David Brudnoy

David Barry Brudnoy (June 5, 1940 – December 9, 2004) was an American talk radio host in Boston from 1976 to 2004.

His radio talk show aired on WBZ radio and he espoused his libertarian views on a wide range of political issues in a courteous manner.

Thanks to WBZ's wide broadcast signal reach, he gained a following from across the United States as well as Canada.

Brudnoy first attended college in 1958, receiving a BA in Japanese Studies from Yale in New Haven.

He also received MAs from Harvard and Brandeis, and a PhD from Brandeis, focusing on East Asian studies and history.

During the 1970s he wrote articles for the National Review, and befriended its editor William F. Buckley Jr. He also wrote for The Alternative (later known as The American Prospect) in the early 1970s, but quit because of the editor's unwillingness to adopt a more liberal position on gay rights.

His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, and The Saturday Evening Post.

Brudnoy began a career in broadcast commentary in 1971 on Boston's local PBS television station, WGBH-TV.

In 1976, he took over as host of his friend Avi Nelson's radio show on WHDH, in the midst of the city's unrest over forced busing and desegregation in schools.

He took to the job with ease, and increasingly gained popularity.

From 1981 to 1986, he appeared on former Top 40 station WRKO, which was now news and talk, before moving to local stalwart WBZ.

The top-rated talk radio host in New England, he appeared in a regular weekday evening slot until his retirement.

At the end of his career, Brudnoy was, according to WBZ Radio's promotional materials, derived from Arbitron ratings, among the most-listened-to evening talk hosts in the United States.

Over the years, Brudnoy also appeared as a news commentator and host on local TV stations besides WGBH, including WCVB-TV (ABC), WNAC-TV, and WBZ-TV (CBS).

He also appeared nationally on the CBS Morning News.

He wrote movie reviews for Boston magazine and local community newspapers.

In 1990, his WBZ show was canceled in favor of a less expensive syndicated show hosted by Tom Snyder, but a mass public response, including support from The Boston Globe and the Boston Herald, helped lead to his quick return to the station's lineup.

Brudnoy's popularity escalated him into the Boston media elite, and he was the host of numerous social gatherings at his upscale Back Bay apartment, mixing students, media personalities, and politicians.

After his bout with AIDS, Brudnoy began broadcasting from his apartment four nights out of five, welcoming his radio guests into his home and eagerly offering them cocktails.

When he returned to the air in early January 1995, after his first battle with HIV/AIDS kept him off the air for ten weeks, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino formally declared January 5 as "David Brudnoy Day" due to his popularity.

He received an honorary doctorate from Emerson College in 1996.

As a professor, Brudnoy taught classes or was a guest lecturer at many major colleges and universities throughout Boston and New England, as well as in Texas: Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern University, Merrimack College, University of Rhode Island, Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University, as well as Texas Southern University.

He was respected as an educator: student evaluations for his courses at Boston University indicate that they were very well received, and former students were among those who wrote eloquent tributes to him when he died.

According to those students, he was such a devoted educator that even as he was dying, he made certain to finish grading their term papers.

Years later, he would detail the confusion he felt, discussing his teenage and college years in his 1997 autobiography, Life is Not a Rehearsal.

During his childhood, Brudnoy and his family briefly lived in Macon, Georgia, and San Antonio, Texas; his father had enlisted in the United States Army Reserve and the moves were so that he could be near army bases.

In 1997, Brudnoy was awarded the Freedom of Speech Award from the National Association of Radio Talk Show Hosts, and was nominated for the major market "Personality of the Year" Marconi Radio Award by the National Association of Broadcasters.

In 2001, he celebrated his 25th anniversary on the air.

On December 9, 2004, he died from Merkel cell carcinoma after it had metastasized to his lungs and kidneys.

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, to a Jewish family, David Brudnoy was the only child of Doris and Harry Brudnoy.

Harry was a dentist in the Minneapolis area, a profession he maintained for over 50 years.

During his youth, David Brudnoy was known to be precocious, and in addition to reading a lot, he enjoyed collecting stamps.

He was also interested in history, and thanks to the influence of his Aunt Kathie, with whom he was close for all of his life, he became interested in movies; he often attended them with her.

Years later, Brudnoy would become known for his work as a film critic, and he remarked in his autobiography that his aunt had undoubtedly contributed to his success by taking him to so many films.

Although he did not articulate it at the time, he was also aware of certain homosexual attractions.

He was inducted to the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame, posthumously, in 2008.

Brudnoy's strongly libertarian opinions were expressed with wit and thoughtfulness.

He described his own manner as "less ideological and more empathic", in contrast to more recent figures of conservative talk radio.

Many regard him as a unique radio host who was effective at injecting a different perspective into the political dialogue rather than merely cultivating a particular political segment of the population.

His non-partisan, thoughtful way of discussing issues helped him gain a large following despite being based in a staunchly Democratic region.