Kenneth A. Calvert Obituary
Dec. 22, 2023
Kenneth Alexander Calvert died December 20, 2023, at home in Birmingham with his beloved Ann by his side. He was 72 years old. Ken was born August 30, 1951 in Detroit to Margaret (nee Edwards) and Kenneth A. Calvert.
Ken is survived by his beloved wife Ann (nee O'Hara) and sister, Kathy (Bill) Wright. He is also survived by his loving nieces and nephews. Ken is preceded in death by his sister, Colleen (Tom) Aman.
Friends may visit at Lynch & Sons Funeral Home, 1368 N. Crooks Road (between 14-15 Mile Roads) Wednesday, December 27, 2023, 3-8pm. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church, 32340 Pierce Street, Beverly Hills, Thursday, December 28, 2023 at 10:30am. Friends may visit at church beginning at 10am. Burial will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield.
The funeral will be live-streamed at the link below. It will begin a few minutes before the funeral starts.
It will also be recorded and available at the link below.
A Veteran Detroit radio broadcaster and rock DJ, Calvert, spent more than four decades as an on-air personality.
"We lost Ken Calvert today. I hope all of you know how much he loved being on the air in Detroit and cherished the time he talked with you and met you at King Chili cookoffs, golf outings and all over Detroit," Jim O'Brien of 94.7 WCSX said in a statement on Big Jim's House website late Wednesday. "I'll be in tomorrow morning to celebrate his life with you. I miss my friend."
Calvert spent more than 45 years on Motor City's airwaves, starting at WWWW, before moving onto WABX, WRIF, WLLZ, WJR and WCSX. He also worked for Sony Music Corp. as a local and regional promotion and marketing manager. He retired as co-host of WCSX 94.7-FM's "Detroit's Classic Rock" on Dec. 20, 2013, 10 years to date before his death. After retiring, Calvert hosted his own podcast, "The Ken Calvert Show."
Calvert also had a memorable run as public-address announcer for the Detroit Pistons, and was known for his "Joe Duuuuuuuuumars" call during pregame introductions or whenever the Pistons great would make a basket. Calvert spent 16 seasons with the Pistons, including during the "Bad Boys" era.
"Ken always had a great spirit and a smile every time I saw him," said Joe Dumars. "His announcing of my name during my Piston career became a staple in Detroit and I will forever remember Ken for that."
The Pistons also shared an official statement mourning Calvert on Thursday morning. "Ken was a Detroit radio legend and will be remembered by Pistons fans for his famous introductions and trademark style while entertaining the home arena crowd during the Bad Boys championship era," the statement read. "His enthusiasm for the Pistons' red, white and blue was infectious during his 16 years with the team (1985-2001)." Ken often said he enjoyed being "hated" around the rest of the NBA. He earned two NBA championship rings for his time with the team. "Loved every second," Calvert once said. "I like to think of myself as a very tiny part of the 'Bad Boys.'"
Ken grew up in Detroit and attended Birmingham Brother Rice High School, Oakland Community College and Aquinas College. He studied broadcast, voice and acting courses while at OCC in Farmington Hills.
Beyond his time on the radio, he also did voiceover work and enjoyed golfing.
Ken was well known for his connection to rock music and held close relationships with some of the genre's greatest names, including Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen. "Ken was a legend on the radio and in Detroit," Seger said in a statement Thursday. "He was warm, funny, genuine and a really likeable guy and that came across on the radio. It was an honor to call him my friend and I love just being around him."
Even in retirement, Ken made occasional appearances on local radio. He recently hosted a "Holiday Beatles Blitz" special for WCSX. His connection to the Beatles dated to 1964, when he watched them appear on the "Ed Sullivan Show." "After that," he once said, "I knew I had to be a part of music and rock and roll." Paul McCartney was one of Calvert's favorite interview subjects over the years.
"He had no equal," said Trudi Daniels, a longtime local radio personality who worked with Calvert at WCSX. Daniels first met Calvert in a break room at WRIF prior to working together. It was a charming encounter she remembers to this day because of the way Calvert made her laugh, she said. "He was just invented to entertain people, because you could see how he loved telling stories," she said. "Ken Calvert to this town was so many different things. I'm glad he shared himself all these years."
Other radio voices spoke to his expansive legacy and connection in Detroit's media community. Among his many proteges are Steve Kostan, whom he hired at WABX right out of college and who went on to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the late Mike Clark, who became half of the legendary "Drew and Mike Show."
"The thing that always comes back to me is the voice," said Drew Lane, a longtime local radio personality who replaced Calvert at WRIF, and became the front half of "Drew and Mike." Lane found himself listening to much of Calvert's on-air work before taking the job at WRIF. It was experience that inspired him, but also intimidated him, he said, because of Calvert's booming voice. Lane actually already knew Calvert's voice before he knew Calvert the man, before even moving to Detroit, because he heard his acclaimed work as the voice of the Pistons during the "Bad Boys." "He had the biggest voice, such a classic radio voice, and at the same time, he sounded very personable and likeable," Lane said. "I really hadn't heard many guys with a huge voice that had a personality like that."
Tributes have poured in on social media over the last two days, including from Pistons great and NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, who posted a video clip of Calver's introductions during the 1989 postseason. "Rest in Peace Ken Calvert," Thomas said. "Thinking of Ann Calvert and their family tonight. RIP Casual One," WCSX said in a statement on social media.
Calvert joined WOMC as a guest just last month for the retirement of longtime radio personality, Jim "JJ" Johnson. Together, they listened to a Tom Petty song, "The Last DJ." The song made Calvert tear up.
Memorials may made to Brother Rice High School, 7101 Lahser Road, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48301.
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