The Jim and Bill Impersonator Show

I've been following a strange story on CFRB, and it isn't finished it yet. A few nights ago, I tuned in to the Jim Richards Show to hear him talking about being in a chat room, except it wasn't him. A person unknown had joined this chat room, pretending to be Jim. The next phase of this story revealed that Bill Carroll had joined this same chat room long before, and so that was why people bought the fake Jim as being real.

That puzzled me: why would Bill be in a chat room? He didn't seem the type. Another Jim show. That night we learnt that it wasn't Bill; he too was being impersonated. And even more eyebrow raising, it was the same guy! One guy duped an entire chat room into believing he was two different CFRB personalities!!

I wonder if Bill knows? I thought as Jim continued to interview the two chat room admins. The next moment I had my answer: Bill had been in this chat room since before his first kid was born. I guess he does not know!

That was confirmed this morning. I missed his early morning vent about being impersonated, but I caught the call-in portion of it. Unfortunately, I didn't hear Jim's newest installment last night, so I just have Bill's take on it. Bill is pissed at Jim for talking about his impersonation on his show last night, but now that he's raked him over the coals for not calling him to ask permission to talk about his impersonation, and particularly to make fun of it (which is what Jim does, and you gotta be on your toes to catch the humour at times), he feels he's paid him back for that transgression. But it's Jim's story too, so why is Bill so ticked about Jim continuing his own story. Does Bill not know that the same guy who impersonated him, impersonated Jim as well? That Jim didn't like it either but just approached it differently? Since there's no way for me to listen to Jim's show from last night, I'm assuming that Jim went from finding out the scoop as to how and who impersonated him and went on to the Bill part of the story last night.

Do these guys never talk to each other? And even more strange, why did no one -- not one person -- in the chat room head over to the CFRB website, look up Bill's and Jim's e-mail addresses, and oh, I don't know, use their official e-mails to confirm that it really was them in the chat room? A distinct lack of communication seems to have made this story the big one that it is.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I too only heard Bill's call in portion and not the opening rant and not the Jim Richards show.
Bill made it quite clear he doesn't like people impersonating him and I think Bill would like to take action against the impersonator. If Jim had access to this guy, I think Bill would have liked that same access to attempt some sort of legal actions. I don't know this to be true, just a feeling I have about Bill.
I also think Jim should have given Bill a heads up about the topic.
These is just my opinions though.
I don't know how Jim initially found out he was being impersonated, but he learnt the details over several days just recently. My impression was that originally he, and so we, thought it was the real Bill Carroll on the chat room, and it was only him (Jim) being impersonated. Then one of the chat room admins discovered who the impersonator was AND that he was impersonating BOTH Bill and Jim. The last I heard (Monday night??) was that Jim had received an apology from him (though he and the admins were skeptical about the sincerity) and Jim was going to try and get the guy on the show to talk about why he impersonated him (Jim). I don't know if he succeded, and I don't know if it was because of being able to talk to him on the air that Bill's impersonation came up. But up til then, it was simply Jim trying to find out who it was, how this happened to him, and learning in the process that Bill was being impersonated too.

But I agree, it's strange that two talk show hosts on the same station are totally unaware of what the other is up to and that Jim didn't ask Bill when he first learnt of his own impersonation why he was in a chat room or even later when the whole story came out, to tell him some guy was impersonating them both.
Anonymous said…
I don't think Bill and Jim really ever see each other. Bill comes in early in the morning and leaves by lunch. Jim probably comes to work in the afternoon. They probably just missed each other each day. Besides, nobody ever said you have to like the people you work with.
I do remember Bill saying something about not being invited to a party thrown by Jim. Oooooo.
Ooooo wow! Guess that's why Jim didn't wing an e-mail Bill's way.