashing "Crash" Clark's birthday.
- Catching up with Crash in early 2011.
More info on Frank and Wanda:
