Mick Wagner (real name: Michel Leonard Wagner), born September 27, 1953, is an American Musician and Radio Announcer, originally from Jamestown North Dakota. Only 15 years of age when he was first hired as a professional announcer, by his hometown radio station, KEYJ-AM (now: KQDJ) in august of 1969, his first professional assignment was to prepare and air a short news program on the Woodstock Music Festival, which had occurred the previous week...
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Mick Wagner (real name: Michel Leonard Wagner), born September 27, 1953, is an American Musician and Radio Announcer, originally from Jamestown North Dakota. Only 15 years of age when he was first hired as a professional announcer, by his hometown radio station, KEYJ-AM (now: KQDJ) in august of 1969, his first professional assignment was to prepare and air a short news program on the Woodstock Music Festival, which had occurred the previous weekend.
An Eagle Scout, and Scout Leader, he holds the curious distinction of having been the youngest-known Scoutmaster in the 100-year history of the BSA. At age 17, he was offered a Congressional appointment to the West Point Military Academy by then-U.S. Representative Mark Andrews (D-ND); after much reflection and consultation with his pastor, he declined the appointment, because of his opposition to the Vietnam War.
While attending high school, and later college, in his hometown of Jamestown, ND, he continued working at, not only KMHD, but also at its primary competition, KSJB-AM/KSJM-FM, which was located directly across the street from its rival. This dual role required him to not only utilize different "air names", but also different speaking voices, to disguise his dual employment from the radio audience, as well as from the respective stations.
While a student at Jamestown College, he also founded and was elected president of, the Campus Radio Club ("KJCR", which built and maintained a closed-loop AM broadcast station.
After graduation, he went to work as the technical director for the "Northwest Stage Company", a professional theater company in Fargo, ND. When funding cuts caused the loss of his position a year later, he signed on with "Silver", a popular and well-established regional show and dance band.
After touring with the band for about a year and a half, he accepted a position as a Road Manager and Lighting Designer with Kane Sound and Naked Zoo Lighting of Minneapolis, MN. During this time, he also appeared as a featured DJ on WTCN-AM Radio, as "King Kracker", and was well-regarded for his interview skills and quick wit. It was during this time that his radio persona began to take on a more "free-wheeling" style, often including small segues and non-sequiters, delivered in the voices of movie stars, musicians and polititians.
His tenure at the station came to a sudden end, after one particularly memorable exchange between "Walter Cronkite" and "Ted Kennedy", in which "Ted" responded to a question as to whether or not he would run for president, with the pronouncement: "Well, it's a bit early to be making such decisions...I believe that I'll wait, and then just drive off that bridge when I come to it."
After relocating to the Portland, OR metro area in 1980, where he quickly established a reputation as a well-versed voiceover and commerical actor. Today, he lives in an 80+ year old cabin on the banks of the Sandy River in Troutdale, and is on the air as "Sean Leonard" at KMHD-FM Radio, where he hosts the "Carnival of Jazz", as well as the long-running "Trad Jazz" shows.
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