Milton Metz, 1921-2017

Milton Metz delivers the weather news on WHAS-TV in the 1960s

WHAS Radio audio of Milton Metz: 1979 1979 part two 1993 final show 1992 1962 with Cassius Clay 1994 narrator of A Christmas Carol part two of A Christmas Carol 1989 with sex therapist Dr. Jean Koehler

Milton Metz at the 2016 WHAS Crusade for Children

Louisville’s all-time greatest communicator, neighbor, and gentleman has died. Milton Metz, the WHAS Radio and TV talk show host, died peacefully at Magnolia Springs, an assisted living home in Louisville.

Terry Meiners, intern Kyle Shepard, Milton Metz, and Wayne Perkey (1990s)

Metz served in the U.S. Army after college and came to WHAS in 1946, one of the many talented broadcasters who transitioned from radio into the fledgling media called television. Metz and his colleagues shaped the early days of television news and entertainment.

CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite with Milton Metz in Louisville

It was Metz’s knowledgeable and genteel style that solidified WHAS Radio’s gigantic imprint on middle America. Metz broke down cultural barricades throughout his career, interviewing diverse voices from all walks of life.

Metz, one of few Jewish on air personalities in 1940s Louisville, co-hosted a TV magazine show in the early 1970s with Faith Lyles, one of few African American women featured on daily local TV.

Milton Metz with his 1970s show "Omelet" co-host Faith Lyles (2014 photo) — Milton Metz with his 1970s show “Omelet” co-host Faith Lyles (2014 photo)

It wasn’t all serious business with Metz. Listen to this WHAS radio segment with sex therapist Dr. Jean Koehler. Metz gets the giggles after a caller’s claims that she and her husband have sex for more than 90 minutes, and the distinguished host keeps giggling through subsequent callers.

Read accounts of Metz’s life from Louisville media competitors, a sure sign of reverence.

and his home bases: WHAS Radio and WHAS-TV

Great Day Live interview with Metz colleagues Wayne Perkey and Terry Meiners

Terry Meiners, Milton Metz, and Rachel Platt (2015)

More than any other accomplishment, Milton Metz loved his work with the WHAS Crusade for Children.

1980 WHAS Crusade for Children with Wayne Perkey, Phyllis Knight, Jim Walton, and Milton Metz

Thanks for your leadership, love, and support, Mr. Metz. You blazed a trail we shall all follow.

newspaper ad above from 1958; Omelet print ad below from 1976

Finally, this email from Thunder Over Louisville producer Wayne Hettinger: “Farewell to a loving mentor. ‘The Metz’ took me under his wing after I created the Omelet logo and never turned loose. He had a way of making you feel special and shared that feeling with everyone he met. We’ve lost a class act and an icon of WHAS and our community.”