NEW! A special THANK YOU to Mark Yurko, of Langhorne, PA., for his WJR aircheck contribution for our Motor City Radio Flashbacks airchecks repository.
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“If the day is slipping away from you by early afternoon, Mike Whorf can stop the clock and recapture the excitement of time–past, present and future. His ‘Kaleidoscope’ will take you on a walk through Caesar’s Rome–whirl you back to Detroit’s bootlegging days or capture the moments of Balboa’s first glimpse of the Pacific. Mike Whorf’s Kaleidoscope is the theater of your mind . . . and now it’s a matinee at 1:15 every day on WJR 760 . . . where we couldn’t leave well enough alone!”
WJR Radio 760 [Detroit Free Press] ad, January 5, 1974
Mike Whorf, passed away on November 10, 2020. He was 88.
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New! Newly restored!This selected audio recording was digitally remastered by Motor City Radio Flashbacks.
MIKE WHORF 1975 (Photo: Peter Whorf; Detroit Free Press)
‘A TRIBUTE TO MIKE WHORF’
— A SOUL ENCOUNTERED —
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In closing out the year, we pay homage to WJR broadcasting legend Mike Whorf, who passed away in November, at the age of 88.
In wake of his passing, Kevin Collard, former producer at WJR for over 16 years, created and produced a special two hour tribute to the award-winning “Kaleidoscope” program host. We found Kevin’s tribute he featured on his ‘Soul Encountered‘ podcast page (see our Blogroll link) just four days after Mike’s passing, on November 14.
Kevin Collard also worked with over 30 hosts at WJR (not to mention Mike Whorf) including: Paul W Smith, Ken Calvert, David Newman and wrapping up his career there working with Frank Beckmann in 2009. Kevin also stated he did production work for Larry Patton, John McCullough, Kevin Joyce, Mitch Albom and other luminaries affiliated with Detroit radio as well.
Earlier this month, Kevin shared his ‘A Tribute to Mike Whorf’ podcast with Motor City Radio Flashbacks. A professed “fan and follower of the site”, we are truly honored to share this beautifully produced, Mike Whorf rememberance, here, on our web page today.
Thank you, Kevin Collard
For more on the passing of this WJR broadcasting legend, go HERE
Mike Whorf was on WJR from 1964 to 2003.
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Obituary for Michael Whorf
April 21, 1932 – November 10, 2020
Mike Whorf, longtime radio host of the Peabody Award-winning WJR program Kaleidoscope, died in Detroit on Tuesday, November 10th. He was 88. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Whorf spent his childhood and teen years in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Whorf attended Provincetown High School and upon graduation in 1950, enlisted in the United States Air Force where he trained as a radio announcer on the Armed Forces Network.
(Photo credit: Lynch & Sons Funeral Directors)
After military service, Whorf worked on the radio in Massachusetts and in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, where he met and married his wife of 49 years, Barbara Ann Brown. From the 1960s through the 90s, Whorf was part of a WJR Detroit line-up of radio personalities known throughout the Great Lakes region. Whorf’s Kaleidoscope topics ranged from politics to religion, from the arts to sports. In 1968, he was recognized with one of the world’s top media honors: the George Foster Peabody Award for his documentary on the life and work of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Mike Whorf also served during the mid-1980s as program director of classical station WQRS-FM in Detroit. While with WQRS, Whorf created the program “Quest for Excellence,” a juried music competition show for aspiring young talents broadcast live before a studio audience.
In 2008 he was inducted into the Michigan Broadcasting Hall of Fame by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.
Aside from broadcasting, Whorf’s greatest joy was his life as a family man. He and his beloved wife Barbara and their son and daughters enjoyed traveling to the Eastern US for visits with many relatives. In their golden years, Mike and Barb were blessed to alternate time between overseas trips and watching their grandchildren grow.
Michael’s wife Barbara preceded him in death in 2006. He is survived by son Peter (Jennifer), daughters Sarah, Jennifer (Quinn), Suzannah (Ian) and grandchildren Daniel, Annemarie, Michael, Noelle, Jack, Sean, Nate, Noah and Olivia.
Private services have been held.
Memorials appreciated to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Pain & Palliative Care Center, 44405 Woodward Ave., Pontiac, MI 48341.
Long known and since immortalized as ‘The Voice of Michigan Football’, Bob Ufer was the impassioned play-by-play announcer for Michigan Football games, spanning across five decades.
According to WiKipedia, Ufer called Wolverines football on WPAG from 1945 to 1976 and on Detroit’s WJR from 1977 to 1981. In 1978, he was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor.
Nine days after his last broadcast, Bob Ufer succumbed having lost his battle with cancer, Monday, October 26, 1981. He was 61.
This broadcast initially aired on WJR radio, Monday evening, October 26, 1981. It was later re-broadcast, Saturday, October 31. This special homage to Bob Ufer was written, narrated and was produced by Mike Whorf, WJR radio in Detroit.
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While the Saturday, October 31, 1981 tribute to Bob Ufer was previously featured three years ago on Motor City Radio Flashbacks (October 28, 2017), this site was able to obtain a stellar audio copy of this 1981 radio program from the WJR master tape, earlier this year.
On the very evening of Bob Ufer’s passing, this was the recording having first aired on WJR, 7:10 p.m., Monday, October 26, 1981.
MIKE WHORF WJR aircheck date: Thursday, May 4, 1972
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NEW! A special THANK YOU to Bob Pratt, of Farmington Hills, MI, for recently donating this WJR radio aircheck (unscoped!) to Motor City Radio Flashbacks!
Long known and since immortalized as ‘The Voice of Michigan Football,’ Bob Ufer served as the impassioned play-by-play broadcaster for Michigan Football games, his broadcasting career having spanned 36 years.
According to WiKipedia, Ufer called Wolverines football on WPAG from 1945 to 1976 and on Detroit’s WJR from 1977 to 1981. In 1978, he was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor.
Nine days after his last broadcast, Bob Ufer succumbed having lost his battle with cancer, Monday, October 26, 1981. He was 61.
This broadcast initially aired on WJR radio, Monday evening, October 26, 1981. It was re-broadcast, Saturday, October 31. This special tribute to Bob Ufer was written, narrated and was produced by Mike Whorf, WJR.
A special THANK YOU to Detroit radio historian Greg Innis for donating recently these WJR radio personalities photos (1965-1967) — archived here — Motor City Radio Flashbacks.
‘WJR 760 THE FIRST EIGHTY YEARS’ * Mike Whorf * WJR-AM DETROIT (2012)
A SPECIAL THANK YOU!
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Motor City Radio Flashbacks would like to thank WJR’s Don Schuster for sharing with us this WJR radio 2012 commemorative program, ‘WJR 760 The First Eighty Years.’ Narrated by WJR’s Mike Whorf.
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NEW! A special THANK YOU to Mark Yurko, of Langhorne, PA., for his WJR aircheck contribution for our Motor City Radio Flashbacks airchecks repository.
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“If the day is slipping away from you by early afternoon, Mike Whorf can stop the clock and recapture the excitement of time–past, present and future. His ‘Kaleidoscope’ will take you on a walk through Caesar’s Rome–whirl you back to Detroit’s bootlegging days or capture the moments of Balboa’s first glimpse of the Pacific. Mike Whorf’s Kaleidoscope is the theater of your mind . . . and now it’s a matinee at 1:15 every day on WJR 760 . . . where we couldn’t leave well enough alone!” 
Mike Whorf, passed away on November 10, 2020. He was 88.
