Julian "Buzz" Kilman (born August 19, 1944) is a Chicago radio personality.
He started in radio as the public service director for WBUS-FM, "The Magic Bus" in Miami Beach, Florida. Kilman remained there until station management discovered many of his late night interviews were spoofs. In 1974, he was at WSHE-FM in Ft. Lauderdale, where he did morning news and a weekend public service talk show that had many comedic spoofs.
On April Fool's Day, 1980, he went to WLUP-FM in Chicago and did news for The Steve Dahl Show. After Dahl was fired in 1981, Kilman did news for a series of morning personalities until he teamed up with Jonathon Brandmeier in 1983 on WLUP. As newsman and sidekick, Kilman broadcasted with Brandmeier for 14 years on the Loop and AM-1000. Buzz became the morning man at the Loop for one year when Brandmeier left the station during a contract dispute in 1997. Kilman moved to WCKG in January, 1999 to rejoin Brandmeier. Stalled contract negotiations between CBS and Brandmeier in January, 2001 caused Kilman to do the mid-day show alone, and thus the Temporary Buzz Kilman Show was born. Shortly thereafter, Wendy Snyder was brought on as a co-host for the now temporary-less Buzz Kilman Show. The show culminated with the "Blobus Festivus" outdoor music and variety show. On April 1, 2002, the duo moved to afternoons as sidekicks for the Steve Dahl show, replacing Joy Masada and Dave McBride. Wendy's contract was not renewed in the winter of 2007. On November 5, 2007, Buzz followed Steve Dahl to WJMK as they became the new morning team.
When Kilman came to Chicago, he brought his harmonica and a predisposition to the blues. In 1988 he formed the All Bubba Blues Band and played around the area for the next 5 or 6 years until the band broke up in the mid 90s. In 2001 he formed the Blues Rocket Scientists and continues to play.
As a result of his friendship with director Jonathan Demme, Kilman has appeared in a number of bit parts in Demme's films. For instance, he played a paramedic in The Silence of the Lambs (film). In the scene where Hannibal Lecter, impersonating a wounded guard, is taken away to an ambulance, one paramedic can be heard referring to the other as "Buzz."
Always a movie fan and occasional critic, he and noted artist Tony Fitzpatrick did a weekly radio segment on WLUP called Drive In Reviews in which they coined the phrase "quality kill." In October 1993 they took the show to television for a two-season run on Comedy Central, during which they featured particularly gruesome film clips from their favorite horror movies.
Kilman is married and resides with his wife, Aimee, and daughter, Piper, in Chicago.
During 2007, Kilman suffered a kidney stone. He announced on-air that he had to leave in order to have it treated. He also obtained a hair transplant and endorsed the procedure in several advertisements.
