John Lanigan (broadcaster)

Lanigan was born in Ogallala, Nebraska in 1943. While in high school, he was a DJ at his high school's radio station. Throughout the 1960s, Lanigan bounced between jobs in Denver, Colorado Springs (at one point working in both cities simultaneously - Colorado Springs during the day, and Denver at night), Albuquerque, NM, and Dallas.[2]

1974 print ad

In 1971, Lanigan came to Cleveland to become the morning host at WGAR (1220 AM) as a replacement for Don Imus. With his outspoken style, Lanigan would quickly become a popular (and controversial) personality in Cleveland. John did his last show on WGAR February 9, 1984, after which he left Cleveland for a brief stint in Tampa, Florida.

Lanigan would return to Cleveland in 1985, becoming host of The Lanigan and Webster Show on WMJI FM 105.7 with veteran Cleveland radio voice John Webster.[3] Lanigan's popularity in Cleveland helped raise the profile of WMJI, leading to the station winning five National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Awards during his tenure (Large Market Station of the Year in 1998 and 2003, and Oldies Station of the Year in 2002, 2004, and 2006).[4]

Lanigan also is well known in Cleveland for his television work, as in conjunction with his radio shows, he was host of the daily afternoon Prize Movie on WUAB channel 43 during the '70s through the early '90s (with a hiatus when he was in Tampa, during which time the movie program was hosted by WWWE Radio morning man Fig Newton).[5][6]

During his show on July 20, 2012, as the news was breaking about the Aurora theater shooting, Lanigan reported that it was his son Jad, a Lieutenant in the Aurora, Colorado police department, who arrested the shooter James Holmes.[7]

In November 2013, Lanigan was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Chicago.[2]

Lanigan was honored on March 29, 2014 during the 2014 "Majic" Moondog Coronation Ball concert at Quicken Loans Arena.[8] During the event, Lanigan was awarded with an official proclamation from the city of Cleveland, honoring his radio career and efforts in promoting the city. Lanigan's last show was on March 31, 2014, when he officially retired.[9] In retirement, Lanigan stated that he plans to split his time between his homes in Colorado and Florida.[10]

In late 2014, Lanigan made somewhat of a comeback to Cleveland radio, becoming a co-host alongside Mike Trivisonno on The Spew, a daily hour-long debate program on WMJI sister station WTAM AM 1100.[11] On August 8, 2018, Lanigan abruptly announced on air during a Spew broadcast that he was retiring from the show and radio entirely effective immediately, citing a lack of interest in the show's usual topics (politics, current events, Cleveland sports), not feeling qualified to give his opinions on such topics, and an overall lack of enjoyment doing the show.[12]