Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Ray

His real name was Ray Toro.  Radio listeners knew him as Ray Magwyre, and I'm very sorry to say Ray passed away over the weekend.

I worked with a lot of people over the years, and Ray was the workhorse of the WARM staff.  He co-anchored the early morning newscasts, and worked solo until noon.

Ray's baritone was unmistakable.  His writing style was simple, crisp and clean.  The story was the star, but the delivery was tops.

I was just a pup when I started at WARM.  Ray wasn't the kind of guy who took you by the hand to teach you things.  You just listened and learned.   I do remember Ray once telling me "don't clutter a story with facts."  He was the master of giving you the essentials without the minutiae.  I like to think I have some of those qualities, and I can thank Ray.

I've mentioned Ray in this space in the past.  It was the story of how radio management wanted us to tag the forecast with the current temperature and say it was 50 "WARM degrees."  When it got really cold, Ray refused to say the "warm" part.  He got away with it.

After several years, Ray got burned out.  He left for a management job at WEJL, and the station was never really the same.  We lost a rock solid newsman.

We lost touch over the years, but I understand Ray worked in the extermination and snack food industries.  He was up for a job as Red Barons public address announcer when the team started, a job he should have received.  I could imagine how wonderful it would have been to hear that voice booming from the speakers at Lackawanna County Stadium.

I was lucky to work in the same newsroom as Ray.  My sympathy to his family and friends.