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Harry D. Cup

Harry D. Cup (Michael Christian) grew up in Elyria, Ohio, a small town outside Cleveland, and began acquiring radio experience while still in high school. Following graduation, he went on to attend Purdue University on a football scholarship but had to quit to help support his family after the death of his father.

Through the years, he worked his way up as a talk show host at numerous stations across the country. In 1979, while working in Cleveland, his life was threatened because of his conservative views and, as a result, he moved to Florida and took the evening shift on Orlando’s WDBO.

In 1981 Harry left Florida for about a year and worked at WCAU-AM in Philadelphia, then returned to Orlando to replace Bud Brewer as evening talk host on WKIS. In 1983 the Florida Radio Network (FRN), owned by the parent company of WKIS, began syndicating his show across the country in the 7 to 11 P.M. time slot.  When he left Orlando, he moved on to Tampa Bay talker WPLP in Pinellas Park.

Over the years, he occasionally stepped beyond his radio microphone, like the country song “Green Grows the Valley” he recorded in 1968 under the name Mike Adams. In 1980 he wrote and recorded “Sick Americans” b/w ”Love Letter” for Silver Pelican Records. The A-side was a spoken word “condemnation of America’s ills” protest recording of sorts, a contrast from Byron McGregor’s hyper-patriotic 1974 hit “Americans.” 

Harry met his wife, Barbara, in 1974 at Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven. He was doing one of his radio shows there and she was a champion swimmer who performed in the attraction’s daily ski shows. Three weeks later, they were married. He adopted her daughter and the couple eventually moved to Polk City where they opened a horse ranch for handicapped children.

By 1998, Harry was out of radio but still in demand for voiceover work. He also had health issues and his doctors told him he needed quadruple bypass surgery. Taking their advice, he had the procedure done. But even after that, his heart continued to give problems. Then, on January 5, 2000, he passed away from complications of heart disease at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. He was 63.

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