Art Vuolo, Jr. has shared news of the passing of one-time CKLW air talent Gary Burbank  Burbank died early Thursday (8/28) at the age of 84.  Born Billy Purser in west Tennessee, he worked at numerous radio stations which included: WMPS (Memphis), WNOE (New Orleans), WAKY and WHAS (Louisville) and CKLW in Windsor/Detroit.  He is best known for his years at "The Big One" WLW-AM in Cincinnati.

He crafted his radio name from Gary Owens (of the 1968 TV show Laugh In) from beautiful downtown Burbank. Their voices were very similar. From June, 1981 through December ,2007 his “hillbilly” alter-ego, Earl Pitts-Umerikan, was nationally syndicated. Close friend, Rick Consolo, who oversaw the network, said “the radio world will never know a greater and more humble talent.” He also created dozens of other characters like: Gilbert Gnarley, Eunice & Bernice and The Right Rev. Deuteronomy Skaggs all of which provided unprecedented entertainment on AM radio! His greatest impact markets were definitely Louisville, Detroit and mostly Cincinnati where he was a radio titan!

After retiring from WLW in December of 2007,  he retreated with his wife Carol, to a beautiful home on the Rainbow River in central Florida. He died in a hospice center on Thursday, His passing is a loss felt by millions of radio fans. Art Vuolo compiled this special video tribute: Watch Here.