J. P. McCarthy - Illness and Death

Illness and Death

In 1995, McCarthy had been in talks to take his program into national syndication through a production company he started with his producer, Michael Patrick Shiels. But in the early summer of that year, McCarthy began feeling rundown and tired. He had lost color in his face and was clearing his throat frequently. He also began experiencing bloody gums and nosebleeds. He sought medical help after he was too tired to go sailing over the Fourth of July weekend. Blood tests showed that McCarthy had a lack of platelets, and he was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia known as myelodysplastic syndrome. McCarthy continued to host his show for a short time, but he became more absent, until he left the air completely at the end of July. His plight became public, and soon bone marrow drives were held all over the Detroit area where thousands of people took tests in hope that their bone marrow would help McCarthy recover. In August, McCarthy flew to New York City where he was supposed to meet with doctors at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, but his illness had become so severe that he was admitted. J.P. McCarthy died of pneumonia in his sleep on the afternoon of August 16, 1995, with his entire family at his bedside. He was 62.