J. R. Gach
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Jay Robert "J.R." Gach (April 2, 1952 – July 13, 2015) was a talk radio host and shock jock who had prominent on-air roles in Buffalo, New York; Louisiana; and Schenectady, New York.
Gach was born in 1952 to Joseph Harry Gach (1917–2007), a retired army colonel, and Dorothy Louise Shive (1921–2004). He got his start in radio at a couple of stations in Chester, Pennsylvania as "Jay Roberts" in the late 1960s.[1]
Jay worked for KLOU in Lake Charles, LA 1975–1976. In 1989 through 1992, Gach worked for "Kajun 103" in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a morning show host. In a dramatic foreshadowing of his radio career to follow, Gach spectacularly flamed out in Baton Rouge. In this early era of talk radio, Gach also attempted a midday show on 1300 WIBR in Port Allen, Louisiana. Apparently due to his excessive weight, Gach was often at a loss trying to talk for extended periods on WIBR without use of his cart-based sound effects. Gach would later state his poor performance in Louisiana was an act of deliberate self-sabotage brought on by depressive episodes.
From the summer of 1992 through 1995, Gach worked as a talk radio host on
After undergoing another round of antidepressants, Gach would later resurface on WRCZ/WBOE "The Bone" (now
Gach is also credited as being the first person to voice a radio commercial with a profanity, describing Sinus Buster cayenne nasal spray as "The best shit that ever was" for a commercial on
For most of 2007, Gach hosted his own talk show on the Internet radio, paid for by sponsors. It included local advertisements, announcements by nationally recognized voiceover personality Jim Cutler (also known as the voice of ESPN Radio and many other stations), and weather forecasts for the Albany/Schenectady area, even though the show was based (by Gach's own admission) from a home studio in Florida. Like his previous shows, Gach prominently featured his significant other, although his wife Suzie had long since divorced him, and he now aired with his girlfriend Erica. The show was completely uncensored and frequently used language and euphemisms that would not be allowed on traditional radio. The show aired live on weekdays from 2 PM to 4 PM Eastern Time and looped the most recent show when off the air.
In December 2007, Gach's father and aunt both died. This, coupled with the lawsuit settlement and the
Gach was an avowed
Gach died on July 13, 2015, at the age of 63 in his home in New Port Richey, Florida, after a lifelong battle with diabetes. JR had become a bit of a recluse after leaving the talk-show circuit. He had died without issue and his remains were cremated.[6]
References
- ^ "WVCH". www.oldchesterpa.com.
- ^ Bird, Rick (2001-02-22). "WLW pulls the plug on J.R. Gach after slur". The Cincinnati Post. E. W. Scripps Company. Archived from the original on 2004-10-29.
- ^ "'Mental illness strikes J.R'". timesunion.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2003. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Bio of Shawn Bolts Archived 2008-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gavin, Robert. Cruel words have a price – Times Union – Albany NY
- ^ "Jay GACH Obituary (2015)". St. Petersburg, FL: Tampa Bay Times.
External links
- JR's official Web site (offline)
- JR's Web site as seen in June 2007 at the Wayback Machine (archived June 9, 2007)
- Selected podcasts