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Express Tribune
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Chicago sports radio icon Harry Teinowitz dies at 64 following liver transplant complications
Chicago is mourning the loss of one of its most beloved voices in sports broadcasting. Harry Teinowitz, a longtime radio host known for his humor and heart, has died at the age of 64 due to complications following a liver transplant, according to the Chicago Tribune. Teinowitz rose to prominence in the 1990s as a co-host of a sports comedy show on WMVP (ESPN 1000). He later became a fan favorite through his work on the hit radio program Mac, Jurko & Harry, which began in 2001. The show earned a loyal following, and Teinowitz became a staple of Chicago's sports scene, known for his creative humor and unwavering energy. 'He just had a million ideas and he always wanted to be funny,' said former co-host Carmen DeFalco. 'He always committed to the bit. If it flopped, he didn't care. He just wanted to try.' Outside of radio, Teinowitz was also an actor and playwright. He played a small role in the 1983 film Risky Business and later turned personal struggle into art with his 2021 play When Harry Met Rehab, which was inspired by his recovery journey following a DUI arrest. The play was performed in Chicago and later had a run off-Broadway in New York. Tributes have poured in from across the sports world. ESPN Chicago honored him on social media, and Jarrett Payton, son of NFL legend Walter Payton, shared, 'Harry was the kind of friend everyone hopes to have.'
New York Post
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Beloved Chicago sports radio host Harry Teinowitz dead at 64
Chicago lost a good one. Do-it-all sports radio host Harry Teinowitz died on Tuesday at 64 years old after suffering complications of a liver transplant, per the Chicago Tribune. In the mid-1990s, Teinowitz began his radio career co-hosting a sports comedy radio show for WMVP (ESPN 1000). Advertisement 3 Harry Teinowitz (right) passed away of complications from a liver transplant. Jarrett Payton, /X After developing a solid following through restructuring of the station, Teinowitz remained aboard and continued to make appearances throughout the rest of the '90s. 'He just had a million ideas and he always wanted to be funny,' an old co-host Carmen DeFalco said. 'He was always thinking of silly, creative, goofy things to do and he believed in all of them. He always committed to the bit. If it flopped, he didn't care. He just wanted to try.' Advertisement In 2001, he began his most well known job in the sports world when he became a part of WMVP's 'Mac, Jurko & Harry.' The show was a major hit in Chicago, and Teinowitz grew to have good relationships with many sports personalities. 3 ESPN Chicago shared a post on X honoring Harry Teinowitz. ESPN Chicago/X 'Got the call today that my good friend Harry Teinowitz passed away, & my heart just sank,' Jarrett Payton, son of the legendary Walter Payton, wrote on X. 'He believed in me before I believed in myself. Always lifting me up, always in my corner. Harry was the kind of friend everyone hopes to have in their life.' Advertisement Not only was Teinowitz respected in the sports scene, but he was also an actor and a playwright. When Teinowitz faced a DUI arrest in 2011, it became a crucial turning point for him. He went to rehab and later wrote his play, 'When Harry Met Rehab.' The play, loosely based on Teinowitz's experiences, was a success and was even performed in 2021 at the Greenhouse Theater Center in Lincoln Park, an esteemed theater in Chicago. 3 Harry Teinowitz (right) and Jarrett Payton, son of Bears legend, Walter. Jarrett Payton, /X Advertisement 'When Harry Met Rehab' was also recently performed in an off-broadway theater in New York City last fall. As far as acting, Teinowitz had a small part in the 1983 comedy 'Risky Business.'
Chicago Tribune
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Harry Teinowitz, sports talk radio host who wrote play on sobriety after DUI arrest, dies at 64
Harry Teinowitz was a well-known figure on Chicago's sports talk-radio airwaves in the 1990s and early 2000s, at one point co-hosting a top-rated sports show on WMVP-AM ESPN 1000. A comedian by background, Teinowitz later turned a personal setback in the early 2010s — a drunken-driving arrest and a stint in rehab — into a stage comedy, 'When Harry Met Rehab' that was loosely based on his life experiences. 'Harry lived to make people laugh and to make people happy,' said his longtime collaborator, Spike Manton, who also noted Teinowitz's love for sports. 'There was just never a night he wasn't watching at least two different games.' Teinowitz, 64, died of complications from a liver transplant July 15 at his home, said his brother, Danny. He was an Evanston resident. Teinowitz was the son of Philip Teinowitz, who owned four horses that raced in the Kentucky Derby, and Lois Teinowitz. Raised in Glencoe, Teinowitz graduated from New Trier East High School and attended the University of Kansas for one year. Interested in acting, Teinowitz got a part playing a pyromaniac bed-wetter in the 1980 comedy film 'Up the Academy,' which was shot in Salina, Kansas. He transferred to Columbia College Chicago, where he earned a bachelor's degree. Teinowitz dabbled in acting and had small role playing a teen at a party in the 1983 film 'Risky Business' starring Tom Cruise, which was shot on the North Shore, before pursuing a career as a stand-up comedian. Teinowitz was a regular at comedy clubs all over the city and suburbs in the late 1980s. In the early 1990s, he and Manton started 'Funny Money,' an annual comedy benefit for the Greater Chicago Council of the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse. 'I was very impressed with the charity, and I had a real sense of giving something back to the community,' Teinowitz told the Tribune in 1993. In the mid-1990s, Teinowitz and Manton began co-hosting a sports comedy radio show on Saturday nights on WMVP-AM. The pair developed something of a cult following, and got to know many athletes. In March 1996, the duo were promoted to host middays on WMVP. That show lasted just nine weeks before the station changed formats. Teinowitz performed some fill-in work on WMVP — including taking part in a 1997 interview that Steve Cochran held with O.J. Simpson, in which he asked the disgraced former football star his first pick in a fantasy football draft — and in late 1997 co-hosted an hourlong fantasy football show on WMVP. Teinowitz also briefly co-hosted an evening program on WCKG-FM with Pete McMurray. Returning to WMVP in October 1998 amid a relaunch of the sports-talk format, Teinowitz signed a deal to co-host afternoon drive with Manton. The following year, the pair shifted to evenings, and they also picked up a weekend morning fantasy football show, starting in 2000. He also did some work for the ESPN network. Teinowitz returned briefly to his acting roots in 2000, with a role in 'Return to Me,' a popular film shot in Chicago. In 2001, Teinowitz began his longest and best-known run on the airwaves, co-hosting an afternoon drive-time show on WMVP with veteran radio personality Dan McNeil and former NFL lineman John Jurkovic. The show's mouthful of a name? 'McNeil, Jurko and Harry.' The trio's time in the spotlight was marred by a variety of disputes, with McNeil drawing a suspension from the station in 2002 after a heated off-air exchange that involved McNeil shoving Teinowitz, and a two-day suspension for all three after a heated on-air discussion between McNeil and Teinowitz over Teinowitz's credibility. Despite the rancor — the Tribune's Ed Sherman called McNeil 'the cynical radio man' and Teinowitz 'the hopeful fan' — the show was successful, edging ahead of rival WSCR-AM in the ratings later in 2002 and performing well against competitors for the rest of their run together. 'I'm very laid back,' Teinowitz told the Tribune in 2005. 'Mac's very high-strung. I admire that he wants the show to be successful, and I admire the time and energy he puts into it. But I'm not crazy about his bedside manner. To that he would say, 'Get over it.'' Teinowitz and McNeil continued to spar from time to time, with an ugly on-air exchange in 2006 over Teinowitz asking for help to get his car parked devolving into an uglier off-air scene and another suspension. Teinowitz remained at WMVP after McNeil exited the station in 2009. He continued in his role supplying one-liners and a seemingly unrealistic amounts of optimism for Chicago sports teams. 'That's the outlook he had on life as well, even to his detriment,' Manton said. 'He didn't know how to hold a grudge. He was a hopeful fan, period.' In 2011, Skokie police caught Teinowitz driving with a blood-alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit. Teinowitz apologized on the air at the start of the next show he appeared on, and soon afterward he entered a rehabilitation program voluntarily. He returned to the airwaves about six weeks later. In 2013, WMVP parted ways with Teinowitz. The following year, he reunited with Manton to co-host an afternoon-drive show on the short-lived low-power radio station WGWG-LP 87.7 FM The Game. After The Game folded, Teinowitz was a fill-in host on WGN-AM for sports talk shows and non-sports shows. He worked frequently with Bill Leff, and also co-hosted WGN's weekend sports show, 'The Beat.' 'For somebody who grew up listening to Harry, to get to work with him was an honor, and what I learned quickly was that however big Harry's personality was, his heart was bigger,' said Mark Carman, a co-host. 'He was incredibly supportive to numerous people, myself included, who were trying to make their way in the business.' In 2021, the Greenhouse Theater Center in Lincoln Park staged 'When Harry Met Rehab,' a comedy about sobriety Teinowitz co-wrote with Manton. Loosely based on Teinowitz's life, the play starred Dan Butler of 'Frasier' fame and Melissa Gilbert, who starred as Laura Ingalls Wilder on 'Little House on the Prairie.' 'The macho persona of the Chicago sports guy does not, of course, easily admit error nor vulnerability. It took some guts for Teinowitz to tell his story without any excuses,' Tribune theater critic Chris Jones wrote in December 2021. 'When Harry Met Rehab' was staged in an off-Broadway theater in New York City last fall, under the title 'Another Shot.' In recent years, Teinowitz had suffered heart and liver problems. He received a liver transplant in 2023. A marriage to Wendy Teinowitz ended in divorce. Other survivors include a sister, Nancy; another brother, Billy; and two children, Lucy and Reggie. A funeral service is set for 1 p.m. Monday at Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home, 111 Skokie Blvd., Wilmette, followed by a reception at Maggiano's Little Italy, 4999 Old Orchard Shopping Center, Skokie.
