Longtime radio DJ Pierre Robert, a staple throughout the Philadelphia airwaves for nearly half a century, has died. He was 70.
Robert, pronounced “Ro-Bear” was discovered lifeless at his residence on Wednesday, in accordance with his station, WMMR’s dad or mum firm Beasley Media Group.
No foul play is suspected in his dying, however additional particulars weren’t launched.
“All of us have heavy hearts immediately,” Beasley Media Group CEO Caroline Beasley mentioned. “Pierre’s unwavering love for music and his deep reference to listeners made him one in every of radio’s most enduring and beloved voices. He might be significantly missed.”
Robert, born William Pierre Robert, was raised in California and acquired his begin as a radio DJ on San Francisco’s KSAN rock station earlier than heading east.
His legendary profession with WMMR spanned over 44 years, starting in 1981 and have become a continuing voice for listeners in southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, Delaware and elements of Maryland.
The “Pierre Robert Present” broadcast each day from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays via Fridays along with his well-known welcome, “Greetings, Residents.”
He lined all issues rock ‘n’ roll from the classics to native expertise.
In one in every of his closing Instagram posts on Sunday, Robert shared a photograph of himself studying a ebook and consuming a espresso on a park bench.
“Sunday afternoon in Philly in my beloved Rittenhouse Sq., with a fantastic ebook, a cup of La Colombe, watching the world lazily drift by… fairly near perfection!” he wrote.
Fellow disc jockeys Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison, who opened WMMR’s morning forward of Robert with the “Preston and Steve Present,” remembered their “pricey good friend” after his dying.
“WMMR was his pulpit, and he preached the gospel of rock n’ roll, and gave us all frequent floor to bounce on,” the duo wrote on Instagram. “In good instances, his optimism was infectious, and on robust days, his phrases provided acquainted consolation to each Good Citizen.
“Pierre opened his arms to anybody [sic] wished to return alongside for the journey, insisting that WMMR is Every thing That Rocks! And he lived it,” they mentioned.
Jon Bon Jovi joined the refrain of tributes that poured in for Robert, remembering him as a lover of music.
“At the moment we misplaced a fantastic good friend. Somebody who really LOVED music. All varieties of music. Somebody who liked musicians. Not simply well-known ones, or chart toppers. He admired native artists and tomorrow’s rising stars,” Bon Jovi wrote on Instagram
The “Livin on a Prayer” singer talked about the DJ is the “loneliest man in showbiz.”
“His voice helped the hungry and the homeless, and he did it as a result of he cared… About you, about me, about making the world a bit of kinder marvel crammed place to dwell…” Bon Jovi wrote. “His reminiscence will dwell with us as it should with all the folks he touched.”
“We have been all fortunate to have him as a information to his musical galaxy And I used to be fortunate to have him as a good friend..
Thanks Pierre..” he added.
Robert had signed a contract extension with WMMR in January 2024, solidyfying his profession in Philadelphia for a number of years, till his surprising dying.
WMMR suspended its common programming Wednesday to mourn Robert’s dying. No alternative has been named by the station.
