Courtesy Bina Roy
Update 9 a.m. Tuesday Feb. 23: Jerry Springer called from his Sarasota home to talk about his old pal Pat Barry, and told me how and why Pat left radio to become WLWT-TV s main weatherman in 1984. It was Springer s idea.
Springer says he suggested to general manager Tony Kiernan that they hire Barry in an attempt to replicate the success of Willard Scott, NBC s hugely popular
Today show weatherman who was not a meteorologist.
Credit Courtesy Brinke Guthrie Pat Barry was a big name on local radio, on Q102. Instead of hiring a meteorologist, I told Tony, Why not spice up our newscasts with this big, funny, boisterous personality? He could be our Willard Scott.
. Born Allen Duaine Pruett in Texas, Fox and Chris O Brien hosted the hugely popular morning show on WKRQ-FM in the 1970s and 80s, and hosted country music on WUBE-FM in the 1990s.
Other local deaths include UC basketball analyst Chuck Machock; radio personalities Laura Powell, Bob Nave, Bill Ridenour, Larry Thomas, Geoff Nimmo, Ron Britain and Vic Henley; Joe Morgan, the Reds Hall of Famer turned TV analyst for Reds TV and ESPN
Sunday Night Baseball; Bengals coach and NFL analyst Sam Wyche; movie producer/distributor Phil Borak; former Enquirer writers Sara Pearce and Lonnie Wheeler; Blue Wisp saxophonist Joe Gaudio; bandleader Jerry Conrad; and WLWT-TV engineer Ron Whitaker.