Harry Donahue dead: Radio legend dies after battle with cancer as tributes flood in
The award-winning star's career spanned four decades.
Radio legend Harry Donahue has died at the age of 77 following a battle with cancer. The star who died on Wednesday October 29, had a 35-year career at Philadelphia's KYW Newsradio and the news was confimed by the stations parent company Audacy. His death came on the same day as that of another Phildelphia radio icon Pierre Robert, who was found dead in his home at the age of 70. Tributes flooded in for the broadcasting star as news of his death broke.
"October 29th, 2025 will go down as one of the all-time crappy days in Philadelphia broadcasting history. Not only did we lose the legendary Pierre Robert, but we lost another iconic voice in Harry Donahue, who passed at the age of 77," one fan wrote on Facebook. "RIP Harry - listened to him for years out delivering my mail route on Saturdays," a second longtime listener added.
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"Man, really sad news. Harry was one of the people I used to look forward to saying hello to before every Temple basketball and football game when he was still broadcasting the football games and travelling with the team. Always super cool and even did an on-air show about me and my photography career prior to a game. Rest In Peace Harry !!" a third shared.
A fourth chimed in: "A great talent. A great friend and a Philadelphia broadcaster to his core who will be terribly missed."
"R.I.P. used to wake up to hear my school number..then many years later had the pleasure of meeting him with Ginger Traynor ..in Toronto at the black bull ..had a nice chat with him," a fifth wrote.
Meanwhile, a sixth recalled waiting for Harry to announce school closures in bad weather, commenting: "Aweee rest in peace. As a child, I waited early in the morning for #HarryDonahue to call 301. Abington School closing."
Harry was a longtime sports and morning drive anchor for KYW before his retirement in 2014. He began working with them in 1974 as a freelance reporter before officially becoming an anchor in 1979.
“Who gets a chance to cover these types of teams, these types of individuals in the city where they grew up,” he said during KYW’s 60th anniversary celebrations. “That was the special part for me.”
He received many honours throughout his long career. In 2000, he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. In 2014, he was inducted into the KYW Newsradio Hall of Fame, and in 2020, he joined the Temple Basketball Ring of Honour.
