Bill Spadaro has called 1010 WINS home for nearly two decades. He's currently the midday writer, and is frequently "at the Editor's Desk." He's also been a contributor to 1010wins.com since 1999.
The name "Spadaro" is a very old Italian name that belonged to generations of swordmakers in southern Italy. My grandfather came to the United States around 1929. He wasn't a swordmaker, he was an accountant.
My father was a civil engineer in the late 60s, before going to law school.
How I ended up in radio remains a genealogical mystery.
I grew up in Brooklyn, and spent the highlights of my youth at St. Edmund's Grammar School. That's where I began cultivating my writing skills through embarrassing love notes to a girl in my fourth grade class. Those notes were often confiscated by a nun.
It wasn't until I attended Nazareth Regional High School that I actually read a book cover to cover. It was "Catcher in the Rye," and from that moment on, I wanted to be a writer and change my name to Holden.
I reluctantly graduated from Brooklyn College and spent much of the 1990s trying to get paid for my passion, frequently contributing to various underground publications, including Long Shot, Street Talk, Cake, Oblong, Red Weather, Mule Teeth, and others.
While waiting for someone to discover me above ground, I toiled away in the abyss of the overnights at 1010 WINS, taking in feeds, writing sports headlines, weather and monitoring news events while most people slept.
It was the 'lobster trick' and it was in my blood.
In 1995, while on a long, strange trip, I created Bastard Plan, Brooklyn's premier literary newsletter, otherwise known as "Anarchy for Dummies."
Soon afterward, I began freelance writing and editing at 1010 WINS, and was eventually promoted to midday Service Aide. It was then I found renewed vigor and enthusiasm for the corporate lifestyle, at one point exclaiming, "This is good."
By the new millennium, I had conquered another rung on the corporate ladder and was promoted to midday writer. A long-time dream to trade words for cash finally came true.
When I'm not writing, editing, or trying to explain my odd behavior to my wife, 6-year old daughter, and 3-year old son, I can be found surf fishing 'down the shore'.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
