Press & broadcasting
J. P. McCarthy
1933–1995 · radio host, interviewer
WJR's morning man for more than three decades, whose Focus interviews and easy wit made him the most listened-to voice in Detroit radio until his death in 1995.
- Born
New York City- Died
New York City
aged 62- Birth name
- Joseph Priestley McCarthy II
- Also known as
- J.P.
- Detroit years
- 1940s–1995
- Field
- Press & broadcasting
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
McCarthy moved to Detroit with his family as a boy, graduated from De La Salle Collegiate High School and briefly attended the University of Detroit before military service. After starting out in Flint, he was hired by WJR in 1956 and in 1958 took over its Morning Music Hall. Apart from a two-year stint in San Francisco, he stayed at the 'Great Voice of the Great Lakes' for the rest of his life, broadcasting from the station's studios in the Fisher Building. His morning show was number one in Detroit for about thirty years, mixing music, golf talk, humor and interviews with presidents, auto executives and celebrities, and he became a fixture of the city's civic and charity life. He died in 1995 of a rare blood disorder, and is buried in Troy.
Highlights
- WJR morning host, 1958–1962 and 1964–1995
- His morning show led the Detroit ratings for about 30 years
- Famous for his on-air interviews with national figures
- Graduate of De La Salle Collegiate High School in Detroit
- Inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1956–1995
Fisher Building
WJR has broadcast from the 'Golden Tower' of the Fisher Building since December 1928; McCarthy's morning show came from here.
Buried here · 1995
White Chapel Memorial Park Cemetery
His burial place in Troy, according to Wikidata.