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David Chappell: Rich,
many thanks for doing this
interview today, and for your
continued support of the
Mid-Atlantic Gateway. It’s great
to have you in the Gateway this
afternoon!
Rich Landrum: I’ve
enjoyed your site, David. It’s
always fun going on the
Mid-Atlantic Gateway.
I’ve always been skeptical of
some wrestling sites, you
know? Some things I read, and I
go, ‘Where did they get THAT
from?’
Chappell: (laughs)
Landrum: I’ll say to
myself, ‘THAT, I remember, and
NO, it didn’t really happen like
that!’
But your site is really
good, and has done well. I like
all the interviews…and the way
it’s presented. You know, it’s
done well, and it’s never put
anybody in a bad light.
Chappell: I really
appreciate those kind words,
Rich, I really do.
Well, I guess to start, a lot of
fans remember you best for your
television announcing on the
World Wide Wrestling television
show in the late 70s and early
80s.
But fans in the Richmond,
Virginia area also have fond
memories of you for another
reason…you were our ring
announcer for many years! Tell
us about the path that took you
towards doing the ring
announcing at the Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling cards in
and around Richmond.
Landrum: Yeah, David, I
started at the State
Fairgrounds…
Chappell: And for those
not familiar with the Richmond
wrestling venues, the State
Fairgrounds at Strawberry Hill
hosted wrestling for Jim
Crockett Promotions for MANY
years, before the Richmond Arena
and before cards regularly began
running at the Richmond
Coliseum.
The last Crockett card to run at
the Fairgrounds was in early
1974.
Landrum: It was kind of
funny, because the other night I
was trying to figure out what
year it was I started…and I had
to do it by my grown son’s age!
He wasn’t born at that period of
time, at least by a year…so it
was probably 1971 or 1972.
Chappell: That certainly
sounds right.
Landrum: At the time, I
was working for Channel 8, WXEX
TV, which is now WRIC. Then, the
station was in Petersburg,
Virginia, although I lived in
Richmond. But I had been in
broadcasting prior to that.
Chappell: Yes, if you
would, go back and tell us how
you really started in the
broadcasting business. It was
actually in radio, right?
Landrum: I started in
radio. I started when I was 15
and a half years old. That was
at WLEE radio…which was then the
number one rock and roll station
in Richmond.
Chappell: You better
believe it…that was the station
I listened to 24/7 in the late
60s and early 70s! Pretty much
until FM started to take over.
WLEE…1480 on your AM radio dial!
Landrum: (laughs)
Yep…that’s right, ‘Big LEE!’
I was fortunate there, David. I
hung around so much they finally
had to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to
give this kid a chance, at least
part-time, doing something
because he’s here all the time.’
I was there all the time, when I
wasn’t in school.
Chappell: So you weren’t
a ‘gym rat,’ you were a ‘radio
rat!’
Landrum: (laughs) I was a
radio rat! I wanted to go into
broadcasting. I knew that…there
was no doubt in my mind.
Chappell: At that young
age, that’s pretty impressive to
have your career already picked
out!
Landrum: With my ego, I
had to be in broadcasting! So
Harvey Hudson, the Dean of disk
jockeys of Richmond, took me
under his wing and made me his
protégé. And I learned from him,
and from a lot of other guys in
the business at that time.
I never wanted to be a DJ; I
always wanted to do the news.
And that’s what I started doing.
I didn’t have this voice
then…everybody thinks that I
did. It took a lot of whisky and
cigarettes to get this voice!
Chappell: (laughing)
Landrum: I was searching
for a voice, and the guy that I
really thought had the greatest
voice was Tony Marvin.
Chappell: Right, the
great CBS radio announcer, who
also hosted the Arthur Godfrey
radio and TV shows.
Landrum: I was 15 and a
half, 16 years old, and I
thought, ‘Man, if I had a voice
like that, that would be great!’
Of course, I was trying to fake
it and it didn’t work…it was too
nasal!
Chappell: (laughs) Can’t
fault a guy for trying!
Landrum: Yeah, so I
started in radio, and stayed in
radio for six years. Channel 8
was our sister station at WLEE…
Chappell: That’s
right…they were together.
Landrum: Yep, same
ownership. So, I started working
for Channel 8 on air…
Chappell: Was the working
for a television station what
got you into wrestling at the
outset?
Landrum: At the same time
I was at Channel 8, I was also
working with an area volunteer
rescue squad. A friend of mine
there, we were both recently
married, was a real wrestling
fanatic. I mean, I watched it
occasionally, you know…I knew
what was going on. But my mother
was a real wrestling nut…she’d
beat the arm of the chair to
death!
Chappell: (laughing)
Landrum: But my friend
kept after me, ‘Let’s go to a
wrestling show at the
Fairgrounds! Let’s go, let’s go,
let’s go!’
Chappell: I take it you
gave into him eventually?
Landrum: I said, ‘I tell
you what…I’m gonna go but I’m
not payin’ to get in.’ He said,
‘Huh?’ And I said, ‘No, I won’t
pay to get in…but I’ll get us
in.’
Chappell: Through Channel
8?
Landrum: Right. So we
went out to the Fairgrounds and
walked up to the ticket window,
and I told them who I was and I
was from Channel 8 television.
They said, ‘Sure, we’ll have
some tickets for you.’ So they
pulled out some tickets…gave us
some. They were like, fifth row,
sixth row ringside…place only
held maybe 1,000 people at the
time.
Chappell: That’s right.
Landrum: So, about 20
minutes before the show was
about to start, Joe Murnick came
over to me and introduced
himself…
Chappell: Joe was the
local promoter in Richmond.
Landrum: Yes. He
introduced himself, but I knew
who he was from TV---I’d seen
him. And he said, ‘I understand
you’re a TV announcer?’ And I
said, ‘Yeah, that’s right.’ He
said, ‘Well, the guy from
Channel 6 that usually does [the
ring announcing] didn’t show up
tonight…we’ll pay you if you do
it.’
Chappell: Interesting…
Landrum: Yeah! I told
Joe, ‘Oh really?’ He said, ‘You
think you can do it?’ I said,
‘Yeah, I can do it.’
So, he takes me up to ringside
and sits me down there. I never
will forget the manager for the
Fairgrounds at the time…he was
also the timekeeper as well. I
told him, ‘Look, my wife and my
friends are sitting way back
there…’
Chappell: (laughs)
Yeah…you just sort of took off
and left them Rich!
Landrum: He said, ‘That’s
not a problem.’ He moves
everybody off the front row…and
sticks my people in their place!
Chappell: (laughing)
Landrum: I go,
‘Whoa…okay!’
Little did I know then, that
somebody had to DIE for you to
get front row seats!
Chappell: Kind of like
Washington Redskins season
tickets!
Landrum: Yeah it
was…people had ‘em for life.
But anyway, I did the show that
night. And I’m trying to
remember who was on the card. I
think it was Becker and
Weaver…and probably Hawk and
Hanson.
Chappell: That’s probably
a safe bet!
Landrum: Yeah, probably
so…
Chappell: You had watched
enough on TV to know who was
who…
Landrum: I had seen them
enough, and I knew who the
headliners were. I didn’t know
who was on the undercard that
much.
But I did the show, and put a
lot of ‘oomph’ into it in my
usual way. After it was over and
he was paying me…paid me ten
bucks. I went, ‘Whoa, ten
bucks…big time!’
Chappell: (laughs)
Landrum: He said, ‘You
know, you’re pretty good…you
come back next week and we’ll
keep payin’ you.’ I said, ‘Well,
we’ll see.’
So, I kept showing up there…and
that’s how I got started. From
then on, it just kind of took
off.
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