Influential radio producer Larry Massett dies at 80

Larry Massett, a producer whose imaginative work left a lasting imprint on public radio, died in his sleep April 23 in Savannah, Ga.‬ He was 80.

Massett’s musical background infused his work with a sensibility few could replicate. He earned a reputation for surprise and delight in the public radio community. An accomplished, conservatory-trained pianist and composer, his work incorporated music, humor and sound elements that transformed his stories into sonic adventures‬.

His profound influence on generations of radio producers is documented at‬‭ Transom.org‬‭, the premier site for independent audio storytelling.

His first public radio work was in the late 1970s in partnership with Jesse Boggs and Jay Allison on a segment called Listen Up. The trio would agree on something they’d like to hear, then go about creating that sound. NPR’s All Things Considered aired the series of short stories, including one in which a piano was sent toppling down the stairs inside the Washington Monument. Of course, that never really happened. But reality was always a mere starting point for Massett.

It was NPR producer Keith Talbot who first brought Massett into the National Public Radio fold. The two collaborated on an hourlong feature for the program Options titled “Neurotica.” All Things Considered brought a portion of that production to its evening show in the form of “A Trip to the Dentist,” in which Massett lets a dentist examine his never-well-tended teeth.

For decades, Massett contributed features to NPR programs and wrote original music scores for NPR’s “Radio Experience” series.

In 1983, he traveled to China and Japan for NPR’s now-defunct Educational Services department. The resulting series earned him the Major Armstrong Award, named after the inventor of FM radio, Edwin Howard Armstrong. He traveled extensively to create radio stories. including visits to Sri Lanka, to Romania with poet Andrei Codrescu, and a U.N.-funded trip to Nepal in 1980.

With Allison, Massett co-founded and hosted the Soundprint documentary series, winning the AAAS Science Journalism Award and International Radio Festival Silver Medal. He was a member of the team that produced The DNA Files, which won Peabody and duPont-Columbia Awards. He served as senior editor of the Peabody Award–winning series Hearing Voices. His approach to radio storytelling profoundly influenced scores of notable producers, among them Scott Carrier of Home of the Brave and Erica Heilman of Rumble Strip.

Jerome Lawrence Massett II was born June 3, 1944, in Washington, D.C., to Jerome L. and Mildred S. Massett. He spent much of his childhood at a CIA base on Okinawa Island, Japan, where his father was head of security.

Massett attended The Catholic University of America and Oberlin College, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in classical piano. He became an accomplished scuba diver, combining his music and diving talents in The American Underwater Band. He loved fast cars, strong coffee and friendships with dozens of other talented people.‬

Art Silverman is a former senior producer for NPR.