Career
Barbieri was a stringer for Sport magazine before he joined KNBR in 1984 to host his own sports talk show. In 1996, he was teamed with Tolbert, a former NBA player. Barbieri's nickname is "The Razor" because of his raspy voice, thought by some listeners to resemble a barber's electric razor, and his "no-nonsense" approach to interviews. The nickname, which may have also been inspired by his surname's resemblance to "barber," was given to him by longtime San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen. In 2007, Barbieri renewed his four-year contract with KNBR through November 2011. Barbieri was known to end his show with, "Angels fly because they take themselves lightly.", a quote from Gilbert K. Chesterton.
On April 11, 2012, the 66 year old Barbieri was let go by KNBR. KNBR's parent company, Cumulus Media, said he "refused to honor some of the most basic terms of his contract." Barbieri's legal team cited age discrimination and disability discrimination in the termination. Earlier in 2011, Barbieri had revealed that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2005.
Read more about this topic: Ralph Barbieri
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