He Knew Woody Earnhart

Remember my ongoing interest in the life and career of Woody Earnhart?

I’d first heard of him when I posted a 1963 newspaper ad for Ben Hart’s Show Bar in Lorain. Woody was performing there as a comedian and impressionist, and at the time of my post I wondered if he ever made the big time.

After that 2013 post, I did some research and discovered that his entertainment career had started at Ohio State when he and his partner won a series of victories competing on the old Ted Mack Amateur Hour TV program.

I eventually discovered that Woody had enjoyed a brand new career in the late 1970s as publisher of Ohio Fisherman and Great Lakes Fisherman. I found enough information to do an extensive post on his life and career (which I posted here).

I had hoped to locate Woody and interview him. Unfortunately, he passed away in October 1989 in Columbus, and his death was simply reported in the newspaper with no information about his personal life or next of kin. And so, I figured that my quest to learn more about Woody had come to an end.

But I had one last lead to follow.

An Outdoors column written by Wyndle Watson in the Pittsburgh Press published on July 31, 1983 mentioned Woody. The columnist had driven 200 miles to do some walleye fishing at the invitation of Woody, who by that time had added the Great Lakes Fisherman magazine to his publishing portfolio. They left on their fishing excursion from the Catawba Island docks.

Watson wrote, “We were in a good-sized boat, but we kept one eye peeled on the weather and a weather radio tuned as we headed for the nearby fishing grounds. It was nearly an hour before we caught the first fish, but two hours later we were headed for port, a legal limit of 24 walleyes – all in excess of 15 inches – in the cooler.

“It was an auspicious start for a three-day visit with Woody and his young friend, Phil Witt, a whiz of a fisherman who operates a Catawba Island motel complex which caters to fisherman.”

According to an online report, Wyndle Watson had retired from the newspaper, so I didn’t try to locate him. But was Woody’s friend Phil Witt still around?

Indeed he was. Witt has been the owner and operator of Beach Cliff Lodge near Port Clinton since 1977.

He replied to my out-of-the-blue email inquiry about Woody. “Woody and I were great friends,” he noted. “We did a lot of fishing and hunting together. I miss him.”

Mr. Witt also returned my phone call, and chatted with me for a few minutes about his friend. He knew about Woody’s former entertainment career, and that he had won the Ted Mack show.

Did Woody have any family? Witt revealed that Woody’s wife was still alive and living in Florida. But he wasn’t aware of any children or siblings.

How did Woody and Phil meet?

“I met Woody back in the summer of 1978 right after he started the magazine,” Witt noted. Woody had stayed at the Beach Cliff Lodge for a week around Memorial Day weekend.

“He always liked the outdoors,” said Witt.

Witt also talked a little bit about the magazines. At the time, a magazine devoted exclusively to fishing in Ohio was quite unusual. “He was definitely ahead of his time,” noted Witt.

He explained that Woody had owned 49% of the magazine, and that other partners were involved.

Witt also mentioned an interesting story about the Ohio Fisherman magazine. Actor Gordon Jump, who played Arthur Carlson on the WKRP in Cincinnati TV program was a guest of the magazine on a three-day fishing trip near Port Clinton with Woody, Phil and some other magazine personnel. According to a June 23, 1980 article in the Bryan Times, Jump “caught his limit each day, including a 7-pound, 25-inch walleye, a catch that qualifies him for a state certificate.”

Witt pointed out to me that copies of Ohio Fisherman were often used as a prop on Arthur Carlson’s desk on WKRP, since the character loved to fish.

Special thanks to Phil Witt for sharing his reminisces with me about his friend Woody Earnhart.

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Michael Hoffman, who was the associate editor of Ohio Fisherman, was also on that Lake Erie fishing trip with Gordon Jump in the summer of 1980. He posted a few reminisces online about the trip and noted that “Gordon, a Dayton native, flew in to do some promos for the Ohio Division of Wildlife and for our magazine.”

Meet Woody Earnhart

Every once in a while, I run across a vintage ad that triggers my curiosity – and sends me on a wild goose chase that spans over several years. This is one of those occasions.

More than two years ago, I did a post on an ad for Ben Hart's Show Bar (here) . The ad (shown above) promoted an appearance by a comedian named Woody Ernhart at the nightclub in January 1963. At the time of my post, I wondered if Woody ever hit the big time – and if he was still alive.

Since then, I've spent a lot of time trying to find out whatever happened to him. I finally did, but it wasn't easy.

Apparently, the spelling of his name seemed to change with each appearance of it in a newspaper. I've seen it as Ernhart, Earnhart and even Earnheart. But for the purposes of this story, I'll just refer to him as Woody. I might as well be on a first-name basis with him. After all the research I've done, I feel like I know him.

First of all, how did he become a comedian?

It turns out that Woody got his big break while he was a fraternity brother at Ohio State. A two-page spread in the November 1951 issue of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Journal reveals how he started out as one half of a performing duo. It also mentions his real first name: Dean.

Here's the story. Ted Mack, host of Ted Mack and the Original Amateur Hour was televising his TV show from the Ohio State campus in spring of 1951. This provided a golden opportunity for Woody and John Crawford, his partner.

As the article in the Journal noted, "Comedian John Crawford and Singer Dean Earnhart from the Sig Ep house on Woodruff Avenue presented a hilarious comedy routine somewhat suggestive of the Martin and Lewis formula. They won by a wide margin of applause.

The duo actually won several times on the show. The article also noted, "Crawford and Earnhart were three-time winners of the year's Original Amateur Hour television programs. In all three appearances they broke the program record for total votes received. They were judged by the response of the viewing and listening audiences. Their success was partly due to the backing that the Ohio State fraternities, sororities, and other organizations gave them."

Here is the November 1951 Journal spread (below). It has some great photos of Woody in action with his partner – and posing with his mother as well. (Click on it for a readable version.)

As a result of their three wins, Earnhart and Crawford were invited to compete against all of the other three-time winners at Ted Mack's gala show at Madison Square Garden in June. Unfortunately, they did not win in the final competition.

But Woody was apparently bitten by the show biz bug, because a few years later he was on the road, performing a solo act as a comedian, as well as performing emcee duties for various lodges.

The August 27, 1954 Altoona Tribune had an article about an upcoming variety stage show and ball put on by the Cooties of Altoona Pup Tent No. 18. The article noted, "Woody Earnhart, three-time winner on the Old Gold Ted Mack show, will be master of ceremonies." It identified him as a comic and impressionist.

As the actual event approached, the paper mentioned Woody again. The October 14, 1954 Altoona Tribune stated, "Woody Earnhart, a superlative comedian, will act as master of ceremonies throughout this big two-hour stage show. He is a three-time winner of the popular Ted Mack amateur hour, now appearing professionally."

The Sandusky Register Star of October 15, 1955 had another Woody sighting. An article about the annual fall stag of the Prophets of Sinatra Grotto stated that the prime rib dinner was to be followed by "an hour and a half floor show by Columbus talent headed by "Woody" Earnhart, "The Campus Jester," who will MC the fast moving program."

Eventually, Woody seemed to stop touring and found a new outlet for his talents: radio.

A few months after Woody's appearance in Lorain at Ben Hart's Show Bar, the March 2, 1963 Evening Independent included an item about a basketball game sponsored by the Band Boosters of Jackson school between a group of faculty members and the staff of radio station WHLO, Akron. Woody Earnhart was listed among the radio station's staff members.

Woody didn't make the newspapers again (at least the ones whose archives are online) for a long time until he changed careers in the 1970s. And what was his new career?

He became a magazine publisher that catered to a very specific market segment: fishermen.

An article that was distributed nationally by the Associated Press told the story. Here's how it appeared in the Nevada Daily Mail on Feb. 18, 1979 (below).

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Fisherman Turns Love Into Magazine Career
By Michael Hoffman
Associated Press Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Woody Earnhart likes to fish. He likes to fish so much that he had to start publishing a magazine about it.

Actually, Earnhart publishes two magazines. The first, "Ohio Fisherman," is now three years old. "Great Lakes Fisherman," is going on three months of age.

The first issue of "Ohio Fisherman" hit the newsstands in January, 1976. Now, three years later, the average circulation is 40,000 copies said Earnhart, 50 this month, who knows the reason for the magazine's success: "I found a hole."

"There's an old saying that 90 percent of the fish are caught by 10 percent of the fishermen," Earnhart says. "And I thought, 'Why not let the other 90 percent know how the top fishermen are doing it?'"

The "Fisherman" is strictly about angling in the Buckeye State.

"Great Lakes Fisherman" circulates 80,000 copies in an eight-state area around the lakes. It is devoted to coverage of fishing not only on the Great Lakes, but also the waters nearby.

How did Earnhart find his hole?

"You know what really did it? It was gummed labels," he explained. "All those outdoor magazines, they had labels on the cover saying 'News of Your Area' and inside I'd find only a column.

"Well, I walked the riverbanks. I talked with people and I asked them, 'Would you buy a magazine about fishing in Ohio?' I talked to boat owners and bait dealers. I spend two years researching the idea before getting the backing," he said.

"I feel very fortunate to be able to turn my hobby, really more than my hobby, into a profession," he said.

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So here's the rest of the story.

Once I finally learned to Google all of the various ways that Woody's last name was spelled, I seemed to keep finding more and more online mentions of him.

He served as the President of Outdoor Writers of Ohio in 1979. He was also asked by Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes to help with the "Fish Ohio" program by serving on the Executive Committee as an advisor. I even found a column written by the Outdoors Editor of the Pittsburgh Press that recounted his July 1983 fishing trip on Lake Erie with Woody.

But the one thing I did not find was an online obituary for Woody.

So I had great hope that he was still out there somewhere. Based on his age at the time of his appearance on Ted Mack's show, he would be about 85 now.

Last week, I had an idea. I contacted his old fraternity at Ohio State. Surely they would have some information about how to get a hold of him. They emailed back that they would see what they could find out for me.

I anticipated a hilarious phone call with Woody, in which I would tell him about all my detective work. I was sure he'd be amused. I also wanted to ask him: just what was he doing in that photo from the ad for Ben Hart's Show Bar?

Alas, I'm sad to say that it looks like I'll never know.

Yesterday, I did a little more research – and found the listing below in the Deaths notices of the October 29, 1989 Columbus Dispatch.

EARNHEART - Dean E. "Woody," 60, Thursday; service 10 a.m. Monday, Rutherford Funeral Home.

There was no obituary either. So this post may very well be the most comprehensive record of the life and times of Woody Ernhart.

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I don't know if any of Woody's friends or relatives are still around. If they are, I hope they find and enjoy this little online shrine to him.

It took a lot of guts to try and make a living as a comedian, working the lodge brother circuit and performing for groups like the Cooties of Altoona Pup Tent No. 18. It took even more guts to launch two magazines and keep them going successfully for more than a decade.

So here's to you, Woody Ernhart – or Earnheart – or however you spell your last name!

Woody Ernhart, where are you?

When I look at old Lorain Journals from the 1950s and 60s, I'm constantly amazed at how many nightclubs and lounges there were in town offering live entertainment. It seems like almost any night you could go somewhere to dance to a combo, sit and listen to the song stylings of a singer, or enjoy a novelty act.

It made Lorain seem like a mini-Las Vegas.

A good case in point is the ad (at right) for Ben Hart's Show Bar at 651 Broadway that ran in the Journal on January 19, 1963 – fifty years ago. The bar offered up a whole lot of entertainment with no minimum and no cover charge. (Click on the ad for a larger version.)

There's The Infernos – direct from the Rubba Club in Columbus; Marlene West, vocalist – direct from Detroit; The Esta Trio, consisting of Esther Chazor on the piano, Billy Molas on the drums and Jack on bass.

But most importantly, there's Woody Ernhart, MC and comedian. I love the photo of him; he has an intense look on his face as he's dropping something into a cup – maybe a very small egg.

I'd love to know if Woody ever hit the big time.

But I've looked all over the internet to try and find out something about Woody and the rest of these acts with no success. Does anybody out there know anything about any of them? If so, please leave a comment or send me an email!

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UPDATE

Be sure to visit this blog entry in which we meet Woody Ernhart and learn all about his life as an entertainer and successful magazine publisher! And this post features some reminisces by one of his friends.