Alfred D. Herger
Alfred Domingo Herger (born November 4, 1942) is a Puerto Rican television show host and a psychologist. He has been labeled the Ed Sullivan of Puerto Rico in local media, due to his strong influence on Puerto Rican popular culture and his success as a television presenter.
Early life
Herger, of Spanish and German ancestry, was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico and was raised in San Juan. As early as in 1958, while he was a teenager, he would provide local newspaper "El Mundo" with hit rankings of the most popular songs among San Juan youth. He would eventually become a radio disc jockey, renowned for his sense of humor and affable character.[1]
Establishing Nueva Ola
Herger was the originator and leader of the Nueva Ola music revolution of the 1960s in Puerto Rico.[2] He became very famous across Puerto Rico with his daily television shows, which lasted until the late 1970s.[1]
He helped the careers of many young singers of the time, such as,
It was in the early 1970s that he befriended future
Later on in 1980, Herger produced and hosted a game show, La Pirámide, complete with an Egyptian-themed set and imagery, tons of bad pyramid puns and jokes in the program's scripts, and his entire family involved in the show. Herger's oldest son Alfredo and daughter Grace Marie went on to be successful teen show hosts in Puerto Rico on WAPA-TV's show Party Time. Grace Marie later became a part-time model and Alfredo attempted a career as a solo singer.
Career as psychologist
Herger retired from radio and television to devote himself to his career as a psychologist during the mid 1990s. He had rebounded from
Grace Marie's first husband, physician Pedro Gracia Jr., suddenly died from an
Adding to these tragedies, Herger's other son, former television show host Alfredo Herger, died following a gym workout, on May 29, 2019 at the age 51. Reports says his death was caused by an Abdominal aortic aneurysm.[3][4]
Herger was honored by the Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular, which recognizes important figures of popular culture in Puerto Rico[2] on August 13, 2008.[2]
See also
- List of Puerto Ricans
- German immigration to Puerto Rico
- Paquito Cordero
- Rafael Perez Perry
References
- ^ a b "Alfred D. Herger" (in Spanish). San Juan, Puerto Rico: National Foundation for Popular Culture.
- ^ a b c "Preparan homenaje a Alfred D. Herger". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 6 August 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ "Muere el exanimador Alfredo Herger [Alfredo Herger former animator dies]". Primera Hora. May 29, 2019.
- ^ "Alfred D. Herger y Grace Marie recuerdan a Alfredo [Alfred D. Herger and Grace Marie remember Alfredo]". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). June 3, 2019.