A tribute post to one of the good guys in talk radio

[SirFozzie]

Most of talk radio is outshouting your opposition, of clinging to your ideological ideals and refusing to hear or discuss anything that disagrees with it.

That's why I'm saddened to hear that David Brudnoy of WBZ-1030 AM here in Boston will likely pass away today at the age of 64, from complications of cancer and HIV/AIDS.

Boston is fairly liberal (as we've all heard about the last few months leading up to the election), but Brudnoy was the rarity. A self-proclaimed liberterian, Brudnoy made public his dislike of both political parties (the republicans too eager to "write discrimmination into our Constitution" and the Democrats "too willing to work on quotas and entitlement"), and was loved for it here in the quirky Hub of the Universe. Well-read, and well-spoken, Brudnoy continued teaching at Boston University up until the final stages of his illness (he joked about rushing to get all the final exams done and graded before his passing).

I guess the reason I'm typing this is because I spent quite a few nights driving home from work listening to his eclectic mixture of guests on WBZ radio, and maybe in some way, wanted to thank him for being the voice on the other end of the radio that made the drive home more palatable.

In dying, he's showing the same class that he's shown all his life.

Salud, David. May God take you in his arms swifty and with care.

[KWhit]

How did he contract AIDS?

[CamEdwards]

heard about this. he ended up doing his last show from his bed, right?

sounds like he was the best kind of talk show host... an interesting person in his own right.

[Alan T]

I actually did not think he was fairly liberal... Maybe just my experience of moving from Texas to Massachusetts (Two polar opposites), and me trying to be as moderate/middle ground as possible while still staying opinionated, but I found him to be more conservative on a majority of issues (besides certain obvious social-political issues). What I found interesting was that he seemed to me to be a conservative gay libertarian.... which was quite an interesting mix..

[vtbub]

His talent is/was immense, but that pales in comparison to his courage and perserverance as a human being.

God Speed David.

[Bubba Wheels]

I feel your pain. Hometown radio hosts are few and far between these days, most are national syndicated ones that spend more time promoting their own books than is actually saying something worthwhile. Here in Detroit, we lost a local giant named David Newman a couple of years ago with a stroke. Newman was one of a kind, could talk about everything from national and LOCAL politics to classic cars and classic movies.

Once their gone, its over. And these local giants don't get replaced either. Just more national syndicateds selling books. Enjoy 'em if you still got 'em on the air locally to listen to. To those around Detroit, a simpatico moment from the past was Bob Talbert calling into the David Newman show on some local happening. Too quickly gone.

[Suicane75]

I feel your pain. Hometown radio hosts are few and far between these days, most are national syndicated ones that spend more time promoting their own books than is actually saying something worthwhile. Here in Detroit, we lost a local giant named David Newman a couple of years ago with a stroke. Newman was one of a kind, could talk about everything from national and LOCAL politics to classic cars and classic movies.

Once their gone, its over. And these local giants don't get replaced either. Just more national syndicateds selling books. Enjoy 'em if you still got 'em on the air locally to listen to. To those around Detroit, a simpatico moment from the past was Bob Talbert calling into the David Newman show on some local happening. Too quickly gone.


I second that emotion, Bubba said it well.

[SirFozzie]

He did pass away today :(. Here's the story from the AP.

BOSTON -- David Brudnoy, the most recognized voice of Boston talk radio for more than a quarter of a century, died Thursday night at Massachusetts General Hospital, his radio station, WBZ-AM, reported. He was 64.

Brudnoy, whose soothing voice could be heard every week night in 38 states and in Canada on WBZ since 1986, announced on air in September, 2003 that he was suffering from merkel cell carcinoma, a form of rare but treatable skin cancer. He had already lived with AIDS for more than a decade, beating a viral infection that nearly took his life in 1994.

His death came a day after, in an interview conducted at his bedside at Massachusetts General Hospital, he announced the cancer had spread into his liver and kidneys -- and that he was ready to die.

"I am not asking my doctors to do anything illegal," Brudnoy told veteran news anchor Gary LaPierre. "I wish I could but they won't. I will make it through. My head is completely accepting of this. I am absolutely ready."

He left his show in November of last year to fight the cancer, recovered and returned in March, interviewing Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, Gov. Mitt Romney and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura in his first night back. His voice was noticeably more hoarse.

"We're guaranteed nothing in life except life itself, and what we get is an adventure, not always a happy one but always a learning experience as well as, like now, a time of fear and maybe even (I hope temporary) despair," he said at the time.

But Brudnoy was hospitalized again this month, and his condition deteriorated quickly.

Wednesday, after his final interview aired, elected officials including Sen. Edward Kennedy and Gov. Mitt Romney and everyday listeners who had come to know him from their radios called to offer rememberances and thanks.

Brudnoy had been optimistic about beating the cancer, not just because of the expert medical care he was receiving, but because he had been living with AIDS for nearly a decade.

"I've lived nine years since fall 1994, defying the odds, and unless my nine lives have been used up, I'll survive this too," he said.

Brudnoy revealed in 1994 that he was gay and had AIDS after he was hospitalized with a viral infection that almost took his life. He said at the time that he only expected to live five or six more years. The cancer had nothing to do with AIDS, he said.

Brudnoy's radio show touched on almost any topic, from politics, to current events, to the arts. He was known for his intellectual thoughtfulness, his sense of humor and his easygoing manner with callers, who came from all walks of life.

His loyal listeners revolted in the early 1990s when he was taken off the air in favor of cheaper syndicated talk programming. Listeners boycotted the station and advertisers and Brudnoy was back on the air within weeks.

Though best known for his broadcasting career that started in 1971 at WGBH-TV in Boston, he also wrote movie reviews for suburban newspapers and lectured at a number of area colleges, most recently at Boston University. His articles have been published in The New York Times, National Review, TV Guide, New Republic and many more.

"David was a breath of fresh air on the faculty," said Robert Zelnick, chairman of the journalism department at Boston University, where Brudnoy taught a media criticism class. "He challenged students ... he made them think critically."

He started his talk radio career at WHDH-AM in 1976, then moved to WRKO-AM in 1981.

His memoirs published in 1997, "Life is Not a Rehearsal," chronicled his battle with HIV.

Brudnoy was a Republican until 1998 when he officially switched to the Libertarian Party.

Brudnoy, born in Minneapolis, received a bachelor's degree in Japanese studies from Yale, a master's in Far Eastern studies from Harvard, a master's in the history of American civilization and a doctorate in history, both from Brandeis University.