Richard Hake, Longtime WNYC Radio Reporter and Host, Dies at 51
Richard Hake, a WNYC host, reporter, and producer for 28 years, died Friday at his Manhattan home. He was 51 years old.
Goli Sheikholeslami, the executive director of WNYC, confirmed the death on Saturday. A cause of death was not yet known.
“For all of us on New York Public Radio and in the WNYC listening community, Richard was one of the first voices we heard every morning,” said Ms. Sheikholeslami, adding that he liked to say he “woke up in New York.”
Mr. Hake produced and created live radio feature segments for WNYC that focused on breaking news, culture and artistic sound portraits.
His work has also been featured on local and national NPR programs, including “Morning Edition,” which he hosted, “Weekend Edition,” “All Things Considered,” and “On the Media”.
Mr. Hake has received awards from the Associated Press Broadcasters Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, and other organizations for his feature film and documentary work, including the Coney Island Cyclone Anniversary and The Perfume of the Bronx.
Karen Frillmann, editor and colleague of Mr. Hake at WNYC for nearly 20 years, said he was a “very local young man who brought his passions for New York to the WNYC newsroom”.
“He was unshakable as a broadcaster,” she said. “He really had an appetite for everything New York had to offer.”
Ms. Frillmann said Mr. Hake could deliver breaking news as it was still coming in, noting, “He had to fill up a little time and tap dancing and say the right things and not speak wrongly, live on the radio which is really a trick trick. “
“Richard was always calm,” she said, adding that he made the people sitting across from him feel, “OK, we’re just talking to each other.”
Ms. Frillmann recalled the 2003 power outage, in which 50 million people lost power, and said radio station staff worked with flashlights. “That’s hard to do,” she said. “And still be live on the radio and still be coherent.”
Richard Scott Hake was born in the Bronx on January 4, 1969, to Richard James Hake, a New York police officer, and Joy Mekeland, a clerk and secretary. His parents divorced in 1986 and his mother married IT consultant Joseph Colombo in 1994.
Mr. Hake graduated from Fordham University in 1991 and served on the Advisory Board for Masters of Arts in Public Media.
Chuck Singleton, the general manager of Fordham broadcaster WFUV-FM and former professor of Mr. Hake, remembered him in his early college years as driven, hungry, and fearless to step in front of a microphone.
“I worked with him on the newsroom, trained him on the newsroom, and also taught him the style of long-form audio production that NPR is known for,” he said, adding that Mr. Hake went straight to the radio.
Ms. Colombo described her son as a social person who also loved theater. In December 2011 he made his Broadway debut as Chimney Sweep in “Mary Poppins”.
In addition to his mother, Mr. Hake is survived by his father; his stepfather; his brothers Ryan and Jack; and a sister, Christine Hake.
Aimee Ortiz contributed to the coverage.
