Renowned programmer and on-air talent Clarke Ingram passed away on Saturday, November 25, after years of long-term health struggles. Best known in his hometown of Pittsburgh, he served as program director for Pittsburgh’s top 40 stations WBZZ, now KDKA-FM, and WJJJ, now country WPGB.
He also held similar programming positions at WPXY in Rochester and KRQQ in Tucson, also serving as operations manager at KZZP in Phoenix. Ingram’s on-air work included New York’s Z100 (WHTZ) as well as WBZZ, WWSW, and WXKX/WHTX in Pittsburgh.
Beyond his top 40 career, Ingram shifted towards oldies, hosting weekend shows on WWSW and WKHB/WKFB. In 2011, Ingram stepped down from his role at Broadcast Communications Inc., hinting at his eventual retirement. He made a brief return to radio in 2013 as a consultant for WZUM in Pittsburgh, where he developed an urban oldies format. However, the station was sold in 2016 and switched to a jazz format.
Tributes from across the industry began to appear on social media over the weekend.
Mike McVay commented, “So very sorry to hear this news. Clarke was all about radio…A true loss. A real gentleman.”
Jeffrey Mason posted, “Hearing Clarke on the air made you want to be a DJ. And if you were already a DJ, he made you want to be a BETTER one. The stations Clarke programmed were amazing. KRQ in Tucson, AZ had the highest ratings of any top 40 station in America when he was in charge!”
Clarke recently shared a photo from his days at WXKX for Radio Ink‘s Blast from the Past, featuring the Eagles’ Glenn Frey.
Is Clarke the same person who wrote many historical articles about the old DuMont television Network?