I just saw in today's New Haven Register on line that longtime WELI and WAVZ morning host Ron Rohmer passed away on Sunday after a massive heart attack.  He was 74.

He was as big a part of people's mornings in Greater New Haven as was Dave Maynard in Boston or John Gambling in New York.  I and many others fondly remember his morning show, especially waiting to hear your town's name when a snowstorm hit.  He was one of the reasons WELI was long the highest-rated station in the market.

In case you didn't know, he was morning host for 34 years (1961-1995), and sued Clear Channel for age discrimination after he was let go.  He returned to the air on sister WAVZ after winning the suit, and stayed through the summer of 1999.

Interestingly, the article says he never got his US citizenship (he was a Canadian hockey player who originally came to New Haven in the 1950s to play for the New Haven Blades minor league hockey team).

See http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15282720&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=6 for the obituary (also accessible from the main page at www.newhavenregister.com, at least today).

Ed Hennessy

