Jim Trenton

James Trenton, nicknamed "the Poorman", is an American radio broadcaster. He is best known as the creator and host of Loveline on KROQ-FM in Los Angeles from 1983 to 1993. He currently hosts a morning radio program on KOCI 101.5 FM, a station located in south Orange County, California.[1]

"The Poorman" and "The Poor Man" redirect here. For other uses, see Poorman (disambiguation) and Poor Man (disambiguation).

Jim Trenton
Born
James Trenton
Other namesThe Poorman
OccupationRadio broadcaster, actor, author

Career in radio

Trenton began his entertainment career in the mid-80s on then underground alternative radio station KROQ-FM in Los Angeles. During the following decade, he created and hosted the popular nighttime show Loveline, co-hosted the KROQ morning show, and appeared on Oprah as one of the most outrageous DJs in America.

Early years

Under "The Poorman" moniker, Trenton wrote and self-published two guidebooks about dining in the Los Angeles area on a budget.[2] In May 1981, Trenton broadcast his first of several reviews of inexpensive restaurants on KROQ.[3]

Trenton continued as the local surf reporter and went on to co-host the KROQ morning show with Richard Blade. From there, he became one of the station's most popular figures, when he created Loveline.

Loveline

Trenton created Loveline[4] in 1983 as a Sunday night dating and relationships segment on Los Angeles radio station KROQ, hosted by Trenton, DJ Swedish Egil (Egil Aalvik), and Scott Mason. It began as a serious "public service" segment hosted by Mason, but Trenton revamped the format to a hybrid of advice and comedy. As Trenton found himself unable to answer serious medical questions related to sexual issues, he added a segment called "Ask a Surgeon," and later "On Call with Dr. Drew," hosted by his friend Drew Pinsky, who at the time, was a fourth-year medical student at the University of Southern California. This format became a fast hit for KROQ, catapulting Trenton and Drew to celebrity.[5]

On August 20, 1993, Trenton was a victim of a prank played by morning DJ Gene "Bean" Baxter, where Bean had an assistant walk into Trenton's unlocked house—while he was sleeping—to "celebrate" Trenton's 40th birthday. In response, Trenton organized approximately 500 listeners to gather on the front lawn of Bean's house at midnight, to have their own celebration. Bean complained to the station's management, which responded by terminating Trenton's employment.[5][6] That month, he was replaced on Loveline by former MTV VJ Riki Rachtman.[7]

Loveline continued without Trenton, earning many millions of dollars, and becoming syndicated. It also had a televised run on MTV for a number of years.

In 1994, Trenton sued KROQ, and demanded a piece of the revenues from Loveline.[3] The court ruled against Trenton, citing that Loveline was created as part of Trenton's employment at KROQ, thereby making it their property. Trenton unsuccessfully appealed the decision.

Other radio work

From 1994 through 2004, Trenton worked at several Los Angeles-area radio stations. After departing KROQ, Trenton hosted shows on GrooveRadio (103.1), KIIS-FM (102.7), KPWR-FM (105.9),[8] and twice at KYSR-FM (98.7).

Later in 2001, Poorman joined the Rick Dees in the Morning Show on KIIS-FM Los Angeles as Rick's sidekick through 2004, until the Dees was replaced by Ryan Seacrest. Trenton became the only on-air talent in Los Angeles radio history to work at all three Los Angeles new music giants: KROQ, POWER 106, and KIIS.

KCAA and Poorman's Nation

In late 2010, Trenton began one of various stints on the pay-your-own-way broadcast station KCAA, based out of San Bernardino, California. While most hosts on the station pay hourly to host their own vanity programs, Poorman was given a free air slot, and had an agreement with station ownership to split the revenue from any advertising sold.[9] The show "Poorman's Radio Invasion", ended after about a year, at which point he moved to New York to prepare for his new syndicated program.

On October 10, 2011, Trenton began his syndicated show, called Poorman's Nation.[10] Despite originally being promoted as a live call-in show, Poorman's Nation instead consisted solely of taped interviews from Occupy Wall Street. The program was syndicated by the Genesis Communications Network, but had just one affiliate, KCAA, which carried his original Radio Invasion program earlier in the year. Trenton conducted his on-the-street interviews while wearing only a Depression-era-style barrel, which earned him some degree of media attention, including an appearance on The Young Turks.[11] However, the show failed to pick up any additional affiliates or local sponsors, and was canceled by the syndicator on November 7, 2011.

Trenton returned to KCAA twice more between 2012 and 2015, with neither show lasting more than nine months.

Hosting

While working at KROQ in the mid-1980s, local Orange County TV station KDOC had a program called Adventures with the Poorman hosted by Trenton.

In the late 1980s, Trenton hosted a show on KDOC called Request Video. This was a live show featuring videos of primarily rock and independent bands. In addition, Trenton took live phone calls and interviewed bands. His show was the first to interview the then-unknown Gwen Stefani and her band No Doubt. He quit after 15 months, complaining that the show did not pay him.

Poorman's Bikini Beach

In 1999, Trenton again returned to the television landscape, producing a program called Poorman's Bikini Beach.[12] Like The Love Channel, Poorman owned and controlled the show, renting airtime from various television stations.[13] It ran subsequent years, on various television stations including the Los Angeles station KJLA.[14]

Trenton canceled the program on January 17, 2011 to pursue other career opportunities in New York.[15]

KOCI

In 2019, Trenton began hosting a morning drive-time radio program, Poorman’s Morning Rush, on KOCI-FM 101.5, a low-frequency station broadcasting from Costa Mesa, California.[16]

Appearances and stints

Trenton worked as a field reporter on KTTV's Good Day LA and the Los Angeles UPN station's news program.

He appeared as an extra on the program Boardwalk Empire, which aired in October 2012.

In 2014, Trenton appeared on episode two of Frankenfood on Spike TV. His creation, the Nuclear Torpedo, also called a "Poor Man's Giant Garbage Burrito" was panned by all three judges. Host Tony Luke, Jr. bet $100 that a dog would not eat Trenton's giant burrito, and, in fact, the dog refused to eat Trenton's creation.

Trenton has also appeared in four films, including the 1987 B movie North Shore as the opening surf contest announcer, the 1989 hit Heathers (as the 'Hot Probs' D.J.) and the 1990 film Men at Work (as the narrator).

Trenton is a member of SAG/AFTRA.

Personal life

Trenton completed law school while in his 20s, but did not pass the California State Bar exam. This occurred before he got involved in radio.[14]

Trenton is also a photographer, and has exhibited his work at various art galleries throughout California including The Gray Matter of Art Gallery.[17]

References
  1. KOCI
  2. These guidebooks are:
    • The Poorman (1979). The Poorman's Guide to Gourmet Dining in Pasadena for Under $6.00. Pasadena, California: Poorman Productions. OCLC 22971551.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
    • The Poorman (September 1980). The Poorman's Guide to Gourmet Dining on the Westside of Town for Under $6.00. Pasadena, California: Poorman Productions. OCLC 7511540.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  3. Trenton v. Infinity Broadcasting Corp., 865 F.Supp. 1416 (United States District Court, C.D. California 6 September 1994).
  4. "newsline..." Billboard. Vol. 111 no. 6. February 6, 1999. p. 69. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  5. Poorman (August 22, 2019). "Poorman's Radio Days: Fired from KROQ! The Real Story (Part 2)". OC Weekly.
  6. Willman, Chris (November 7, 2019). "On Bean's Final Broadcast, 'Poorman' Comes on KROQ for First Time Since 1993 Firing — and It Gets Real". Variety. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  7. Matsumoto, Jon (May 23, 1994). "Rachtman Tunes In with 'Loveline'". Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  8. Michaelson, Judith (September 8, 1995). "POP/ROCKMTV Awards: Hip-hop/R&B; group TLC, alternative-rock band..." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 21, 2020. Return of Poorman: Jim Trenton, better known as Poorman, will make his debut Monday night on KPWR-FM (105.9), which has hired the ribald former KROQ-FM (106.7) deejay to work the 7-10 p.m. slot Monday-Friday.
  9. Poorman Returns to KCAA
  10. "Poorman's Nation". Archived from the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  11. "'Poorman's Nation' helps Occupy Wall Street find a voice on the radio". The Young Turks Blog. October 19, 2011. Archived from the original on October 24, 2011.
  12. Thompson, Luke Y. (November 8, 2007). "Enter Poorman". OC Weekly. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  13. Parsons, Diana (January 31, 2008). "The host with the most -- rancor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  14. Larsen, Peter (December 8, 2006). "'Poorman' perseveres". Orange County Register.
  15. Thompson, Luke Y. (January 3, 2008). "Exit Poorman". OC Weekly. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  16. Cherin, Alexander Hamilton (March 14, 2019). "THE POORMAN COMETH . . . BACK". OC Weekly. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  17. James "Poorman" Trenton Photography
Additional sources
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