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Fred Ronald Lundy (June 25, 1934 – March 15, 2010) was a popular disc jockey in New York City, heard on WABC 770 AM from 1965 to 1982 and on WCBS-FM 101.1 from 1984 until his retirement in 1997.
After a stop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at WUBR, Lundy was brought to KZQZ in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1960 by Dan Ingram, who was the station's program director until the middle of the next year. Ron Lundy, WIL St. Louis, February 28, 1962 – The Larry Ware Collection. the "Wil' Child", Lundy had a style which was described as a combination of "country and crayfish pie" by broadcaster Bob Whitney, who also played a major role in the appointment. Ron Lundy, 2005–2006 Inductee, St. Louis Radio Hall of Fame – STLRadio.com.
Lundy was reunited with Ingram at WABC 770 AM in 1965. He made his New York radio debut on September 1, working the overnight shift as "The Swingin' Nightwalker." WABC Schedule 1960–1965 – musicradio77.com. Hinckley, David. "A final farewell to radio's 'Swingin' Nightwalker' and WCBS-FM's Ron Lundy", Daily News (New York City), Wednesday, March 17, 2010. Beginning in May 1966, he became the midday fixture at the station for the next sixteen years. WABC Schedule 1966–1970 – musicradio77.com. With his catch phrase "Hello, Love—this is Ron Lundy from the Greatest City in the World," he usually preceded Ingram's afternoon drive time program, and sometimes when Ingram was running late to the studio, Lundy would keep going until Dan arrived, doing impressions of The Shadow, where he would play Margo Lane and Lamont Cranston. The two best friends hosted The Last Show before WABC's radio format conversion from music to talk radio at noon on May 10, 1982. WABC Schedule 1981–1982 – musicradio77.com. "The Day the Music Died: May 10, 1982" – musicradio77.com.
In February 1984, Lundy resurfaced at New York's oldies station WCBS-FM in the mid-morning slot, following former WABC colleague Harry Harrison. According to program director Joe McCoy, the station created the slot especially for Lundy, reducing other shifts from four hours to three.Hinckley, David "It's 'Bye, Love!' For DJ Lundy WCBS Host Leaving World's 'Greatest City' After 32 Years", New York Daily News, August 27, 1997. Accessed October 21, 2009.
In June, 1997, Lundy's WCBS-FM show was awarded the 1997 "BronzeWorld Medal" at the New York Festivals Radio Programming Awards for the "best local personality".
Lundy retired from WCBS-FM on September 18, 1997. Ron and his wife Shirley moved to the small town of Bruce, Mississippi. However, during this time, Lundy did occasional interviews with Mark Simone on The Saturday Night Oldies Show for his former station, WABC.
Lundy's human voice made two during his career. The first one was in an early scene in Midnight Cowboy, when Joe Buck, hearing a Lundy WABC broadcast while listening to his portable radio, realized that the bus he was riding soon approached New York City. The other was in WCBS-FM's customized version of Starship's 1985 hit "We Built This City" Ron Lundy Retires From Radio – Musicradio77.com. (heard only on their station, not to be confused with the original commercial studio version which featured former disc jockey Les Garland).
Lundy was inducted into the St. Louis Hall Radio Hall of Fame on January 1, 2006, with a banquet held June 10, 2006.
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