By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
The New Media world is mourning the loss of a giant today, Save Jerseyans, as we’ve learned that talk show legend and pioneer of “confrontation” radio, Bob Grant, passed away on New Years Eve at age 84.
Not everyone is aware that Grant’s adopted home state was New Jersey. He spent his final years as a resident of Tom’s River (Ocean County), frequented the REO Diner in Woodbridge (Middlesex), and will be laid to rest at a funeral home in Branchburg (Somerset).
He may’ve begun is career in Chicago, but Grant “very seriously” considered running against GOP Governor Christie Whitman when she weighed a U.S. Senate candidacy of her own in 2000. The rest is history: Jon Corzine bested Bob Franks in a narrow contest to succeed the retiring Frank Lautenberg. Grant lived in Manalapan (Monmouth) at the time while hosting a highly-rated program on New York’s WOR-AM radio.
Everyone from Opie and Anthony and Howard Stern to Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck claimed Grant as an influence. He will be missed but never forgotten.
RIP