Ready or not, here comes Bruce & Dan
Longtime radio morning team (and husband and wife) Don & Roma Wade are stepping down from their post at WLS-AM and are being replaced by interim hosts Bruce Wolf and Dan Proft, and this comes as the Wade’s contract is set to expire at the end of this month. The change is effective immediately.
In September, Don Wade underwent brain surgery after suffering a seizure while in his hometown of New York City visiting his daughter, who was getting married. Doctors found a growth on his brain and was successfully removed. Wade later underwent several weeks for chemotherapy and radiation treatment. His recovery – though long – is coming along fine.
Don Wade arrived from the Big Apple in 1982, where he worked at country WUSN-FM and was the station’s morning personality. In 1985, he jumped to contemporary hit WLS-AM and was paired with Roma a year later. When the station went to an all-talk format in 1989, they held down the morning shift and have done so up until Mr. Wade’s seizure.
Even though the right-leaning talk show hosts appeal to an older-skewing audience, the program has been profitable and in the black for years thanks to sponsorships and devoted local advertisers.
Meanwhile, Wolf – a longtime sports personality whose best known for his work at WFLD-TV and WLUP-FM, now ascends to the throne with Dan Proft, whose best known for his run for Governor on the Republican ticket and being a spokesperson with the town of Cicero, which borders Chicago’s West Side.
Wolf was also host of WMAQ-TV’s short-lived Barely Today morning show, a 4:30 a.m. newscast launched before its time (4:30 a.m. newscasts have now become staples of many local stations.)
Meanwhile, the two-hour midday slot (9-11a.m.) once held by Wolf & Proft (and before them, Mancow Mueller and Pat Cassidy), is now filled by Jake Hartford and Chicago Tribune’s John Kass.
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Dear Don & Roma:
We wish you both the very best and hope Don is back to his old self. We enjoyed listening to you every day and supported your conservative views. We are also proud that we were selected to attend your show in Chicago when the Blue Angels were on and mention it to friends from time-to-time. Take care and be safe.
Warmest personal regards,
Ed & Sandie Froehlich