Pierre Robert, the beloved voice of Philadelphia rock radio for 44 years, was found dead at his home in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday morning, October 29, 2025. The 70-year-old WMMR midday host, known for his signature greeting “Greetings Citizens!”, failed to show up for his regular 11 a.m. shift, prompting a welfare check that discovered his death.
No cause has been disclosed, and authorities report no foul play is suspected. His passing leaves a void in Philadelphia’s cultural landscape, marking the end of a career spanning more than 4 decades at a single station, a rare feat in modern radio.
Robert’s was the heart and soul of 93.3 WMMR, championing everyone from the Grateful Dead to local unsigned bands, supporting charitable causes from AIDS Walk Philly to hunger relief, and greeting fans in intimate clubs and massive stadiums as if they were personal friends.
Just days before his death, he attended a Hooters concert at the Keswick Theatre, embodying the music-first philosophy that made him one of radio’s most authentic and enduring voices. “Pierre’s unwavering love for music and his deep connection with listeners made him one of radio’s most enduring and beloved voices,” said Caroline Beasley, CEO of Beasley Media Group, WMMR’s parent company. “He will be greatly missed.”
William Pierre Robert (pronounced “Ro-bear”) was born August 1, 1955, in Truckee, California, near Lake Tahoe. Growing up in his parents’ motel during the late 1960s and early 70s, he attended thousands of concerts and casino shows, developing an omnivorous musical appetite that would define his career.
After working at San Francisco’s pioneering progressive rock station KSAN-FM, Robert faced an uncertain future when the station switched to an “Urban Cowboy” format in the early 1980s.
In 1981, he made a fateful decision: driving cross-country to Philadelphia in his 1970 Volkswagen van nicknamed “Minerva”—with bald tyres and no job promise—for a romantic relationship. “I was in love,” he later recalled. “The love part didn’t work out, but the job part did.”
After sending WMMR a demo tape and receiving an initial rejection, Robert took a job at Essene, a health food store and vegetarian restaurant on South Street. A palm reader on South Street told him, “you’re gonna get a letter very soon.” When he returned to work, there it was: a letter from WMMR station manager Joe Bonadonna about an opening.
Robert interviewed for the position during a Hooters concert at the Chestnut Cabaret, a serendipitous beginning to what would become a 44-year love affair with both the band and Philadelphia.
He started in WMMR’s music library at $3.50 per hour in November 1981, eventually graduating to the midday slot he would occupy until his death.
His first on-air shift was a weekend overnight, during which he nervously bumped the turntable while trying to play Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl.” “Luckily, it was a weekend overnight shift, so probably four people were listening,” he joked.
In 2021, to celebrate his 40th anniversary, WMMR renamed its broadcast space the Pierre Robert Studio, one of the highest honours a station can bestow.
On Wednesday afternoon, as news spread, tributes flooded in from across the music industry. WMMR’s Preston and Steve wrote: “Pierre’s voice has been woven into the fabric of Philadelphia for more than 40 years. WMMR was his pulpit, and he preached the gospel of rock n’ roll, and gave us all common ground to dance on. In good times his optimism was infectious, and on tough days his words offered familiar comfort to every Good Citizen.”
Jon Bon Jovi posted a lengthy Instagram tribute with photos: “Today we lost a great friend. Someone who truly LOVED music. All types of music. Someone who loved musicians. Not just famous ones, or chart toppers. He admired local artists and tomorrow’s rising stars. This man was as curious as he was clever, he was a real musicologist. He knew your influence and your influences. He was a loyal friend. He didn’t care if you were the fad or the fashion of the moment. He just cared… The station was lucky to have him on the air. We were all lucky to have him as a guide to his musical galaxy. And I was lucky to have him as a friend.”
The Offspring wrote: “What made him so great is that he truly cared about the music. He was first and foremost a music fan, and his listeners knew it, because they saw him in the pit with them.” Alice Cooper, who had chatted with Robert in Philadelphia just in August, said: “Very sad to hear that legendary DJ Pierre Robert of 93.3 WMMR has left the airwaves, or at least tuned to another frequency.” Living Colour offered condolences to “great human Pierre Robert,” while Shinedown guitarist Zach Myers wrote: “I don’t know the last time I’ve cried this hard. I love you Pierre.”
WMMR colleagues were devastated. Producer Ryan Shuttleworth called him “a remarkable human being” and said, “Being with him has been the greatest joy of my life.”
Pierre Robert’s last Instagram post, from the Monday before his death, read:
Sunday afternoon in Philly in my beloved Rittenhouse Square, with a great book, a cup of La Colombe, watching the world lazily drift by… pretty close to perfection!”
