Former WKRC-FM host Jerry Thomas has passed away at the age of 83.
The 83-year-old native of Price Hill, who spearheaded the 1970s rebranding of WKRC-FM as rock station Q102, passed away on Thursday.
For four decades, Jerry Thomas woke up Greater Cincinnati with “punch lines you missed” and quips from his “Granny” character on WKRC-AM radio. He also hired a young programmer named Randy Michaels, who turned WKRQ-FM (Q102) into a rock powerhouse.
The 83-year-old passed away on Thursday morning. His son Brian Thomas, who now hosts the morning show on WKRC-AM after his father’s retirement in 2006, broke the news.
“It was early this morning when Dad went away. In his family roles, he excelled. He appreciates everyone who has kept him in their prayers while he fights Alzheimer’s. So much affection for you, Pops. 11/11/1939 – 12/8/2022, “He put pen to paper.
Even though WKRC-AM only has 5,000 watts to WLW-50,000 AM’s watts and AM sound quality is inferior to FM radio, the 1957 Elder High School alumnus was a mainstay at the station for 44 years, and his morning show was No. 1 for most of the 1980s.
Thomas made it by changing with the times, broadcasting Madonna songs (who were not among his favorites) in the 1980s and then listening to Stan Kenton and other jazz performers at home.
Thomas retired at the age of 67 in 2006, but he could still be heard on Cincinnati radio for years voicing commercial endorsements, especially on his son’s morning show.
Longtime WKRC traffic reporter and radio host John Phillips said of him, “I feel he was the best pitch man in the business.” Phillips has been with the station since 1974. “His ability to connect with his audience was remarkable. You could put a lot of stock in Jerry’s opinion if he believed it was worthwhile.”
John Gerald Crusham, who was born in Price Hill on November 11th, 1939, began his broadcasting career in 1957 as a “floor boy” for WLWT-TV, where he assisted with the setup of shows including Ruth Lyons’ 50-50 Club and Bob Braun’s Bandstand.
Before returning home to take the 1–6 a.m. shift on WKRC-AM on May 1, 1962, when the station went 24-hours, he worked at radio stations in Paris, Lexington, and Louisville, all in Kentucky. Even before Brian was born, in 1965, he legally changed his name to Jerry John Thomas.
He worked for the predecessor to Taft Broadcasting, old Taft Broadcasting, for four decades, during which time he accomplished just about everything at WKRC-AM, WKRQ-FM, and WKRC-TV. He worked as a radio DJ, radio program director, manager of the Q102 radio station, a salesman, a sales manager, a morning personality, and a conservative talk show presenter who partnered with Craig Kopp. During 1984–1985, he also co-hosted PM Magazine on Channel 12.
Thomas is best known for his time as a popular morning host in Cincinnati, where he performed humorous bits as “Granny” (inspired by Jonathan Winters’ sexy Maude Frickert character), gave listeners the “punch lines you missed” to jokes, and voiced politically incorrect weather reports from a Chinese weatherman named Usual Lee Wong. Aside from that, he dressed as “Granny” for the yearly Delhi Township softball Skirt Game.
In the early 1970s, Thomas worked as station manager at WKRQ-FM, which was switching from automated rock music to live DJs, after his 9 a.m. to noon shift on WKRC-AM. Chris O’Brien was brought on board to work alongside Pat Barry, Jim Fox, and Ted McAlister at FM in March of 1974. Michaels was hired as the new head of programming not long after he arrived from Buffalo.
The young station manager, Thomas, “truly loved being station manager of this new organization,” as O’Brien put it. “Our studios were across from each other when I was doing mornings on the Q and he was doing morning drive on ‘KRC, but that was back when he was station manager and I was doing the Q. He was continually trying to break me up by hanging out the window. Occasionally he would visit my workshop and attempt various additional forms of prankery. Being in his presence was always entertaining.”
In the middle of the 1980s, when his ratings were at their highest, he had a morning team that included newsman Richard Hunt, traffic reporter Nancy McCormick, AccuWeather meteorologist Elliott Abrams, sports commentator Paul Sommerkamp or Phil Samp, and syndicated news and comments from Paul Harvey.
After 30 years at WKRC-AM, he famously walked away from the station in 1992 because he couldn’t come to terms with the station’s owner, Great American Broadcasting, over a proposed 40% wage cut, he said.
I found out from him years later that he left WKRC-AM because of financial difficulties. He then remarked, “I could see the station heading down the toilet.”
After Clear Channel, who also owned Michaels’s rival station WLW-AM, purchased WKRC-AM at the end of 1992, he returned to the morning program there.
Thomas’s popularity led him to think about running for office.
“The Republican Party has approached me on and off about (maybe) competing for various positions… So much consideration has gone into this, “Following 40 years on the air in Cincinnati, he made this statement in 2002.
Thomas was recalled by his former colleagues as a kind and helpful boss.
“Jerry was incredibly well-connected and familiar with all corners of the city. He educated me extensively on the importance of maintaining a regional focus in radio and television “according to Janeen Coyle, who co-hosted the morning show on WKRC-AM with Thomas from 1993 to 1995 before joining husband Chris O’Brien on WGRR-Married FM’s with Microphones.
“He could make a live commercial look effortless. His teachings on delivery were invaluable to me. You never read the commercial; instead, you explain the product’s benefits to the listener “her words
He mentored Phillips and Chad Pergram, who was an overnight news anchor at Fox News when he was in college and is now the network’s senior congressional correspondent.
“Jerry was really helpful and took the time to give me his opinion. He figured out how to make me feel comfortable being myself on air, rather than trying to mimic someone else. Sincerity is something that can’t be faked, [he taught me]. Although it wasn’t, he made it look easy “To quote Phillips:
“There was never a time that I could recall him being negative. He had a knack for noticing when you did a nice deed and publicly praising you for it. Every time he winked at you with that grin, you felt like you could fly “This, Phillips remarked.
Pergram, a native of the small Butler County town of Jacksonburg and alumnus of Edgewood High School, remembers his first days of work at the station with Thomas as a scared 20-year-old.
“I was too scared to approach him in the hall and introduce myself. But he was incredibly nice, and we had a great conversation about expanding my radio career “As Thomas came on the air, Pergram’s nighttime news shift ended.
“His “punchlines you missed” were hilarious. It was up to you to decipher the joke, “according to Pergram.
Each day, Thomas would start his day by reading a few jokes from a collection of 15 pages of typed, single-spaced jokes. After hearing this, I asked him, “Why?” and he replied: “Each and every one of them is genuine. In a sense, I’ve heard it all before. They all take somewhat different routes to get there, but they all lead to the same destination.”
Phillips said that despite Thomas’s ability to recite a seemingly endless supply of jokes, “He stood out because he could see the financial potential in the idea. When it came to radio, he had just as much fun as the rest of us, but he also had a knack for making money out of it. He was responsible for a substantial increase in the company’s revenue.”
Thomas said that he almost left for WLW-AM in 1983, when Michaels took over the 50,000-watt station, at the time of his 40th anniversary celebration in 2002.
“The thought of what may have been had I made the switch to WLW-AM back then pops into my head occasionally. Can I get an ownership stake? If I didn’t do mornings, I probably wouldn’t be working. Do you think I’d be actively seeking employment at this time? “As a hypothesis, he offered. On the other hand, “I don’t feel any remorse.”
His employers convinced him to stay on the job by offering him eight weeks of vacation in 1999, when he was 60 years old and ready to retire and spend the winters in Florida.
For four decades, Jerry Thomas woke up Greater Cincinnati radio listeners with “punchlines you missed” and jokes about his “granny” character on WKRC-AM, while his efforts at WKRQ-FM (Q102) helped turn that station into a rock powerhouse. Randy Michaels, a promising computer programmer, loses his mentor Jerry Thomas.
On Thursday morning, he passed away at the age of 83.
The announcement came from his son Brian Thomas, who now hosts the morning show on WKRC-AM after his father’s retirement in 2006.
“The death of Dad occurred this morning. It’s safe to say he was an excellent family man. All of your prayers and support have been greatly appreciated as he has fought Alzheimer’s disease.
From your loving daughter and son-in-law, “…he put pen to paper. The Elder High School class of ’57 alumnus was a mainstay at WKRC-AM for 44 years, and his morning show was the most popular on the station for much of the 1980s, which is especially impressive given that WKRC-AM only has 5,000 watts to transmit compared to WLW-50,000 AM’s watts, and AM sound quality is inferior to that of FM radio.
Thomas made it by adjusting to the music business, which in the 1980s meant playing Madonna songs (who were not among his favorites) on the radio and then listening to Stan Kenton and other jazz performers at home.
Thomas retired at the age of 67 in 2006, but he could still be heard on Cincinnati radio for years, most notably on his son’s morning show. actresses and actors that have passed away
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