Farrel Austin Levitt (August 1, 1956 – August 4, 2021), known professionally as Dick Farrel, was an American

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

media personality and

anti-vaccine Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

activist. Born and raised in

Queens, New York City Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, he graduated from Queens College and began a career in radio broadcasting in the New York City area before moving to Florida in 1983. Farrel was working for WJUP in Jupiter and WFLN in Arcadia (today WCXS). Farrel was known as a

shock jock A shock jock is a radio broadcaster or DJ who entertains listeners and attracts attention using humor and/or melodramatic exaggeration that may offend some portion of the listening audience. The term is used pejoratively to describe provocative o ...

with a provocative style, and also played a role in local Republican Party politics. His right-wing

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

commentary led to a lawsuit for libel in 2002. He later served as a substitute host for

Newsmax Newsmax (Newsmax Media, Inc. or Newsmax.com, previously styled NewsMax) is an American right-wing to far-right cable news and digital media company founded by Christopher Ruddy on September 16, 1998. Newsmax Media divisions include its cable ...

. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Farrel was a prolific spreader of

COVID-19 misinformation False information, including intentional disinformation and conspiracy theories, about the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic and the origin, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease has been spread through social media, text messagin ...

via social media. He mocked the pandemic as a "scam", encouraged people to avoid

COVID-19 vaccination A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an est ...

, and attacked Anthony Fauci as a "power tripping lying freak". Farrel became ill with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

in summer 2021, and his condition rapidly deteriorated. Once hospitalized, his friends said that he expressed regret about refusing vaccination and about his role in encouraging others to do so. He died from complications of the virus in

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...

, on August 4, 2021, at age 65.Coverage of Farrel's death from COVID-19: * * *

References

External links

* 1956 births 2021 deaths American conservative talk radio hosts American anti-vaccination activists Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida Anti-vaccination activist deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic {{US-radio-bio-stub