Fans of Live With Kelly & Ryan, now Live With Kelly & Mark, will be sad to hear this news. Those who watch the show regularly know that there is a regular cast of behind-the-scenes individuals that viewers get to know. Michael Gelman, better known as just “Gelman,” is one such person. It was revealed that another cast member, Richard Quinn (known as Tony Pigg), has passed away. Continue reading to learn what happened and how he contributed to Live over the years.
Tony Pigg’s Career Goes Beyond Live With Kelly & Ryan
Tony Pigg became an on-air personality in the early 1970s. Eventually, he became the announcer on Live With Regis & Kathie Lee and continued to announce the show after Kathie Lee left. He went on to announce Regis & Kelly then Live With Kelly and her several different co-hosts over the years.
Viewers would hear his voice announcing the guests that were coming up next at the commercial break. He would also announce each show’s guests at the beginning of each show before introducing Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest.
His IMDb page lists him as the announcer for an astounding 595 episodes between 2014 and 2019 when he left the show. Pigg’s career doesn’t start there though. The announcer’s broadcasting career dates back to the 1970s.
Tony Pigg was present for the radio station WPLJ’s inception in the 70s. He performed airchecks and hosted one of the radio shows on the station. Pigg became a household name while working at WPLJ. In its prime, it was a leading rock station, but it was sold in 2019 and transitioned into a Contemporary Christian station.
Why Did Tony Pigg Retire?
Unfortunately, it was confirmed that Tony Pigg passed away at the age of 85. His wife shared the information on social media, calling him her “soul mate.” Here is what has been revealed about his death.
Pigg’s wife, Lucinda Scala Quinn, paid tribute to the late announcer on Instagram on April 27, 2024. He passed away the day before and his cause of death has not been released. However, it is believed that Tony Pigg initially stepped away from his announcing duties on Live in 2019 because he was ill.
At first, Ryan Seacrest took over the announcing duties on Live, explaining to viewers and members of the audience that he was sick. After more than a month of Ryan filling in, fans began to question when Tony Pigg would return. He never did. Fans took to social media to ask where the beloved announcer was, but his privacy was respected. No news or updates about Pigg were given.
Outside of an update on June 21, 2019, on Lucinda’s Instagram, there was no news about Tony’s condition. The pair celebrated their 33rd anniversary in 2019 and it was clear they were still in love.
While there is no confirmation on what led to Tony Pigg retiring from Live or his cause of death, he will be missed terribly by his wife and countless fans.
