When CHOM was Home - Rhino Runs Rampant

I grew up watching – and loving – the animated Spider-Man series that was on television from 1967 to 1970. One of the series characters that seemed to capture my imagination was The Rhino. He was no criminal mastermind, he would basically lower his head and use his bulk and horn to bull his way through any and all obstacles.

I guess he captured Pete Marier’s imagination as well.

We worked the afternoons together for a while, back when Bad Pete had a parrot. On occasion, one of us would charge at the other, head lowered, in our best imitations of Rhino on the loose in the CHOM hallways.

March 17, 1999

It was the afternoon of Thursday December 3, 1998, a few minutes before I went on the air to do the 5 o’clock newscast. As we chatted in the CHOM studio, Pete lowered his head and charged in my direction. I stepped aside, which, if memory serves, was allowed in our game. He body checked the Wall of Fame, which, if you look closely at the photo in my previous blog, was full of autographs and messages written by the rock stars who visited the radio station over the years. The impact of Pete hitting the wall left a gaping hole.

In the moments after the hole happened, it was hastily decided we would plead ignorance, if questioned. Then, we less hastily decided honesty might be the best policy. In the end, we confessed to our Program Director, Ian Maclean, who laughed about it. He shook our hands, more relieved than anything else that it was not a case of unbridled and gratuitous malevolence.

Ian said something like, “If only the Habs could check like this.”

I can’t remember which artists’ autographs disappeared as a result of Rhino’s charge, but I do remember how bizarre the wall looked with a fresh white patch in the middle of all the colorful felt scribbles and scrawls.

It could be a little nerve-wracking not knowing when the Rhino might come a-rumbling - when CHOM was home.