Beloved former Cincinnati radio personality Gary Burbank dies

CINCINNATI — Gary Burbank, a beloved radio personality who spent decades entertaining listeners on 700 WLW, has died.

700 WLW host Bill Cunningham announced the Radio Hall of Famer's death on social media, saying, "May the GOAT ... RIP."

Burbank started his career in Louisiana and Mississippi before becoming one of the first white disc jockeys at Memphis radio station WDIA, one of the first stations in the U.S. programmed entirely for Black listeners, his biography on the Radio Hall of Fame said.

He then joined WAKY in Louisville, where he moved from music to political and social humor. After spending some time in Canada, he went back in Louisville to join WHAS and then made his way over to Cincinnati, where he spent the rest of his career at WLW.

During his time in Cincinnati, Burbank voiced characters like Right Rev. Deuteronomy Skaggs and Earl Pitts, the redneck commentator.

We were there when Burbank retired in 2007, and continued to speak with him during his ventures after his radio career.

"I forgot I even did it," he told us after his retirement. "I don't even remember doing it. In fact, I think it was all just some kind of dream."

Burbank was later inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2012.