Editing Phil Austin (section)

=== Radio ===
In Los Angeles in the late 1960s, he was one of the first apprentices for the [[Center Theatre Group]] and worked on the staff of [[KPFK]] radio in [[Los Angeles]]. At KPFK he worked with other staffers [[David Ossman]] and [[Peter Bergman (comedian)|Peter Bergman]] who hosted Radio Free Oz on that station. Along with Bergman's friend [[Phil Proctor]], they formed [[The Firesign Theatre]].

Starting as live radio actors, the group would go on to record a series of [[Surrealism|surrealistic]] [[comedy]] albums that were a hit amongst an underground audience.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/firesign-theatre-mn0000795481/credits|title = Firesign Theatre &#124; Credits|website = [[AllMusic]]}}</ref> Austin played the group's best-known creation, private investigator [[Nick Danger]]. Other prominent roles were as (Happy) Harry Cox, the narrator of ''[[Everything You Know Is Wrong]]'' and Bebop Loco/Lobo on ''[[Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death]]''. He had also served as the troupe's musician and record producer.

{{blockquote|"It was those comments, the off-mic things, that made Phil so funny.  He was the most surreal writer of all of us."|[[David Ossman]]<ref name=lat/>}}