British Radio host dies on air while doing morning show

[Mikey Radio]

British Radio host dies on air while doing morning show​

British radio host dies on air while doing morning show

British presenter Tim Gough died during his daily breakfast series on GenX Radio Suffolk, the station said.

www.cbsnews.com

A longtime British radio host died of a suspected heart attack on Monday, while presenting his daily segment on the air, his radio station announced.

Tim Gough, 55, died early Monday morning while his show "Tim Gough at Breakfast" aired live, GenX Radio said in a news release. Gough was presenting the show from his home in Suffolk, the county in east England where he was born.

GenX Radio said staff members are "shocked and devastated beyond words" over the loss of their colleague, whom the station described as "a hugely experienced and highly talented broadcaster with an army of fans for his daily show."

 

[Gregg.]

About 25 years ago, a noted NYC DJ, Jack Spector, died while doing an adult standards show on Long Island radio station 1100 WHLI. He had once been a popular Top 40 DJ in the 1960s and 70s. When Howard Stern was doing afternoons on 660 WNBC, Spector followed him with a sports show, and they often chatted on the air.

Spector was playing a song on WHLI and when it ended, there was silence. He had apparently dropped to the floor during the song. Staff members tried giving him mouth to mouth and an ambulance was called. But he was already dead.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

About a decade or so ago, a DJ in Portland, ME died while on the air too.. I think it was WPOR 101.9? It might've been a weekend shift, but someone else was there.. other staffers were alerted when the silence alarm in the studio went off.

 

[gr8oldies]

I vaguely remember reading on this board that a General Manager in a small market station passed while doing morning news, but no idea who or when

 

[davideduardo]

One of the "behind the scenes" questions is, of course, "what is on the air?"

I've got a friend who was, long ago, PD of a significant station in the South. The morning guy was on his way to work, and the station had a signal but no music. He got to the studio and found the overnight guy slumped over in his chair. A quick check revealed he was dead.

Call to 9-1-1. Call to the PD; "what do I do?" PD: "roll the chair to the side and play some music." Long after that, those involved thought about what was the "right thing to do" but in the end this is radio and the listener is not involved in that kind of situation. But I can imagine how tough it is to make any decision in that kind of situation.

I had a situation where my mid-day talent was beaten, tied and bound during the 2-hour lunch break typical 50 years or more ago in Latin America. The intruders, who broke down the entrance, put on a recording of a call-to-arms and revolution and escaped. I got there a few moments later, and the first instinct was to help the person who has been attacked and who was hurt. But at the same time, the station was used for a call to revolution, and you want to get things back to apparent normalcy quickly. It's mental chaos.

 

[Mikey Radio]

One of the "behind the scenes" questions is, of course, "what is on the air?"

I've got a friend who was, long ago, PD of a significant station in the South. The morning guy was on his way to work, and the station had a signal but no music. He got to the studio and found the overnight guy slumped over in his chair. A quick check revealed he was dead.

Call to 9-1-1. Call to the PD; "what do I do?" PD: "roll the chair to the side and play some music." Long after that, those involved thought about what was the "right thing to do" but in the end this is radio and the listener is not involved in that kind of situation. But I can imagine how tough it is to make any decision in that kind of situation.

I had a situation where my mid-day talent was beaten, tied and bound during the 2-hour lunch break typical 50 years or more ago in Latin America. The intruders, who broke down the entrance, put on a recording of a call-to-arms and revolution and escaped. I got there a few moments later, and the first instinct was to help the person who has been attacked and who was hurt. But at the same time, the station was used for a call to revolution, and you want to get things back to apparent normalcy quickly. It's mental chaos.

Somewhat related - I recall when a particular station caught fire during the morning show. The PD was driving to have breakfast, was listening to the station and heard the morning guy open the mic, explain there was a fire in the building and they needed to evacuate. He then played a song and at the end there was dead air. The PD grew livid, thinking this was just a stunt by the morning guy, he wasn't amused by the long stretch of dead air and he immediately made a U-turn and sped to the station with intentions of terminating him immediately. He arrived to find the studio building fully ablaze and the morning host sitting on a barrier in the parking lot, in tears.

 

[DOB]

A rather expensive promotion, but who really could argue with their positioner "We play the hottest hits", the morning guy I think would beat the charge of arson with the defense, they got me playing this damn Talking Heads song at the top of every hour.