Good Show, Suds

I first heard Suds Coleman in the 1980s, trading bon mots with partner in crime Rick Riley on WAXY FM from Miami.  It was fun, but it wasn't until the early '90s when Rick and Suds landed on WIOD AM in the same city that I became a true fan of their off kilter humor.  The guys were originally on from 2-6 P.M. following the one and only Neil Rogers (who often interacted with them).  Later, they did morning drive, 6 - 10 A.M.  Callers were encouraged to say "Buttload!" and the guys would answer "Back at ya!".  Random, but amusing.  And who could forget the "Pay Phone Challenge"?  My favorite Rick and Suds bit was their battle with one of the traffic reporters, a guy billed as Tom Rogers.  One day he suddenly became "Mike Paxton", and the guys just couldn't understand it.  It led to some tense on air exchanges, and a country parody song with the line "MY NAME'S MIKE PAXTON DAMMIT!" 

Suds didn't say as much as Rick, but everything he did was snarkily funny.  His radio career spanned many years pre- and post WIOD.  More recently, his Facebook page was a parade of insane wit.  Great digs at politics and the radio biz.  Several just plain brilliant comedic observations.  This past May, the posting abruptly ceased.  Regular commenters knew something was very wrong.  Last week his wife posted that he had been battling cancer for the past year and decided to raise the white flag.  Suds passed away earlier this week.  His final posting: "....I died?".  Vintage Suds Coleman.  Well played.  The outpouring of love and lament on his FB page has been something to see.

R & S always ended their program with "Adios, we're a ghost".  Indeed.  R.I.P., lad.