The Elderado Rides out of Town

Jane Hoffman

A few weeks before Larry Elder got his star on the Hollywood walk of fame, KABC Talk Radio gave him a non-Hollywood ending. His most recent departure occurred on December 2, 2014 with no warning.  His previous boot was in December, 2008 after 15 years on the air. Recently, Larry has betrayed his own pick yourself up from your bootstraps mentality by becoming engaged to an ex Heidi Fleiss call girl who now claims she was sexually trafficked, a new spin on an old profession.  Larry Elder hates victicrats, a term he invented to massage his conservative listeners to develop hatred towards anyone who was in any way dependent on Uncle Sam.  His recent publicity stunt was becoming engaged to Alexandra Datig, a Swiss transplant to America who began selling her body at age 20 at $3000 a pop through Madam Fleiss.  Not only did she claim victim to being sexually exploited, she sued the publisher or a book she co-wrote “You’ll Never Make Love in this Town Again.”  She sued the publisher, Michael Viner, for $8 million stating there were misrepresentations of the truth in the book.  She also said that Viner tried to fondle her.   Later, she posted an amateurish video of herself on YouTube playing two character parts in her badly self-scripted “Stay Sober” public service announcement.   There was the drunk Alexandra, laying in bed hungover, unable to motivate herself to get up.  There was the sober, scolding Alexandra talking to the drunk Alexandra, asking her why waste her life remaining in bed?   It was Monty Python crude or an audition tape for the Honey Boo Boo clan.  For Larry Elder, who has robed himself in pride and achievement, this is a dark turn for a self-esteemed radio host, who distances himself more from less accelerated members of his own Black race more than O.J.  did at the pinnacle of his golf swinging, white clubbing popularity.  Larry has written books with derogatory titles such as “Stupid Black Men:  How to Play the Race Card.”    Larry’s favorite parlayed line during his radio show tenure was “A fact to a liberal is like kryptonite to Superman.”  My FM dial was broken in my Volvo 850 GLT in the late 2000s.  While driving in Los Angeles all over town, I would listen to Larry on the AM dial.  One time in early 2011, Larry and I emailed back and forth 25 days straight.  I had my own radio show at that time for six months.  We discussed the biz and other political related or personal subjects.  I went to his father’s funeral in April, 2011.  Larry became a reliable friend and although most of our views differed, he gave time to his listeners.  My friend Rina and I went to see him talk at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley.  He was quite candid there as well.  We were never super close, though.  He left his mark on me.  Since I left Los Angeles in 2012, I believe Larry has become more bull headed in some of his approaches to society’s current problems.  Instead of shedding any sympathy for the Ferguson dilemma with Michael Brown, he puts statistics on his Facebook wall stating that 93% of Black murders are performed by Blacks of their own race.  He displayed a case in Arkansas where a Black cop killed a white kid stating that no investigation took place to correct that officer’s behavior.    He was often trying to out prove a situation involving race by dissing his own.    His overall premise was that Blacks should separate themselves from traditional stereotypes, emancipate from federal assistance and become self sustaining entrepreneur types just like his father, Randolph Elder, did.  His father opened up a restaurant in the Pico-Union neighborhood of Los Angeles at age 47 after serving in the Marines.  His father would get up every day at 4:30 a.m. to open the restaurant.  I credit Larry Elder for his admiration of his father, who posthumously won a Congressional medal of honor, but Elder’s verbal attacks on anyone not being self sufficient was borderline vicious.  He didn’t taken into account if someone was disabled, domestically violated or other conditions of poverty.  He was downright mean.   Tavis Smiley of Public Television and radio was often his biggest nemesis.  In an interview,  Larry Elder said “If you live in a violent interracial area of Black and White crime, 90% involve a Black perpetrator against a white victim.  Rape, murder, robbery with aggravated manslaughter – the majority is committed by Blacks on Whites.   Tavis Smiley disagreed.  He stated most crimes are Black on Black and White on White.  Larry Elder rebuffed that 50% of all violent crimes is Black on White.  In this case, Larry did win most of the argument.  But Smiley challenged him on what categories he was choosing statistically.   Larry then said that Blacks are three times more anti-Semitic than Whites.  When Tavis Smiley asked Larry if he agreed with a statement.  “Dr. King said racism equals prejudice plus power.  In other words, if racism equals prejudice plus power, Black folks who are powerless by and large can be prejudice but don’t have the power to be racist.”  Larry said, “That’s the most idiotic thing I have ever heard.  You can be a bigot and still not have power.  When Reginald Denny was laying on the ground and Damien Williams had a brick in his hand beating him to death, did he face someone who had power?  I think so.  What an absurd thing to say.  You don’t have power, therefore you can’t be a bigot. (sighs)”  Larry Elder was able to sift through the strain of social rhetoric and stroke the facts to his favorable monologues and frank humor which won him many fans in Los Angeles.  He met me, a socially bent leftist, on his ground level terms.  He didn’t inflame his opinion towards me one on one.  He met me in the middle.  If he had slowed his roll and been as compassionate to the poor as he was to an ex call girl, KABC still might be coddling him.  I learned from the KABC public relations desk today that Elder’s contract was not renewed.  He was not on a timetable contract.  “We simply did not renew his contract” was their official statement at KABC.  So long, Larry.   The next time we meet let it be at Cantors on La Cienega, not a funeral.