Early career
Tract went through a string of stations including WAXC in Rochester, New York; WRC in Washington, D.C. and WPOP in Hartford, Connecticut. None of the jobs lasted very long because he was constantly looking for bigger audiences and choicer time slots. The frequent moves from city to city were a major reason for the end of his first marriage, after less than two years.
Success
Tracht found a home at WAPE-AM in Jacksonville, Florida in August, 1975 and became the dominant radio personality not just in northeast Florida, but in the Southeastern U.S. While in Jacksonville, his true identity was kept confidential because the public was disappointed that the booming, macho voice belonged to a young guy who was skinny and shy. The station turned Tracht's request for privacy into a marketing ploy. Curtains were hung in the window of the broadcast booth; a TV interview showed only his lips; and Tracht wore a Gorilla costume at personal appearances. The Greaseman was named as the top radio personality in the United States for 1977 and 1980. In 1979, he signed a five-year contract worth $1 million.
He was an early shock jock, but Tract denies the label: "I'm telling jokes. The bottom line--it's a comedy show." "I'm creating characters and stories, I'm weaving a tapestry or humor. The others are just saying nasty things."However, his show was outrageous and edgy, which offended some people. Tract kept his stories from violating FCC obscenity regulations by using "code words" for certain anatomical features (
hydraulics for male genitalia) and sound effects for physical acts.
Allen Moore, WAPE's news director, was also a bodybuilder. Tracht questioned Moore about his hobby, and Moore encouraged Tracht to try it. Tracht began a high protein diet of canned tuna, raw eggs and milk, took vitamins, and lifted weights for 90 minutes a day. In the first three months, he added 25 pounds of muscle to his thin physique. After a year, he had gained 45 pounds, and people commented that he looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Tract remained in Jacksonville almost 7 years, then moved in 1982 to WWDC in Washington, D.C., where he replaced Howard Stern. DC-101 was his first FM station. He purchased a home in nearby Potomac, Maryland, continued working out and overcame his dislike of public appearances. During that time, he was known for a series of publicity stunts, including his "presidential campaign" in 1984.
Bad joke
In January 1985, Tracht created an uproar by making an on-air joke about the new federal holiday, Martin Luther King Day saying, "Why don't we plug four more and get the whole week off?" followed by, "Come on, now, you know I don't mean nothing!"He was suspended from the station for five days, publicly apologized, and donated money to create a scholarship at Howard University in honor of Dr. King. Tract resumed his show and the memory of his bad joke faded. The Washington Post noted that he was the highest paid DJ in DC during 1987, making $400K per year. He stayed at DC-101 for over ten years, his longest tenure at one station. He married his second wife, Anita Maria Alfieri, in 1985.
Syndication
His show was syndicated by Infinity Broadcasting Corporation for five years, from January, 1993 until January, 1998. Tract moved to Los Angeles and bought the former home of Stepfanie Kramer in the Santa Monica Mountains near Mulholland Drive. The show originated from a private broadcasting studio in LA and was carried by stations in Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and KLOS in Los Angeles, among others. During 1994, his audience was estimated at 2.5 million listeners each day. A typical comedy routine would include appropriate background music, sound effects, and dialog like this:
"I believe I lived as the Emperor Tuchus Faceas. My bride Sleazebaggius was by my side. My son Foreskinnius, my daughter Vaginitis, made us a complete and well rounded family. My word was law. Whenever a young maiden would get married in the kingdom, her first night had to be spent with me. It was a royal proclamation that I would cut the first slice as emperor. That's how it was when Testicules married Cleo Splatra. I had her. When Ejaculus married Jailbatius, oooh, my night was the first night. I'll never forget it when Poontangia was going to be wed. She came into my chambers. I said, 'My little blossom, my child, are you ready for the royal procedure? She said, 'Sire, do we have to?' I said, 'Yes, it is law. Drop thy gown, sweet little princess, and let the procedure begin.'" (Listeners would then hear a gasp and a sigh, squeaks, squishes, groans, and squirting sounds.) "Who's your emperor, who's your emperor, who's your emperor? Oh, aaggh, bbtttppp, gyeahhh, bbttppp, gyeahhh!"
Syndication was not as successful as Infinity had hoped, so the contract was not extended beyond five years. In the last year of his Infinity contract, he was hired by WARW-FM for $1 million per year and returned to Washington, D.C. where he again incorporated music into his show. Tracht authored a book under the pseudonym that is his radio character, Nino Mannelli. The 1997 volume was titled, "And They Ask Me Why I Drink?".
Incident
In February 1999, after a year at WARW (now WIAD), Tracht made a comment about James Byrd, who was murdered in 1998 by being dragged behind a pickup truck by two white supremacists. The day before, jurors had convicted John William King of Byrd's murder. The Greaseman had been playing a sound bite of Lauryn Hill who had ten nominations at the 41st Grammy Awards.It was rumored that she had said that her music was for blacks and she was ashamed that whites liked it. Tracht then stated, "and they wonder why we drag them behind trucks." After the comment, he immediately stated that he "didn't mean nothing." But it didn't help ease the backlash. This incident proved catastrophic to his radio career, igniting a firestorm of protest from listeners of all races, including Donnie Simpson, who savaged Tracht on his morning show on sister station WPGC-FM. Not only was Tracht quickly fired from WARW, but also he lost his position as a Volunteer Deputy Sheriff in Falls Church, Virginia.
Apology
Rock Newman was a black businessman who knew Tracht before the incident. Newman felt that Tracht was truly sorry and accompanied Doug and his wife on a quest to apologize and show that he wasn't a racist. The week following his firing, Tracht held a press conference and made an apology to his listeners, "Every day you deserve my best, and last Wednesday I gave you my worst. This experience, compiled with my past transgressions upon racial and human decency, have forever taught me the value of respect and restraint." They spoke to several black organizations, then appeared on
BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley on Black Entertainment Television where he faced angry questions. He was lectured, chastised, called a racist, and a told he didn't deserve another chance. After being pilloried by one caller, Tracht begged, "Let me down off this cross, will you?" Counseling was recommended. The show asked its audience what Tracht could do, but almost 75% said "nothing". When it became painfully obvious that he would not be forgiven, Tracht stopped asking.
Penance
A worker at DC Central Kitchen saw Tracht's apology on TV and heard his desire to show he was sorry. She thought that the "Kitchen" would be a good place for the Greaseman to prove himself, and shared the idea with a co-worker who knew Rock Newman; he made a phone call. Soon, Tracht was mopping floors and cleaning bathrooms for four hours a day, several times a week. He volunteered for four months, laboring with unemployed and homeless people. Of the experience, Tracht stated: "It's the kind of place where you can rediscover yourself. I did things I'd never done in my life. I went in there like an idiot, and now I know how to clean and mop, how to shovel and unload, how to slice and dice."
Tracht began counseling with a psychologist at Howard University. After the counselor got to know his patient, he stated, "I saw nothing consistent with what I would expect to find with someone who is a
racist." Tracht continued to see the therapist weekly for over a year.
In February 2000, a station owner in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands offered Tracht a DJ job. The Greaseman intended to make a new start, but when local residents found out about it, they objected, loudly and clearly. Local politicians talked to the station owner, who was convinced to rescind the offer.
Tract was persona non grata on the radio for the rest of 1999 and all of 2000. He had a part in the Discovery Channel's show, "The FBI Files", and appeared in an infomercial for an internet dating site in 2000.
