Deborah Richards, a popular former Atlanta radio show host who made her mark on Kicks 101.5 (now it's known as New Country 101.5) has passed away at the age of 62, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other published reports. Per the outlet, "Her son Jarrett Smith said she died last week after a series of medical issues likely related to lupus."
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Her name was actually Julie Longcore. She joined the team at Kicks 101.5 forty years ago, in 1984. Richards did news and partnered on the air with several hosts, but it was when she joined up with James "Moby" Carner in 1991 that her career really caught fire.
Deborah Richards And 'Moby' Made A Great On-Air Team
They Worked Alongside Traffic Reporter Jim Vann
Richards, Carner, and Vann got along really well and their audience loved the engaging, easygoing trio. In fact, their show "earned an Academy of Country Music award for morning show of the year," per popculture.com.
After Carner died, Richards was quoted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last year: "Listeners would tell me that it sounded like we were just hanging out at a Waffle House having breakfast." That unforced kind of camaraderie is rare in broadcasting. When it comes along, you have lightning in a bottle.
Her Associates At The Radio Station Admired Richards
James Carner And Jim Vann Praised Her Warmly
Carner teasingly said of her, ""I can always tell when I go over the line because she gives me this look." Jim Vann was equally fond of Richards. He called her "one of the most delightful people I've ever known. She loved meeting people at remotes."
Deborah Richards Began In Radio As A Teenager
She Showed A Distinct Flair For The Work Early On
She started small at the age of 17, working at a radio station in Tennessee that Jarrett Smith, her son, jokingly described as "sandwiched between a cemetery and a pig farm." Richards branched out from radio in 2001, launching a thriving business that did voice-overs for radio commercials "and narrations for industrial and corporate videos while teaching at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting," per the outlet.
It's not an exaggeration to say that Richards changed people's lives. Bill Celler, who used to work at Kicks, gratefully said, "She really set me up for where I am now. She was a tremendous mentor and teacher to whole lot of actors in town who got into voice-over."
Richards' Son Said She Was A Really Wonderful Mom
She Was A Special Person And Parent
Jarrett Smith lovingly talked about his mother to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution via popculture.com: "[S]he was a great mom. She was always there. When she retired from radio, she would be up making breakfast in the morning and snacks in the afternoon. She finally got that freedom to just be a normal schedule parent and made me feel like the luckiest kid growing up."
In addition to her son, Deborah Richards leaves her brother, Greg Richards and her sister, Karen Tucker.
