R.I.P.: Former PA, Long Island Radio Personality Gil David

Gil David

Gilbert David didn't enter the U.S. Air Force expecting to end up with a career in radio.

But, according to the York Daily Record,  the 1949 William Penn Senior High graduate spent four years of his service at Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, where he played radio announcer under the name Art Nash. It led to a 50-year career in radio, including more than a decade on the air with WSBA in York as the station's first all-night jock.

Gil David, as he became known, died Dec. 10 at his home in North Carolina at age 85.

After leaving the Air Force, David, a York native, attended University of Southern California and Don Martin's School of Radio and Television, according to his obituary. His first radio job in 1956 was as a first-class licensed engineer at WSBA.

He soon took an on-air spot in West Virginia, but returned to WSBA in 1958. His post-midnight show, "Little David, Keeper of the Mushroom People," ran until 1969. He was Susquehanna Radio's first all-night jock, he wrote on his website.

"It took its toll. But, this is where I really learned the fundamental value of radio and its ability to connect to people like no other medium can," he wrote.

After more than a decade, he was ready for a daytime schedule and moved to a station in New York.

He eventually landed in Long Island, which was home for more than 30 years. David was on air at several radio stations during that time.

As stations moved toward more talk radio format, he briefly hosted a morning talk show. But music was what he loved, and his final job came at WHLI in New York, playing the songs he'd grown up with, he wrote on his website. He retired in 2006 and moved to North Carolina.