Dick Purtan

Dick Purtan (born July 11, 1936 as Paul Richard Purtan) is a former American radio personality. His last radio job was as the morning radio show host on Oldies 104.3 serving the Detroit, Michigan U.S. radio market. Purtan was also a disc jockey at WKNR-AM, WXYZ-AM, CKLW-AM and WCZY-FM which became WKQI-FM in 1989. Previous to coming to Detroit at WKNR "Keener 13" in 1965, Purtan worked at WOLF-AM in Syracuse, NY and WSAI in Cincinnati; he began his radio career in his hometown of Buffalo, NY and also worked for a very short time at WBAL in Baltimore (only to leave the station after his witty, sardonic humor clashed with the station's conservative ownership).

Purtan is well known for his philanthropic work. Each year, Purtan and his "Purtan's People" crew host a radiothon to benefit the Salvation Army's "Bed and Bread" program. Through Purtan's efforts, over 24 million dollars have been donated to the Bed and Bread program. The money has also been used to purchase additional Bed and Bread trucks which make daily deliveries of food to needy people in the Detroit area.

While in Cincinnati, Purtan gathered together $12,500 and promoted the Beatles in concert.

On the morning of February 13, 2010, Purtan announced his retirement effective March 26, 2010.

Dick Purtan continues to keep up with his audience through his blog every weekday and Facebook. He also started producing a weekly podcast, which can run anywhere between 12 minutes to a half-an-hour and have had on various "Purtan People."