Radio host and interviewer Martin Perlich dies at 88
Martin Perlich, an acclaimed radio innovator and interviewer, died Oct. 25 in West Hollywood, Calif., at the age of 88.
Perlich was best known for his nationally syndicated series Martin Perlich Interviews, in which he spoke with legendary figures including Leonard Bernstein, Frank Zappa, Aaron Copland, Arthur Fiedler and Isaac Stern. His insightful and thoughtful approach to interviewing earned him the admiration of both audiences and artists alike.
Born in 1938, Perlich began his radio career in Cleveland. While working in the record business, he was asked to conduct a one-time interview with Leonard Bernstein for WCLV. The interview received widespread praise — Bernstein himself commended Perlich’s style — and it marked the beginning of both a lifelong friendship and a distinguished broadcasting career.
Perlich went on to become the first intermission host of the syndicated Cleveland Orchestra radio broadcasts, interviewing hundreds of musicians. In the late 1960s, Perlich created The Perlich Project on WCLV, a groundbreaking mix of classical music, early progressive rock, poetry, jazz, comedy and commentary on current events. The show later moved to Cleveland’s rock powerhouse, WMMS.
In 1972, Perlich joined KMET in Los Angeles, then one of the nation’s premier progressive commercial rock stations. Three years later, he became creative consultant for NBC-TV’s late-night music variety program The Midnight Special.
He later brought his talents to KFAC, one of the country’s top classical and fine arts stations, where Martin Perlich Interviews won the New York International Radio Festival Award for two consecutive years and achieved national syndication through WCLV. Perlich also worked with KUSC and served as program director at KCSN, where he continued to host daily programs featuring classical, new music and live arts interviews.
After retiring in 2008, he authored The Art of the Interview, a book exploring the craft he perfected over decades behind the microphone. His extensive archive of interviews is preserved at UCLA and can be accessed free of charge through the university’s digital library.
Martin Perlich was a world-class interviewer whose passion for music and conversation illuminated the lives of countless listeners and artists. He will be deeply missed.
I’m saddened to hear of the passing of Martin Perlich, whose wide interests and intense curiosity animated his radio interviews. It was a privilege and pleasure to work with him when I was Program Director of KFAC/Los Angeles. He was an insightful interviewer and a delightful colleague, and I will remember him always. May his memory be a blessing.
Thank you, Kathy Gronau for this fine retrospective of his life.
Very sorry to hear of the death Martin Perlich. He was heard on WNCR and later WMMS both stations in Cleveland. Prior history began with the Perlich Project on WCLV which is Cleveland’s great Classical or Fine Arts home on the radio dial. Perlich was awesome and was a major influence on the then small listening audience. Interviews and Jazz together in the Free Form radio format was plainly amazing. What a mensch!