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| Bill Ayres (1941-2026) |
William J. “Bill” Ayres, longtime New York radio host, former Catholic priest and co-founder of the anti-hunger organization WhyHunger with singer-songwriter Harry Chapin, has died at age 85.
WhyHunger announced Ayres’ death and remembered him as a lifelong advocate for ending hunger, poverty and social injustice. A cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
Ayres co-founded WhyHunger in 1975 with Chapin after shared concerns about hunger and poverty emerged from interviews and conversations that also involved Chapin’s wife, Sandy. That same year, Ayres and Chapin joined radio personality Pete Fornatale and WNEW-FM general manager Mel Karmazin to launch the first Hungerthon, a 24-hour radio fundraiser. The annual campaign, which grew to include concerts and other efforts and became a Thanksgiving-season tradition on outlets including SiriusXM and New York stations, has raised tens of millions of dollars over decades.
Ayres hosted “The Bill Ayres Show” on WPLJ-FM for 40 years, mixing music with a late-night call-in format that offered advice to young listeners. He became the station’s longest-running continuous host and aired his final live show in May 2019. He was the first person to interview Bruce Springsteen on network radio, forming a longtime friendship with the musician and relationships with manager Jon Landau and Barbara Carr that later supported music-based anti-hunger efforts.
Ayres co-founded WhyHunger in 1975 with Chapin after shared concerns about hunger and poverty emerged from interviews and conversations that also involved Chapin’s wife, Sandy. That same year, Ayres and Chapin joined radio personality Pete Fornatale and WNEW-FM general manager Mel Karmazin to launch the first Hungerthon, a 24-hour radio fundraiser. The annual campaign, which grew to include concerts and other efforts and became a Thanksgiving-season tradition on outlets including SiriusXM and New York stations, has raised tens of millions of dollars over decades.
With Chapin, Ayres organized benefit concerts, established a national policy office in Washington, D.C., and supported efforts that led to the first Presidential Hunger Commission, the National Hunger Hotline, expanded school meal programs and federal food and nutrition assistance. They also helped establish Long Island Cares and the Center for Food Action in New Jersey. After Chapin’s death in 1981, Ayres continued the work, serving as WhyHunger’s executive director until retiring in 2015, when he received the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award at its 40th anniversary. He later partnered with Hard Rock International and worked with Yoko Ono Lennon on the “Imagine There’s No Hunger” campaign to expand children’s access to nutritious food. In 2025, he returned for WhyHunger’s 50th anniversary gala and helped present CNN’s Laura Coates with the inaugural Bill Ayres Social Justice Award.
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| with Harry Chapin |
His broadcasting career began in 1968 when the Diocese of Rockville Centre asked him to host the Sunday radio program “On This Rock,” which mixed rock music and interviews with discussions of faith, compassion and social issues. He later expanded into television after Cablevision founder Charles Dolan offered him a platform. Ayres left the active priesthood after falling in love with his future wife, Jeannine. He had become a Roman Catholic priest in 1966 after studying philosophy and theology at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York, following attendance at St. John’s University, and served in two parishes during 13 years in the active priesthood.