Former Cleveland radio executive Carl Hirsch died suddenly Monday of a heart attack in Florida, where he had been living in recent years. He was 64.
Hirsch was president/CEO of Malrite, WMMS-FM’s parent company, from 1974-1985, the years in which WMMS became the most influential rock station in the country. He ran Legacy Broadcasting from 1986-1990. In the 1990s, he was president and CEO of OmniAmerica, which made WMJI-FM one of Cleveland’s dominant stations. In 1999 he founded NextMedia, which owns and operates broadcast properties around the country. Most recently, he had been doing consulting through his Legacy Management Group.
This article appears in Feb 23 – Mar 1, 2011.
Carls funeral is 11 a.m. this coming Sunday at the Berkowitz-Kumin-Bookatz, 1985 South Taylor Road in Cleveland Heights for anyone who is interested.
Good for him to come up and go “let’s do this, and let’s make it work”. I wonder what he thinks of Bo Mathews flunking a station that was once an icon to all rockers?
Carl Hirsch was one of my best friends at Woodbury Junior High school in Shaker Heights Ohio in the late 1950’s even though he accidentally burned a hole in my favorite jacket while trying to light up a cigarette (LOL). I was really looking forward to seeing him at our 50th high school reunion this August, 2014. We all miss you! RIP Carl. Don Ladanyi