Dick Purtan
| Dick Purtan | |
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| Dick Purtan on air at the 23rd annual WOMC Radiothon for The Salvation Army Bed & Bread Club - Feb. 2010
Dick Purtan on air at the 23rd annual WOMC Radiothon for The Salvation Army Bed & Bread Club - Feb. 2010
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| Born | July 11, 1936 (age 88) |
| Occupation | American radio personality |
Paul Richard "Dick" Purtan (born July 11, 1936) is a retired American radio personality. His last radio job was as the morning radio show host on Oldies 104.3 serving the Detroit, Michigan U.S. radio market. Purtan was also a disc jockey at WKNR-AM, WXYZ-AM, CKLW-AM, WCZY-FM which became WKQI-FM in 1989 and WOMC from 1996 until retirement. Previous to coming to Detroit at WKNR "Keener 13" in 1965, Purtan worked at WOLF-AM in Syracuse, NY and WSAI in Cincinnati; he began his radio career in his hometown of Buffalo, NY at WWOL under the station-mandated name "Guy King"[1] and also worked for a very short time at WBAL in Baltimore (only to be forced to leave the station after his witty, sardonic humor clashed with the station's conservative ownership).
Purtan is well known for his philanthropic work. Each year, Purtan and his "Purtan's People" crew host a radiothon to benefit the Salvation Army's "Bed and Bread" program. Through Purtan's efforts, over 24 million dollars have been donated to the Bed and Bread program. The money has also been used to purchase additional Bed and Bread trucks which make daily deliveries of food to needy people in the Detroit area.
While in Cincinnati, Purtan gathered together $12,500 and promoted and emceed the Beatles in concert.[2]
Purtan had a voice over role in Beverly Hills Cop III.[3]
On the morning of February 13, 2010, Purtan announced his retirement effective March 26, 2010.[4]
He and his wife, Gail, reside in West Bloomfield. As of 2014, he and one of his six daughters, Jackie, continue to keep up with his audience through his blog every weekday and Facebook. He also started producing a weekly podcast, which can run anywhere between 20 minutes and an hour and have had on various "Purtan People." [5]
Honors
- In 2004, Purtan was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.[6]
- Purtan was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in the radio division in 2006.[7]
Work history
- WBAL
- WOLF-AM
- WSAI
- WKNR-AM (1965–67)
- WXYZ-AM (1968–78)
- CKLW-AM (1978–83)
- WCZY/WKQI (1983–96)
- WOMC (1996–2010)
References
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- ↑ [1][dead link]
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- ↑ [2][dead link]
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External links
- Articles with dead external links from April 2013
- Articles with dead external links from October 2010
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with hCards
- Living people
- American radio personalities
- National Radio Hall of Fame inductees
- Radio personalities from Detroit, Michigan
- People from Buffalo, New York
- 1936 births
