GET BRETT WEIR! Jerky Boy Johnny Brennan Joins Preston & Steve Before Philly Show
From the Whitehouse to the mafia, Johnny Brennan is either hated or loved by all. The Preston & Steve Show welcomed THE Jerky Boy, Johnny Brennan, over zoom to talk about his 4-decade long career, funny stories, and upcoming live shows. He’s controversial, clever, and more importantly, iconic.
A global phenomenon- a wildfire on the radio waves- the Jerky Boys prank calls defined a generation. They’re the largest bootlegged show- more than the dead! – Inspiring a new era of pirates. Kids would clamor to get clean copies of the tapes. And everyone wanted to know who we was. Even Steve would run into phonies claiming to be a Jerky Boy. In an era where Google Images wasn’t at the touch of our fingers, Disney “unveiled” Johnny in The Jerky Boys movie.
Original Prankster
Nowadays, we have shows like “Impractical Jokers” and “Crank Yankers“, but these shows wouldn’t exist without the influence of the genius that is Johnny Brennan. He got his start as a scaffolder, never imagining his life could change through the radio. He originally made tapes for his brothers to listen and laugh at. But as it turns out, everyone wants to listen and laugh. You could find in any English speaking region, Johnny was unavoidable.
His influence is unmatched: Radiohead’s “Pablo Honey” is named after a Brennan skit, which inadvertently helped him on the charts. Even celebrities all over the world were tuning in to the show, such as Ozzy Osborne and the cast of “The Sopranos”. By the time the Jerky Boys movie came out, household names were reaching out to be featured in the movie.
Different Kind of Crumb Bum
His characters were the driving force of his show, such as Sol Rosenburg and Frank Rizzo. Did you know that Johnny’s Frank Rizzo isn’t named after Former Philly Mayor Frank Rizzo? He told a funny story about when he was signing autographs in Philly, a kid came up to him and gave him a Frank Rizzo pin. Johnny was honored because he thought the kid made the pin himself. He was unaware of the Philly hothead Mayor. the Truth is, Johnny’s character is named after a childhood friend of the same name. It’s an impersonation of Johnny’s dad.
Now, Johnny Brennan can be found doing his lives shows. On July 14th, Johnny will be performing at City Winery. To Johnny, there’s no better feeling than interacting with fans who have been by your side for 40 years. Watch the entire conversation with Preston & Steve:
– Mikey Siedell, The Preston & Steve Show Staff