Jerry Williams, Boston Talk Show Host, Dead at 79

Thanks for the information and the memory jog. My personal background is that I grew up in the '50s-'70s Boston and was a big talk-show fan. He raised my social awareness as well as helped me carve out my own brand of political activism.

Williams helped to make Boston one of the brightest and most vibrant cities for talk radio in the country (outside of NYC). He was one amazing political gadfly and a ground-breaker by giving a voice and insight to political figures as well as to every-day people about the issues of the day.

As the articles states, he was literally one of the pioneers of talk radio format. Before his entry on the scene there were bland soiree-type of chat shows that broadcasted from hotel lobbies.

Williams was the first introduction to the world of politics for many of my contemporaries. He interviewed Malcolm-X before his death in the '60s. In Boston, I first heard him on the famous Top-40 station WMEX (1510 AM), one of Boston's best-known Top-40 calls at the time.

I understand that briefly Williams came out of retirement for 2 months in the beginning of 2000 to try his luck on weekends with the (newly revamped) WMEX/WBIX AM 1060 in Natick, with Upton Bell (live remote at Fanueil Hall), Gene Burns, Dorothy Clapprood et al. His health issues forced his (semi-)retirement finally. A stroke in April 2001 further weakened him, but not enough to keep him from trying a daily show on WROL (950 Boston) last December and even making a return to WRKO to do some weekend fill-in this past February.

Talk Show/AM Radio in Boston tangent follows:

His early '60s talk show aired in the evening after the teenage rock music show of Arnie Woo-Woo Ginsburg (a landmark hit-maker DJ in his own right). After Williams show, for late-night fun talk shows fans, the Larry Glick show followed at midnight or 1 AM. My recollection gets a little blurry here, 'cause they followed one another first on WBZ and then later on with WRKO in the mid/late70s too when it went to talk show format.

In one period in the '70s-'80s, the Boston AM talk show dial was at its resplendant and glorious peak with Gene Burns, Jerry Williams, and then later on in late '70s-'80s with Dr. Paul Brudnoy and Howie Carr.

So, in summary, they finally "did give him a DINNER"!

Jerry Williams was a hit in Chicago, Boston and New York. He will be missed.