Year Inducted:
Category / Categories:
2010 Inductee
A man who was known as the master of the one-liners, according to companion Lynda Sawkes. His career lasted over four decades, Frank Benny was a very popular radio and TV personality with a well-known on screen presence and humorous personality.
Benny, born in Chicago, started out his successful career at KISN in Oregon in 1963, then came to WGR Radio for 19 year during which WGR won Billboard magazine’s radio station of the year award in 1977.
Benny’s popularity on radio led to an offer to become the weatherman for WGR-TV Channel 2 at both 6p.m. and 11p.m., and he hosted Bowling for Dollars five nights a week, along with doing telethons and a movie matinee. He did the morning show for WYRK in 1985 and worked for WBEN from 1986 to 1989. He used his wit on WENG, in Sarasota, FL, in 2004, where he co-hosted The Morning Magazine with Scott Holcomb, and it could be total gibberish, but his delivery was so great, listeners would buy it according to Dave McClure, his WENG boss. It was then, when the professional broadcaster became the news director at WENG. Benny’s traveling experience and the fact that he lived all across the United States gave him a lot to talk about at the small radio station. Benny gave callers all kinds of advice, whether it was a few simple words of knowledge or advice about golf, one of his passions.
Benny died, at age 67, on May 9, 2005, in Englewood, FL, from complications of pneumonia. Sawkes stated, He would have liked to be remembered with a microphone in one hand and a golf club in the other.
Audio Archives
Video Archives