How Louisiana Talk Show Host Moon Griffon Got His Name

Lafayette, LA (KPEL News) - The name Moon Griffon evokes audio memories of a gravelly voice sharing opinionated comments about Louisiana politics and politicians. He loves giving less-than-complimentary names to elected officials that he feels aren't living up to the conservative standards they claim to support. Speaking of names, is Moon his real name? If not, what is it and how did he get his nickname?

I asked him those very questions and, with that signature gravelly laugh, he said, "It's probably not what you think."

As you are aware if you listen to his show each weekday from 9 until 11 on syndicated stations or 9 until noon on KPEL, Moon loves to tell stories! Some of them are even true!

Moon became part of the Townsquare Media family 25 years ago when he began broadcasting his Monroe-born show on KPEL. Over the years, his show has been syndicated in Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Lake Charles, and Shreveport.

He told me about a college class he took. At the beginning of the semester, the professor called roll and asked how each student preferred to be addressed. He calls out Moon's real name which is Blain Michael Griffon. He responds, "I go by Moon." The professor curiously and cautiously asks why.

Moon, who is a total cut-up, tells the professor that he was on a bus headed back from a basketball game. A member of State Police was following them, and he decided it would be a great idea to moon the officer. The trooper pulled over the bus and gave the coach a ticket. Moon ran sprints for the next week.

The professor never addressed him as Moon after that, safely sticking to Mr. Griffon.

If you know Moon, you'd not doubt for a second that the bus story was true. But it's not.

The real story is far more sentimental and may soften the hearts of Moon's staunchest critics and maybe even those considered his enemies.

When he was a little boy, his parents would listen to "Moon River" as performed by Andy Williams. He told me that was his favorite song for years, and he'd sing it as a child. His mom and dad started referring to him as "Moon," and the name stuck.

As nicknames go, "Moon" works for the man who was born Blain Michael.