Warren Pierce was said to have interviewed tens of thousands of celebrities, authors, politicians and other assorted newsmakers during his long radio career.
But the people who were most important to him were the ones tuning in at home or in their cars.
“I love my listeners, and they care about me,” the Detroit native and local radio legend told the Free Press in 2020.
Pierce, best known for his nearly 40-year stint at WJR-AM (760), died on Oct. 31, according to the station. He was 82.
He filled a variety of roles for WJR across the decades beginning in the 1970s. Whether hosting a weekday morning or afternoon slot or doing a weekend shift, he drew fans with his friendly, upbeat style and filled “The Warren Pierce Show” with a mix of interviews, movie reviews, news and weather.
Considered one of the pioneers of talk radio on WJR, Pierce chatted with a wide swath of figures and, in the station’s heyday, traveled the globe on assignments. Among the events he covered were the Grand Prix in Monaco, the Academy Awards in Los Angeles and the 1986 royal wedding in London. of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
In the 1990s, before email contacts became the measure of a media figure’s reach, Pierce kept four huge Rolodexes filled with his professional contacts, according to the Free Press.
A dedicated fan of University of Michigan football, Pierce also did sideline reporting for WJR’s coverage of Wolverines games during the era of coach Bo Schembechler.
Pierce parted ways with WJR in 1993 as talk radio switched to loud, confrontational programming with the rise of politically driven hosts like Rush Limbaugh. He segued to working as a morning news anchor on WJBK-TV (Channel 2), now Fox 2 Detroit.
In 1995, the TV station split with Pierce after he made headlines for taking free loans of nearly 100 cars from automakers for about a week at a time. According to the Detroit News, Pierce said he never promised coverage and “compared the practice to reading a book before interviewing an author.”
Pierce worked for other radio stations through the last half of the 1990s, including WYUR-AM (1310), a WJR alternative co-launched by former WJR personality Bob Hynes, who passed away Oct. 17. Pierce rejoined WJR in 2000 and remained at the station until 2019. After that, he went to WDFN-AM for a brief period with a weekend show.
On Sept. 6, 2024, Pierce announced on his Facebook page, which was titled “The Warren Pierce Show,” that he would have to stop posting weekend updates because of some “serious medical news” he had received. “I’m going to miss you all so much!,” he wrote to those who had followed him “since I left my last radio station in July of 2022.”
According to Pierce’s obituary at the Dorfman Chapel website, he interviewed more than 70,000 people across the decades. “His work extended beyond the studio, as he broadcast live from across Michigan and around the world,” it notes. “His distinctive voice, curiosity, and unwavering commitment to his craft left an enduring impression on listeners across the state.”
Pierce’s funeral will be held at 10 a.m. on Nov. 4 at the Dorfman Chapel and will be streamed live at its website. Donations in his honor can be made to Golden Retriever Rescue of Michigan.
Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit radio legend Warren Pierce, a longtime voice of WJR, dies at 82
Reporting by Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
