It's worth noting that John Gambling, being the professional that he is, handled the death of his mother (and his father previously) with grace and dignity. He gave her a heartfelt, emotional tribute and then moved on.
I recall three other talk show hosts (all on WABC) who spent literally months taking condolence calls from listeners after losing a parent. Actually, one of them pined publicly every day over the death of his dog -- even wrote a book!