WPRO Newsroom
The Rhode Island Radio Hall of Fame announced its 2013 inductees Wednesday, and will celebrate with an official induction banquet May 9 at Twin River beginning at 5:30 p.m.
This year’s inductees include WPRO’s own Vincent “Buddy” Cianci, Jr, while WPRO alums Barbara Smith and John “Coach” Colletto were also recognized.
Cianci said he got his start in radio when he was 7 or 8 years old, when he was part of a “kiddie review” on WJAR.
“My mother used to drive me down there with a whip in one hand and her hand on the steering wheel, because I wanted to go there like I wanted to catch pneumonia,” he said.
After that, he re-launched his radio career during his first term at the Mayor of Providence in the 1970’s. He started full time with WHJJ in the 1980’s, and has been with WPRO-AM for five years.
The Shepard Award – created to recognize the founders of radio (John and Robert Shepard, owners of the Shepard Department Stores) in the Ocean State and to honor present-day contributors to the industry through leadership, dedication, achievement, innovation and spirit – goes to Barbara Smith. Smith began her radio career in 1964, working for WPRO-AM/FM in the traffic department, and for most of the next 48 years, she remained a fixture within the business operations of the station ownership groups. Smith retired from the industry in 2012.
“It’s just a great honor to be here,” Smith said. “Never in a million years did I think I’d ever be receiving this wonderful award. I am humbled beyond words.”
Other 2013 inductees include:
John “Coach” Colletto – Colletto began his radio career as a DJ and newscaster at WARA-AM in Attleboro, and by 1979 he was the morning show host. In March 1981, Colletto moved on to Providence and WPRO-AM, and joined “The Salty Brine Show” in 1982. Salty gave Colletto the nickname “Coach,” and he remained a fixture at WPRO and WSKO-AM/FM through 2006 as a show host and personality. Colletto also spent time as a radio analyst for the Providence Bruins.
Bill Corsair – a Rhode Island native, Bill Corsair is a 20-year Guinness Book of World Record holder for “Most Attempted Calls To a Radio Talk Show.” He has multiple RI radio credits, in the ‘60s & early ‘70’s including #1 rated Noon to 3 PM show on WICE-AM. He is the original voice of Hasbro’s talking G.I. Joe, recorded ironically a year before his RI National Guard Company was ordered to active duty in Vietnam.
Mike Gonsalves – Known as “Doctor Metal,” Gonsalves was a staff DJ on WHJY-FM for 17 years, where he had also worked previously as an intern while a student at Rhode Island College. His Saturday night program, “The Metal Zone” was the longest-running continuous heavy metal radio show in the country at the time. Gonsalves perished in the West Warwick Station Night Club fire of 2003, which killed 100 people.
Fred Grady – Grady began his career in the 1950’s on WPAW, playing jazz in all of its variations. Grady helped shaped jazz culture in the region at a time when jazz musicians included many very creative and talented performers, working and writing music at the creative edge of American culture. Grady became a fixture as an announcer for the Newport Jazz Festival, and later hosted a show on WBRU-FM in the ‘80’s. He passed away in 1987.
Bob Sullivan – born in Newport, RI in1949, Sullivan made the community his home – on and off the air – for the next 57 years. Known for his biting wit and wide range of interests on WADK-AM, Sullivan served as News Director and for more than thirty years as the host of “The Open Forum,” setting a standard for local talk and fair, balanced reporting. Sullivan passed away in 2007.
