Clarke Ingram (May 21, 1957 – November 25, 2023) was an American radio personality and programming executive. He was best known in his home market (and hometown) of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Career
Ingram was formerly the program director of two Pittsburgh stations, top 40 WBZZ (now
KDKA-FM) and "Jammin' Oldies" WJJJ (now country
WPGB). He also served as program director of top 40 stations
WPXY in Rochester, New York, and
KRQQ in Tucson, Arizona, operations manager of top 40
KZZP in Phoenix, Arizona, and as an on-air personality at top 40
WHTZ (Z-100) in New York City and other radio stations, including WBZZ,
WWSW-FM, and the former WXKX/WHTX (now
WKST-FM), all in Pittsburgh.
He was also operations manager and program director at suburban WKHB/
WKFB (owned by Broadcast Communications Inc.) for several years.
While the bulk of Ingram's career was in top 40 radio, he moved into oldies in his later years, and hosted weekend oldies shows on WWSW-FM and WKHB/WKFB. Saying it was "the first step on the road to my retirement", Ingram relinquished his remaining duties at Broadcast Communications Inc. in 2011.[
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In 2013, Ingram returned to radio as a consultant to Pittsburgh-area station WZUM, for which he developed an urban oldies format.[
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Other activities
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Ingram was recognized
[ as an expert on the defunct DuMont Television Network, and maintained an extensive website devoted to the subject.][The original domain names expired in 2021 when Ingram was seriously ill, and were not renewed. A companion website on the History of UHF Television was also affected. The content was restored in 2022 to uhfhistory.com (hosted by David Gleason at World Radio History) and dumonthistory.com.]
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Ingram was also a leading force in a grassroots protest to get the CBS Television Network to reconsider its cancellation of the program Jericho, which it announced in May 2007. Ingram was referred to as a "save-the-show campaign leader" by columnist Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In response, the producers gave Ingram an onscreen tribute in the penultimate scene of the series' final episode in 2008.
Personal life and death
Ingram was afflicted with diabetes and experienced a decline in health in his 50s. By 2014, when his dog Brinkley died, Ingram—once a prolific traveler who had traversed historic U.S. Route 66 several times—was homebound when not hospitalized.[ He was a devout Christian.][
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Ingram died on November 25, 2023, at the age of 66.
Awards and recognition
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In 1995, Ingram was named one of the "Top 40 DJs of All Time" (ranked #38) by Decalcomania, a radio enthusiasts' club publishing a monthly newsletter. The list was published in the New York Daily News on September 5, 1995.
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Ingram won radio industry "Program Director of the Year" awards three times, twice from the Gavin Seminar for Media Professionals, and once from the Bobby Poe Pop Music Survey.
External links
