Friends set for Brudnoy tribute
David Brudnoy, the late WBZ-AM (1030) radio host, got to hear his audience's tribute to him before he died Dec. 9 at the age of 64. The night before he succumbed to cancer, Brudnoy was able to listen as dozens of his fans called in to reminisce about his opinionated and erudite discussions, revealing the impact of his on-air career on their lives.
On Sunday, those fans will get to hear about Brudnoy's personal side, as those who knew him best share their memories of the radio personality at 2 p.m. in Emerson College's Cutler Majestic Theatre.
''We're talking about the guy off-mike," says Jon Keller, a WLVI-TV political analyst and longtime Brudnoy friend. ''The idea -- and we were able to talk to David a little about this before he passed away -- is that in light of the spontaneous memorial that happened on the air, when the public man was celebrated . . . we were trying to celebrate the private person and share that with his fans and friends."
To that end, the 90-minute event will feature short talks, videos (including home movies of Brudnoy as a child), and music by Brudnoy's cousin, the Grammy Award-winning classical guitarist Sharon Isbin. WBZ colleague Peter Meade will host the event, which will feature a range of speakers, including Keller and other friends, two of Brudnoy's doctors, and several students from his Boston University classes and the Emerson College fraternity that made him a member (and is the recipient of his library).
Ward Cromer, Brudnoy's longtime friend and executor of his estate, will give a special remembrance, and the program will close with what WBZ director of news and programming Peter Casey says ''we're calling a 'Final Word,' which is an excerpt of David's final interview conducted in his hospital room, which he did with WBZ's Gary LaPierre the day before he died."
This focus on the radio personality's private side should be fun and enlightening, say those who knew him. For Keller, the personal connection started long before the professional. In the late '60s, Brudnoy, then a Brandeis graduate student in history, came to his thesis adviser's house for a party. That adviser was professor Morton Keller.
His son Jon -- then 10 years old -- recalls coming downstairs in his pajamas to meet his father's students. About 12 years later, Keller and Brudnoy hooked up again, when Keller was hired to serve as assistant producer to Brudnoy on the now-defunct WHDH radio. The two worked together until 1984, but work won't be the focus of Keller's talk.
''I'm going to talk about what it was like to attend a Bruins game with Bruds," says Keller, who calls Brudnoy an ''honorary uncle" to his two sons. Keller laughs at the memory of the intellectual talk host at a sports event, mimicking Brudnoy asking about the puck: ''What does one call the black cylindrical object?" Even at a hockey game, Keller recalls, Brudnoy found ways to connect. ''He was always game for new experiences and rubbing shoulders with people."
The public has been invited to the event. However, the free tickets, which were offered until the theater reached capacity, have all been distributed. WBZ's Casey says that cancellations may make some tickets available; call 617-787-7206 for more information. WBZ reporter Flo Jonic will also be at the event. Her reports will air Monday and be posted on the WBZ website, www.wbz1030.com, which will also have some of the videos shown at the event.
For those wishing to remember Brudnoy with a donation: The David Brudnoy Fund for AIDS Research can be reached via the WBZ website or at Massachusetts General Hospital, Development and Public Affairs Office, 100 Charles River Plaza, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02114.
Globe on NECN
Here's what's happening on ''Around the Globe" today:
12:30 p.m.: ''Globe at Home" -- Garden Writer Carol Stocker and Sandra Kautz, president of the Massachusetts Camellia Society, on camellias.
4 p.m.: ''Around the Globe"
6:30 p.m.: ''New England Business Day"
8 p.m.: ''NewsNight"
Schedule is subject to change.
On Boston.com
2 p.m.: Globe Handyman Peter Hotton chats about the best way to heat your vacation house.
Talk of the dial
8 a.m. WBIX-FM (1060) -- ''Stu Taylor on Business." Guests: Arnold Simon, author of ''A Break in the Storm"; Jim Guarino, GetRealMoney.com.
Other radio highlights
9 a.m. WCRB-FM (102.5) -- Mozart's Flute Concerto No. 2; Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2; Beethoven's ''Eroica" Symphony.
Noon WUMB-FM (91.9) -- "Live at Noon." Guest: Erik Balkey, guitarist/songwriter.
