Twelve Things You Didn’t Know About Otis (and then some)

August 29th, 2024

If you’ve been listening to Otis Twelve over the years you can’t help but feel as though you know him. There’s his unmistakable deep voice and his quirky sense of humor, not to mention his steadfast reassurance that everything’s going to be okay.

To many—even if you’ve never met him in person—he does, indeed, feel like a good friend.

But how well do you really know him?

Here at KVNO we’ve done a little asking around the office (and beyond) and thought we’d share with you our Twelve Things you didn’t know about Otis, in no particular order.

In the words of Sherry Brownrigg, KVNO General Manager and Host of Midday Classics:

1. Otis has a huge amount of empathy for everyone (even though he would like you to think otherwise).

2. Otis is a very big guy, but he drives a very small car.

Coleen Cook, host of Classical Commute, echoes those words:

3. I didn’t know how tall Otis was until I had to sit in his chair to run the audio board and my feet dangled.

Gabriel Escalera, Director of the KVNO Arts Desk:

4. When Otis was about 10 years old, His father took the family to Mexico City. He had his first tamale there, from a street vendor.

Jeff Koterba, Host for the Wednesday edition of Morning Classics:

5. Otis is an incredible writer—he’s won several awards including Brit Lit Idol.

6. Otis played in a The Ogden Edsl Wahalia Blues Ensemble Mondo Bizzario Band which was often featured on Dr. Demento’s radio program. 

Ben Rasmussen, Director of Development/Host of the Midday Mixtape:

7. During his time in California Otis interviewed numerous actors, actresses, directors, and other celebrities. He has stories about all sorts of classic Hollywood stars.

8. Famed artist Kent Bellows was Otis’ brother-in-law. He joined the family in honoring Bellows’ legacy by advancing art education in the community.

Deb Wesselmann, wife of Otis Twelve:

9. He knows the words to almost every classic Broadway show tune.

10. He’s watched the Lord of the Rings movies well over 50 times and can recite dialogue from each one.

11. He’s crazy in love with his dogs and if he’s not worrying about one of his kids or grandkids he’s worrying about his dogs.

Michael L. Hilt, Ph.D., Dean, College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media, UNO:

12. Besides radio, the connection I have is Kansas City. From sports to food to locations (Plaza, Westport, etc.), our talks always return to the hometown. While Otis has lived in several places, in my mind I believe he considers KC (after Omaha) home.

Okay, okay…when you ask about Otis, you have to expect to get lots of responses. Perhaps we should have called this “Twelve-ish Things…”

Here are a several more:

Addison Parr, KVNO Marketing Manager:

He rarely uses punctuation when texting. He will just add a huge space to indicate a new sentence. And always sends one of these emojis: 👍👌🤙

Sherry:

He eats peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast.

Jeff:

By the empty bags in the studio’s trash bin, and the occasional crumbs, I suspect that he might also regularly eat Doritos for breakfast. 

Deb:

He’s completely phobic about dentists.

He’s a gourmet cook and a fantastic baker.

He loves Steel Magnolias and he cries at the end every time he watches it.

Katrina Naraine, Host of KVNO’s Nocturnes:

During my time at KVNO, Otis has been very supportive and encouraging to my growth as a person and as a budding radio personality. His kindness has also helped me when I needed it most.

It has been beautiful to see people’s faces light up at the mention of KVNO and Otis. He’s brought so much light and joy into people’s lives; an inspiration to us all!

Ben:

Many a young person suspects Otis is Santa, given his jolly disposition, physique, and habit of disappearing over the month of December.

Otis loves good food, and is a connoisseur of smoked and cured meats…but he especially loves barbecue. (Not just grilled food, true barbecue. He grew up in KC, after all.)