Bill Hoger began his radio career as an occasional caller to the Ludlow Porch show. Using his Pepperidge Farm character impersonation Bill became one of Ludlow’s favorite callers. Soon he turned his attention to the popular 96 Rock morning show featuring Mark McCain and Steve Mitchell. There Bill was able to flex his creative juices and became a semi-regular caller and in-studio guest performing as Elvis along with a new character called Baby Ruth.

In 1985 he teamed up with Jerry Buckner to work on the Stonewall Jackson afternoon drive show at Y-106 doing fresh comedy that included “Vegas Vice”, an ongoing parody of Miami Vice that featured  Elvis and partner Liberace,  “…working the streets of Las Vegas.”

By 1989 the two signed on as regulars with Randy & Spiff at Fox97 and began what would become a 16 year run featuring a host of funny characters that would remain forever etched in the hearts of Atlanta listeners. Without a doubt Bill’s most popular character was a harmless southern talking mechanic named Ed who always started with the catch phrase “How y’all doing?”   Ed talked a lot about his wife Booger and always seemed to get the best of Spiff. Soon other characters developed like Gramps at the retirement home, Mohammed the Convenience Store Clerk, and a classic character who ran a funeral home called Sylvester Sydell of Sydell and Sons who always closed with a reminder that, “I’ll see ya sooner or later…” Along with his friend and partner Jerry Buckner the two syndicated their comedy to a host of radio stations including ABC Radio and appeared on the hit TV show “In The Heat Of The Night.”

In addition to on-air performances Bill was also featured on various parody records including a version of the Macarena featuring Mohammed the Convenience Store Clerk that was played nationally. He can still be heard today as Bill (The King) Hoger on Waffle House Jukeboxes. He worked with a variety of famous celebrities including Mr T, Randy Travis and Jeff Foxworthy. One of his most treasured moments came at a TV Land awards show where he said he made Bob Newhart laugh.

Bill’s untimely death in 2005 was shock to his family, friends and fans but his comedy lives on in the hearts and minds of those fortunate enough to have heard him on the radio and known him as a friend.
Bill Hoger is truly an
Atlanta radio legend.

 "Street of Dreams"
by Ed the Mechanic

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