Fez Whatley Of ‘Ron & Fez’ Dies At 57
• Fez Whatley, best known and loved as half of the popular Ron and Fez Show that ran on terrestrial and later, satellite radio from 1997 to 2015, died Friday night, August 13 of heart failure. He was 57 years old. The news was initially reported by TheWrap.com.
Whatley’s longtime friend and former partner, Ron Bennington, who currently hosts Unmasked and co-hosts Bennington with his daughter, Gail on SiriusXM, announced the sad news of Fez’s passing on Instagram, stating, “We lost our sweet Fez Whatley last night. His heart finally gave out. We are devastated, but we will always remember the laughter through our tears. Our thoughts are with his family who loved him the most and with the people who knew him as a voice on the radio. #fezwhatley.” Pictured, (l-r): Gail Bennington, Ron & Fez)
Whatley had been in poor health for several years and had previous heart attacks in 2005, 2007, 2010 and a massive one in March of this year. Bennington has kept fans up to date on Whatley’s ongoing health problems, posting photos of him laying in a hospital bed in March. “Fez had another massive heart attack this week,” Bennington wrote. “He flatlined on Tuesday, but was able to be revived by doctors. He spent a few days on a ventilator and is now breathing on his own. His sister snapped these pics of him while he was on the vent, and Fez is oddly proud of them.”
The Ron and Fez Show debuted in morning drive on WKRO-FM/Daytona Beach in 1998 and was so successful they were hired at WNEW/New York in early 2000. Within a month of their debut the show was syndicated to sister WJFK/Washington. In August 2005, Ron & Fez announced they were moving to XM Satellite Radio. On April 1, 2015, Fez announced his retirement and their final show as a team was April 3. The show was replaced with Bennington on April 20, 2015.
In her own Twitter post, Gail Bennington said, “Reading the outpouring of love for Fez has been incredible. He was my family and he was my friend. I’ve known him my whole life. We had incredible memories and lifetime of laughs. By the way… this picture (left) is not on Halloween. Just a Thursday. Love you so much, Fezzy.”
