The Perfessor

The “Perfessor.”

Richard Gladwell (“GLAHD-well”), one of the two stalwarts of classical music radio in Rochester, has died.
Gladwell, I guess, was one of the original announcers, along with Simon Pontin (“PAHN-tin”) on radio station WBFB, long ago, the first classical-music radio station in this area, a commercial station.
Both were British expatriates.
WBFB was affiliated with WBBF, at that time the most popular pop-radio AM station in Rochester.
Gladwell had to be in his 80s by now, but still had a radio program on WXXI-FM, 91.5, the current classical music station; a public-radio station.
WBFB went defunct, and the first format of WXXI-FM was failing, so WXXI decided to become a classical music station.
They hired Gladwell and Pontin.
Pontin had tried selling Mercedes-Benz, but failed. —He wasn’t a viper.
Pontin retired a little while ago, but Gladwell soldiered on.
He even stood in as a substitute announcer occasionally.
Both Pontin and Gladwell were a bit bumbling, but could get by.
Part of their appeal was their tendency to make mistakes.
Pontin would play a cut from a CD, and it would continue during his following traffic-report — next cut.
“Sorry about that,” he’d mutter. “Go back to your coffee.”
“Woops!” Gladwell would say. “That’s not the music I intended. Here, try this.”
Gladwell was partial to classical liturgical music, particularly pipe-organ with brass.
He had a program called “With Heart and Voice” that syndicated nationally.
He also did a local production of the same program.
It was more the Gladwell we knew; the national production was slick and over-produced. No bumbling mistakes.
Gladwell got brain-cancer, I suppose the same thing that took Teddy Kennedy.
It ended his broadcasting. I guess he was operated on, and had to do rehab.
Gladwell lived in the Park Ave. neighborhood of Rochester.
Occasionally I drove bus out “Funky-Funky Park Ave.,” and sometimes I’d take him home.
“I know who you are,” I’d say; “and I appreciate what you do.”
It left him utterly flustered.
Bus-drivers weren’t supposed to like classical music.

• For 16&1/2 years (1977-1993) I drove transit bus for Regional Transit Service, the transit-bus operator in Rochester, NY.
• “The Park Ave. neighborhood of Rochester” is an old neighborhood of beautiful houses on the southeast side of Rochester. It’s populated by liberals and ne’er-do-wells. —Park Ave. is an east-west street through the area, busy enough to merit a bus-route.