Former WLS host Jay Marvin has died.
The news of Marvin’s death was reported by former Chicago media reporter Robert Feder, who shared a screenshot of a Facebook post from Marvin’s wife, Mary, detailing his death. Feder said the radio host had “a heart of gold”.
Know as the “resident liberal firebrand”, Marvin had a long radio career spanning several markets during his more than 40 year career, including El Paso, Memphis, Salt Lake City, WFLA in Tampa, WTMJ in Milwaukee, KHOW and KKZN in Denver, and WLS in Chicago.
“I brought Jay to WLS in Chicago by helping negotiate his way out of a contract he had with Carl Gardner at WTMJ/Milwaukee,” Salem Radio Network Vice President of News & Talk Programming Tom Tradup told Inside Radio.
“We added him 10:00 PM-1:00 AM and he was an instant hit, billing himself as ‘Chicago’s lovable manic-depressive’ who championed striking cab drivers and teachers unions…so unlike our other conservative hosts at the time. Fans even turned out by the thousands for his annual ‘JayStock’ festivals in Wisconsin.”
Marvin stepped aside from his radio duties in September of 2010, citing health-related issues as the reason for his retirement.
Jay Marvin was 70 years old.
