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| John A Pinto |
Original Posting....
Radio personality Jack Pinto died earlier this week. He worked for years at WBUD 1260 AM in Trenton. He also was a fill-in at Metromedia's WIP 610 AM in Philadelphia and and WNEW 1130 AM in New York City.
Don Tandler, personality at WKXW NJ 101.5 FM, recalls Pinto as "old-school", but a fine gentleman.
Tom Wahl, voiceover artist, remembers Pinto as an extraordinary talent and super nice man. According to Wahl, Pinto "was a wonderful person. I had the great pleasure of meeting Jack when he visited a mutual colleague and friend Pat McCall when he and I worked at WJJ in Mt. Holly, NJ. in the late '60s."
According to his obit in the Burlington County Times, Pinto's career in radio spanned more than 65 years from his first paying job at WHWL in Nanticoke, Pa., to his last 'on air' appearances at WBUD. Jack's warm and welcoming personality made him a member of many households. Every sign-on, no matter where he was broadcasting, began with the words,'This is the day which the Lord hath made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.'
During his 'heyday,' Pinto's #1 rated morning drive-time show on WBUD (through the 1950s and 1960s) entertained early birds as they got ready for school and listeners driving to work. His on-air companions included, Cheery the Gremlin, Bill Newsworthy, weatherman Bob Cloud, and prize-fighter sportscaster, K.O. Pectate, and Slim Slomowitz (King of the Kosher Cowboys), just to name a few. He would go out on live remote broadcasts, and his fans would expect to meet his sidekicks, not realizing that every one of those characters was Pinto himself.
In the 1970s, Pinto took over the Milkman's Matinee (midnight-6 a.m.) show for William B. Williams on WNEW in New York. He never forgot the night he was reading the news, when he had the task of announcing the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to the metropolitan area.
Before his retirement, Jack hosted his popular 'Breakfast with Frank' and 'Dinner with Frank' shows, where he intertwined his expertise of Sinatra trivia with the iconic artist's songs of the decades. He ended his final episode with 'My Way,' before WBUD went off the air for good.
Born March 11, 1929, in Trenton, Jack graduated from Trenton High School in 1947. In his free time, Jack volunteered as a reader for Recording for the Blind. He also wrote and hosted a syndicated inspirational radio program, 'Good Vibrations,' for the American Baptist Church, where he also did the voice-overs for the movie 'The Cross and the Switchblade' trailer.
There will be a tribute to Jack's life from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 801 W. State St., Trenton, NJ 08618. All are invited to attend.
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