Few personalities have been so respected and loved as Detroit’s Dick Purton. I met him a couple of times and each visit was beyond my expectations. He was gracious, funny and REAL! Dick has a warmth that few others have in morning radio. Wally Crouter had it, so did Georgre Balcan and our newest hall of famer, CHUM FM’s Roger Ashby.
I’ll miss your warm charm Dick, as will many others.
Here is an excerpt from the Detroit News:
After 45 years, Dick Purtan left Detroit’s airwaves exactly as he started, with “a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down the pants,” paraphrasing the famous line from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
At 8:57 a.m. Friday, with wife Gail looking on and family members dabbing their eyes amid a crowd of friends, present and former sidekicks, and well-wishers, Purtan signaled for his favorite song to be played, Frank Sinatra’s “Softly As I Leave You.”
Read the whole article
here.
