Trying to get hold of actor, comedian and radio personality Steve Harvey isn't easy. His day starts at 4 a.m. and seems to have no end.
"It's been on and cracking ever since I got up," Harvey said one day last week as he was leaving Atlanta, where he makes his home. Hurrying through the airport terminal, where he was greeted by fans, Harvey boarded a flight to Chicago, where he hosted a big parade and picnic Saturday. This weekend he'll be hosting an award show in Las Vegas. He's got a book on the bestseller list and is planning a comedy tour in October. He runs a charity foundation and has his own clothing line.
But wherever he goes, his radio show goes with him. Or plugs him in, at least. The nationally syndicated "The Steve Harvey Morning Show" is based at WBLS-FM in New York, but often Harvey's voice is blended in with those of his sidekicks from an Atlanta studio or an affiliate in the city he's visiting.
And today that voice returns to L.A. Ten weeks after being dropped by KDAY-FM (93.5), his 6-10 a.m. weekday program returns on KJLH-FM (102.3), the urban contemporary radio station owned by Stevie Wonder's Taxi Productions.
"The two Stevies are making it happen," he quipped.
Harvey and KJLH officials are hoping what happens is more akin to the experience he had in his first L.A. radio venture, not the one at KDAY.
"L.A. has a dear place in my heart," Harvey said. "I wouldn't have a nationally syndicated show if it had not been so successful locally in L.A. It was a huge monster of a show in L.A. that is now a huge syndicated show."
Harvey, 53, began his career as a stand-up comedian in the mid-1980s, which led him to star in two well-received TV sitcoms, including "The Steve Harvey Show," which ran on the WB from 1996 to 2002. He then stepped into the world of film, where he acted in "Johnson Family Vacation" in 2004 and lent his voice to "Racing Stripes" in 2005. He also was featured on a comedy tour with Cedric the Entertainer, Bernie Mac and D.L. Hughley, which turned into the 2000 Spike Lee-directed film "The Original Kings of Comedy."
He started in radio in 2000 and for five years hosted the morning show on what was then KKBT-FM (100.3). For a while he helmed the most popular English-language show in the Los Angeles- Orange County market.
Harvey resurfaced with his syndicated show in 2006 on KDAY, but he never rekindled the fire. In his last month on the station, in May, the show ranked 35th, attracting on average just 0.9% of the L.A.Orange County audience, according to figures from Arbitron.
