Bill Austin of the long-running Beth and Bill morning show on 99.9 KEZ has passed away this morning at the age of 55.
Austin has been a part of the Beth and Bill morning duo for nearly twenty years in Phoenix, and has been a Channel 12 TV weatherman prior to 99.9 KEZ.
After dealing with some health issues and turning 55, Austin decided to announce his retirement on-air in February.
Sources say Austin passed away due to bladder cancer.
Beth McDonald, Austin’s morning show partner, tweeted this morning, “It’s with a heavy heart but yes our Bill passed away this morning hope heaven has room for really loud colored shirts. Love ya big guy RIP.”
Beth and Bill have been a staple of Valley radio throughout much of their two decades together, including local television news presences in the mornings, a television show of their own– “Cooking with Beth & Bill”– billboards, books, community events and more.
99.9 KEZ will air a “Tribute to Bill Austin” Friday morning 6-10am.
ABOVE: Circa 2002. Courtesy: Archive.org / KEZ999.com
See Marty Manning’s video footage of Bill Austin’s announcement below:
AZCentral.com’s 4th annual Best Of poll is out, asking readers for their best choices around the Valley, from food, to entertainment, resorts, hotels, and the best of in radio.
One question asks, “WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE MORNING DJ(s)?”
Options (and percentages as of 5:45 this evening):
Ankarlo (Darrell Ankarlo), KTAR 2%
Barry Young, KFYI talk radio 2%
Ben and Matt , KNIX 30%
Beth and Bill, KEZ 5%
Dave Pratt, formerly of KMLE 31%
Doug & Wolf, KTAR 1%
Holmberg’s Morning Sickness, KUPD 4%
Howard Stern, Sirius Satellite Radio 2%
Johnjay and Rich, KISS 21%
Tim and Willie, KMLE 2%
PhoenixAirchecks.com Analysis:
- Where’s everybody else? Surprised to not see Chris & Amy. What about JR & Mary? And why not Tom & Maria? Dave Pratt is still an option, yet it’s been fifteen months since he’s been on the radio. (Yeah, but he also blogs for AZCentral.)
- Speaking of Dave Pratt, Pratt is beating Holmberg’s Morning Sickness over septuple! (that means times seven)
- Johnjay and Rich seem to be the ones most pushing for their followers on Twitter to vote for them on this one. So far it’s gotten them to 21%.
- Why can AZCentral never spell Willy’s name right?
ABOVE: Circa 2002. Courtesy: Archive.org / KEZ999.com
Bill Austin of the “Beth & Bill” morning show on Clear Channel’s 99.9 KEZ announced his retirement this morning. Austin reasoned that he turned 55 this year, had been considering the benchmark for a couple of years, and has had nearly 40 years spent in the broadcast industry.
Close to 20 years has been the amount of time the “Beth & Bill” morning show has existed. Austin came over to KEZ in June of 1990 from News Channel 12, and Beth and Bill in the mornings were quickly a hit.
They have been a staple of Valley radio throughout much of this time, including local television news presences in the mornings, a television show of their own– “Cooking with Beth & Bill”– billboards, books, community events and more.
Austin’s announcement this morning came on his last day on the show. Beth McDonald is scheduled to go solo March 1.
See Marty Manning’s video footage of Bill Austin’s announcement below:
Visit Beth and Bill’s blog on KEZ999.com by clicking here for more info, photos, and memories.
Posted on 08 December 2009 by PhoenixAirchecks.com
Tuesday morning power outages in the Valley have not only left an estimated 18,000 people without electricity, according to APS spokeswoman Jenna Henry, but also briefly knocked out several major Phoenix FM radio stations.
Several– if not a majority– of the FM stations went to static around 10:27am. The static lasted for a minute or two before broadcasts returned on-air. A few others, like KOOL-FM, went from static to silence for a few moments more.
A second occurrence reportedly occurred just minutes shy of 11am, that affected Bonneville’s KPKX and KTAR-FM. Since both stations returned just before the noon hour, we presume the hour was used for transmitter work. Both are located on South Mountain, which supports a majority of Phoenix FM radio station transmitters.
Posted on 25 November 2009 by PhoenixAirchecks.com
99.9 KEZ (KESZ) has said goodbye to the syndicated nighttime request and dedication Delilah show. KEZ is filling the new opening in the evenings, bringing Lori Bradley on-board for 7pm to midnight, weeknights.
Posted on 20 November 2009 by PhoenixAirchecks.com
When will we get some Christmas music on the radio? 99.9 KEZ, or how about 94.5 KOOL-FM? You can find the question asked on websites such as Yahoo! Answers.
It’s late November and we had no shortage of Christmas music this time last year. In fact, no shortage of it on Halloween. The season hasn’t seen the light of day so far in 2009.
As of this morning, the Christmas music lovers’ eagerly awaited wish has finally come true. KEZ kicked off all-Christmas this morning at 8am.
KOOL has yet to flip to all-Christmas– as the website hints that it may play Christmas here and there, it also provides a station on KOOLradio.com to be streamed that plays only Christmas music. It could be a holiday race not chosen to venture, unlike last year’s excitement and spirit.
Posted on 16 November 2009 by PhoenixAirchecks.com
Last year we got an early Christmas music battle between 99.9 KEZ and 94.5 KOOL-FM.
KEZ, the “Holiday Station” of many years, has yet to flip to all-Christmas music this season. Rumor had it that the flip was to occur November 1, but word got out too early on the Phoenix Radio-Info.com boards. The date also drew national attention in Radio-Info’s newsletter by Tom Taylor. Several days later, a new date was disclosed by the same anonymous informant on the Phoenix Radio-Info board as being November 16, which is today.
During the weekend, new all-Christmas competitor, KOOL (since flipping to all-Christmas last year on Halloween before the doorbells even rang), began advertising Christmas to happen, and to listen Monday (today) at noon.
Considering the KEZ Christmas rumor to be true, and imagining the KOOL Christmas date for today as being a reaction to it, today is a potential day for an all-Christmas music showdown, balk, or tease– and what better day than on a Monday?
We should soon witness which Phoenix radio station sits on Santa’s lap first.
Liz Boyle tells us that John Giese and Bill Andres (KDKB’s John & Bill) are planning to reunite at the AMEHOF benefit concert, Sept. 6. Also emceeing: Wonderful Russ (KDKB), Marty Manning (KESZ), and Jim West (KNIX, KMLE)!
When will we get some Christmas music on the radio? 99.9 KEZ, or how about 94.5 KOOL-FM? You can find the question asked on websites such as Yahoo! Answers.
