Deborah Richards, the former Kicks 101.5 Atlanta morning show host, has passed away at the age of 62 due to medical complications likely associated with lupus.
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Her son Jarrett Smith confirmed she passed away last week, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Deborah Richards, whose legal name is Julie Langcore, started her career in broadcasting in the early 1980s. However, she was involved in radio at the age of 17 at a Tennessee AM station.
In 1984, she became a news reporter for Kicks 101.5, which is now New Country 101.5. She later joined James “Moby” Carner to host the morning show in 1991.
The show earned various awards, including an Academy of Country Music Award for the morning show of the year.
Richards previously opened up about the chemistry she and Carner had. “Listeners would tell me that it sounded like we were just hanging out at a Waffle House having breakfast,” she said.
Carner died in 2023. He once described Richards’ role on the show as the “calming feminine perspective.”
“I can always tell when I go over the line because she gives me this look,” Carner said in 2001.
After leaving the radio station in 2001, Deborah Richards went on to do voice-overs. She did radio commercials, industrial narratives, and even corporate videos. She also managed to teach at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting.
Former Kicks afternoon host Bill Celler spoke about her impact on him and his career. “She really set me up for where I am now,” Cellar said. “She was a tremendous mentor and teacher to whole lot of actors in town who got into voice-over.”
Deborah Richards’ Son Praised Her As a ‘Good Mom’ Who Was ‘Always There’
While paying tribute to his mother, Deborah Richards’ Jarrett Smith praised her, not just for being a professional, but as a “good mom” who was always there.
“She was always there,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “When she retired from radio, she would be up making breakfast in the morning and snacks in the afternoon. She finally got that freedom to just be a normal schedule parent and made me feel like the luckiest kid growing up.”
He also stated his mother believed that the radio audience was “there to be entertained no matter how good or bad she felt any given day.”
Along with Jarrett, Deborah Richards is survived by sister Karen Tucker, and brother Greg Richards.