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 house on Wednesday, in response to his station, WMMR’s father or mother firm Beasley Media Group.
No foul play is suspected in his loss of life, however additional particulars weren’t launched.
“All of us have heavy hearts right now,” Beasley Media Group CEO Caroline Beasley mentioned. “Pierre’s unwavering love for music and his deep reference to listeners made him certainly one of radio’s most enduring and beloved voices. He shall be drastically missed.”
Robert, born William Pierre Robert, was raised in California and obtained 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 every day from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays by Fridays along with his well-known welcome, “Greetings, Residents.”
He coated all issues rock ‘n’ roll from the classics to native expertise.
In certainly one of his last 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 an important 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 loss of life.
“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 powerful days, his phrases supplied acquainted consolation to each Good Citizen.
“Pierre opened his arms to anybody [sic] wished to come back alongside for the journey, insisting that WMMR is Every little 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 an important good friend. Somebody who actually LOVED music. All forms of music. Somebody who beloved 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 kinder surprise stuffed place to reside…” Bon Jovi wrote. “His reminiscence will reside with us as it would with the entire folks he touched.”
“We had 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 stunning loss of life.
WMMR suspended its common programming Wednesday to mourn Robert’s loss of life. No alternative has been named by the station.
