In 2012, Whatley participated in the New York LGBT Pride March. He chose to come out on the one-year anniversary of his father's death. After admitting his sexuality to his co-host Ron Bennington three years earlier, Whatley spoke openly on the air about his issues as a closeted man, but had remained unable to say it explicitly. Fez had been playing a flamboyant character on the air for more than 20 years, but became increasingly uncomfortable in the role after recognizing his sexual orientation and being unable to publicly embrace it. On February 24, 2012, Whatley came out as gay. Whatley graduated from Pinellas Park High School in Pinellas Park, Florida in 1982, and received a publication award from the International Thespian Society. Whatley also briefly co-hosted another of The Ron & Ron Radio Network's programs, the Hooters-on-the-Radio show with Brenda Lee (aka B.L.), Julie Williams and Hooters spokesperson and original Hooters girl (and Playboy's Miss July 1986) Lynne Austin in addition to his duties on The Ron & Ron Show. His final appearance on The Ron and Fez Show took place two days later. On April 1, 2015, Whatley announced his retirement from radio. Whatley worked with the Mount Airy Crime Stoppers Division as they monitored the case. On February 26, 2010, Whatley put up a $1,000 cash reward for the apprehension, conviction, and incarceration of the vandals who defaced the Mount Airy, North Carolina statue depicting Sheriff Andy Taylor and Opie Taylor of the 1960s television show The Andy Griffith Show. On November 4, 2008, Bennington and Whatley hosted Presidential Thunderdome '08, a live radio show covering the 2008 presidential elections. įrom October 9, 2007, to June 27, 2008, Whatley also served as executive producer. The Ron and Fez Show was discontinued when WFNY reverted to a rock format as WXRK on May 24, 2007. On DecemThe Ron and Fez Show premiered on 92.3 Free FM in New York City from 6 to 9 PM, while still holding on to their XM Satellite Radio show from Noon to 3 PM. The Ron and Fez Show moved to XM Satellite Radio on September 12, 2005, after leaving WJFK 106.7 FM in Washington D.C. The duo didn't produce well in the ratings however, and their tenure was short lived. On July 19, 2004, Whatley and Bennington unceremoniously returned to the Florida airwaves in the 1 PM to 3 PM slot on Tampa Bay, Florida's The Buzz WBAA-AM 1010, a relatively low wattage station which adopted a new talk format, and abandoned its former sports talk format. After being canceled in New York City, as well as the other markets, they continued to broadcast from WJFK FM, and relocated to DC. I was terrified about being really gay.Whatley and Bennington continued on WNEW until the end of 2002, as well as being simulcast to a few other FM markets, including WJFK-FM in Washington, D.C. I got depressed…I couldn’t make myself be Fez Whatley anymore. I was now everything that I had joked about. Fez Whatley was no longer a character that I played on the air. “After all those years of denying it, it was true. “Coming to this realization was devastating,” Whatley wrote. He had been playing a flamboyant, gay character on his shows for 20 years while insisting to his family, friends (and himself) that he was straight, he said. It was ultimately moved to WNEW in New York. Although low ratings led to the show’s cancelation, he teamed up with Bennington on “The Ron and Fez Show” on the Daytona Beach radio station WKRO. (Swipe for all pics)Ī post shared by Bennington Todd Hillier, the Florida native first dove into the radio business as a producer and contributor of the syndicated program “The Ron and Ron Show,” hosted by Ron Diaz and his future partner, Ron Bennington. His sister snapped these pics of him while he was on the vent, and Fez is oddly proud of them. He spent a few days on a ventilator and is now breathing on his own. “He flatlined on Tuesday, but was able to be revived by doctors. “Fez had another massive heart attack this week,” Bennington wrote.
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