Longtime radio DJ Pierre Robert, a staple across the Philadelphia airwaves for almost half a century, has died. He was 70.
Robert, pronounced “Ro-Bear” was found dead at his home on Wednesday, according to his station, WMMR’s parent company Beasley Media Group.
No foul play is suspected in his death, but further details were not released.
“We all have heavy hearts today,” Beasley Media Group CEO Caroline Beasley said. “Pierre’s unwavering love for music and his deep connection with listeners made him one of radio’s most enduring and beloved voices. He will be greatly missed.”
Robert, born William Pierre Robert, was raised in California and got his start as a radio DJ on San Francisco’s KSAN rock station before heading east.
His legendary career with WMMR spanned over 44 years, beginning in 1981 and became a constant voice for listeners in southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, Delaware and parts of Maryland.
The “Pierre Robert Show” broadcast daily from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays with his famous welcome, “Greetings, Citizens.”
He covered all things rock ‘n’ roll from the classics to local talent.
In one of his final Instagram posts on Sunday, Robert shared a photo of himself reading a book and drinking a coffee on a park bench.
“Sunday afternoon in Philly in my beloved Rittenhouse Square, with a great book, a cup of La Colombe, watching the world lazily drift by… pretty close to perfection!” he wrote.
Fellow disc jockeys Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison, who opened WMMR’s morning ahead of Robert with the “Preston and Steve Show,” remembered their “dear friend” after his death.
“WMMR was his pulpit, and he preached the gospel of rock n’ roll, and gave us all common ground to dance on,” the duo wrote on Instagram. “In good times, his optimism was infectious, and on tough days, his words offered familiar comfort to every Good Citizen.
“Pierre opened his arms to anyone [sic] wanted to come along for the ride, insisting that WMMR is Everything That Rocks! And he lived it,” they said.
Jon Bon Jovi joined the chorus of tributes that poured in for Robert, remembering him as a lover of music.
“Today we lost a great friend. Someone who truly LOVED music. All types of music. Someone who loved musicians. Not just famous ones, or chart toppers. He admired local artists and tomorrow’s rising stars,” Bon Jovi wrote on Instagram
The “Livin on a Prayer” singer mentioned the DJ is the “loneliest man in showbiz.”
“His voice helped the hungry and the homeless, and he did it because he cared… About you, about me, about making the world a little kinder wonder filled place to live…” Bon Jovi wrote. “His memory will live with us as it will with all of the people he touched.”
“We were all lucky to have him as a guide to his musical galaxy And I was lucky to have him as a friend..
Thank you Pierre..” he added.
Robert had signed a contract extension with WMMR in January 2024, solidyfying his career in Philadelphia for several years, until his shocking death.
WMMR suspended its regular programming Wednesday to mourn Robert’s death. No replacement has been named by the station.
