Tony Pigg, Celebrated D.J. of FM’s Golden Age, Dies at 85 (2024)

Tony Pigg, a silky-voiced disc jockey who rode high during FM radio’s golden era — first supplying extended jams to the psychedelic underground on the seminal San Francisco radio station KSAN in the 1960s and later at the powerhouse rock station WPLJ in New York — died on April 26 at his home in Manhattan. He was 85.

His death was announced by his wife, Lucinda Scala Quinn.

Howard Stern recently said on his SiriusXM satellite radio show that he was enamored with Mr. Pigg’s work when he was growing up on Long Island.

“He was one of those guys I was really jealous of,” Mr. Stern said. “When I was growing up I was like, ‘I want to be on the radio, but I don’t have a voice like Tony Pigg.’”

Jim Kerr, another mainstay of the once-dominant WPLJ, said in a statement: “The warmth and wit of Tony Pigg entertained an entire generation of New York radio listeners. His talent was a major reason why in the 1970s, WPLJ became the most-listened-to FM station in America and is so fondly remembered today.”

Mr. Pigg’s deep, sonorous voice was also a staple of television. For three decades he was the announcer for the long-running New York-based live morning show originally co-hosted by Regis Philbin, which has evolved into “Live With Kelly and Mark,” now starring Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos.

Tony Pigg was born Richard Joseph Quinn on April 11, 1939, in Sacramento to Philomena (Cantisano) Quinn, a court stenographer, and Joseph Quinn, a corrections officer and milkman. He studied art under the painter Wayne Thiebaud at California State University, Sacramento, and served a stint in the Army before deciding to pursue a career in radio.