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A Pair of Jokers:
Andy Carson
& Tony Martinez
When KPTV's weather guy
and traffic guy get together, expect 100 percent chance of laughter. These guys just
want to have fun.
if you're airing three hours of live TV each weekday, you need a power source. Human transformers Andy Carson and Tony Martinez crackle with energy while most of the city is reaching for the snooze button.
Meeting both of them at once is like shaking hands with a 220-volt joy buzzer.
"Three hours, that's a long time," says Carson who starts his mornings early on Oregon's News 12 at 6. "People will barely watch a three-hour movie.'
The answer was to blend the spontaneity of late-night TV with the personality of morning drive-time radio: Carson inspired the "Dwight the Troubled Teen" character as an intern on Late Night with David Letterman, and Martinez honed his quick wit with the Z1 00 Morning Zoo.
Carson's weather and Martinez's traffic reports air "back to back on the 5s" during
Good Day Oregon, and they're helping to draw a young crowd to KPTV's ambitious morning
program, which debuted last August. Their experience has taught them to be flexible, honest with
the viewer and ready to try anything-even going on-air through the security camera at a bank. No
idea is too wild, Martinez says, because, "We don't ask if we can do something. Better to
ask forgiveness than permission."
Working with Letterman taught Carson to "try to do it different" from everyone else. He
loves to test and stretch the boundaries of live TV and says, "I hate when people say
there's no way we can do that."
They've been given good tools to turn crazy ideas into fresh ways to show people what the day will bring. KPTV's riverside studio and a traffic helicopter, says Martinez, mean "we have so many windows on the world. We can show people what the day looks like from the water, from the air."
They know they must deliver the serious details of whether or not you'll need an
umbrella or to avoid the Sunset Highway, but the rest is play.
"All I want to know is if the Marquam Bridge collapsed," says Martinez. "I'm here to reassure people. If there's a major problem, we bring it to you right away. If we're goofing off, it means nothing important is happening."
Carson adds, "If we have two inches of snow, we'll have 35 of our best reporters on it. Look-there's a flake!"
Martinez started in traffic reporting the hard way in 1982, with a handful of quarters for pay phones, and became a winning drive-time personality as "Officer Tony" on
Z100. When Good Day Oregon launched, the station's Air 12 helicopter wasn't ready for takeoff, so he began his TV career earthbound in the studio.
"I could do accurate traffic reports from my bedroom... and maybe that's a good idea," he quips. Whenever Air 12 can't fly due to fog, Martinez shifts into what he calls
"Ground 12" mode and might report live from a restaurant. "We can respond to what's happening at that second. We have a whole staff and production crew that's totally into it.'
Carson raises a mock objection, saying, "We are carrying the show! We are getting back massages every day for how we're carrying it!"
Certainly the wiry Carson does his share of heavy lifting; he has a gymnast's strength
and can perform stunts seated in an armchair.
Spring mornings can be wet and windy on the Weather Deck, so three or four days a week Carson goes field tripping, perhaps to Portland Raceway for his "Gadget Guy" report on electric vehicles. He's ready to improvise because he doesn't need "two minutes to tell you that it's raining everywhere.'
Yes, there is a quieter, serious side to these on-air cut-ups.
Family man Carson and his wife, Denise, are raising their young daughter and have a son on the way. Martinez, engaged to Sukhi Gesch, has been going to college and hopes to enter the Portland State University School of Social Work this fall. He's also a loyal volunteer at William Temple House and hopes he can inspire other busy people to lend a helping hand. He says, "People can get down in the trenches and do the work. You can have a career and also have time to volunteer.'
The pair also have time to produce a primetime special of their favorite comedy bits, including "Carpool Nightmare," "Christmas Carols" and "Helicopter Coffee Delivery," set to air May 30 at 9 p.m.
BY ERIK H. BERGMAN
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