‘We’re all still in shock’: Reaction from Philly and elsewhere to the death of WMMR’s Pierre Robert

The unexpected death of beloved Philly rock radio host Pierre Robert on Wednesday stunned listeners in Philadelphia and across the country, including his colleagues and friends at 93.3 WMMR.

“This was categorically the absolute last thing we thought we’d be planning for,” Steve Morrison, the longtime cohost of WMMR’s Preston & Steve, said to open their show Thursday.

Robert, 70, was found dead in his Gladwyne home Wednesday. The cause of his death remains unknown, but no foul play is suspected, according to Caroline Beasley, the CEO of WMMR’s parent company, Beasley Media Group.

“We’re all still in shock,” said P&S cohost Nick McIlwain. “Nobody saw this coming. He wasn’t ill. … It’s just devastating.”

Preston & Steve devoted the entire show Thursday morning to remembering Robert, who shared his love of rock and roll to Philadelphia listeners for nearly 45 years, an almost unfathomable tenure in the current age of corporate ownership of radio.

“The man has been an absolute constant in this city, for so many people,” Preston Elliot said. “We’re going to cry and laugh today.”

Elliot said Robert didn’t show up Wednesday for their crossover show, something not that unusual for the perpetually late radio host (”We were students of Pierre standard time,” Morrison noted). But as the clock neared noon, the station sent a producer to Robert’s home, where his car was still parked in the driveway. A welfare check by police revealed the worst.

“Everything seemed to be natural,” Elliot said. “It just appears he passed overnight.”

You can listen to the entire crew reminisce about Robert here:

Across the music world, Robert was remembered as a gentle soul who had an infectious love of music, everything from Crosby, Stills & Nash to Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant” to “Java” by trumpeter Al Hirt.

“Pierre had nothing if not an eclectic taste in music,” Morrison said, “and that was the fabric of his broadcast style.”

“He admired local artists and tomorrows rising stars,” Jon Bon Jovi wrote on social media Wednesday. “This man was as curious as he was clever, he was a real musicologist. He knew your influence and your influences.”

Sometimes being a radio jockey can be an isolating experience, cutting hosts off from the musical world they’re trying to share. Bon Jovi said that wasn’t the case with Robert, whom he described as “a loyal friend” and someone who “just cared” about other people.

“His voice helped the hungry and the homeless, and he did it because he cared,” Bon Jovi said. “The station was lucky to have him on the air. We were all lucky to have him as a guide to his musical galaxy. And I was lucky to have him as a friend.”

Robert had a reputation as a thoughtful interviewer who went deeper than most rock DJs. Those who felt that way included members of the rock band the Offspring, whom he interviewed many times over the years. In fact, they were such big fans they performed their first live acoustic show at WMMR’s studios in 2008.

“What made him so great is that he truly cared about the music, the people who played it, and the people who listened to it,” the band wrote on social media. “He was first and foremost a music fan, and his listeners knew it, because they saw him in the pit with them, just as we were honored to see him in the pit at our shows.”

Robert was also frequently spotted at local performances. Over the weekend, he attended a show at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside by the Philly rock band the Hooters, the band that was playing when he had his first interview with WMMR back in 1981.

“He was in his usual undeniable rock and roll form, and we all had a fantastic time. Needless to say, we are all devastated,” Hooters singer and cofounder Rob Hyman told The Inquirer. “He was truly irreplaceable and his passing will leave a big hole especially in the local music community. Just wanted to share. … Pierre was that ‘good citizen’ who will be missed by all.“

During a performance Wednesday night at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, singer Bryan Adams dedicated his song “Heaven” to Robert. Adams told fans he was supposed to do an interview with Robert on Wednesday afternoon over Zoom, only to find out later why he never showed.

David Dye, the WXPN-FM (88.5) DJ who has been on the air in Philadelphia even longer than Robert, summed up what the loss of the always-out-in-public, immediately recognizable ’MMR personality means to the city: “It’s as if the Phillie Phanatic died.”

One of Robert’s final posts on social media came Sunday, a simple photo of the radio host quietly reading a book outdoors — while everyone else was watching the Eagles. Robert loved everything about his adopted city (he was a Northern California native and first came to Philly because of a relationship that didn’t work out), but he was never a sports fan and jokingly referred to every team as “The Boys in Blue.”

“Sunday afternoon in Philly in my beloved Rittenhouse Square, with a great book, a cup of La Colombe, watching the world lazily drift by,” Robert wrote, “pretty close to perfection!”

Staff writer Dan DeLuca contributed to this article.