Dan Daniel

1934 - 2016

Daniel, Dan

Daniel, Dan, "Dandy Dan Daniel", of Larchmont, NY, passed away June 21, 2016, at age 81. He was born December 18, 1934 in Buffalo, TX to Roy & Vergie Daniel. Dan enjoyed a long and fruitful career as a disc jockey, known as one of the 'Good Guys' while working for New York radio station WMCA in the 1960s, when bands like the Beatles were transforming the music scene. He performed, too and was the first to record the song "Is That All There Is?" He was a tall man, standing 6'5", hence his theme song, "Big Boss Man", (performed by Charlie Rich). Dan's signature sign-off catch phrase was "I love you all...especially you, size 9." "Size 9" was once revealed to be his wife, Rosemary. He started as a disc jockey on Armed Forces Radio with the US Navy, which he joined at age 17. His first commercial job was at KXYZ in Houston in 1955. He then worked at WDGY in Minneapolis, where he was awarded "AFTRA Broadcaster of the Year." That propelled him to WMCA in New York. His first broadcast at WMCA was on August 18, 1961. He started on the graveyard shift overnight but from 1962 to 1968 he played the top 40 hits from 4-7 pm, the afternoon drive home slot he was so well known for. The station produced a survey of the current sales in New York record stores and Dandy Dan gave the countdown of the week's best sellers every Wednesday afternoon.

Then, from 1968 to 1970, he did the early morning drive-to-work slot before leaving WMCA after nearly nine years. He became the TV host of "AM New York" from 1971-2, a show that would go on to become "Good Morning America". Dan was heard coast-to-coast on NBC Radio's Monitor in the summer of 1973 and was the announcer on the 1974-1975 game show The Big Showdown. He subsequently worked on WYNY-FM where he hosted the mid-day slot and later morning and afternoon drives. He then did a stint at WHN playing country music before returning to WYNY-FM. Finally, in 1996, he moved to WCBS-FM, rejoining some of the Good Guys and playing the classic hits he helped make famous. He retired from WCBS on December 31, 2002. One technique used by Daniel was to research his audience. He felt that it was important to communicate in a personal way with them. Dan always referred to himself, self-deprecatingly, as "the world's most adequate swinging disc jockey". Dan leaves behind his beloved wife Rosemary, along with his cherished children, Chris Daniel, Jennifer Stinga, Paul Daniel and three dear grandchildren. A Memorial Mass will be held in his honor on Monday, 10am at Sts. John & Paul RC Church in Larchmont. Memorial contributions can be sent to Catholic Relief Services at www.crs.org. For more information or to place an online condolence, please contact the Coxe & Graziano Funeral Home in Mamaroneck at 914-698-5968 or www.coxeandgraziano.com.