CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Ty Boyd, a North Carolina radio and television personality whose broadcast career endeared him to the state’s largest city, has died. He was 88.
His son, Robert, confirmed Tuesday that his father died early Monday after several years of declining health following a stroke in 2016.
“Ty saw something wonderful in every other person,” said Jim Heavner, his friend and radio mate 60 years ago at WCHL in Chapel Hill, The Charlotte Observer reported. “He had such a positive world view. Combine that with a need to touch people, and be in touch…”
Boyd got his start in broadcasting by working at Statesville radio station WSIC at age 15, according to his webpage. From there, he worked at WCHL-AM in Chapel Hill while attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1961, Boyd moved to WBT-AM and WBTV in Charlotte. As a morning man for the radio station, his show was rated No. 1 for 60 consecutive ratings periods, his biography says.
In 1978, Boyd left WBT and embarked on a speaking career during which he founded the National Speakers Association and later became its president. He and his wife, Pat, later developed a public speaking and presentations skills course..
Boyd was inducted into the N.C. Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1991, and he received the prestigious Order of the Long Leaf Pine, one of North Carolina’s most prestigious honors, in 2018.
Boyd is survived by his wife, five children and 13 grandchildren. The family says it is planning a public celebration of his life in July, around his birthday of July 27.
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