We are sad to share the news of the passing of our longtime friend and colleague – Mike McKay. Mike, who has served as the technical director for “Mornings On The Mall” and “The Chris Plante Show” for many years, passed away late last week. A 30+ year member of the WMAL family, Mike was a kind and generous friend. Before his radio career, Mike served our nation in Vietnam, and served his fellow servicemen and women as a combat medic.
He is survived by his two sons and their families and by his friends at WMAL.
— Bill Hess, Program Director for 105.9FM & AM630 WMAL
Please note: If you would like to help McKay’s family, the family asks for flowers to be sent to: Gasch’s funeral home, 4739 Baltimore Ave. Hyattsville, MD 20781. Flower deliveries should be sent care of “The Michael Forslund family.”
The WMAL Family Shared Fond Memories Of Technical Director Mike McKay After His Passing This Weekend:
Bryan Nehman, Former WMAL morning show host:
Brian Wilson, Former WMAL morning show host:
Larry O’Connor, WMAL host of the Larry O’Connor Show and former morning show host:
Mary Katharine Ham, Senior Writer at the Federalist, CNN Contributor, and former WMAL morning show host:
Vince Coglianese, co-host of WMAL’s Mornings on the Mall:
WMAL Executive Producer Heather Hunter and WMAL Program Director Bill Hess:
Chris Plante, WMAL host of the Chris Plante Show:
Chris Plante Show Tribute To Mike McKay:
Here are some of the memories and tributes that WMAL’s staff shared about Mike McKay:
From Mary Walter, WMAL morning show co-host, wrote on Facebook:
It is with great sadness, that I tell you that Mike McKay, the rock of Mornings on the Mall on WMAL passed away Thursday evening at home. Neither WMAL nor Mornings on the Mall will ever be the same.
From Vince Coglianese, WMAL morning show co-host, wrote on Facebook:
I once asked Mike McKay what it was like to hear the word “medic!” shouted in the midst of combat in Vietnam.
“Those are my mates,” he explained, “Those are my friends. Those are the people I’m with. And you respond. Stay down. You know, you don’t go standing up, running. You stay down, but you go.”
Was there time for second guessing? “No. Not at all.”
America truly sent its best when it sent Mike McKay, and I thank the good Lord that I got to even see a small part of that man’s greatness over the course of the last year and a half.
He was everything a man should be: in love with his family, frank, selfless, conscientious, loyal, supportive, careful, and passionate. He found dignity and joy in his work, rarely complained about its rigors, and never lost his fascination in his craft. If he saw a problem, he fixed it. No job was beneath him, and few men stood above him.
It was all of those traits which made me want to impress him each morning. I know there’s an audience out there when Mike flips the on-air light on, but it was his approval I sought. If he laughed, or his jaw dropped open in shock, or he quickly scribbled down his own thoughts and handed them to me, I knew he was engaged — and that told me that an audience I respected was engaged as well. If he was bored, well, that told me we probably needed to quickly shift gears.
As you’d expect from a military man, Mike ran a tight ship. He was the traffic cop for every sound that made it through your radio, and had to catch every sound that shouldn’t. If it was time for us to talk, he’d let us know. And if it was time to shut up, he’d definitely let us know — one of the few ways to wear out his patience was to wear out his clock.
And he was loyal to that clock.
About a month ago, Mike was late to work. He’d overslept, which never happened.
When he finally showed up about half an hour into the show, he began his ritual of laying out his things exactly the way he did every morning. “Are you ready to take over?” we asked him as he walked in. “Nope. Not yet,” he replied. Everything had to be just so before he could get back on the controls.
Once he was finally in place, he turned to me on the first break and said, “You know, that’s the first time I’ve done that since 1976.” I believed him. He loved his work, and refused to miss it.
Mike’s impact on the entire radio industry has been legendary. From his days at DC101, to working with the then-just-paired Howard Stern and Robin Quivers, to running the board for his personal “favorite disc jockey,” Chris Plante, Mike has brought joy, insight and entertainment to many millions of satisfied listeners.
I personally owe a debt of immense gratitude to Mike. When I was merely guest hosting on WMAL, it was Mike who fought for the station to bring me in full-time. He was a passionate advocate for me, and told me regularly that he loved the radio that we were creating together. I will never forget that, or him.
Mike, you may be gone now, but rest assured, I will always be aiming to make you smile.
We love you, man.
From Heather Hunter, executive producer for Mornings on the Mall, wrote on Facebook:
I’m going to miss my colleague Mike McKay, who was WMAL DC’s morning show and Chris Plante Show’s engineer/audio tech. He has been one of the key and consistent teammates of WMAL’s morning show since I joined the show eight years ago as executive producer. He lacked the drama and ego that so many people attracted to radio have, he was a genuine fan of talk radio like me. There’s a lot more behind-the-scenes work of a radio show that most people don’t realize and we all worked closely together in coordinating audio, music, callers and the overall sound of the show. When we had an audio-heavy, well-executed driveway moment type radio segment, Mike would smile at me delighted at how it sounded, “That was perfect.” I would love when Mike smiled knowing that we just made great radio. Those were the moments that make working in radio so rewarding. Every Friday, he kicked off the show with the song “Friday I’m in Love” to set the celebratory mood that we had made it to Friday.
McKay had seen a lot of change in the radio business because he had worked in radio for decades and had worked with some of the greatest talents in D.C. radio including Howard Stern when Stern’s show on DC 101 was skyrocketing in the D.C. market. I constantly told him that he should write a book about what he had seen over the decades but also he was someone who would never say a bad word about anyone so I’m sure he would have left out the horror stories if he had written that book.
Even though he was often the most experienced person in the room, he was one of the most humble and kind men I ever met. He was 30 years older than me and compared to him, I had only been in the broadcasting business for 20 years but he always treated me and everyone as an equal with the same goal of putting on a great radio show.
He was a Vietnam vet and a medic like my dad whom he reminded me of so many times. From his medic experience, he recognized ailments of several people at the radio station and literally saved lives because of his early recognition of their issue.
Personality and talent matter a lot behind the scenes too and McKay was creative, generous, easygoing and a good soul, which meant a lot to everyone on the show. He delighted in talking to me about my children and he always had stories about how much he loved his kids, wife, and grandchildren and what a joy children are. My heart broke for him when he lost his wife a few years ago. He told me that he still talked to her in his quiet time and missed her every day. I know he’s now delighted to be reunited with her in heaven. He had a lot wisdom about the important things in life and a good heart. I miss him terribly. Prayers to Mike and his family.
From Michael Piercey, producer for The Chris Plante Show, wrote on Facebook:
I just had this memory about Mike.
Early on at WMAL he was going over music beds with me, like when to use certain more somber beds.
On one song he said: ‘use this song if like, someone threw a puppy out a car window’. Like that was his example of a sad event, such an odd choice. Made me smile
From Larry O’Connor, WMAL host, wrote on Facebook:
I could not have asked for a more generous, supportive and talented teammate than I had with the legendary Mike McKay. His support, encouragement and talent made every morning at WMAL an adventure and a joy. It just won’t be the same without him. He will always be a part of DC radio… we will never forget him… “Its Friday… I’m in love.”
From Maria Leaf, WMAL’s afternoon news anchor, wrote on Facebook:
Sitting here tonight with a heavy heart and in a whole lot of shock over the death of one of the coolest and most influential in men the history of radio.
Mike McKay, who is seated behind the board at WMAL… also worked with Howard Stern when he was at DC 101. When I first started working at WMAL, he told me how he was the one who hired Robin Quivers to be with Stern.
Mike told me how he and others were so nervous when “Private Parts” came out about what Howard would say about them. Fortunately it was nothing bad.
Mike was one of the sweetest people I ever worked with. He will be greatly missed.
From John Matthews, WMAL news director, wrote on Facebook:
We’ve lost a valued and much-loved colleague at WMAL – Mike McKay, who captained the board for so many of our programs over the past three decades – someone who arrived on Jenifer Street just a few months before me.
So many of my co-workers have offered much more eloquent tributes to Mike than I possibly could, so I’ll share a personal nugget that I know delighted him. He, like I, took pride in the fact that he never took his Christmas tree down – In fact, it remained in his living room for years and years. As mine remains in place, I shall now always think of Mike as it stands.
One more thing – Mike was an enthusiastic grill master – delighting in his culinary experiments. He always encouraged me to try “beer can” chicken, but I never did. I will now.
Vaya Con Dios, Commander McKay!
