R.I.P.: Radio Broadcaster Kevin Fennessy

Kevin Fennessy

Well-known radio broadcasts Kevin Fennessy has died after suffering a stroke last week.

He was 63-years-of-age.

Starting as a volunteer at Mt. Holly's WJJZ-AM, he hosted a daily 2-hour TV show on Cable in Lower Bucks County, did weekends at WAAT, Trenton, while attending Bishop Egan High School. Following a year doing afternoons at cross-town WTTM, he broke into Philly fulltime at WPEN in Summer 1972, hosting evenings until the station was sold to Greater Media. Next came 6 to 10 pm at WCAU-FM, mornings at WAMS, Wilmington, and 4 years at WCAO, Baltimore, where he was Assistant PD and Production Director.

He worked as a journeyman broadcaster and PD in Pittsburgh, San Antonio, WHAM, Rochester, WKBO Harrisburg and WKBW in Buffalo.

Kevin Fennessy returned to Philadelphia in 1986 as Program Director of WFIL Radio, arriving in the middle of the station's 20th Anniversary promotion and hosting AM Drive.When LIN Broadcasting sold WFIL to WEAZ Incorporated the following year, he returned to Wilmington and WAMS, later accepted an assignment in Rochester, and wanting to own and operate stations, spent 5 years selling or managing sales in Atlantic City, most of that time with WFPG. Over the following 15 years, he would sell, run stations, or go back into programming and on air.

In 1998, he founded Fennessy Broadcasting Stations Corporation, built and operated two radio stations from sign on to divestiture, returned to performing at WMCA in New York for Salem Communications, and relocated to Florida.

More recently, he was senior AE at WYRE-FM in St. Augustine.