Jess Cain appreciation thread

[Kevin Vahey]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/02/radio_legend_je.html

As we mourn the passing of Jess Cain we must also appreciate the
countless hours of joy he gave us for over 30 years.
Of course Red Sox fans will always remember him for The Yaz Song
http://staffannouncer.com/blog/audio/yazsong.mp3
Bev Kennedy who is the widow of Bob Kennedy who hosted a popular talk
show at WBZ in the 60's sent me this story to give to Jess a couple of
months ago. I did contact him at the hospice in Cambridge and read him
this story. Jess laughed for 10 minutes.


Late in the winter of 1968, my late husband talk show host Bob
Kennedy, and I were preparing to move from our beloved Dedham to Los
Angeles. Bob decided that we should have one last party-kind of a
clean-the-liquor-cabinet-out blast.

We invited a number of friends and neighbors including attorney Mike Klarfeld
and his wife Bobbi. Late in the evening, Mike who was feeling no pain,
told us a story about Boston radio morning man Jess Cain. According to
Mike, who by that time was swearing that, "If the Kennedys can move to
LA, so can the Klarfelds!" (more on that later), Jess had one morning
talked about the perfect way to come to work.

Mike said that Jess wanted to just once ride to work in a chauffer-driven Rolls
Royce with a chilled bottle of champagne waiting for him and a driver
who greeted him with, "Jess Cain, you are a very funny man."

Well, Mike Klarfeld owned a Rolls Royce and could easily afford a
bottle of the best bubbly and that appropriate greeting. Somehow, he
managed to find Jess's address, I believe in Cohasset, got up long
before even Jess was up, drove to the house and sat in the driveway
with the Rolls idling. Eventually, Jess came out carrying a cup of
coffee….and, again, according to Mike, let out a scream as Mike told
him how funny he was and dropped the coffee. Mike did take Jess to the
station that morning. He never told us if he drove Jess back home
after his morning show.

Now, back to the LA remark. So, we'd all had a few and Mike was just
blowing off steam. Right? Well, that's what Bob and I thought….until
the day that notorious Rolls Royce pulled into our driveway in
Westlake Village outside of LA with Mike, Bobbi, their two daughters,
Bobbi's furs and jewelry, the china, the silver and other valuables.

The movers were bringing the rest!

Liquor or not, you had to take Mike Klarfeld at his word! He was there to stay