Broadcaster Paul Harvey has died at age 90

ZeroRing · Feb 28, 2009

Not sure if this is the correct place to post this but...

I can remember listening to him as a teenager at my dad's autobody shop during lunch time in the late 70's and early 80's when I worked there in the summers. One thing's for sure... 90 years is a good long life.

Rest in Peace Paul. :cigar:

Broadcasting legend Paul Harvey has died at age 90.

ABC Radio Networks spokesman Louis Adams said Harvey died today in a Phoenix hospital, near his winter home, surrounded by family members.

ABC Radio Networks President Jim Robinson released the following statement:

"Paul Harvey was one of the most gifted and beloved broadcasters in our nation's history. As he delivered the news each day with his own unique style and commentary, his voice became a trusted friend in American households.

"His career in radio spanned more than seven decades, during which time countless millions of listeners were both informed and entertained by his 'News & Comment' and 'Rest of the Story' features.

"Even after the passing of his loving wife Angel in May 2008, Paul would not slip quietly into retirement as he continued to take the microphone and reach out to his audience. We will miss our dear friend tremendously and are grateful for the many years we were so fortunate to have known him. Our thoughts and prayers are now with his son Paul Jr. and the rest of the Harvey family."

"My father and mother created from thin air what one day became radio and television news," said the couple's son, Paul Harvey Jr. "So in the past year, an industry has lost its godparents and today millions have lost a friend."

"Paul Harvey was the most listened to man in the history of radio," said Bruce DuMont, president of the Museum of Broadcast Communications and host of the nationally syndicated radio program "Beyond the Beltway." "There is no one who will ever come close to him."

Dumont said Harvey had a litmus test for all his stories: Would Aunt Betty care about this? He thought about the interest level of his real Aunt Betty to get away from "highfalutin" foreign affairs discussions to discuss "meat and potato" issues like health care, Dumont said.

Harvey rejected numerous offers to move his show to the east coast so he could stay in Chicago, DuMont said. He did this to "stay in touch with his listeners and the American people," DuMont said.

Before Rush Limbaugh and George Will became household conservative commentators, there was Paul Harvey, DuMont said.

"From a political standpoint, he was in the vanguard of conservative political thought," DuMont said. "Barry Goldwater used to listen to Paul Harvey. That's the real power of the guy."

DuMont said one of Harvey's most notable broadcasts was in 1970 when he said, "Mr. President, I love you, but you're wrong." Harvey was the first conservative commentator to suggest the Vietnam War was wrong and Nixon should resign, DuMont said.

Chicago radio personality Steve Dahl remembers working in the same studios as Harvey when he first came to town in 1978.

"One morning he walked past me and said 'Good morning, American!' " Dahl said. "That made me feel like I'd finally hit the big time. Paul Harvey was the man. He sure made me feel like one."

WGN Radio Vice President/General Manager Tom Langmyer said "America has lost an important icon."

"Paul Harvey was one of the greatest broadcasters of all time. He wove stories of life together in a way that will never be matched," Langmyer said. "He provided inspiration to countless journalists and broadcasters and touched millions by connecting in a way that was not only informative, but also creative and unique. Paul and the love of his life, Angel, are now together. We were lucky to have had him in our lives."

Steve Edwards, acting program director at Chicago Public Radio, said he remembers listening to Paul Harvey while sitting in the backseat of his parents' station wagon in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

"He was one of the voices, among several, that captivated my imagination, that made me spellbound by the power of radio," said Edwards, 38, former host of Eight Forty-Eight.

"I remembering being transfixed by the baritone and those long pregnant pauses--the pauses that you could drive a truck through," Edwards said. "From a professional standpoint, one of the things that radio broadcasters are taught from Day 1 in the profession, is that dead air is a big no-on, and it's only after years and years in the field that you realize that silence is your most powerful tool [and] he did it better than anyone."

"He was a phenomenal pitch-man, a hugely influential news voice, and a great entertainer ... for those reasons the greatest radio talent ever," said Steve Cochran, afternoon host at WGN 720-AM.

Rick Pearson contributed to this report.

--Gerry Smith and Mary Owen

Spray-n-pray · Feb 28, 2009

Yeah, I just saw that on the news. I remember listening to Paul Harvey as a kid. Of course, it said that he began broadcasting in 1933, and nationally in 1951! That is a heck of a long time. I for one will miss hearing "the rest of the story."