Neil Rogers | |
---|---|
Birth name | Nelson Roger Behelfer |
Born |
Rochester, New York |
November 5, 1942
Died | December 24, 2010 Broward County, Florida |
(aged 68)
Show | The Neil Rogers Show |
Station(s) |
1490 AM WBTA, Batavia, NY 1310 AM WCGR, Canandaigua, NY 1230 AM WSTR, Sturgis MI 1560 AM WTPS, Kalamazoo 1260 AM WALM, Albion MI 1540 AM WMRR, Marshall MI 1450 AM WSPB, Sarasota 1290 AM WJNO, West Palm Beach 1360 AM WKAT, Miami 1510 AM WLAC, Nashville 790 AM WNWS, Miami 940 AM WINZ, Miami 94.9 FM WZTA, Miami 610 AM WIOD, Miami 620 AM WSUN, St. Petersburg** 1500 AM WKIZ, Key West** 560 WQAM, Miami 770 AM WJBX, Ft. Myers* Channel 69, Miami *Simulcast of WQAM **Simulcast of WIOD |
Time slot | Monday-Friday |
Style | Talk show host |
Country | United States |
Website | neilrogers.org |
Neil Rogers (November 5, 1942 – December 24, 2010) was an American talk radio personality. Until his retirement on June 22, 2008, "The Neil Rogers Show" aired weekdays from 10am-2pm on 560 WQAM. It was consistently the top rated show in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale media market and had been since his Miami debut in 1976. Although he was not syndicated nationally or even regionally, Talkers magazine, the trade publication of talk radio, ranked Rogers at Number 15 on its 2006 list of the 100 most important personalities in the business. Rogers died at the age of 68 at the Vitas Hospice at Florida Medical Center in Broward County, Florida.
Rogers was born Nelson Roger Behelfer in Rochester, New York. Growing up there, he amused himself by announcing his own play-by-play while watching baseball on television. Years later he would do play-by-play for Miami Hurricanes baseball (1978-1982 on radio and 1983 on TV). In 1966 Rogers broadcast high school basketball in Marshall, Michigan at WMRR. His first radio job was at WBTA in Batavia, NY. He also worked as a music disc jockey at a small station, WCGR, in Canandaigua, New York He studied broadcasting at Michigan State University, but left shortly before he would have graduated to pursue his radio career. While in Michigan, Rogers broadcast football and basketball games for Albion College.
Over the next decade, Rogers worked at several stations in several states, including New York, Michigan, and Florida. In 1968, Rogers was program director for WTPS, which had a Hot 100 format serving Kalamazoo, Michigan. Neil also worked at WSTR in Sturgis, Michigan. Later he ended up at WJNO AM in West Palm Beach starting in 1975, moving from WSPB 1450 AM in Sarasota where he started in Florida in 1973. Rogers subsequently lost his job in West Palm Beach and was headed to Yuma, Arizona when he called his mother from the road and learned that Miami-Ft. Lauderdale's WKAT (AM 1360) had offered him a job without application or audition. Rogers turned his car around and headed for Miami, debuting on WKAT on March 1, 1976. Rogers worked the 3 PM - 6 PM at WKAT for $225 a week. Prior to working for WKAT, Rogers worked two weekend shifts at WIOD, which was playing music at that time. By the end of 1976, he was one of the top-rated radio personalities in the market. Also while at WKAT, Neil owned a health food store in the San Souci area.