Monday, July 29, 2013

7.29.13 Hero of the Day: Kidd Kraddick


Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.


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A SPECIAL HERO OF THE DAY!


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Name: Kidd Kraddick
Age: was 53
Occupation: morning radio personality
Last Seen: New Orleans, LA
Awarded For: being somebody who gave back to a lot of people
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(God, I hope I don't regret doing this since he was just another top 40 jock doing a morning zoo.....)

Last weekend, the world of radio was shocked after hearing that David Peter Cradick, best known to radio listeners coast to coast as "Kidd Kraddick" died suddenly at a golf outing in New Orleans at the age of 53. According to his employer, Clear Channel, Kraddick died of a brain aneurysm while participating in the tournament, which supported his organization, Kidd's Kids.

Kraddick was born in the Toledo suburb of Napoleon, OH but grew up in Florida. His career started at age 19 and moved up to Dallas in 1984 after working in several smaller markets. His first Dallas station was KEGL - Eagle 97 - where he had good ratings. However, He was let go in 1992 when KEGL flipped to rock and added Howard Stern. He then ended up at KHKS - Kiss 106.1 - where his ratings continued to grow. His show began syndication in 2001 and had nearly 100 affiliates.

Here in Grand Rapids, he was carried on WLHT/Channel 95-7 (who ironically also lost a former personality, Bill Bailey while participating in a charity golf outing due to a heart attack), which dropped him due to poor ratings and a rape joke he made on his program. In Michigan, his sole affiliate was WYSS/99.5 Yes FM in the Twin Saults. He was also a star of a syndicated TV show, Dish Nation which had him pitted with several other morning zoo jocks.

Kraddick is survived by his wife and young daughter. After news of his passing broke, many celebs took to Twitter to pay tribute, including Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and singer Kelly Clarkson, who called Kidd her "childhood DJ".

I know, I'm kissing the ass of a dead top 40 jock, but it's always sad when somebody who had his whole life in front of him dies of something that might have been otherwise prevented. He was a husband, a father and most-importantly, died supporting a cause: sending sick children to Disney World and giving teenage girls with cancer makeovers. I might have never cared about his radio schtick, but as a human being, he was a good person.

Thanks, Kidd. Here's looking at you.


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