Ruth Seymour, who helped grow KCRW from a tiny Santa Monica College station operating out of a middle school classroom into the West Coast flagship for National Public Radio and an internet powerhouse, died Friday.
Seymour died at her home in Santa Monica after a long illness at the age of 88, according to KCRW-FM (89.9).
Her mission at the groundbreaking public radio station was “to matter,” she is quoted as telling journalists and friends.
Described as charismatic and controversial, the Bronx-born broadcast “visionary” was a thoughtful general manager who created a winning eclectic format of news, talk, music, current affairs and cultural programming.
Under her aegis, KCRW, licensed to Santa Monica College, was one of the earliest adopters of online programming, streaming and podcasting, which helped the station achieve global renown.
KCRW President Jennifer Ferro said in a statement that Seymour “took chances and made decisions because she knew they were right. She trusted her gut. She broke rules and pursued excellence in ways that can’t easily be explained. She was a force of nature.”
Among her signature achievements was the creation of “Which Way, L.A.?” with Warren Olney, which became a daily “town square” in the aftermath of the Rodney King riots; originated public radio’s first nationally distributed weekly political roundtable, “Left, Right & Center”; and was the first to air Ira Glass’ “This American Life,” convincing other stations to carry the award-winning public radio and podcast favorite.
Seymour led the on-air charge for stations to raise funds on behalf of the network when NPR was in crisis. She was known in Washington, D.C., circles as a fierce defender of public broadcasting funding and issues such as licensing and streaming royalties.
“The Simpsons” voice actor Harry Shearer, whose “Le Show” aired for decades on KCRW, described Seymour as “a towering figure in public radio, embracing a breadth of subject matter and styles that, frankly, does not seem possible any more.”
Shearer said Seymour “imagined a listener who was endlessly curious, open to a wide range of opinions and musics, and worked tirelessly to satisfy that listener. There will not be one like her again.”
Seymour also supported the station’s signature free-form music show “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” which became an influential music trendsetter, featuring frequent live in-studio and video performances by established and unknown artists, from Beck’s breakout to Coldplay’s first U.S. radio performance.
Her lengthy radio career began in 1961 as drama and literature director at Pacifica public radio KPFK-FM (90.7) in Los Angeles. She left KPFK in 1976 and then, in 1977, began building KCRW, first as a consultant, later as the station’s long-time general manager and program director. She retired from KCRW in 2010.
Seymour is survived by her daughter, Celia Hirschman, her sister and brother-in-law Ann and Richard Zimmer and their children Jessica and Daniel, and her cousins Anita Getzler and Greg Epstein. Her son, David, preceded her in death at the age of 25 from lymphoma.
A public memorial service is being planned.