Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Philly Radio: WIP's Wing Bowl Almost Became A Funeral

Angelo Cataldi (Philly.com photo)
WIP 94.1 FM's Angelo Cataldi owes his life to Howard Eskin. Indirectly, that is.

According to philly.com, Spike Eskin, Howard's son, saved Cataldi's life Monday by performing the Heimlich maneuver while the WIP morning show host was choking on cheesesteak and was unable to breathe.

WIP's Wing Bowl 22, set for Friday at the Wells Fargo Center, came close to being a funeral.

After the show ended Monday, the morning show crew at SportsRadio 94 WIP went outside the Center City studio to videotape a spoof for YouTube of a Super Bowl commercial, Cataldi said.

It was kind of a dance number that required Cataldi to "whirl around and take a bite," he said.  The director wasn't happy with the first take, saying the bite wasn't big enough.

Apparently, Cataldi didn't take time to chew and swallow the first bite.  So it's take two, and Cataldi takes a "huge bite," and "half it's coming down my chin."

He had nothing to drink, and next thing he knows he's like running into the building, gesturing for water.  The food slid and things got blocked, Cataldi said.

Spike Eskin was one of only two people there.  Eskin at first wondered if Cataldi, known for overdramatizing and kidding, was kidding.  When he realized it was serious, it was "here we go," Eskin said.

"I think I must have done it five or six times before it came out," Eskin said.

Cataldi hadn't been able to breathe for about a minute, he said.

Many times over the years, the giant egos of Howard Eskin and Cataldi clashed, but now Angelo says he's even grateful to Howard, for giving life to Spike.

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