Mr. Gene "Michaels" Free

Eugene Free of Port Jefferson, NY, known on the radio as Gene Michaels, passed away Wednesday at the age of 60 following a hard fought battle with cancer.  Friends and colleagues remember Gene as a gifted broadcaster and cherished boss, co-worker and family man with a big heart of gold.  On Long Island, Gene will best be remembered for his days on air and as Vice President of Programming and Marketing at WALK FM 97.5 where he impressively delivered #1 ratings throughout the 1990’s.  More recently Gene has been a reporter and anchor for the most listened to All News Station in the nation, 1010 WINS.  Gene began his career in Northeast Pennsylvania where he grew up with his family of six brothers and sisters in Carbondale.  After successfully Programming WEJL and WGBI-FM there, he moved to Westchester County, New York in 1987 to be Program Director of WFAS-FM and that’s where he met his future wife, the former Stephanie Gandert.   They married in 1989, and daughter Samantha Grace arrived in 1991. Gene shared his passion for radio with the next generation as an adjunct professor at St. John’s University and Five Towns College where he was Director of radio station WFTU.  Gene also worked at Shadow/Metro Traffic, Sirius Satellite Radio, Wall Street Journal Network, Fox News Headlines, Merlin Media and Connoisseur Media.  A 1978 graduate from the University of Scranton, Gene considered entering the priesthood while studying at St. Pius X Seminary.

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