Condolences: Scott Simon
• The many friends and colleagues of Scott Simon are mourning his sudden death on Friday morning, January 25, reportedly from a heart attack. Simon, whose real name was Scott Smith, had been working for Westwood One’s Mainstream Country format at the company’s 24/7 Formats division in Denver since October 2017. “All of us at Westwood One are very saddened about the news and our hearts are with his family,” said George King, VP of Programming, Country. “Scott was an incredible jock and just a great person. He will be missed.”
Simon’s extensive radio history was focused primarily in the Country format, including afternoons on Entercom Country KWJJ (The Wolf)/Portland, OR, MD/mornings at WKIS/Miami, four years in mornings on Alpha Media Country KUPL/Portland and mornings on Cumulus Country KRST/Albuquerque, NM. He later returned to KATM for a time before taking the job with Westwood One.
Simon’s career path was closely intertwined with that of Scott Mahalick, now EVP of Content for Alpha Media — it was Mahalick who initially hired Simon to anchor mornings on KATM when the station launched in 1992; later, as VP/GM of Citadel Salt Lake City, Mahalick hired Simon at KBEE (B98.7)/Salt Lake City and again for a third time at KUPL.
Mahalick said of Simon, “Scott was a magical storyteller who had a magnetic personality and always brought a smile to everyone he would talk to or meet. The Simon in The Morning show on KATM was one of the best morning shows in any format during its time. The team of Ren Stevens, Kitty Cougar and Scott had a genuine chemistry that was infectious. It was my honor and pleasure to work with such a great group of talent.”
Simon leaves behind his wife, Kathy, two daughters and a son. Information on services is forthcoming, and Simon’s Facebook page is filling up with messages of love and remembrance from his many friends.
