Mayor Cavalier Johnson, with the encouragement of OnMilwaukee, has declared Sept. 20 to be "Bobby Rivers Day" to recognize his career and the courage it took to do it.
Bobby Rivers, who passed away last December and would have turned 71 years old on Friday, Sept. 20, was a radio DJ, television host, entertainment writer, film critic and actor who started his career in Milwaukee in the 1970s.
During his five-decade career, Rivers interviewed Robin Williams, Dolly Parton, Paul McCartney, RuPaul, Meryl Streep, Anne Rice, Shirley McClain, Whoopi Goldberg, Rosemary Clooney, Sally Field and many others.
He went on to have a career in New York City, Los Angeles and the Twin Cities before dying from lung cancer on Dec. 23, 2023.
Aside from being a talented journalist and hilarious human being, he broke many barriers. In Milwaukee, he was the first Black voice on WQFM, the top rock station in the '70s and '80s. He was also the first Black journalists to host an entertainment show in Milwaukee as he did on WISN.
After he moved to New York City, Rivers was the first Black entertainment host on VH1. He later appeared on The Sopranos and had many other media-related gigs.
Rivers was a magnetic person with brilliant insight and humor. He was also an endless source of movie and TV trivia. Unfortunately, Rivers struggled at times as a Black and gay media personality during a time of great prejudice. Milwaukee was not always kind to Rivers, but it was a springboard for him. A place he started his career, grew his proverbial wings and flew on to bigger opportunities.
To read more about the life of Bobby Rivers, click here.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
