Bob Levy, Beloved WOBM Radio Icon, Dies At 86

TOMS RIVER, NJ — If you ever turned on 92.7 FM on the radio on a Sunday morning in Ocean County, you likely heard Bob Levy talking about any and every topic imaginable. From the politics of the day to supporting charitable efforts for the county, Levy was the voice of many.

On Thursday, 50 years to the day after WOBM aired its first broadcast, the beloved radio and Ocean County icon who helped build the station, passed away. Levy was 86 years old.

When WOBM first went on the air from a little building on Route 9 in Bayville on March 1, 1968, Levy was there, selling advertising to help get the station off the ground. In the 50 years since, he was its sports director, its general manager and a beloved presence on the airwaves in Ocean County, especially with the listeners of his weekly talk show, Topic A.

In an interview with WOBM's Shawn Michaels and Sue Moll that Michaels posted on the WOBM website on Wednesday, Levy said at the time WOBM began, the only radio station locally was WJLK in Asbury Park, which focused on Monmouth County.

"People were excited," Levy told Michaels and Moll. Selling advertising was a snap because local business owners couldn't wait to hear themselves on the air, he said. "They would call me and ask when their commercial was going to be on so their family could listen," Levy said.

The radio station — started by a group of local businessmen who included Joseph E. Buckelew, the former Ocean County freeholder and insurance company owner who currently is chairman of Conner Strong & Buckelew and Steve Lane, a Lakewood pharmacist, along with input from Robert J. Miller, who was a freeholder at the time — quickly became a success. Levy, who had always wanted to be on the radio, followed his passion and began working full time at the station, much to his father's dismay, he said.

Now WOBM and WJLK are housed in the same building on Robbins Street in downtown Toms River, within the Bob Levy Broadcast Center on the fourth floor, which also houses the studios of 105.7 The Hawk WCHR-FM, WOBM AM 1160/1310, and the WOBM newsroom.

Levy did play-by-play of Lakewood High School basketball games back when the Piners' gym was too small to accommodate everyone who wanted to see the games, and he put his heart and soul into a variety of efforts to help his beloved Ocean County.

In an interview with Kevin Williams, who joined WOBM in 1979, Levy and Williams talked about a pair of fundraisers Levy did for the United Way in 1983 and 1984.

The first one, 40 hours of Topic A, was held in the Ocean County Mall, and Levy said that toward the end, "I was hallucinating. I thought I was in the Holland Tunnel." The second year, Williams joined him for 84 hours on the air and raised thousands upon thousands, some from a massive sub sandwich that stretched to the end of the mall.

"Every last bit of it was eaten," Levy said.

"Bob Levy was an icon in our industry but more than that, he was friend and confidant for the 39 years I have known him," Williams said. "He once told me that at some point when he's gone nobody will care but I'll always believe that he chose today so every year on the radio station's anniversary, we can't forget him."

Topic A started in September 1979, inspired when Levy was on vacation in Florida and heard a talk radio show. The first few shows were at night, and then moved to Sunday mornings, where it has been a staple for 39 years. In recent years, Jeremy Grunin, executive director of the Grunin Foundation, joined him as co-host.

"Bob was an amazing partner," Grunin said Thursday evening. "He had a finger on the pulse of the community. His insight into our feelings on current events and issues will be truly missed ."

Levy and his wife, Marianne, also had a morning show for 18 years on WOBM-AM, but Bob ended that run 2015 when he entered into semi-retirement.

In 2012, Levy was inducted as a charter member into the New Jersey Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. Levy is also a member of the Lakewood High School Hall of Fame, Williams said in the station's obituary on Levy, who had been in the hospital following a fall where he suffered broken ribs.

Levy is survived by his wife Marianne, daughter Karen, and son Steven.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Listen to Levy's interview with Williams, below:

Photo via WOBM YouTube video of Bob Levy interview