CLEVELAND — Lynn Tolliver Jr. – a Cleveland radio legend – has passed away. 93.1 WZAK confirmed the news in a Facebook post late Sunday night.
“It is with heavy hearts we share this news: A Cleveland legend has passed - Lynn Tolliver Jr. - a name that brought big time radio to WZAK in the 80s,” the station posted. “Tolliver arrived at WZAK in May of 1982 shortly after the station had adopted a Black-oriented urban contemporary format. Lynn landed in Cleveland after a successful track record at MCA Records in Detroit. Our thoughts and prayers are with his close circle at this time.”
His cause of death was not revealed and funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
“While at MCA, Lynn was named Billboard Magazine’s urban contemporary program director for five years,” according to the Cleveland Association of Broadcasters. “Known for outrageous stunts, Lynn didn’t disappoint. He had listeners come down to the station wearing underwear on their heads to win prizes and in another contest, he offered prizes for the biggest cockroach.”
In the year 2000, Tolliver was honored as the first Black recipient of the award for Excellence in Broadcasting from the Cleveland Association of Broadcasters, which notes the station’s ratings climbed to first place in April of 1990 and won 3 Billboard awards in 1993.
The Cleveland Association of Broadcasters released the following statement to 3News on Monday afternoon regarding Tolliver's death: "The Cleveland Association of Broadcasters mourns the passing of Lynn Tolliver Jr., a legend in Cleveland media, most recently at 93.1 WZAK, and a recipient of the Cleveland Association of Broadcasters Award of Excellence in Radio in 2000. Our thoughts go out to Lynn’s family, and we are forever grateful for his contributions to Cleveland Media."
WZAK said he was affectionately known as "Tolly."
"Lynn Tolliver Jr. was the catapult to the world for many Cleveland musical legends such as Levert, Men at Large, Singer Dave Tolliver and The Rude Boys just to name a few," the station posted later Monday.
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Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in an unrelated article on Feb. 11, 2022.