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Published on Wednesday, 24 October 2012 14:42
The "WGN Morning News" show has long been known for having fun in the mornings, in addition to delivering the news. One of key ingredients to that fun has been from the mind of producer Jeff Hoover, whose zany characters and witty writing has helped make the popular morning show special and unique. Starting Monday, Jeff Hoover will be given his own segment to do... whatever he wants.
The new segment will be entitled "And Now For Something Completely Hoover," a nod to Monty Python's "And now for something completely different..." Each segment will only be approximately one minute in length.
Unlike how Hoover is usually seen on camera during the "WGN Morning News," there will be no costumes or wacky characters to hide behind. That means no neck braces, goatees & jumpsuits, wigs, robot costumes, hats, puppets, women's clothes, fake eyebrows, or twisted accents. The props will be left in the closet. "And Now For Something Completely Hoover" will be 100% Jeff Hoover, using just his mind and his mouth -- at least for now. That could change. Hoover said to CRM: "I really don’t know what that minute will be week to week."
The first "And Now For Something Completely Hoover" segment will happen this coming Monday, October 29th at around 7:50am. It is scheduled to air each Monday morning for about a month. If the segments succeed, they could be extended beyond November.
He has been making Chicagoans laugh for years. Jeff Hoover first became known to local audiences as a longtime producer/writer/contributor with Jonathon Brandmeier's radio show from 1993-2001. There, he was known for his wild imitations of Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, and Christopher Walken, as well as the character, Wilhelm the Stormtrooper.
Jeff Hoover has been an Emmy Award-winning segment producer with WGN-TV since 2003. While being part of the "WGN Morning News" show, his goofy characters have included Wink Winkle, "Jobo," Stan Diamond, Brad the Robot, Cletus T. Hognut, and imitations of Lewis & Walken. He also was responsible for such fun ideas as the
famous 2011 bit where Dean Richards escorted a surprised & amused Tom Hanks down a WGN hallway that featured staffers in costumes from various Tom Hanks movies & TV shows. (Hoover was dressed as Woody from "Toy Story.")
Hoover is a native of St. Joseph, MI and a 1988 graduate of Western Michigan University, with a degree in Business Administration and Communications. He has been a full-time resident of Chicago since 1991 and is an alumnus of The Second City.
He may or may not be legally insane. There has not yet been a judge's ruling on this.
