Detroit Radio: Retired WJR Host Frank Beckmann In Hospice

Frank Beckmann

Longtime WJR 760 AM radio host and University of Michigan football play-by-play man Frank Beckmann is in critical condition at an Oakland County hospice facility, his family said Friday.

Karen Beckmann, his wife, told The Detroit News that doctors give him days to live.

The 72-year-old longtime media personality has been suffering from vascular dementia, a rare and untreatable brain disease.

“The doctors said they don’t expect him to last until Monday," his wife said. 

Beckmannvretired from WJR last March, when his contract ended. The next month, he started exhibiting behavior unusual for him. By June, he had been diagnosed, his family said.

In October, he suffered a severe stroke and was hospitalized for 35 days. In December he was transferred to hospice and has since had four more strokes. He is currently semi-comatose, Karen Beckmann said.

He called UM football games for 33 years and spent several seasons as an announcer for both the Detroit Tigers and the Lions.

Beckmann also hosted a conservative-leaning morning talk show later in his career, when his topics included casting doubts about global warming, discussing the latest in politics, discussing "American Idol" and hosting weekly trivia contests.