Bernard Meltzer
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bernard C. Meltzer (May 2, 1916 – March 25, 1998) was a
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
radio host for several decades. His advice call-in show, "What's Your Problem?," aired from 1967 until the mid-1990s on stations WCAU-AM and WPEN-AM in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
WOR-AM WOR () is a 50,000-watt class A clear-channel AM radio station owned by iHeartMedia and licensed to New York, New York. The station airs a mix of local and syndicated talk radio shows, primarily from co-owned Premiere Networks, including '' ...
and WEVD-AM in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
and in national syndication on
NBC Talknet NBC Talknet was a nighttime programming block on the NBC Radio Network from the 1980s to the 1990s. It comprised several advice-oriented call-in talk shows, the most notable personalities being Bruce Williams and Sally Jessy Raphael. At a ...
. A city planner by training, with a civil engineering degree from
City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...
and a master's degree from the
Wharton School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...
at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
, Meltzer moved from a career as a Philadelphia expert in urban problems to a radio host on WCAU. In 1973 his show moved to WOR in New York. Meltzer's show provided counsel on a wide range of quandaries, ranging from financial to personal: callers were as likely to ask about family crises, parenting issues and romantic problems as they were to ask about plumbing, home improvement or investment problems. Segments were often bracketed by Meltzer delivering aphorisms or reciting moralizing poetry ("What shall we do with grandma, now that she's old and gray?") in his distinctive smooth, soothing, quiet voice. His show at one time held the highest ratings among adults in his time slot. Thanks to a doctoral degree earned by correspondence from an unaccredited university, listeners usually referred to him as "Doctor Meltzer." Meltzer learned he had
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
around 1985, continuing on WOR until a brief final stint on WEVD in the 1990s. Among his many sayings were: "Courts are made for judges and lawyers" and, as he often sought to provide comfort, "The good people in this world far outnumber the bad." Meltzer, a Jewish man, chose to work Sunday, to give his Christian colleagues time off for worship. Talk radio legend Bruce Williams said Meltzer was his inspiration to get into talk radio, after listening to him for years sitting in the car while his daughters attended Sunday School.


Bibliography

* Burke, Christine. "Radio Pioneer 'Uncle Bernie' Meltzer is dead." ''The New York Post,'' March 27, 1998. TV Plus section, p. 111. * Graham, Ellen. New York: ''Wall Street Journal,'' June 22, 1978. P. 1. (Retrieved from Information Bank Abstracts) * Hinckley, David. "Meltzer Still in Tune with 'Radio Family'." New York:''Daily News,'' March 2, 1995. Television section, p. 94. * Thomas, Robert M
Bernard Meltzer, Dispenser Of Advice on Radio, Dies at 81
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', March 27, 1998


References

1916 births 20th-century American Jews 1998 deaths American radio personalities Deaths from Parkinson's disease in the United States Stuyvesant High School alumni {{US-radio-bio-stub