Andy Blacksmith of the “Greg & The Morning Buzz” morning radio show has died at age 50.
He passed away Saturday, June 20, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He had been airlifted on June 16 from Portsmouth Regional Hospital, following heart complications. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
Blacksmith was a well-known New Hampshire DJ and radio personality on WHEB(FM) in Portsmouth, N.H., WGIR(FM) in Manchester, N.H., as well as WFYX(FM) in Monadnock, N.H., WHDQ(FM) in Claremont, N.H., and WLKZ(FM) in Meredith/Laconia, N.H. He publicly shared his chronic heart problems and quest to find a donor heart with his radio audience.
“Greg and The Morning Buzz” broke the news to their audience online. All iHeartMedia radio stations in New Hampshire posted a tribute on the front page of their websites. On the air, the station is running segments known as “Best of The Buzz” featuring Blacksmith. When “Greg and The Morning Buzz” return to the air, there will be a show dedicated to Blacksmith as a celebration of his life.
“Andy Blacksmith’s heart problems were often discussed on the air, but in the other sense, Andy had a big heart, which I think his audience picked up on over the years,” said iHeartMedia New Hampshire President Joe Graham. “Behind his tough-guy persona was a caring human being who will be sorely missed.”
“Naturally, we were devastated. Even though Andy’s condition was always front and center — and he was the first to joke about it — the reality of him not being here is still hard to believe. We are a family — and like most families, we loved each other and drove each other crazy — all at the same time. Andy was truly a one-of-a-kind personality whose absence will be felt for a long time. On behalf of myself, Laura, Scott , Kelly and Kayla [remaining members of “The Morning Buzz”], we send our thoughts and prayers to Andy’s family and friends,” said Greg Kretschmar, primary host of “Greg & The Morning Buzz.”
He began his radio career after spending eight years working with music manager Dee Anthony, who was influential in building the careers of Peter Frampton, Joe Cocker, J. Geils and others. After making radio connections along the way, Blacksmith transitioned to WHEB(FM) and then moved to Baltimore in the 1990s to work at rock station WIYY(FM), where he won a trade association award as “Air Personality of the Year.”
In 2000, he moved back to New Hampshire and signed on to be a member of The Morning Buzz on WHEB. Here is his page at WHEB.
