It generally goes something like this: “What’s it like to work with Larry Sprinkle?”, “What’s Larry really like?” “How’s Larry doing?”, “In real life, is he like he is on the air?”. You get the idea: people want to know about Larry Sprinkle.

In fact, a lot of people want to know about Larry and that’s a tribute to his popularity, longevity, personality, community service and his talent.

In a sense, the answer is an easy one and I hate to fall back on a cliché, but it’s true: what you see is what you get. He is a genuinely nice guy who is funny, talented, caring and not driven by ego. He is all those things and more. When Larry was made, the mold was destroyed, never to be used again.

He is among the most talented air people I have ever been around and my guess is he’s the most recognized broadcaster in town, or certainly in the top handful. He has so many times been voted weathercaster of the year he could paper his wall with all the certificates he’s gotten.

Larry’s been here in Charlotte over 30 years on both radio and television. That’s almost unheard of in a business where people tend to move every few years.

I suspect some people look at local television newscasters, sportscasters and weathercasters, even in a big city like Charlotte and say: “Well yeah, he (or she) is pretty good here, but this isn’t New York or LA. Could he/she make it someplace else?” In many cases, that’s a very legitimate question and the answer would sometimes be no.

In Larry’s case, if you know anything about talent, the question is irrelevant.

Jay Thomas for years was a big radio star here in Charlotte along with Larry. Jay has appeared in several movies and had a recurring role on two sitcoms, “Murphy Brown” and “Cheers”. He’s been a big success, yet several years ago told me that anything he has done, Larry can do as well if not better, that the sky was the limit for someone with Larry’s talent. Anyone who’s been around Larry would certainly agree. He has chosen to make his home here and this community is much better for it.

And that’s what you really need to know about Larry: what he has given back to Charlotte.

Most of us on the air in this city try to give of our time to various charitable causes. But we can’t help in every case, so mostly we pick one or two things and do what we can. Larry, however, does not have one or two causes. It’s not stretching it to say every charitable cause is the one he works for.

My guess is that all the charitable public appearances made by all the air people here in Charlotte put together wouldn’t come close to the total Larry does by himself. There’s hardly a day of the year that he isn’t hosting an event, making a public appearance, speaking at a school or doing something to benefit a local cause that needs help.

He does all of that on little sleep. He starts his duties here at 3 am, but there are many times he doesn’t get home until 9 or 10 pm. It’s a commitment very few could contemplate, let alone actually make and it’s a big part of Larry’s life. For those of us who know him best, that commitment defines him as a person.

Even all this barely scratches the surface. You have perhaps wondered what goes on behind the scenes, when the newscast is in commercial. Well, I could write a book. Larry is a one man floor show, there’s no other way to put. When he’s around, laughter is the lead story. As you know, he can imitate practically anyone famous. His Elvis impersonation is his best known, but he does presidents, actors, singers and even some of us better than we do ourselves.

As a jokester, he’s in the major leagues.

When you come to work in our newsroom, there is a school of thought that says you really haven’t been accepted until you’ve been “punk’d” by Larry. He can call up anyone in the newsroom, pretend to be someone else and have them believing they’ve won a million dollars, missed an appointment or are in deep trouble with the law. And later we all have a good laugh at the expense of our “punk’d” colleague.

But his humor and his jokes are never malicious or hurtful. Most of my colleagues would likely agree that if we ever took a poll on who is our most popular employee, Larry would win and it wouldn’t be close.

I don’t know if I’ve answered the question which I’m sure to get many more times. And that’s OK, since Larry is one of my favorite people. I know this: Charlotte and WCNC are both lucky to have one of the more remarkable people any of us have known.

At the end of the day, the biggest test for any of us and perhaps the truest measure of what we are, is where we stand in the opinion of others. It’s a test Larry has passed with flying colors.

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

“All About Eve” 1950

One of the most famous movies in American history, this is the story of a seemingly naive young woman (Anne Baxter) who insinuates herself into the life of a Broadway star (Bette Davis). She turns out to be an ambitious social climber whose key talent is back stabbing. It’s a story of betrayal and ambition. The line by Bette Davis, ”fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night” has become part of American legend. It was nominated for fourteen academy awards. Only “Titanic” has ever gotten as many. Anyone who is a fan of movies should see it.