Paul Harold "Sully" Sullivan (May 24, 1957 – September 9, 2007) was an accomplished radio talk-show host of "The Paul Sullivan Show" on WBZ radio. He was best known for his blue-collar politics and plebeian attitude.

Biography

Sullivan was born in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

and lived most of his life in

Tewksbury, Massachusetts Tewksbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population was 31,342 as of the 2020 United States Census. History Tewksbury was first settled in 1637 and was officially incorporated on December 17, 1734, from Bille ...

where his father and grandfather had been on the town's Board of Selectmen. Sullivan would later serve on the Board himself. He graduated from

Austin Preparatory School Austin Preparatory School is a co-educational Catholic school located in Reading, Massachusetts. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1961. The institution is colloquially ...

in 1975, from

UMass Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Massachusetts public ...

with a degree in political science, and from

Simmons College Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include: * Simmons University, a women's liberal arts college in Boston, Massachusetts * Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky * Har ...

with a Masters in Communications Management. Sullivan began his career as a columnist and political editor for the ''

Lowell Sun ''The Sun'', also known as ''The Lowell Sun'', is a daily newspaper based in Lowell, Massachusetts, United States, serving towns in Massachusetts around the Greater Lowell area and beyond. As of 2011, its average daily circulation was about 42,9 ...

'' in 1991. His radio career began at

WLLH WLLH (1400 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in the Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts. The station is owned by Gois Broadcasting, LLC, and airs a tropical music radio format. There were actually two tr ...

in Lowell during the late 1980s. He hosted the "Morning Magazine" program. He started broadcasting in Boston as a substitute talker on

WRKO WRKO (680 AM) is a commercial news/talk 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 ho ...

in 1996. Sullivan would later appear on a TV news roundtable on

WCVB WCVB-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on TV Place (off Gould Street near the I-95/ MA 128/Highland Avenue int ...

called "Five on Five." It was on this show that a popular WBZ talk show host,

David Brudnoy David Barry Brudnoy (June 5, 1940 – December 9, 2004) was an American talk radio host in Boston from 1976 to 2004. His radio talk show aired on WBZ radio. He was known for espousing his libertarian views on a wide range of political issues, in ...

, spotted Sullivan and recruited him for WBZ radio. He began working as a talk show host for WBZ in 1999. Upon his death,

Dan Rea Dan Rea is the conservative-leaning host of "NightSide with Dan Rea" WBZ radio, following the death of Paul Sullivan. Education and background A graduate of Boston Latin School (Class of 1966), Boston State College (English major) and Boston Un ...

took over his time slot and the show was renamed "Nightside". Sullivan also was a columnist and political editor of the ''Lowell Sun'' newspaper, in Lowell.

Family life

Paul fathered three children, Ryan, Charlie and Kerri. Ryan Sullivan (born 1983) is an Assistant District Attorney for Middlesex County in Massachusetts. Charlie Smith (at the time known as Ashley Sullivan) was featured on American Idol on the 10th season in 2011.

Illness

Hours before his death from cancer in 2004,

picked Sullivan as his successor for the evening WBZ talk radio slot. Sullivan himself was diagnosed with Stage IV

melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

and underwent surgery just weeks earlier in November 2004. He continued to fight his cancer until leaving the show during the summer of 2007 after five brain surgeries. Sullivan died on September 9, 2007. Sullivan was an adjunct professor of journalism and communications at Middlesex Community College, where his two daughters later attended. Shortly after his death, Middlesex Community College named their leadership institute after him.MCC Blog : Farewell to an MCC Friend
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References

External links

Boston Globe ArticleBoston Globe ObituaryBoston Herald ArticleAssociated Press ObituaryLowell Sun Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Paul 1957 births 2007 deaths University of Massachusetts Lowell alumni Simmons University alumni Journalists from Massachusetts American radio personalities People from Lowell, Massachusetts American television talk show hosts People from Tewksbury, Massachusetts Deaths from cancer in the United States Deaths from melanoma 20th-century American journalists American male journalists