Ed Wallace Announces His Final Date As KLIF Wheels Host. David El Attrache Also Leaving.
2023 September 16

Well, the audience has got ANOTHER holiday to worry about. It seems Halloween is soon upon us. And, supposedly the Saturday preceding Halloween will be the final Wheels radio broadcast with Ed Wallace as host.

The preceding graphic references the cultural touchstone that is the TV special It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. As such, the following is a quick refresher on the lore of the Great Pumpkin:

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown:

Linus Van Pelt (writing)
“Dear Great Pumpkin,”

[…]

“Everyone tells me you are a fake,
but I believe in you.
P.S. If you really are a fake, don’t tell me.
I don’t want to know.”

During the September 9^th broadcast of Wheels, Wallace announced that he will soon stop hosting the show. That was not a surprise. He said the same thing last year, and then carried on as normal into 2023. What was a surprise was Wallace’s announcement that David El Attrache was also leaving the show. Up to now, Wallace touted both El Attrache and John Ingram as his long term replacements.

Wheels with David El Attrache and John Ingram
KLIF 570 AM - September 9, 2023 10:43AM

Ed Wallace
“We only have a few more weeks together. Right? David, you're gonna go on to happier pastures. Uh… John… “

John Ingram
“Seven”

Ed Wallace
“Well, I’m gonna, you know… Remember, I'm going to be gone for a wedding.”

John Ingram
“Two weeks, right?”

David El Attrache
“No... One.”

Ed Wallace
“That being said, every … What I've tried to instill, every time is when you pull up a story
and I said you need to do this story.
What's the first thing I say?”

John Ingram
“Is it true?”

Ed Wallace
“That's correct.”

[Some extraneous interjections omitted for readability.]

Seven weeks from the above announcement is October 28^th, which is the Saturday before Halloween. And, from that dialog, it appears that both Wallace and El Attrache intend to exit together on that day. As for the part of the dialog where Wallace tells Ingram to always ask if a story true, Ingram would be better served by asking himself whether the Great Pompous is a fake. But that is a question never to be examined, as Ingram is a true believer. And like Linus, Ingram prefers not to know the answer.

Ten Months in... Where Sits the Hosting Ownership?

Other than replacing the name of the host in the show’s title, nothing significant changed within the Wheels radio show after the Wallace “retired” in November of 2022. After a few failed attempts in the early months on handing the lead over to the new hosts, Wallace gave up and has since dominated the microphone for the full four hours of the show. El Attrache and Ingram were merely the supporting actors, despite their names now being on the marquee.

[EXPAND]

As the year progressed, Don Grantham took on the role as the fourth co-host. It changed nothing. If one were to sum the amount of time each person was heard during a show, Wallace would have the largest share of the four, by far. The following excerpt from the September 9^th show exhibits why:

Wheels with David El Attrache and John Ingram
KLIF 570 AM – September 9, 2023 9:08AM

David El Attrache
“They’re betting on the futures of… on oil, right? And that they’re investing all this money into it. So, uh, I can’t remember. I think it was, uh, J.P. Morgan Chase that offered trillions to Aramco and Exxon, Exxon and other fossil fuel companies. Um, so, and this is mainly in South America and Africa. So, yeah, there’s some, there’s some exploring going on.”

Don Grantham
“Well, they’re talking about climate destruction. I’m doing that with quoting fingers. And yet they’re spending all this money to invest in fossil fuel business. I mean, they’re out to make money. Let’s just face it.”

John Ingram
“Well, It’s a contradiction. We hear it that this is where we’re going but you don’t see it. So what someone says is one thing, but what they do is a completely another thing, right?”

[PAUSE]

“ And we see the oil companies investing in oil. Uh…”

[LONGER PAUSE]

“Look at, umm… uh…”

[DEAD AIR]

David El Attrache
“Who?”

John Ingram
“I’m thinking…”

Don Grantham
“Well, we know money makes the world go round. So…”

John Ingram
“Yeah.”

David El Attrache
“Sometimes it spins it the other way.”

Ed Wallace (TAKING OVER)
“Ok. Well, first thing, let’s get back
to where we were.”

[…]

The conversation painfully grinds to a halt as Ingram loses his train of thought. Grantham and El Attrache add nothing but snarky asides. At that point, Wallace must jump in to carry the discussion forward. And then Ed proceeds to monopolize the conversation for the rest of the segment and show. So, Wallace’s overbearance is not entirely due to him suffering from “microphone-itis”. It is just as much his co-hosts inability to sustain a fluid discussion. Now imagine the audience tolerating this poor content for four hours. One cannot, because the audience would not stay tuned.

What Happens When/If Wallace Relinquishes the Microphone?

With the little information revealed by Ed about the upcoming transition, it appears that the Wheels show will continue with John Ingram and Don Grantham as hosts. As to Wallace’s future involvement, he claims to be “retiring” again. Nothing has been shared yet in regards to the future of the scripted portions of the show: introductory theme-song snark, Classic Tracks, Backside of American History and Second Hand News.

Perhaps there is no information to share, as telling the audience “the truth” is not something Ed Wallace does. He prefers to tell the audience “his truth”. Wallace repeatedly stated that the last Saturday of October, 2022 was to be his final show. What happened the following Saturday? He hosted the show, and continued doing so for all subsequent Saturdays. Would anyone be shocked if fussbudget Ed “Lucy Van Pelt” Wallace pulls the football on the audience again in 2023 and remains on the air?

For those unfamiliar with recurrent joke of Lucy and the football, the following is submitted for your approval:

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown:

Lucy Van Pelt
“Say Charlie Brown, I’ve got a football. How about practicing a few placekicks? I’ll hold the ball, and you come running and kick it.”

Charlie Brown
“Oh, Brother! I don't mind your dishonesty half as much as I mind your opinion of me!
You must think I'm stupid!”

[…]

Ed demonstrates weekly that he holds a very low opinion of his audience. Should Wallace stay on the air, there will be one large collective sigh of “good grief”.

-- Related Stories --

2023 November 18 - David El Attrache and Ed Wallace Stop Hosting KLIF Wheels

2022 December 24 - With Seven Weeks In, KLIF Wheels Remains the Ed Wallace Show

2022 November 12 - Meet the New KLIF Wheels. Same as the Old Wheels. Wallace Wields the Stage Hook.

2022 July 17 - Ed Wallace Announces End Date for his KLIF Wheels Radio Show