Philly radio icon E. Steven Collins dead at 58
NBC PHILADELPHIA - Longtime radio legend and civic leader E. Steven Collins died early Monday from a heart attack while surrounded by family and friends, announced Radio One -- the company where Collins worked as Director of Urban Marketing and External Relations...
NBC Philadelphia – An icon of local radio died this morning.
Longtime radio legend and civic leader E. Steven Collins died early Monday from a heart attack while surrounded by family and friends, announced Radio One — the company where Collins worked as Director of Urban Marketing and External Relations and hosted of his weekly show, Philly Speaks on Old School 100.3.
Collins was 58.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter called the “tremendous loss” of his friend “hard” to take, an “immeasurable” loss.
“I don’t know when I met him… but certainly will never forget him,” Nutter said.
“Collins was a consummate professional in terms of communications but also he knew how to communicate with people, he connected with folks,” Nutter said.
NBC10 social media editor Sarah Glover knew Collins through the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and was friends with Collins even spending time with Collins and his family at a pool party this past Saturday at his Glenside, Pa. home.
“He was upbeat, entertaining friends, his jovial self” Saturday, said Glover.
“He’s just the type of person who is a friend for life, very supportive,” Glover said.
“He’s been in the radio business for four decades. He’s touched so many lives in the media, developing the careers of young people. It wasn’t just that he was invested in the journalism industry he was also a bridge from the media to the community. He was just as invested in the community.”
Collins worked his way up from spinning records to becoming a voice in the community.
“Collins was a valued member of the Radio One Family for over a decade, and brought together the corporate, civic, clergy and overall community for a positive good,” said Radio One chairperson and founder Catherine Hughes. “I personally recruited E. and firmly believe that it was one of the wisest hires of an exemplary executive and broadcaster.”
Colleagues remembered Collins as the “Unofficial Mayor of Philadelphia.” He was “a true leader who cared immensely about his family, his community and his co-worker,” said Radio One regional vice president Christopher Wegmann.
Collins’ accolades included work on local television, as an analyst on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews as well as work for CNN, PBS and other media entities. He also sat board for Ivy Legacy, Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Multicultural Affairs Congress, the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications and Mayor Nutter’s Commission on Literacy.
Nutter says he hopes to name a school or scholarship for Collins.
“Anytime you asked him to do anything E. Steven Collins was right there,” said Nutter.
Collins was also involved with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the Urban League of Philadelphia, the African-American Museum and Concerned Black Men of Philadelphia.
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