Richard Blaine Beckett (June 30, 1954 – February 26, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster. Rick was born in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

and moved to

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

shortly thereafter. He began his radio career while still in high school at Union High School in Grand Rapids at WZZM-FM in 1970, where he worked part-time on weekends. His career started as a result of his involvement in a

Junior Achievement JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide is a global non-profit youth organization founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and Winthrop M. Crane. JA works with local businesses, schools, and organizations to deliver experiential learning ...

program called HERO. Shortly after his graduation from high school in 1972, Rick was fired from WZZM. He moved on to

WLAV WLAV-FM (96.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock music format in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is the dominant classic rock-formatted radio station in the market and is generally a top ten performer in the Grand Rapids ratings. His ...

and worked there until early 1973. He then received his first full-time job at WGTO-AM 540 (now

WFLF (AM) WFLF (540 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Pine Hills, Florida, and serving Greater Orlando. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a talk radio format. The studios and offices are in the iHeart Orlando complex in Maitland. The sta ...

) in Cypress Gardens, Florida. Beckett returned to WZZM-FM in 1976, which by this time became WZZR-FM (now

WLHT WLHT-FM (95.7 MHz) is a hot adult contemporary music formatted radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan owned by Townsquare Media. WLHT's studios are located on Ottawa Avenue Northwest in downtown Grand Rapids, while its transmitter is located in ...

). He worked evenings for the majority of his time there but eventually worked the afternoon drive. Beckett was fired from WZZR in 1980 and moved on to do radio at WAAY-AM (now WLOR) in Huntsville, Alabama. He was fired from WAAY in mid-1984 and returned to Cypress Gardens to work at WZNG-AM (now

WHNR WHNR (1360 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial radio, commercial AM broadcasting, AM radio station city of license, licensed to Cypress Gardens, Florida, and serving the Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland - Winter Haven, Florida, Winter Haven area of Central Flo ...

). He was also fired from WZNG. Beckett eventually returned to Grand Rapids and began a stint at WKLQ on their "Q Morning Zoo" program in 1987. Beckett and the other members of the "Q Zoo" (Darla Jaye and Scott Winters) left WKLQ on September 12, 1995. On September 25, 1995, the three signed on the air at WGRD. Jaye left WGRD in September 1997, but the show continued with Beckett and Winters as the main players. Beckett was fired from WGRD in August 2002, Winters was fired several weeks later. Beckett had health problems over the years, including being a recovered alcoholic, diabetes, and nerve damage in his legs due to diabetes. In April 2003, Beckett and Winters joined the staff at WOOD (AM), where they started their talk radio career. "The Rick and Scott Show" was one of WOOD-AM's most popular programs and was a rating winner in their time slot. In 2007, they won the

Michigan Association of Broadcasters The Michigan Association of Broadcasters represents radio and television broadcasters across the U.S. state of Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern ...

award for Midday Show Broadcast Team of the Year. On February 26, 2009, at 8:56 pm, Beckett called his girlfriend, Debra Lowe to report he was having a heart attack. She called 911 and first responders were dispatched to Beckett's house. Paramedics arrived and broke into his house to try and revive Beckett. He died a short time later at a Grand Rapids area hospital.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, Rick 1954 births 2009 deaths American radio personalities People from Kalamazoo, Michigan