John DeBella is retiring from WMGK after 48 years in radio
“I just feel it’s time,” DeBella wrote in an open letter announcing his decision to step back after 48 years on the air as a radio DJ, and 21 years at WMGK.
Longtime Philadelphia radio star John DeBella will retire from WMGK airwaves in June, the host announced Thursday.
“I just feel it’s time,” DeBella wrote in an open letter explaining his decision to step back after nearly 48 years on the air, 21 of them at WMGK. “My schedule has caused me to miss a lot of family time, and now it’s time to pay them back for all the games, dinners, and events I wasn’t around for.”
The morning show host plans to stay with the station until June 30, he said Thursday, promising to “pack as much fun as I possibly can into the next eight weeks.”
DeBella’s contract ended in December, but he agreed to stay on for six more months “so we still have some more time together.”
DeBella could not immediately be reached for comment. WMGK is already looking for DeBella’s successor, said Bill Weston, the station’s program director.
“A search is currently underway for the next WMGK morning host — purposely not using the word replacement — as there isn’t one,” Weston and Beasley Media Group Philadelphia Vice President and Market Manager Joe Bell wrote in a memo to staffers Thursday morning.
With nearly five decades on the air, DeBella is among the last generation of local radio personalities with a lengthy career that is virtually unheard of in modern radio. A longtime Philadelphia favorite, DeBella for decades made headlines with his antics — including taking on the self-professed King of All Media, Howard Stern, in the ratings, and ultimately losing.
A New York native, DeBella got his start in radio at Long Island’s WLIR-FM in 1976. In 1982, he moved to Philadelphia to work at 93.3 WMMR, where he pioneered the now-ubiquitous personality-driven “morning zoo” radio show format.
His show at MMR, first called The DeBella Travesty and then The Morning Zoo, was the market’s highest rated morning show through much of the decade. DeBella’s zany format stood in stark contrast to the more buttoned-down morning hosts of the time, such as Ken Garland on 610 WIP-AM. Meanwhile, he became a regular figure in local print media’s gossip coverage.
But as DeBella told The Inquirer in 2012, he never bought into his own hype.
“I talk on the radio. I’m not impressed by it,” he said. “The worst program director I ever had gave me the best advice I ever got: Never believe your own press.”
DeBella’s career, however, was not without controversy. In 2018, Jennifer Neill, who served as DeBella’s cohost at WMGK from 2010 to 2016 under the name Jen Posner, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the host, alleging about 30 instances of improper verbal and physical conduct. In a complaint filed in federal court, Neill claimed that DeBella grabbed her breasts on several occasions, and repeatedly asked her to perform oral sex on him, among other inappropriate behaviors.
Neill and DeBella settled the lawsuit in July 2018; the terms were not disclosed.
DeBella dominated Philly’s radio ratings until 1990, when the now-legendary Howard Stern overtook him. The pair developed something of a professional rivalry, with Stern referring to DeBella as “Baldy” or “The Zookeeper” on the air, and holding a mock funeral for him in Rittenhouse Square when his show beat out DeBella’s in the ratings.
The pair later buried the hatchet in private, with Stern leaving a message on DeBella’s answering machine, DeBella has said.
In 1993, DeBella left MMR, and moved to an afternoon shift at 94.1 WYSP, where he remained until 2001 when he moved to WGMK.
As host of The John DeBella Show, DeBella headed up a number of charitable efforts, including WMGK’s John DeBella Turkey Drop, the Veterans Radiothon, and the John DeBella Dog Walk. Started in 2001, the Turkey Drop, DeBella told The Inquirer in 2012, is his pride and joy, with the effort collecting 9,210 turkeys for nonprofit City Team Philadelphia last year.
“Simply put, John DeBella has defined morning radio in Philadelphia for 40 years,” Bell, of Beasley Media Group, said. “He’s a true radio icon.”
Last month, DeBella was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame with a bronze commemorative plaque on Broad Street. He was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 2014.