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Bob MacRae

J

JustPastBuffalo

A close friend of Bob MacRae today brought word of Bob's passing. A graduate of Ithaca College, Bob was well known in Buffalo for his work at WKBW, hired by Jeff Kaye first as all night personality, then moving to 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. where his show featured album cuts along side of KB's hits.

In the mid to late 70's, Bob was midday personality at Q-FM-97 and also served for a while as Program Director of The Q. I had the pleasure of working with Bob at KB and Q-FM-97. He was a solid broadcaster, a great production guy and a versatile air personality who bridged the gap between Top 40 and AOR with a unique, personable style that was all his own. My condolences to his family and friends.
 
One of my favorites growing up. Upbeat, personable and relatable, with a subtler sense of humor than the more outrageous KB guys. Unfortunately we never got him back for the Radio Reunions. RIP.
 
Guys, was Bob MacRae's real last name Strowjeski or something similar? If so he's the guy I went to school with in 1968-72. His nickname at IC was "Beatle" (because of his hair, regarded as somewhat avant garde in the 60s when most of us looked more like Ricky Nelson.)
 
"Guys, was Bob MacRae's real last name Strowjeski or something similar? "

You got the right nationality and hair, probably him.


His task was to bring me up to speed when I landed at KB for the second time.
He accomplished this by hanging around and chatting about general topics for about a half hour.......then taking off.

He was a good guy and a very warm, personal jock.
I think he was under appreciated.
 
It's hard to believe he's gone. He was a great jock, and versatile enough to handle any format well.

BTW, are you sure the spelling is correct? I've heard airchecks that were surely him with his name spelled "Bob McCrae", and also "Bob McRae".
 
Good question, Rox. I checked some of the archives from the QFM97 days and indeed found a disparity in spelling. The most frequent spelling in newspaper accounts (Courier-Express, February 28, 1980, Jim Baker, headline, "MacRae Tells of His Firing at WGRQ") cited multiple quotes attributed to Bob "MacRae."

However, a QFM97 memo from John Hayes, c. 1977, refers to him as Bob McCrae. I'd suggest "MacRae" was Bob's preference, given his quotes in Baker's column and from my recollections of his memos at QFM97.

Bob also was PD at WZIR, "Wizzard 98.5" where he worked with Gordy Dysinger, 97 Rock's creative director. Today Gordy and I traded stories, laughed and reminisced about working with Bob.

Bob's passing hits home in many ways. It's a cold dose of reality for many, because he's one of the first of the baby boomers to pass away. I was merely a co-worker, not a close friend. Still, his passing leaves me saddened.

As to his real last name, I am not 100% certain, but I believe it was Dzrojewski.
 
Very sad news...yes, hard to see DJs of my youth pass on. He was quite adept at working many different formats. I thought he sounded best at KB when Jeff Kaye was PD(though didn't seem to fit in as well when Bob Harper took over and changed things) and at QFM97 - really a great AOR Jock. I hadn't heard him on the air since perhaps the mid 80s - anyone know what he was doing since then?

BTW, I may be wrong, but I think he may have been the only DJ in KB history to go from weekends to overnights and then move into late nights. KB seemed to have a general policy of not promoting weekenders and overnighters, no matter how good they were(there may have been a few others who broke through this "glass ceiling", but I can't recall).
 
I hate to sound like a broken record. But Bob was another one of those guys I may never had met but was certainly influenced by as I was hoping for a career in radio. I'm truly saddened by this news. But I smile as I write this thinking about how Bob, and his newsman, Joe Downey, are now entertaining and informing people in a better place. Bob provided a nice counter-balance to the sharp wit of a Sandy Beach or high-energy delivery of a Jack Armstrong. He was laid back and friendly in his delivery. Sincere condolences to Bob's family.
 
Again I also hate to sound like a broken 45, but Bob's passing also struck me. He just preceeded me at Ithaca College in the School of Communications. He fueled my burning desire to get into broadcasting. At IC, Bob was held in high regard along with John Kosian (who worked weekends at both KB and WMEX in Boston) as models pf what you could do with talent and some good luck.
 
Sad news indeed. I always enjoyed working with Bob at KB in the 70s and missed his laid back and subtle sense of humour at the KB reunions I attended. A most friendly guy and a talent deserving of the legacy he left during his years in Buffalo.
 
This is truly sad.

Bob Zdrojewski and I first met when we were in our early teens and developed an intense interest in radio at that time. Let's say our little experiments with radio found us on the wrong side of the law.

It's sad because after he left the area we lost touch with each other and we only spoke a few times a year. It's sad because we promised to get together and unfortunately never did again. He had some bad health problems and it prohibited travel.

Bob was a gentleman, a hugely creative person and deeply interested in his craft. I have wonderful memories of him as a person and a professional, and I'll always have those air checks from our "clandestine" days.

BTW, MacRae is the spelling he came up with and used. In the early days he used to call himself Bobby MacRae because he felt that sometimes he slurred his name and it came out sounding something like "Bobba Cray". He got over that in a hurry, though.

I'm proud to be able to call him a friend.

aL
 
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