John DeBella

John DeBella is an American DJ in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 102.9 WMGK-FM.

Career

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Before arriving in Philadelphia, DeBella did a stint at WLIR-FM Garden City. In the early 80's he hosted The DeBella Travesty and helped to introduce the Dare to be Different new wave format on WLIR. During that time he befriended singer Joan Jett and received a gold record for his efforts in promoting Jett's chart topping hit "I Love Rock and Roll".

He became famous in Philadelphia as part of WMMR's Morning Zoo along with former WLIR co-alumnus Mark "The Shark" Drucker. He was number one in the morning ratings through most of the 1980s and was a popular figure in the city of Philadelphia. Every year he would host the "DeBella DeBall" and was very popular with rock music fans. DeBella's favorite musician was Peter Gabriel and he enjoyed discussing Gabriel's many hits on the air. Throughout the mid 1980s, DeBella did on-air promos for the morning and afternoon cartoon blocks on WTAF Channel 29.

For the last several years, DeBella has worked with WMGK. His show runs from 5:30am to 9:00am. The show features news and traffic by his cohost Jen Posner and the goofy antics of the two are accompanied by producer Rob Calvert. The show is not only a talk format but also plays a number of classic rock songs throughout the morning including a 'Breakfast with the Beatles' segment from 7:10 until 7:20am. Additional appearances by Bill Henly, local NBC affiliate meteorologist at 7:05am and comedian Grover Silcox from appr. 8:00-8:45am every Thursday. The show almost always closes with the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" by Eric Idle of Monty Python fame. (Both 'Breakfast with the Beatles' and "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" Ending the show were also staples of his WMMR show.) John Debella then closes out his broadcast with "Have a great day Philadelphia. Don't take any crap from anybody."

In "tribute" to DeBella, the staff of WMGK (and at one time, the staff of WMMR when DeBella worked there) refers to the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia Metropolitan area that comprises their listenership, as the "DeBellaware Valley".

At the end of June, 2007, Giant Brian left The John DeBella Show to host his own morning show in Atlanta. He was replaced in late 2007 by Rob Calvert.

Community activism

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Every spring, DeBella sponsors an annual Dog-Walk in Fairmount Park, the largest park within city limits in the country. He also heads the annual "MGK Turkey Drop," held every year two days before Thanksgiving, where listeners are encouraged to drop off turkeys or cash donations to a number of pre-advertised drop-off points. In 2006 alone, the event collected over 6,000 turkeys. Every December 7, a 'date which will live in infamy,' John DeBella hosted his annual DeBella DeBall, a black-tie event that is reportedly the longest tradition in Philadelphia radio history. On December 7, 2006, the event celebrated its 25th anniversary.

Personal life

DeBella is married to Lisa, a real estate agent and ex-wife of NFL Films president Steve Sabol. His first wife, Annette, committed suicide.

References

External links

• Official website
• Philadelphia Weekly 2002 article chronicling John's career