R.I.P.: Former WWL Radio Manager Ray Muro

Ray Muro

Raymond Muro Jr., former station manager for WWL Radio in New Orleans and a former sales executive for WWL-TV, died Monday after a long illness.

He was 87, according to wwltv.com.

Mr. Muro’s career as a sales executive with WWL-TV began in 1958, as the station was entering just its second year on the air.  He came to WWL from The New Orleans Item newspaper, which had recently been sold and ceased printing.

After spending nearly 10 years in television sales, Mr. Muro was tapped in 1967 by former general manager J. Michael Early to take over as station manager of WWL-AM and WWL-FM throughout much of the 1970s and 1980s.  As station manager he oversaw the hiring of key personnel, the strengthening of the station’s news department and introduction several popular programs.

Mr. Muro retired from WWL in 1985.  According to his family, in retirement he opened a photography studio and practiced judo, becoming a fourth-degree black belt and also serving as a martial arts instructor.

He was a veteran of World War II, enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1944, at the age of 17.  After the war, he attended Tulane and Loyola Universities before beginning his career in sales.