Arthur Lawrence Hellyer Jr.
Arthur Lawrence "Art" Hellyer Jr. (August 7, 1923 – September 5, 2018) was an American radio and TV broadcaster whose career lasted from 1947 to 2012. He worked as a disc jockey, news reporter and anchor, sports reporter, game show host, and did many radio and TV commercials. Chicago radio historians called him “the king of Chicago radio” and credited him with bringing playful, offbeat humor to the air. He had top-rated shows on three Chicago stations and later reached a national audience on the Satellite Music Network. In 2008 he published a book of autobiographical essays, The Hellyer Say.
Born in Chicago, Hellyer served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1946. He earned a private pilot’s license and completed a meteorology program, serving in the weather corps during World War II. He married Elaine Miller in 1947; they had five children. Elaine died in 1998. Hellyer died in Naperville, Illinois, in 2018 at age 95.
Career highlights:
- Began broadcasting in 1947 at WKNA in Charleston, West Virginia, then worked at WOWO in Fort Wayne, WMRO in Aurora, Illinois, and stations in Milwaukee.
- In 1950 he made a bold on-air audition for WCFL Chicago and soon hosted the morning show, the “Morning Madcap,” by 1952.
- Worked as a versatile freelancer, doing live remotes and commercials, and even recorded studio sound bites for sponsors.
- Hosted the TV game show Rate Your Mate on WENR-TV (later WLS-TV) in 1950 and the show It’s in the Name on WGN-TV in 1958.
- Served as an ABC-TV staff announcer from 1959 to 1979, providing voice-overs for programs like Monday Night Football, Monday Night Baseball, Wide World of Sports, and Olympic coverage (1964, 1968, 1972).
- Covered Chicago news for WBKB-TV (ABC) around the JFK assassination in 1963 and was the late-night sign-off anchor there from 1964 to 1966.
- Taught broadcasting at Columbia College Chicago from 1970 to 1986 and at the University of St. Francis in Joliet from 1974 to 1986.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:50 (CET).