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Mark Russell, the laughter of politics, on roasting "Charlie Brotman - \n\n"Why did I want to get on? Because it was a roast and you must go on first. It's an old rule of the Friars Club. The guy to say, mmhmmhm gets all the laughs. In Charlie's case, there's one obvious reference. I talked about how wonderful RFK Stadium was and that there's no AstroTurf at RFK Stadium and the only AstroTurf there at all was on Charlie Brotman's head. Referring of course to his magnificent hairpiece made by little old ladies in Iran."\n \nMark Russell, Political Satirist and Entertainer\n\nA Ockershausen:\tI'm Andy Ockershausen and this is Our Town. We have the distinct pleasure of talking to a Washington legend who is also a Buffalo legend and he's my legend and his name is Mark Russell.\nMark Russell, WMAL and Bill Trumbull\nMark Russell:\tThank you Andy. Thank you. You gave me my first job in radio, right in this building. WMAL, this was the first nonsmoking building in the city. It opened in the late '60s, early '70s and people said, that's never going to work. You can't smoke in the entire building? \nA Ockershausen:\tThat's right, it drove Bill Trumbull crazy. \nMark Russell:\tI was on with Bill Trumbull and you gave me that job too. \nA Ockershausen:\tAbsolutely.\nMark Russell:\tWe were on Sundays. This was when WMAL carried the Redskin game so this was off season. \nA Ockershausen:\tRight, I recall. \nMark Russell:\tTrumbull and I are on and we have a new sponsor, a billiard academy. Not a sleazy pool room but a billiard academy. We said, we want to welcome our new sponsor, fancy billiard academy, that's what they call them now. Bill said, I don't know how wholesome they are. He said, I was there the other night and I engaged two little old ladies in a game and I beat them and they took me out behind the place and broke my thumbs. \nA Ockershausen:\tOnly Trumbull. Didn't we do something with you in a snowstorm too, had to pick you up somewhere? \nMark Russell:\tI was home and I couldn't make it to the station. Again, it was a Sunday. Tremendous snowstorm and they gave me the names of the schools that are closed. Okay, read these names. This school is closed, this school is closed, this church is closed. I said, the Pixieland Day School, which was where my daughter was going, a little day school. Pixieland Day School will be open but the Pentagon will be closed. Well, the switchboard lit up. The Pentagon is closed? What do you mean? \nA Ockershausen:\tOnly you, Mark Russell. \nMark Russell:\tI'm surprised you didn't fire me then. \nA Ockershausen:\tThose were the great days of WMAL but we want to talk about you and your early days in Buffalo. Were you born in Buffalo, New York? \nMark Russell:\tYes, I went to Catholic school. \nA Ockershausen:\tTenacious. \nMark Russell:\tI was 18 years of age before I knew that Protestants also played basketball. As a young man I dodged the draft, I did it my joining the Marine Corps. \nA Ockershausen:\tI did not know that. \nThe Marine Corps\nMark Russell:\tAfter the nuns in Catholic school, Marine boot camp was a piece of cake. I enlisted during the Korean War, the forgotten war. I never forgot. I was wounded in that war. It was Tijuana but I was wounded. \nA Ockershausen:\tWhere did you go to basic in Camp Lejeune? \nMark Russell:\tNo, I went to Parris Island, which was d\xe9j\xe0 vu going on these days.\nA Ockershausen:\tIt was tough. \nMark Russell:\tThey've got a huge scandal now, a horrible thing. I was there. There were seven Marines killed back in 1953. They were drowned by this drill instructor who was busted down from Staff Sergeant to Buck Private. We've got this hazing going on now, which is tremendous. \nA Ockershausen:\tWere you on the base? \nMark Russell:\tNo, I was there before that. We had to shine our shoes, not this corps fam stuff. \nA Ockershausen:\tYou worked. Mark, I did not know. \nMark Russell:\tYeah, it was in '53, '53-'56. \nA Ockershausen:\tOf all my life, I never knew about that.