His father was a native New Yorker, who sold dental supplies; his mother was a Lutheran immigrant from Germany who stayed home to raise her two children until they were in high school, then became an educator.

"[5] His radio name had previously been Dougie T.[8] Tracht went through a string of stations including WAXC in Rochester, New York, WRC in Washington, D.C., and WPOP in Hartford, Connecticut.

Curtains were hung in the window of the broadcast booth, a TV interview showed only his lips, and Tracht wore a gorilla costume at personal appearances.

"[9] On May 25, 1979, Tracht gained national attention when he mocked convicted murderer John Spenkelink, who was due to be executed in "Old Sparky," the Florida State Prison electric chair, that day.

Tracht moved to Los Angeles, where his show was aired on KLOS; it was also carried by stations in Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, among others.

[15] Tracht played a portion of a song by Lauryn Hill, who had recently been nominated for ten Grammy Awards, and then said: "No wonder people drag them behind trucks.

"[1] This incident proved catastrophic to his radio career, igniting a firestorm of protest from listeners of all races and leading to his firing from WARW.

[1] Tracht later apologized, saying the "experience, compiled with my past transgressions upon racial and human decency, have forever taught me the value of respect and restraint.

[14] In 2002, Tracht returned to the air from his home studio, broadcasting on WDMV AM 700 (previously WGOP) near Frederick, Maryland, and was soon afterward syndicated to numerous other stations in the region.

The Washington Post has described this period as "six years of broadcasting his morning show on tiny, unknown AM stations with signals so weak they dissolve under the static created by a car's ignition system.

"[2][14] On March 31, 2008, WWDC announced that the Greaseman show would be returning on Saturday mornings beginning April 5, 2008, and that the run would go until October 2008, after Clear Channel decided to have more "music intensive" weekends on DC101.

In January 2008, David Israel, the vice president and general manager of Cox Radio in Jacksonville, brought back Bubba the Love Sponge, who had been fired in 2004 for indecency.

Grease vows to find a new place to shriek sooner or later, and is planning to enjoy the rest of his summer and hopes to be back in action soon!