I am not going to go on a long winded speech about what follows, I have mentioned this person in the past and those that have read the page on a semi regular basis know the high regard that I have held him. He was, imho, the gold standard for what it is that I do. I was honored to know him.
Laurence Paul Dunbar Gaines Jr., who over the last two decades gained notoriety as the witty, skilled, indispensable producer of radio talk shows hosted by Bev Smith, Doug Hoerth and Lynn Cullen, among others, died this week from complications of a stroke he experienced five months ago. He was 43.
The stroke caused partial paralysis to his left side and affected his speech, but Mr. Gaines was determined to fight back and returned to work last week as executive producer of the nationally syndicated Bev Smith Show. Ms. Smith, whose show Mr. Gaines produced for the last seven years, became concerned after he did not show up for work Monday and Tuesday. She contacted his best friend, Gwen Missouri, who found his body in his Wilkinsburg apartment early Wednesday morning.
"Laurence was a rare breed in this business," Ms. Smith said. "Laurence caught on to my style. I've been in the business for 41 years and that is a blessing. We were in sync, he got me.
"There was nothing I asked of him that I didn't get. I'd ask him for a needle in a haystack and when I got behind the microphone I had that needle. That's what made him special."
Mr. Hoerth, now retired, said he was blessed to have worked with Mr. Gaines from 1993 through 1998 on WTAE-AM radio. Mr. Gaines became Mr. Hoerth's sidekick, often speaking on air, wittily conversing with the host or doing his dead-on impersonations. At perfect moments, he would punctuate the Mr. Hoerth's monologues with sound-effect "drop ins" -- ranging from movie dialogue to songs to horns and buzzers.
"They were five of the happiest years of my live," Mr. Hoerth said of his time working with Mr. Gaines. "Laurence was the one of the most talented people I worked with in my 30 years in radio, one of the most talented people in broadcasting.
"He was funny, creative, he would drop in songs at the right moment. He threw in voices and he himself impersonated everyone from Julia Child to Pat Robertson to Little Richard. He was an incredibly talented human being."
They both lost their jobs in October 1998 but remained close friends. When Mr. Hoerth worked at WPTT-AM radio from January 1999 through December 2007, he would have Mr. Gaines on as a guest for three hours once a month.
Once Mr. Hoerth left the business, he said, he threw out most of the tapes of his shows.
"Fortunately, I did keep a few things of Laurence and me," he said. "Since I found out he passed, I've been listening to those tapes the last several days and I've been laughing my butt off, being very entertained.
"This is my ego talking, but we were so good together. I've been laughing too hard, I've not had a chance to cry."
A graduate of Allderdice High School, Mr. Gaines earned a degree in journalism and communications from then-Point Park College before beginning his broadcasting career.
His mother, Rita Gaines of Wilkinsburg, said her son was determined to continue the work he loved despite the effects of the stroke.
"He was going on anyway. He was working in spite of his condition. He was not totally functioning but he pushed himself. He was determined to fight back in spite of it all," she said.
She described her son as "very loving, very caring, very brilliant, very talented, determined, focused. He had so many qualities there's no way to list them all. He had a great wit but was very serious-minded at times, too."
That focus also impressed Ms. Smith, who said Mr. Gaines was just as determined as she was to make her show a success. "The show is my mission and he made it his, too," she said.
"If I know Laurence, he's up there in heaven saying to Jesus, "Bev really wants an interview with you.' "
In addition to his mother, Mr. Gaines is survived by two sisters, Anita Gaines of Wilkinsburg and Tina Payne of McKees Rocks, and a brother, Paul Gaines of India.
Funeral services will be today at 11 a.m. at the Spriggs-Watson Funeral Home, 720 N. Lang Ave., Homewood. Interment will be at Greenwood Cemetery.
wow thats shocking how sad
ReplyDeleteI was shocked because he had just returned to work after a long layoff because of the stroke.
ReplyDeletei know wow im still shaking my head over it.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for your loss Matt.
ReplyDeleteHad no idea he was so young :(
I was unaware of his age, though I had guessed that he was around my age, which turned out to be correct (he was 43, I am 40). The loss is far greater for Pittsburgh and those closest to him than me. While I was an admirerer of his and appreciated his talents, he and I weren't that close, more passing acquaintances than anything else, he and I only briefly worked together during thsoe two months Lynn and I were on the air at WAMO. Most of what I needed to say about Lawrence I said back when he first had his stroke, so i really ddin't feel like rehashing it here, but since circumstances since then have changed in a most unfortunate fashion I felt that I should keep everyone apprised of what had happened with his passing.
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