Mark Pilgrim (20 September 1969 – 5 March 2023) was a South African media personality who hosted numerous radio and television shows, most notably as a DJ on

5FM 5FM is a South African FM radio station forming part of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), South Africa's public broadcaster. 5FM follows a Top 40 music format aimed at a youth market, together with news and sports coverage. ...

94.7 Highveld Stereo Hot AC 947 (formerly 94.7 Highveld Stereo) is a radio station that broadcasts on the 94.7FM frequency from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. Current on-air lineup History The station first went on the air on 1 September 1964, as the fi ...

94.5 Kfm Kfm 94.5 is an hot adult contemporary radio station based in Cape Town, South AfricaAbout Us
, www.kfm.co.za, Retr ...

, Hot919 and Hot102.7fm. On television, he hosted both seasons of ''Big Brother South Africa'', the first season of ''Big Brother Africa'', and the MNET game show ''

Power of 10 In mathematics, a power of 10 is any of the integer powers of the number ten; in other words, ten multiplied by itself a certain number of times (when the power is a positive integer). By definition, the number one is a power (the zeroth power ...

''.

Radio career

Pilgrim started his radio career on Voice of Wits campus radio in the 80s. He joined

in 1995. In 2003 he left 5fm and joined

in Johannesburg. In October 2007, Pilgrim hosted a chart show broadcast on two radio stations simultaneously (KFM and 94.7). He retired from radio at the end of June 2014, but made a comeback several months later on the all new Hot 91.9FM in Johannesburg, initially just doing a Saturday morning show 9 am – noon, but eventually coming back to radio full time and also doing Monday to Friday 9 am – noon. In 2015, he won an MTN Radio Award for Best Weekend Radio Show in South Africa, and in 2019 won the Liberty Radio Award for the Best Daytime Show in South Africa. In 2021, he was inducted into the South African Radio Awards Hall of Fame for his contribution to the radio industry. In 2022, Pilgrim formed part of 13 nominations in the "2022 SA Radio Awards" and won the “Best Weekend Radio Show in South Africa” for which he received a standing ovation in celebration of his success.

Television career

* ''New Moves'' (e-TV: 1999–2000) * '' Big Brother South Africa 1'' (MNET: 2001) * '' Big Brother South Africa 2'' (MNET: 2002) * ''

Big Brother Africa ''Big Brother Africa'' is the African version of the international reality television franchise ''Big Brother'' created by producer John de Mol Jr. in 1997. The show was first aired in 2003 for one season on M-Net and broadcast to audiences i ...

'' (DStv: 2003) * ''Retail Therapy'' (MNET: 2002–2005) * ''Face 2 Face'' (SABC2: 2004) * ''Sex Etc.'' (MNET: 2005) * ''Blue Wave'' (CORPORATE: 2004–2018) * ''What's Brewing'' (CORPORATE: 2007–2008) * ''

'' (MNET: 2008)

Other work

Pilgrim was a regular DJ at corporate functions and nightclubs around the country. As a voice artist, he spent many hours in post-production studios, narrating radio and TV commercials. He performed as an MC for numerous corporate gala evenings. He was a motivational speaker, sharing his story on

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an c ...

, how he overcame it and how it pushed him to follow his dreams.

Consumer researcher

Before getting involved in the entertainment industry, Pilgrim completed a B.Com. in Industrial Psychology and Business Economics, and was a quantitative consumer researcher for nine years. He started at Market Research Africa, and then moved onto

Research International Research International was a British-based international marketing research company, created in 1962 as a daughter company of Unilever and originally known as Research Bureau Limited, RBL.testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an c ...

in 1988. It was an aggressive form of cancer and spread to his lungs and kidneys. After 9 months of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

, he was declared to be in remission. He later was an ambassador for CANSA (Cancer Association of South Africa) and a friend of the Reach for a Dream Foundation. On 14 July 2008, Pilgrim suffered a sudden and severe

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in his doctor's office. Although he suffered permanent heart damage (10% of his heart has lost its functionality), immediate medical intervention saved his life. Pilgrim married Nicole Torres in Mauritius on 7 July 2007 and after almost 13 years together, filed for divorce in 2020. Their first daughter Tayla-Jean was born in April 2010, followed by their second daughter Alyssa in 2012. Pilgrim went on to meet Adrienne Watkins, through mutual friends and dated Adrienne from 2020. He proposed to her on 31 December 2022 at their home in Johannesburg. Pilgrim completed his

Master's in Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ar ...

(MBA) through Edinburgh Business School (Heriot-Watt University in the United Kingdom) in 2020.

Death

In February 2022, Pilgrim was again diagnosed with cancer, this time stage 4 lung cancer. After a courageous battle which he faced with great dignity and bravery, he died on 5 March 2023 at home, with Adrienne by his side, at the age of 53.

References

External links

* * *
94.7 Highveld Stereo's website

94.5 Kfm's website

Mark Pilgrim's website

Hot919's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilgrim, Mark 1969 births 2023 deaths South African game show hosts South African television personalities South African radio presenters South African people of English descent University of South Africa alumni English emigrants to South Africa Television personalities from Kent Deaths from lung cancer in South Africa