Radio 'legend' appears on air one last time before mysterious death

21 December 2023 , 19:55

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Radio 'legend' appears on air one last time before mysterious death

A renowned radio host died just a few weeks after a video went viral of him appearing on the air one last time and pouring his heart out to his co-host, who he said he loves "like a brother."

Ken Calvert's cause of death remains unknown, but he died at the age of 72, his wife said, according to the Detroit Free Press. His last appearance on the radio was on November 28, when he appeared as a special guest alongside host Jim "JJ" Johnson on 104.3 WOMC, a local station in Detroit, where Ken lived and worked for decades.

JJ played Ken "The Last DJ" by Tom Petty as a tribute to his former colleague, and Ken immediately teared up. He turned to his co-host and said: "I gotta tell you something and it's sad. I'm not going to talk too much real quickly, but I love you like a brother." He added that the song meant the world to him. Ken's appearance had been ahead of JJ's retirement.

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Ken Calvert made one last special appearance on the radio just a few weeks before he died of unknown causes at 72

But who was Ken? At his core, he was a radio icon, an announcer who worked at six major stations over four decades and famously as an announcer for the Detroit Pistons, the city's NBA team. The Detroit Free Press said that, while he was known for his accolades and extensive, impressive career, to his listeners, "he felt more like a good friend."

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The radio host died on Wednesday at his home in Oakland County, his wife of over 40 years, Ann, told the publication. He had been suffering from a bout of illnesses, including a short-term one, she said, but his death had nevertheless been unexpected.

Throughout his career, he had been nicknamed "K.C., the Casual One," according to the Free Press, and he was known for his humorous approach to the job, his charm and his innate ability to conduct interviews with several stars who joined his show.

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Ken was a radio staple in Detroit throughout the '70s, '80s and '90s

Ken's career began in 1973 when he started at WWWW-FM, the city's rock station. There, he DJed until 1976, when he made a slight career shift and went behind the scenes of the radio industry, going around doing regional promotions for CBS Records. He briefly moved to Chicago.

In 1978, he came back to Detroit, where he joined WRIF-FM and WLLZ-FM before eventually making his way on the air on WCSX-FM (94.7), from which he retired in 2013.

For 16 years until 2001, he was the announcer for the Detroit Pistons and garnered fame for his special pronunciation of Joe Dumars' name, one of the team's star players at the time, when the team had been in its "Bad Boys" era and was winning big.

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Ken announced Detroit Pistons games for years, including during there 'Bad Boys' era (Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

Ken's former producer at WCSX-FM Jim O'Brien said of Ken: "Ken's the man. He introduced [Bob] Seger to [Bruce] Springsteen. He was there when Journey wrote 'Don't Stop Believin'.'"

During his retirement, he headed up a podcast called "The Ken Calvert Show," on which he shared tidbits and stories from his fabled career and the people he met along the way.

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Of her husband, Ann said: "I always felt good because I always felt proud of him. He never did anything that I couldn't be proud of." She added that "he made life fun" and said that she was in constant admiration of how he lived his life, both professionally and personally.

Jeremiah Hassel