By Sharon Oliver
Contributing Writer
BOSTON – Former WBZ-AM radio talk show producer Ken Meyer passed away on August 23, 2025. He was 79 years old. The Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Famer was not only one of the 11 chosen out of 200 nominees for induction in 2011, but he was also blind.
Passion for radio
Born in Rochester, New York, Meyer was a graduate of the New York State School for the Blind in Batavia where he studied piano tuning but had a life-long passion for radio. Meyer would use his tape recorder, a gift given to him by his parents, to mimic radio broadcasts. While in the tenth grade and convinced that a career in radio was for him, Meyer took a day off from school to visit Rochester’s WHAM radio to speak with radio personality Bill Givens. The pessimistic Givens told him, “You’re trying to get into a business where you have got to read. You can’t do it.”
Undeterred, he lobbied Vocational Rehabilitation Services to allow him to study radio and wrote to the president of Cambridge School of Broadcasting (now Graham Junior College) where he got an interview and took a typing test in 1967. Meyer got another lucky break when Ed Walker, who once worked with NBC’s “Today” show broadcasting personality Willard Scott, agreed to sponsor his college enrollment.
Meyer said in interview with The Daily News of Batavia, New York, “It was the only time I got a 4.0. I was never so scared in my entire life. I really had a rough time adjusting. In Batavia you’re the rule, not the exception. I remember crying my eyes out. I thought, ‘Whatever made me think I could get into broadcasting?’”
Producer for WBZ
Meyer talked Vocational Rehabilitation Services into paying for his WBZ tryout and in February 1971, he began his stint as the producer of The Larry Glick Show. Meyer even filled in for the evening talk master after Glick overslept one night, proving he could also champion on-air duties. That same year, WBZ radio celebrated its 50th anniversary with Meyer producing the Jerry Williams’ show. Old time radio guests included celebrities such as Milton Berle, Bob Hope and Art Linkletter.
During the July 4, 1975, weekend, Meyer produced an old-time radio event, The Big Broadcast of 1975. The show aired on WBZ-AM for Muscular Dystrophy and featured recordings of old shows such as Nick Carter Master Detective, The Jack Benny Show and The Shadow. As his radio broadcast career snowballed, Meyer met people such as Muhammad Ali, Jane Fonda and Marlo Thomas. The devoted Boston sports fan also got the chance to meet former New York Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto and interview him at Fenway Park.
From 1978 to 1980, Meyer produced “Calling All Sports” with Bob Lobel and Upton Bell. In addition to that, he produced David Finnegan’s talk show (1980 to 1983). Meyer got his own WBZ radio program in 1979 on Saturday nights and hosted until he left the station in November of 1985, moving to WEEI to host “Radio Classics.”
Admired by colleagues
Meyer credited people like WBZ program director Bill Shupert, Graham Junior College trustee Lamont Thompson, veteran radio engineer Dick Walsh and Fred “Voice of the Bruins” Cusick for helping him reach is goal in radio broadcasting. Podcaster Dick Summer referred to Meyer as “the most famous radio talk show producer, ever” and Dave Maynard considered him to be “the best sidekick a talk host could hope to find.” Back in the day, talk show producers kept a Rolodex filled with contact information, but many knew Meyer kept it all in his head.
Known for his love of reading, being the first in line for rollercoaster rides, spending time with his dogs and putting extra bleu cheese on everything, Ken Meyer may not have possessed the gift of sight, but he certainly had vision. He is survived by his wife, Terrie, and his children Janet and David.
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