On the 85th anniversary of the assassination of famous Detroit radio voice Jerry Buckley, Digging Detroit is proud to release its 10th episode: The Assassination of Jerry Buckley – Detroit’s Voice of the People. Author of The Purples (Amazon), Warren Berger and Professor Thomas Klug of Margrove College’s Institute for Detroit Studies join host Pete Kalinski as they look at the unusual story of a voice from nowhere who took over the new world of radio, led the recall of Detroit’s mayor of just six months then was brutally gunned down in a the lobby of the Woodward Avenue LaSalle Hotel the evening of the recall–and how few are alive today who know his name.
Special thanks also to:
- Mark Bowden of the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library (link).
- Joel Stone, Bob Sadler and Maggie Jackson of the Detroit Historical Society (link)
- Mike Scott and Lisa Curtis of the Mount Elliott Cemetery Association
- Peter Buchanan and Laura Kelly
Stills from the Episode…
Jerry Buckley’s gravesite at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Jerry Buckley, who only recently entered the radio business in 1930.
Prof. Thomas Klug of Marygrove with host Pete Kalinski.
Author of The Purples, Warren Berger, shares his character based on Buckley.
Artist’s rendition of the crime scene.
On a tour at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Peter Buchanan shares his research on the Buckley case.
Some of the 100,000 visitors to the Buckley home to view their martyred hero. (Courtesy of the Burton Collection, Detroit Public Library)
At a Belle Isle memorial a year later, new mayor of Detroit, Frank Murphy was elected after the recall on a wave of reform. He would become Governor of Michigan then appointed to the Supreme Court by FDR. (Courtesy of the Burton Collection, Detroit Public Library)
Mount Olivet Cemetery