Paul Richard Purtan (born July 11, 1936) is an American

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

personality. His last radio job was as the morning radio show host on WOMC serving the

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, radio market. Purtan was also a disc jockey at

WKNR WKNR (850 AM) – branded as ''850 ESPN Cleveland'' – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland. Owned by Good Karma Brands, WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio and the AM flag ...

, WXYZ, CKLW, WCZY-FM which became

WKQI WKQI (95.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, featuring a Contemporary hit radio, top 40 (CHR) format known as "Channel 955", pronounced "nine-five-five". Owned by iHear ...

in 1989 and WOMC from 1996 until his retirement in 2010. Previous to coming to Detroit at WKNR "Keener 13" in 1965, Purtan worked at

WOLF The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

and

WSAI WSAI (1360 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, its studios, as well as those of iHeartMedia's other Cincinnati stations, are in the Towers of Kenwood building next to I-71 in the Kenwo ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

; he began his radio career in his hometown of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

at WWOL under the station-mandated name "Guy King" and also worked for a very short time at WBAL in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

(only to be forced to leave the station after his witty, sardonic humor clashed with the station's conservative ownership).

Career

Purtan is well known for his philanthropic work. Each year, Purtan and his "Purtan's People" crew host a radiothon to benefit the Salvation Army's "Bed and Bread" program. Through Purtan's efforts, over $30 million have been donated to the Bed and Bread program. The money has also been used to purchase additional Bed and Bread trucks which make daily deliveries of food to needy people in the Detroit area. While in Cincinnati, Purtan gathered together $12,500 and promoted and emceed the Beatles in concert. Purtan had a voice over role in '' Beverly Hills Cop III''. He had a cameo role as a police detective in the 1973 film '' Detroit 9000''. On the morning of February 13, 2010, Purtan announced his retirement effective March 26, 2010. He and his late wife, Gail, resided in West Bloomfield. As of 2014, he and one of his six daughters, Jackie, continue to keep up with his audience through his blog every weekday and Facebook. He also started producing a weekly podcast, which can run anywhere between 20 minutes and an hour and have had on various "Purtan People." His daughter Joanne was a newscaster on local WXYZ-TV Channel 7. After losing his wife, Gail, of 60 years to cancer in 2018, Purtan remarried on June 13, 2020.

Honors

* In 2004, Purtan was inducted into the

National Radio Hall of Fame The Radio Hall of Fame, formerly the National Radio Hall of Fame, is an American organization created by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988. Three years later, Bruce DuMont, founder, president, and CEO of the Museum of Broadcast Communicati ...

. * Purtan was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in the radio division in 2006.

References

External links

Dick Purtan's official Web site

Purtan on Twitter

Purtan on Facebook
*
1978 CKLW Radio 'Super' Purtan Ad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purtan, Dick 1936 births Living people American radio DJs Radio personalities from Detroit Radio personalities from Buffalo, New York