Haverhill's Tom Bergeron on His NH Radio Days & a Crazy Interview

Longtime Dancing with the Stars (and WBZ People Are Talking) host Tom Bergeron was in town recently to host an event for Portsmouth’s 400^th anniversary, which saw 900 locals dine under the stars right in the middle of the city.

I caught up with Bergeron to talk about his early days in New England, which began as a nighttime radio DJ on Route 1 in Portsmouth. After reminiscing about visits to the Bratskellar, Bergeron shared another story about a night when he decided to skip out mid-show and grab a bite somewhere else.

“I was on from seven to midnight. I remember one night just being really hungry. And there was – and still is – a McDonald’s right across the street from where the studio was. So, I put on a Steely Dan album…I got in my car, turn on the radio station hoping the record didn’t skip, and went to the drive-thru at McDonald’s.”

But Bergeron, who gained popularity in the region with his quirky, unpredictable broadcasts, scored perhaps his most surreal interview when he was just a teenager growing up in Haverhill, Massachusetts. As he tells it:

“I was 16 years old…I was at my childhood home in Haverhill, Massachusetts. I think it was a Saturday night. My parents are somewhere. My sister’s at a sleepover. I’m alone, I have no life. So, I’m thinking, ‘What should I do on a Saturday night? I know! I’ll call information in California, and see if I can get a number for Larry Fine or Moe Howard.”

As in, two of The Three Stooges. Even crazier? Bergeron was successful. To hear our full conversation about the Stooges, Bergeron’s days at WBZ-TV, and his departure from Dancing with the Stars, CLICK HERE TO LISTEN.