Big Wilson (born Malcolm John Wilson Jr.; October 3, 1924 – October 5, 1989) was an American

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

personality. He worked as a disc jockey at WNBC AM in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

from the early 1960s until 1974 and moved to Miami in 1975 where he worked for

WIOD WIOD (610 AM) is a commercial news/ talk radio station licensed to Miami, Florida, serving the Miami metropolitan area and much of surrounding South Florida. Owned by iHeartMedia, WIOD serves as the Miami affiliate for ABC News Radio, ''The Glen ...

and WCIX-TV. Prior to moving to NYC, Wilson and his wife Jody lived in a riverfront home in

Rocky River, Ohio Rocky River is a city in western Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. A suburb of Cleveland, it is located along the shore of Lake Erie approximately west of downtown Cleveland. The city is named for the Rocky River that forms its eastern bor ...

. He commuted to

KYW (AM) KYW (1060 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest continuously operating radio stations in the United States, originating in Chicago before moving to Philadelphia in 1934. KY ...

Radio

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

where he was the leading radio personality for some years, interviewing

Tim Conway Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway (December 15, 1933 – May 14, 2019) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and director. From 1966 to 2012 he appeared in more than 100 TV shows, TV series and films. Among his more notable roles, he portrayed the ...

and other well-known persons at their homes. Wilson was one of the last two hosts of the NBC network radio program ''

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West ...

''. Big Wilson also served as the announcer for the weekly television program, '' Jack Horkheimer: Star Hustler''. During the program's opening sequence, Wilson's voice was the one which was heard reading the following poem: After Big Wilson's death in 1989, ''Star Hustler'' continued to use Wilson's pre-recorded voice in the television program's introduction as a "living memorial" to the man. This ended in 1997 when the show was renamed ''Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer''. Wilson, who was 6 foot 6 tall, and weighed more than 300 pounds, died from a heart attack, two days after his 65th birthday at a hotel in

Selma, North Carolina Selma is a town in Johnston County, North Carolina, United States. In 2010, the population was 6,073, and as of 2018 the estimated population was 6,913. Selma is part of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary Combined Statistical Area. The area has a populati ...

. He was sometimes referred to in advertisements as "Mrs. Wilson's little boy "Big".

References

External links

''The New York Times'' obituary, October 7, 1989''Sun Sentinel'' obituary, October 7, 1989
American radio personalities 1924 births 1989 deaths Ithaca College alumni People from Miami People from Schenectady County, New York {{US-radio-bio-stub