M
MikaelaArsenault
Guest
Long-time radio host Bob Durgin has died, his former station WHP580 announced Monday.
Durgin worked at the station for nearly 50 years, retiring in 2013.
“He is a radio pioneer and dear friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this difficult time,” WHP580′s posted.
As Durgin retired in 2013, he reflected on a career spanning a half-century.
“I feel as though, not only am I giving up a career, which is a lot, but I’m giving up a way of life,” Durgin, 70, said on his show, with morning host R.J. Harris joining him. “It’s a poignant time for me and I just hope I can deal with it.”
One of Durgin’s biggest career moments in 2005, when he went after state lawmakers for approving hefty pay raises and then beginning their summer recess. Durgin rallied the public in protest. Under heavy public pressure, lawmakers eventually rescinded the raises a few months later.
Harris credited Durgin’s key role in making lawmakers pay attention to the public outcry over the raises.
“I know you don’t want total credit for this, but you changed history with the pay raise thing,” Harris told Durgin on air in 2013. “I’ll never forget that day when we rolled the petitions out with 130,000 signatures. You’re the man who championed this and it changed history.”
The Bob Durgin Show, which aired from 3 to 6 p.m. on weekdays, became a staple of daily life for many in the midstate.
Matt Brouillette, former president of the conservative think-tank Commonwealth Foundation, worked with Durgin for about a decade. In a 2013 PennLive story, Brouillette praised Durgin’s level of understanding.
“I think Bob gave a voice to a lot of the people in the midstate and how they viewed the state of politics and public affairs,” Brouillette said. “Bob was your everyday guy that just had a talent in front of the microphone. That was his attraction, listeners were able to connect with him on a personal level.”
G. Terry Madonna, the pollster and political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College, was a frequent guest on Durgin’s show. He said he was always impressed by Durgin’s fair nature.
“The real positive side was that Bob was not afraid to have people on his show who didn’t agree with him,” Madonna said.
Durgin was born in Boston and moved later to the King of Prussia area where he graduated from Upper Merion High School. He started his radio career when he was 16, working for a radio station in Norristown.
After touring Europe with the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s, Durgin moved to Texas and spent time at a Top 40 station there. After that, Durgin worked for 20 years in Oklahoma City as the news director for KTOK before settling in central Pennsylvania in 1989.
Durgin became known for some memorable phrases such as “shut up and pay your taxes” and “give me a physical break.”
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/12/former-radio-host-bob-durgin-dies-station-announces.html
Durgin worked at the station for nearly 50 years, retiring in 2013.
“He is a radio pioneer and dear friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this difficult time,” WHP580′s posted.
As Durgin retired in 2013, he reflected on a career spanning a half-century.
“I feel as though, not only am I giving up a career, which is a lot, but I’m giving up a way of life,” Durgin, 70, said on his show, with morning host R.J. Harris joining him. “It’s a poignant time for me and I just hope I can deal with it.”
One of Durgin’s biggest career moments in 2005, when he went after state lawmakers for approving hefty pay raises and then beginning their summer recess. Durgin rallied the public in protest. Under heavy public pressure, lawmakers eventually rescinded the raises a few months later.
Harris credited Durgin’s key role in making lawmakers pay attention to the public outcry over the raises.
“I know you don’t want total credit for this, but you changed history with the pay raise thing,” Harris told Durgin on air in 2013. “I’ll never forget that day when we rolled the petitions out with 130,000 signatures. You’re the man who championed this and it changed history.”
The Bob Durgin Show, which aired from 3 to 6 p.m. on weekdays, became a staple of daily life for many in the midstate.
Matt Brouillette, former president of the conservative think-tank Commonwealth Foundation, worked with Durgin for about a decade. In a 2013 PennLive story, Brouillette praised Durgin’s level of understanding.
“I think Bob gave a voice to a lot of the people in the midstate and how they viewed the state of politics and public affairs,” Brouillette said. “Bob was your everyday guy that just had a talent in front of the microphone. That was his attraction, listeners were able to connect with him on a personal level.”
G. Terry Madonna, the pollster and political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College, was a frequent guest on Durgin’s show. He said he was always impressed by Durgin’s fair nature.
“The real positive side was that Bob was not afraid to have people on his show who didn’t agree with him,” Madonna said.
Durgin was born in Boston and moved later to the King of Prussia area where he graduated from Upper Merion High School. He started his radio career when he was 16, working for a radio station in Norristown.
After touring Europe with the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s, Durgin moved to Texas and spent time at a Top 40 station there. After that, Durgin worked for 20 years in Oklahoma City as the news director for KTOK before settling in central Pennsylvania in 1989.
Durgin became known for some memorable phrases such as “shut up and pay your taxes” and “give me a physical break.”
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/12/former-radio-host-bob-durgin-dies-station-announces.html