A decade before KGAB-AM debuted in Cheyenne, it was the name of a fictional station in the movie Talk Radio. The 1988 film starred Eric Bogosian as "Barry Champlain", the outrageous and controversial host at KGAB in Dallas, and Alec Baldwin as his program director.

Directed by Oliver Stone, the movie was based on the life and death of Denver radio host Alan Berg, who was killed by two members of a white-supremacist organization outside his home in 1984. The murder made national headlines and inspired another 1988 film Betrayed and the best-selling book "Talked To Death".

Talk Radio was among the first of many movie roles for Baldwin, who is now perhaps best known for his recurring impression of President Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live.

As for the real KGAB, it signed on in 1997. Prior to adopting the KGAB moniker, the Cheyenne-based frequency had used several call letters, including KMRZ, KUUY, and KVWO.

 

More From KGAB