Deirdre O'Donoghue (July 16, 1948 – January 21, 2001) was a disc jockey known for her shows ''SNAP!'' on

KCRW-FM KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to program ...

and ''

Breakfast with the Beatles ''Breakfast with the Beatles'' is a popular programming segment format on FM radio in cities in the United States. The segment format typically features one or more hours of programing consisting exclusively of music by or related to The Beatles ...

'' on KMET-FM and later KLSX-FM. She has been called the "most influential American DJ you’ve never heard of" due to her show having many underground guests such as

The Dream Syndicate The Dream Syndicate is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1981 to 1989, and reunited since 2012. The band is associated with neo-psychedelia and the Paisley Underground music movement; of the ba ...

and

Concrete Blonde Concrete Blonde was an American alternative rock band from Hollywood, California. They were initially active from 1982 to 1995, and reunited twice: first from 2001 to 2004, and again from 2010 to 2012. They were best known for their album ''Bloo ...

, while also welcoming established artists as well.

Biography

She started her radio career in 1973, working at WBCN and WNTN in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, then moving to WABX in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

in 1975 then going to KMGC in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. In 1979, she moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, starting at KKGO-FM and meeting

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

before joining KCRW-FM in 1980. There, she started the program ''SNAP!'' (an acronym for ''Saturday Night Avant Pop''), and later started the program ''

'' in 1976 at KMET-FM, simultaneously working at both stations to do both shows. ''SNAP!'' ran from the 1980s into the early 1990s alongside ''Breakfast with the Beatles''. KCRW aired three nights a week with things that were considered the "cutting edge of contemporary pop music." When KMET changed formats in 1987, O’Donoghue took ''Breakfast with the Beatles'' to KNX-FM.

Firings

In 1986, she was briefly fired by the bosses at KCRW due in part to her refusal to share her playlists with the music department. On November 2, 1986, KCRW's

Ruth Seymour Ruth Seymour (born Ruth Epstein) is a retired American broadcasting executive known for her innovative work with public radio. She has been described as a pioneer in public radio and "a commanding presence in the public radio arena." Early years ...

fired O'Donoghue for not sticking to the music and talking about other things such as the

Nicaraguan Revolution The Nicaraguan Revolution ( es, Revolución Nicaragüense or Revolución Popular Sandinista, link=no) encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation F ...

, which led to O'Donoghue's friend and colleague DJ Brent Wilcox resigning on air in protest. She returned on March 2, 1987, and remained with KCRW until 1991, when she left for health reasons.

Death and legacy

O'Donoghue died unexpectedly on January 21, 2001, at her home in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...

, leaving behind an archive of KCRW interviews and performances from the 1980s on her show. Foul play is not suspected by the coroners office. Many people expressed sadness because of her death, including musicians

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Roll ...

and

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Pos ...

, as well as people like Tom Schnabel. In 2021, Tricia Halloran and Bob Carlson, both of whom were friends of O'Donoghue, announced a 10-part podcast series called ''Bent By Nature'' that used her unheard tapes, recorded by O'Donoghue herself.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ODonaghue, Deirdre 1948 births 2001 deaths American women DJs