{{short description|American radio broadcaster}} {{redirect|The Poorman|other uses|Poorman (disambiguation)|and|Poor Man (disambiguation)}} {{BLP sources|date=June 2019}} {{use mdy dates|date=June 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = Jim Trenton | image = KROQ's The Poorman (Jim Trenton).jpg | image_size = | caption = Trenton in 1985 | birth_name = James Trenton | birth_date = | birth_place = | other_names = The Poorman | occupation = Radio broadcaster, actor, author | spouse = }} '''James Trenton''', nicknamed "'''the Poorman'''", is an American radio broadcaster. He is best known as the creator and host of ''Loveline'' on KROQ-FM in Los Angeles from 1983 to 1993. He currently hosts a morning radio program on KOCI 101.5 FM, a station located in south Orange County, California.<ref>[http://www.kociradio.com/ KOCI]</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=POORMAN'S RADIO DAYS: THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS DJ IN AMERICA |url=https://www.ocweekly.com/poormans-radio-days-the-most-outrageous-dj-in-america/ |publisher=OC Weekly |date=August 8, 2019}}</ref> "Poorman's Morning Rush" is also now in 4 markets. Three shows are taped daily M-F (KBSZ, KZFX, KLUK) and KOCI is live five days a week.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jim 'Poorman' Trenton Added For Mornings At KLUK/Needles, CA |url=https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/197816/jim-poorman-trenton-added-for-mornings-at-kluk-nee |website=All Access |access-date=20 March 2023 |date=20 June 2020}}</ref>
== Career in radio == Trenton began his entertainment career in the mid-80s on then underground alternative radio station KROQ-FM in Los Angeles. During the following decade, he created and hosted the popular nighttime show ''Loveline'', co-hosted the KROQ morning show, and appeared on ''Oprah''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ocweekly.com/poormans-bikini-beach-wants-your-bands-song-and-poorman-will-pay-6582427/ |title='Poorman's Bikini Beach' Wants Your Band's Song and Poorman Will Pay $$$ |work=Orange County Weekly |access-date=December 17, 2025}}</ref>
=== Early years === Under "The Poorman" moniker, Trenton wrote and self-published two guidebooks about dining in the Los Angeles area on a budget.<ref>These guidebooks are: * {{cite book|title=The Poorman's Guide to Gourmet Dining in Pasadena for Under $6.00|date=1979|publisher=Poorman Productions|location=Pasadena, California|author=The Poorman|oclc=22971551}} * {{cite book|title=The Poorman's Guide to Gourmet Dining on the Westside of Town for Under $6.00|date=September 1980|publisher=Poorman Productions|location=Pasadena, California|author=The Poorman|oclc=7511540}}</ref> In May 1981, Trenton broadcast his first of several reviews of inexpensive restaurants on KROQ.<ref name="court">{{cite court|litigants=Trenton v. Infinity Broadcasting Corp.|vol= 865|reporter=F.Supp.|opinion= 1416|pinpoint=|court=United States District Court, C.D. California|date=6 September 1994|url=http://www.leagle.com/decision/19942281865FSupp1416_12116.xml/TRENTON%20v.%20INFINITY%20BROADCASTING%20CORP.|accessdate=26 July 2014}}</ref>
Trenton continued as the local surf reporter and went on to co-host the KROQ morning show with Richard Blade. From there, he became one of the station's most popular figures, when he created ''Loveline''.<ref name="google1">{{cite magazine|title=newsline...|magazine=Billboard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kw4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA69 |date=February 6, 1999|volume=111|issue=6|page=69 |issn=0006-2510|access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref>
=== ''Loveline'' === Trenton created ''Loveline''<ref name="google1" /> in 1983 as a Sunday night dating and relationships segment on Los Angeles radio station KROQ, hosted by Trenton, DJ Swedish Egil (Egil Aalvik), and Scott Mason. It began as a serious "public service" segment hosted by Mason, but Trenton revamped the format to a hybrid of advice and comedy.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} As Trenton found himself unable to answer serious medical questions related to sexual issues, he added a segment called "Ask a Surgeon," and later "On Call with Dr. Drew," hosted by his friend Drew Pinsky, who at the time, was a fourth-year medical student at the University of Southern California. This format became a fast hit for KROQ, catapulting Trenton and Drew to celebrity.<ref name="Poorman Fired from KROQ Part 2">{{cite news|url=https://ocweekly.com/poormans-radio-days-fired-from-kroq-the-real-story-part-2/|title=Poorman's Radio Days: Fired from KROQ! The Real Story (Part 2)|author=Poorman|date=August 22, 2019|newspaper=OC Weekly}}</ref>{{Independent source inline|date=October 2019|reason=Statement from the article subject himself.}}
On August 20, 1993, Trenton was a victim of a prank played by morning DJ Gene "Bean" Baxter, where Bean had an assistant walk into Trenton's unlocked house—while he was sleeping—to "celebrate" Trenton's 40th birthday. In response, Trenton organized approximately 500 listeners to gather on the front lawn of Bean's house at midnight, to have their own celebration. Bean complained to the station's management, which responded by terminating Trenton's employment.<ref name="Poorman Fired from KROQ Part 2"/><ref>{{cite news|last=Willman|first=Chris|title=On Bean's Final Broadcast, 'Poorman' Comes on KROQ for First Time Since 1993 Firing — and It Gets Real|date=November 7, 2019|work=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2019/music/news/kevin-bean-poorman-kroq-1203397135/|access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref> That month, he was replaced on ''Loveline'' by former MTV VJ Riki Rachtman.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-05-23-ca-61258-story.html|title=Rachtman Tunes In with 'Loveline'|date= May 23, 1994|last=Matsumoto|first=Jon|access-date=26 July 2014}}</ref>
''Loveline'' continued without Trenton, earning many millions of dollars,{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} and becoming syndicated. It also had a televised run on MTV for a number of years.
=== Other radio work === From 1994 through 2004, Trenton worked at several Los Angeles-area radio stations. After departing KROQ, Trenton hosted shows on GrooveRadio (103.1), KIIS-FM (102.7), KPWR-FM (105.9),<ref>{{cite news|last=Michaelson|first=Judith|title=POP/ROCKMTV Awards: Hip-hop/R&B; group TLC, alternative-rock band...|date=September 8, 1995|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-08-ca-43435-story.html|access-date=February 21, 2020|quote=Return of Poorman: Jim Trenton, better known as Poorman, will make his debut Monday night on KPWR-FM (105.9), which has hired the ribald former KROQ-FM (106.7) deejay to work the 7-10 p.m. slot Monday-Friday.}}</ref> and twice at KYSR-FM (98.7).
Later in 2001, Poorman joined the ''Rick Dees in the Morning Show'' on KIIS-FM Los Angeles as Rick Dees' sidekick through 2004, until Dees was replaced by Ryan Seacrest. Trenton became the only on-air talent in Los Angeles radio history to work at all three Los Angeles new music giants: KROQ, POWER 106, and KIIS.
==== KCAA and ''Poorman's Nation'' ==== In late 2010, Trenton began one of various stints on the pay-your-own-way broadcast station KCAA, based out of San Bernardino, California. While most hosts on the station pay hourly to host their own vanity programs, Poorman was given a free air slot, and had an agreement with station ownership to split the revenue from any advertising sold.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://pub3.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/81941/poorman-returns-to-radio-at-kcaa-a |title=Poorman Returns to KCAA |access-date=February 21, 2020 |archive-date=February 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221061314/https://pub3.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/81941/poorman-returns-to-radio-at-kcaa-a |url-status=dead }}</ref> The show "Poorman's Radio Invasion", ended after about a year, at which point he moved to New York to prepare for his new syndicated program.
On October 10, 2011, Trenton began his syndicated show, called ''Poorman's Nation''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.poormansnation.com/ |title=Poorman's Nation |date= |access-date=2011-10-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026062845/http://www.poormansnation.com/ |archive-date=October 26, 2011 }}</ref> Despite originally being promoted as a live call-in show, ''Poorman's Nation'' instead consisted solely of taped interviews from Occupy Wall Street. The program was syndicated by the Genesis Communications Network, and produced by Mike Lundgren with KCAA, which carried his original Radio Invasion program earlier in the year. Trenton conducted his on-the-street interviews while wearing only a Depression-era-style barrel, which earned him some degree of media attention, including an appearance on ''The Young Turks''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://current.com/shows/the-young-turks/blog/93502100_poormans-nation-helps-occupy-wall-street-find-a-voice-on-the-radio.htm|archive-date=24 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024035230/http://current.com/shows/the-young-turks/blog/93502100_poormans-nation-helps-occupy-wall-street-find-a-voice-on-the-radio.htm|title='Poorman's Nation' helps Occupy Wall Street find a voice on the radio|website=The Young Turks Blog|date=2011-10-19}}</ref> However, the show failed to pick up any additional affiliates or local sponsors, and was canceled by the syndicator on November 7, 2011.
Trenton returned to KCAA twice from 2012 to 2015, with neither show lasting more than nine months.
=== Host === While working at KROQ in the mid-1980s, local Orange County TV station KDOC had a program called ''Adventures with the Poorman'' hosted by Trenton.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}}
In the late 1980s, Trenton hosted a show on KDOC called ''Request Video''. This was a live show featuring videos of primarily rock and independent bands. In addition, Trenton took live phone calls and interviewed bands. His show was the first to interview the then-unknown Gwen Stefani and her band No Doubt.
=== ''The Love Channel'' and ''Poorman's Bikini Beach'' === In 1994, Trenton launched a live, late-night call-in TV advice show called ''The Love Channel'' on KDOC. He co-hosted the show with “Dr. Danielle” Ardolino, a UCLA Medical School graduate who was then completing her residency at the UC Irvine Medical Center. The show featured a mix of advice to callers, celebrity interviews and band performances.<ref>{{cite news|first=Randy|last=Lewis|title=TV REVIEW : Poorman's 'Love Channel' Needs to Censor the Sponsor-Kissing|date=August 31, 1994|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-08-31-ca-33071-story.html|access-date=May 17, 2021}}</ref> The show attempted to replicate the success of ''Loveline,'' but it was ultimately canceled.<ref name=parsons_01312008/> In 1999, Trenton again returned to the television landscape, producing a program called ''Poorman's Bikini Beach''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ocweekly.com/2007-11-08/features/enter-poorman/full/|title=Enter Poorman|first=Luke Y.|last=Thompson|date=8 November 2007|newspaper=OC Weekly|access-date=26 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924055300/http://www.ocweekly.com/2007-11-08/features/enter-poorman/full/|archive-date=September 24, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Like ''The Love Channel'', Poorman owned and controlled the show, renting airtime from various television stations.<ref name=parsons_01312008>{{cite news|last=Parsons|first=Diana|title=The host with the most -- rancor|date=January 31, 2008|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jan-31-me-parsons31-story.html|access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref> It ran subsequent years, on various television stations including the Los Angeles station KJLA.<ref name=larsen_12082006/>
Trenton canceled the program on January 17, 2011, to pursue other career opportunities in New York.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ocweekly.com/2008-01-03/news/exit-poorman/full/|title=Exit Poorman|first=Luke Y.|last=Thompson|date=3 January 2008|newspaper=OC Weekly|access-date=26 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727210603/http://www.ocweekly.com/2008-01-03/news/exit-poorman/full/|archive-date=July 27, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===KOCI=== In 2019, Trenton began hosting a morning drive-time radio program, ''Poorman’s Morning Rush'', on KOCI-FM 101.5, "The Low Power Blowtorch" broadcasting from Costa Mesa, California.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cherin|first=Alexander Hamilton|title=THE POORMAN COMETH . . . BACK|date=March 14, 2019|newspaper=OC Weekly|url=https://www.ocweekly.com/the-poorman-cometh-back/|access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref>
===KLIE=== Trenton also simulcasts his morning show, ''Poorman’s Morning Rush'', on KLIE-LP 90.3 FM, another local station based in Garden Grove, California and broadcasting out of Fountain Valley, California. The station is also known by its more popular name, [http://www.radiosuerte.com Radio Suerte], where it is the first bilingual station run by both Maria Luisa Luna and Victor Mendez.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-21 |title=Recalling the career of a radio personality who spent five decades on the air |url=https://www.dailynews.com/2022/02/21/remembering-a-radio-personality-who-spent-five-decades-on-the-air/ |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=Daily News |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Appearances and stints == Trenton worked as a field reporter on KTTV's ''Good Day LA'' and the Los Angeles UPN station's news program.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
He appeared as an extra on the program ''Boardwalk Empire'', which aired in October 2012.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
In 2014, Trenton appeared on episode two of ''Frankenfood'' on Spike TV. His creation, the ''Nuclear Torpedo'', also called a "Poor Man's Giant Garbage Burrito" was panned by all three judges.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} Host Tony Luke, Jr. bet $100 that a dog would not eat Trenton's giant burrito, and, in fact, the dog refused to eat Trenton's creation.
Trenton has also appeared in four films, including the 1987 B movie ''North Shore'' as the opening surf contest announcer, the 1988 hit ''Heathers'' (as the 'Hot Probs' D.J.) and the 1990 film ''Men at Work'' (as the narrator). He also appeared alongside Nick Offerman in the music video for the song "The Greatest" by They Might Be Giants.
Trenton is a member of SAG/AFTRA.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
== Personal life == Trenton completed law school while in his 20s, but did not pass the California State Bar exam. This occurred before he got involved in radio.<ref name=larsen_12082006>{{cite news|last=Larsen|first=Peter|date=December 8, 2006|url=http://www.ocregister.com/news/says-49362-trenton-kroq.html|title='Poorman' perseveres|newspaper=Orange County Register}}</ref>
Trenton is also a photographer, and has exhibited his work at various art galleries throughout California including The Gray Matter of Art Gallery.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20171014081919/http://www.photopressionist.com/ James "Poorman" Trenton Photography]</ref>
Trenton is married to long time girlfriend, Aime McCrory.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Turner |first1=Andrew |title=Back for more: Jim 'Poorman' Trenton set for 29-hour New Year's broadcast |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/story/2021-12-30/back-for-more-jim-poorman-trenton-set-for-29-hour-new-years-broadcast |access-date=20 March 2023 |work=Daily Pilot |publisher=Los Angeles Times |date=30 December 2021 |quote=Trenton provided a personal update, too: He and his fiancée, Aime, are looking forward to getting married on Aug. 6 [2022] in a public wedding on the sand in Newport Beach.}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
;Additional sources * {{Cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/1008/kroqfaq.html |title=The Unofficial ALT.FAN.KROQ FAQ |access-date=March 1, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027085022/http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/1008/kroqfaq.html |archive-date=October 27, 2009 |url-status=bot: unknown |df=mdy-all }} * {{Cite web |url=http://eonline.com/News/Court/9902.loveline.html |title=James "Poorman" Trenton v. MTV, March 1, 2006 |access-date=October 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000120004020/http://eonline.com/News/Court/9902.loveline.html |archive-date=January 20, 2000 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }} * {{cite journal|title=L.A. Stories: Poorman saved|journal=Los Angeles Business Journal|date=April 18, 2005|url=http://labusinessjournal.com/news/2005/apr/18/la-stories/}} * {{cite web|url=http://dkinteractivedesign.com/sites/lovecalls/|title=Love Calls with the Poorman (Jim Trenton)|access-date=February 17, 2016|archive-date=April 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427190916/https://dkinteractivedesign.com/sites/lovecalls/|url-status=dead}} archived site May 1, 2005
== External links == * {{IMDb name|id=0872199|name=Jim Trenton}} * {{Facebook|jim.p.trenton|Jim Poorman Trenton}} * {{Twitter|name=Poorman}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trenton, James}} Category:Living people Category:American radio personalities Category:California Republicans Category:1953 births