SYRACUSE -- Longtime Syracuse radio programmer Gary Gallup, better known by his on-air name, Bob Paris, has lost his battle with leukemia the age of 78, according to a report on syracuse.com today.
According to his obituary, Gallup first got his first taste of broadcasting by joining the radio club at North Syracuse High School. After graduating, he enjoyed a career where "he entertained audiences on popular stations such as WSEN, WHEN, WOLF, WRRB, WSCP, and WPCX, among others."
One of his most notable achievements was launching TK99 -- originally a country station with 3,000 watts -- in 1992. The Post-Standard noted that TK99 was Syracuse's first brand new radio station since 95X (WAQX) launched in 1978.
When TK99 launched, there was no other FM station playing country. Today there are two: perennial ratings leader B104.7 (WBBS) and 92.1 The Wolf (WOLF-FM). A decent part of the Syracuse market is also covered by the 100,000-watt signal of Utica-Rome's Big Frog 104.3 (WFRG).
"Bob's affable presence left an indelible mark," says his obituary. "His resonant baritone voice became a familiar comfort to Central New Yorkers, earning him accolades such as DJ of the Year from Cortland’s Country Music Park."
Here's Bob Paris, at left, in a CNYRadio.com Picture of the Week from 2013, when he met up with fellow former Syracuse media personalities Ron Curtis, Jr (center) and Carl Knight (right) in Hollywood to attend a taping of the sitcom Two and a Half Men.
A Christian Service and Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, May 26, 2024, 1:00pm at the Malden Road United Church of Christ, 108 Malden Road in Mattydale, NY. A reception will follow at the church. Burial will take place at White Chapel Memory Gardens in DeWitt at a later date.