WXRT host Lin Brehmer dies at 68

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Rich Russo discussed this at length last night on Anything Anything with Rich Russo.

Last Night’s playlist and OnDemand player is here:

richrusso.net
PLAYLIST for 1/29/2023 and OnDemand Player - Rich Russo
Anything, Anything dramarama AA Liner Cheap Trick Fast Times robin zander The Breakup society What’s Her Name (written Paul

Link to tweet

WXRT host Lin Brehmer dies at 68

Lin Brehmer worked at WXRT for more than three decades. He loved the Cubs, the music, theater and food scenes and touched many Chicagoans, though they never met him.

By David Struett Updated Jan 22, 2023, 5:53pm EST



Credit: WXRT
Lin Brehmer

WXRT’s Lin Brehmer in the studio: “Most of my musical heroes may not be in heaven, they may be in the third ring of the Inferno.” | Rich Hein / Sun-Times files

WXRT’s Lin Brehmer in the studio. Brehmer was best known for his “Lin’s Bin” segments, where he interwove prose and his vast knowledge of music and pop culture. | Rich Hein / Sun-Times files

Lin Brehmer often ended his radio essay segment “Lin’s Bin” by saying, “Take nothing for granted. It’s great to be alive.”

It was the mantra for years of the longtime WXRT-FM (93.1) host — who became a household name in Chicago, known for his wit and sense of humor. Countless listeners who never met Brehmer considered him a friend.

Brehmer died Sunday at age 68.

“It is with a heavy heart that we must inform you that we all lost our best friend. Lin Brehmer fought cancer as long as he could,” fellow host Terri Hemmert wrote in a post Sunday morning. “He passed early this morning, peacefully, with his wife and son by his side.”

Brehmer announced last July that he was taking a break from the station to undergo chemotherapy for prostate cancer. Brehmer briefly returned to air in November, telling television station WBBM that “radio has been my life.”

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Beloved radio DJ Lin Brehmer dies of cancer

Michael Hallisey by Michael Hallisey January 26, 2023 in Bethlehem, News, Obituaries, Towns Reading Time: 3 mins read

CHICAGO — Lin Brehmer, the radio disc jockey known to local listeners as “The Reverend of Rock ‘n’ Roll” before earning the love of a Chicago audience through his 40 years in the Windy City, died on Sunday, Jan 22. He was 68.

He was as personable off the air as he was on, drawing listeners in with a self-effacing humor and warmth that left them feeling like friends. His wife Sara Farr told the Chicago Tribune that she knew she would have to share him before they married in 1997, and that she was okay with that.

“I learned very early on that I would have to share Lin with thousands of others,” she said. The two were college sweethearts who met on the campus of Colgate University. “I understood, and was happy to do so because there really was no difference between the man on the radio and the man I knew.”

By his count, he had attended nearly 1,500 live shows. He told an interviewer in 2013 that he once took in a semi-private Rolling Stone show without a ticket or credentials. He showed up, was recognized, and walked in.

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[ProfessorGAC]

1. Lots On Local Radio Here About Him

WXRT and one of the big sports radio stations are owned by the same people. Friday morning, they spect an entire segment talking about Lin instead of sports.
He was very popular here.