Published: December 27, 2006 09:38 am      

Radio personality dies

Host of ‘Morning Road Show’ stricken while speaking on-air

CUMBERLAND — Chazz Offutt, a fixture on Cumberland radio since 1959, collapsed and died Tuesday morning during his popular “Morning Road Show” broadcast on WTBO.

Offutt, 66, was stricken as he was speaking on-air.

“I was listening to Chazz. He had just said the time, 20 minutes after 8, and all of a sudden I heard a noise and then there was just nothing,” said Joanne Van, mother of Jim Van, one of Offutt’s fellow DJs. “The mike was open and I heard somebody say ‘Chazz,’ then I heard them say ‘Call 911,’ then Jimmy called and gave me the bad news. People will miss Chazz. He is a wonderful man.”

The station’s general manager, Richard Cornwell, said the value of Offutt’s show for WTBO was priceless.

“And I don’t mean that in a financial way. I mean that it was priceless for what he meant to the town, to listeners, to all of us at the station. There is only one Chazz with two Zs. That’s how we all knew him,” Cornwell said.

Cornwell was instrumental in getting Offutt back into radio after a two-decade career change.

“He sold ads for the newspaper and I did the same for WTBO and our paths crossed often. He told me how much he missed radio and we were able to make it happen,” Cornwell said.

Pat Corrado, an advertising representative for WTBO, was at home Tuesday when he learned the news.

“In the 1960s we were both 3 to 6 (p.m.) disc jockeys. Chazz was on WCUM and I was on WTBO. We were friendly rivals and became close friends.

“Chazz’s morning show had listeners everywhere. Our 560 frequency has a big reach, and people listened in Martinsburg (W.Va.) and Connellsville (Pa.). He loved playing solid gold and interviewing performers such as Chubby Checker and Bobby Vinton.”

Corrado said he knew Offutt as a Roman Catholic very devoted to his faith.

WTBO’s Web site proclaims Offutt’s show as the No. 1 AM radio show in the area. Besides playing music and talking to listeners, Offutt’s career included work as a program director, operations manager and general manager.

Offutt was to have been one of the local radio personalities broadcasting live remotes from the Cumberland Town Centre’s New Year’s Eve ball drop Sunday, according to center manager Ed Mullaney.

“What a tragedy,” Mullaney said Tuesday morning. “Chazz always emceed the Decade of the ’50s reunion downtown. Everybody always requested him and he loved doing it. He energized me. We would charge each other’s batteries with a love for the community. He had a quality morning radio show.”

Before becoming publisher of the Times-News, Ronald Monahan worked as a fellow advertising representative at the newspaper, where Offutt worked for 19 years before returning to radio.

“Chazz was so gentle and kind. Nobody had anything bad to say about him,” Monahan said. “What amazed me most about him was his talent to be so quick and witty, not only with words over the air but with laying out advertising on paper, to be able to switch back and forth that way. He will be missed by a lot of people.”

Pat Kavanaugh, a fellow newspaper employee, was also a lifelong friend.

“I lived on Avirett and he was on Smallwood. We walked to school together to St. Pete’s and LaSalle for years,” Kavanaugh said.

Kavanaugh and Offutt were also the disc jockeys at the popular teen-age dances on Sunday nights at the SS. Peter and Paul Social Hall. “We started out with the dances in the old gym and little speakers. The sound would ricochet off the walls, but nobody cared.”

Kavanaugh, who is on vacation, said he was planning to visit Offutt in the radio studio this week. “We had always talked about doing something together when we retired.”

The Upchurch Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Michael A. Sawyers can be reached at msawyers@times-news.com.