TV couple Bob and Jan Carr continue their on air legacy 50 years after leaving WDSU
Fifty years after leaving the set of WDSU, local legends Bob and Jan Carr continue legacy, broadcasting from their retirement home
Fifty years after leaving the set of WDSU, local legends Bob and Jan Carr continue legacy, broadcasting from their retirement home
Fifty years after leaving the set of WDSU, local legends Bob and Jan Carr continue legacy, broadcasting from their retirement home
Nestled off of Interstate 12 and Pinnacle Parkway, is Christwood, a sprawling 300-acre retirement community.
As you drive down the long and winding road passing a network on in-care services, apartments and common areas, it's hard to miss the laughter coming from two of its premier residents.
Bob and Jann Carr are witty, joyful and so funny to be around.
They were staples of WDSU for roughly a decade in the 1960s, hosting the Bob and Jan Show, Second Cup, as well as their own radio segments.
However, now, at 95 and 91, respectfully, the dynamic duo are keeping that broadcast legacy alive, putting together weekly shows for their retirement community.
"We talk about the different people here. We talk about marijuana usage and how it works for some of us... not so much for others," Bob Carr said, laughing.
The couple came to New Orleans to first work in radio, and after two years, WDSU came knocking.
"We did an audition for them and they said, 'Sold! We're opening the Royal Orleans Hotel and you guys go upstairs and put on a show,'" Bob Carr said.
And put on a show they did. The couple quickly attracted a following for their family-style segments, even though the idea of a husband and wife working together was a relatively new concept.
"Husbands and wives were not supposed to work together at the station," Bob Carr said. "I thought, 'That's kind of silly. Catholic town. Husbands and wives? I mean, it's 'Bob and Jan' — not just Bob or just Jan, but 'Bob and Jan,' OK?"
They had to get special permission from management to do their show.
"We were the first husband and wife team... so we represented the family image of New Orleans," Bob Carr said.
In addition, Jan Carr continued to work while pregnant. She was showing for all four of her children while on air.
"She had an aunt in West Virginia who said, 'That's disgusting to see Janet pregnant on Television,'" Bob Carr said.
When asked how she responded to that criticism, Jan Carr said: "I just ignored them. They weren't going to stop me."
The couple were also activists in their French Quarter community, integral in stopping a freeway from being built in the historic neighborhood as the part of the Save our Square campaign.
"We were adamant about saving the Quarter from being destroyed by a highway going across Jackson Square," Bob Carr said. "And they listened and it was defeated."
They are celebrating their 71st wedding anniversary on May 21.
"We're going to stick together if it kills us," Bob Carr said.
And it's that attitude they want to leave with listeners and others trying to break barriers just like them.
"Just be yourself," Jan Carr said.
"And persevere," Bob Carr said.