Rodney Bingenheimer

Rodney Bingenheimer (born December 15, 1946) is an American radio disc jockey who is best known as the host of Rodney on the ROQ, a radio program that ran on the Los Angeles rock station KROQ-FM from 1976 to 2017.

This was the beginning of a six-year separation from his mother, and he was on his own in Los Angeles, around the year 1963.

When Bingenheimer arrived in Los Angeles actor Sal Mineo dubbed him "The Mayor of the Sunset Strip".

He formed friendships with pop stars of the day such as the Byrds and Sonny & Cher, for whom he was a live-in publicist.

In his own words, Bingenheimer "became the talk of the town because I had the perfect Brian Jones 'do' (hairstyle)."

Bingenheimer worked as an intern at Mercury Records.

He escorted British pop star David Bowie to L.A. hot spots.

He auditioned for the Davy Jones part in the Monkees.

While he did not get chosen, he dressed like Davy Jones and had a similar haircut then later worked as a double or stand-in for Jones in the Monkees episode "Prince and the Pauper".

The Monkees stand-in role was a "break" for Bingenheimer.

"Becoming Jones's stand-in was an inauguration into a peculiar cult of celebrity."

Bingenheimer was described as shy, thin and unassuming with a "squeaky voice", usually described as soft.

One report suggested his voice was "so soft you have to lean in to hear it".

Another writer described his voice as soft like a "harmonica that cuts through the angry noise of today's frat jocks".

His voice has also been described as "tentative" and not a "vibrating personality" or a "great radio voice" but reflecting almost "painful sincerity".

He was described as having a "small, womanish face" and that he's worn the "same haircut (shaggy with bangs)" for most of his life.

Actor Mackenzie Phillips reportedly called him a "gnome" and he's been described as having a faint resemblance to Andy Warhol.

"(Bingenheimer is) Homuncular, with spindly little legs and a Prince Valiant mop atop sagging features, he now looks like a strenuously mod Don Knotts."

Bingenheimer became a groupie of sorts and formed attachments with prominent artists including Sonny and Cher.

He met Cher by going backstage after a concert and according to Bingenheimer, she looked at him and said "Oh my God, you look just like Sonny!"

They "bonded" and he went to work for them and "they took care of me", he said.

In a later interview, Bingenheimer explained that many artists grew to like and trust him because of his sincerity, taste in music and not being pushy.

Writer Alison Powell in The Guardian wrote that his "sincerity helped him gain the trust of Brian Wilson, the Beatles, even Elvis".

During these years he was photographed near countless celebrities from the worlds of acting and music and Hollywood, including John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Mick Jagger, Adam Ant, the Beach Boys and many others, almost like a "real life rock'n'roll Zelig".

He ingratiated himself to many stars, people liked him.

In the early 1970s, he also managed a Los Angeles nightclub called Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco.

Bingenheimer helped numerous bands become successful in the American market.

He developed a reputation for being the first American DJ to identify new artists and play "edgy new bands" such as Blondie, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Van Halen, Guns N' Roses, Duran Duran, The Cure, Joan Jett, The Hollywood Squares, Hole, Symbol Six, No Doubt, Blur, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, The Bangles, X, The Pandoras, Germs and many others.

In 2003, Bingenheimer was the subject of the documentary Mayor of the Sunset Strip.

He was described as a "famous groupie, now respectable" by Mick Jagger, and the film documented Bingenheimer's status as a person with numerous high-profile friends.

In 2007, he was honored with the 2,330th star on Hollywood Boulevard.

In 2017, Bingenheimer joined SiriusXM's Little Steven's Underground Garage.

Bingenheimer was born in Mountain View, California, to a star-struck mother who separated from Bingenheimer's father when he was only three years old.

His father had wanted to be a celebrity but settled for attending celebrity golf events.

His mother was described as a "difficult woman" and a "relentless autograph hound".

One report suggested he had a lonely childhood, since he often spent nights alone while his mother worked as a waitress.

Another report suggested that the emerging rock music of the day became his "home" and a way for him to deal with the divorce of his parents.

He devoured fan magazines; he was "obsessed" with stars.

When Bingenheimer was 16, his mother drove him to southern California and dropped him off at the house of Connie Stevens, and instructed him to get the star's autograph.

Then she left abruptly.