Wednesday, May 1, 2013

R.I.P.: Radio/TV Broadcaster Jerry Graham Was 79

Jerry Graham
Jerry Graham, former host of KRON's "Bay Area Backroads" and a Santa Cruz Sentinel columnist, died of a heart attack Monday at his Santa Cruz home.

He would have turned 79 Tuesday.

Graham, a Santa Cruz resident since 1995, put himself on the Bay Area map with his award-winning TV series "Bay Area Backroads," which featured Northern California's hidden gems. KRON produced the series for 28 years.

Graham was born Gerald Granowsky in Indianapolis. He changed his name for professional reasons at his first television job as a staff announcer for TV stations in Evansville, Ind., and Binghamton, N.Y.

Graham moved from Binghamton to New York City, where he worked as a radio news writer for Metromedia's WNEW. After rising through the ranks at the station, Graham bought and ran his own radio station, WGRG, with partner David Gordon. He returned to WNEW in 1974 as general manager, then hosted the TV show "Pacific Currents" on KPIX Channel 5. He also anchored weekend news for KRON and was general manager at radio station KSAN.

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